to spend the rest of your life with me.
“I love you, I have loved you since we sat in the hallway at Eastwick and studied math, and I will love you for the rest of my life. The question on the table is, do you love me enough to spend forever with me?”
Noah briefly closes his eyes in defeat and takes both of my hands. The small box half in my palm, half in his. “Yes.”
Happiness. The fluttering in my stomach is happiness.
“Is it my turn to talk?” he asks, but even I know that really wasn’t a question as much as him explaining he’s going to say what he needs to say regardless.
I nod, and Noah steps closer to me. “My entire life changed the day you dropped into that chair beside me in the guidance counselor’s office. You were the hot girl who I thought had it all. Two seconds with me and you were handing me shit.”
“You made fun of my name,” I remind him.
Noah chuckles. “If I remember correctly, you called me a stoner.”
“You were a stoner.”
His wicked grin is just as seductive and dangerous as the night he backed me up against the wall outside a party and came close to kissing me for the first time. And just like the night of the school Valentine’s Day dance, he walks me backward into the wall. My back hits, his body presses to mine and all I can think about is kissing him.
“You challenge me, Echo,” he continues. “You pushed me to use my brain, to believe I could have a future again. You taught me to trust again and you taught me it was okay to love. Since you entered my life, I have thought about you day and night. The way you smile, the way your body feels against mine and the way I feel empty whenever you aren’t near.
“The next year without you is going to be hell, but we’re going to make it. You and I, we’re stronger than distance. We’re strong enough to make this work. You want to spend forever with me, Echo, and I want to spend forever with you. You asked me to marry you and the answer is yes, but I have a question for you.”
My heart beats faster when Noah drops down to one knee and opens up the small box in his hand. “Someday I’m going to be able to offer you a diamond ring, but until then, will you grant me the honor of wearing this ring? Someday, after we graduate, will you walk down the aisle and promise in front of our family and friends to be with me for the rest of our lives?”
It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. Tears burn my eyes and my hands tremble. My knees give, and I lower myself down to the floor along with Noah. “I don’t want a diamond ring. I want this ring and this ring alone. I love it.”
“It’s engraved,” he says and holds it so I can see the words. I love you ~ Noah. “Will you wear it?”
“Yes.”
Noah eases the ring onto my finger, the heart toward my fingertips. He then presses his lips to the ring. “I love you, Echo Emerson. Every day for the rest of my life.”
He raises his head and his dark eyes are so full of love that a tear escapes from my eye.
“You better kiss me, Noah Hutchins.” Before I crawl into him and start to sob.
“I’m all about kissing you.”
And I’m all about kissing him.
Noah cups my face with his hand, leans in and kisses me for the first time as my fiancé.
The First Loves Collection:
The First Day of School
In Crash into You, Isaiah Walker, a foster kid and drag racer, meets and falls in love with Rachel Young, the youngest daughter of the wealthiest man in the state. Their love story captured the hearts of many, and I’ll admit they are a favorite couple of mine. Isaiah had a rough childhood, but he found love and acceptance in Rachel. “The First Day of School” shows a glimpse of the future life Rachel and Isaiah found with each other.
Chapter 8
Isaiah
The smoke alarm goes off, and I curse under my breath. I turn away from the pancakes cooking on the electric griddle on the island, and my eyes burn from the smoke rising from the beginning grease fire. I snatch the handle of the pan, and another curse word Rachel has begged me