The Promise of Change - By Rebecca Heflin Page 0,111
this most perfect Thanksgiving.
Alex excused himself and rose from the table, caressing Sarah’s shoulder as he passed. As any good actor knew, timing was essential to any memorable scene, and he wanted this scene to be memorable. The timing couldn’t get any more perfect.
He returned a few minutes later with one of Sarah’s sweaters, wrapping it around her shoulders. Becca raised her eyebrow at Sarah, again impressed. Sarah smiled at her and shrugged her shoulder imperceptibly.
“Could I have everyone’s attention?” Alex stood behind his chair. “First, I want to sincerely thank you for opening your hearts to me and for making me feel like a welcome addition to your group. It means more than you know.”
“Second, I want to thank Sarah for this bountiful meal in this tranquil setting, and for giving me the happiest five months of my life.” He came to stand next to her.
Sarah looked at him askance, expecting him to lean over for a kiss.
“Which brings me to what I hope will be the day’s grand finale.” Taking her left hand in his, he knelt to the ground.
While there was a collective gasp from those around the table, Sarah’s breath halted in her throat as Alex reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a ring. She vaguely heard Michael whisper, “Mom, what’s Alex doing?” and Ann’s “shhh” in response.
“Sweet, Sarah. ‘When I saw you, I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.’ I didn’t realize it, but I’d been waiting my whole life for you. And now that I’ve found you, I can’t let you go. Marry me?”
Sarah felt a jumble of sensations at once: elation, fear, shock, even embarrassment, because everyone was looking at her, holding their breath, waiting for her answer, especially Alex.
All of these emotions passed in a split second, but the one that passed the quickest was fear. She cut her eyes to her father. He beamed, tears sparkling in his eyes.
Sarah inhaled slowly. “Alex, I never thought it was possible to be this happy, but you’ve shown me so many astonishing possibilities that I don’t know why I should be surprised by that one. Yes, I will marry you,” she whispered. “Yes!”
An elated, and relieved, Alex slid the ring onto her finger, kissing it before releasing her hand and pulling her to her feet for a tender kiss.
Everyone erupted into applause, and promptly formed a group hug around the two of them.
“This calls for a toast,” Rob said as he headed for the kitchen. “I thought I saw some champagne in the fridge . . .”
Michael came up and asked Alex if he had to call him Lord Rutherford. Lily exclaimed that she couldn’t wait to tell her friends that she had not only a real-life earl, but a movie star in her family now.
Kate and Eliza were very grown-up in their congratulations to Sarah, a little shy in their congratulations to Alex. Mark slapped Alex on the shoulder and shook his hand. The Admiral proudly stood back and watched the whole scene as if he had orchestrated it.
Ann and Becca cried when they hugged Sarah, before asking to see the ring, a gorgeous oval amethyst set in platinum, flanked by two diamond trillions.
“Get you! A countess!” Ann curtseyed, eyes sparkling.
A nervous flutter briefly unsettled her at that thought, but she extinguished it just as quickly as it came.
“That has to be the most romantic proposal I’ve ever seen,” Ann exclaimed, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, “not that I’ve seen that many . . .”
“Oh honey,” Becca said, “I’m so happy for you both. I’ve never seen you look more contented. He’s good for you, but I’ve no doubt that you’ve each found your soul mate in the other.”
“Yes,” Sarah whispered, looking at Alex’s handsome face amid the rest of her family and friends. “I guess soul mates really do exist.”
Epilogue
While Ann put the finishing touches on her hair, Sarah took the opportunity to reflect on the past two years. Her life had changed immeasurably in that time. Those two years weren’t without their wrong turns, potholes, and seemingly dead ends, but she’d gone from being an unhappy woman uncertain of her future, her career, and more importantly her love life, to a woman whose life was on a path she could only have dreamed of.
Not only was she happier than she’d ever been in her life, she was more certain than she’d ever been in her life that what she was doing was right.