Red Nights - Shari J. Ryan Page 0,104

flustered look washes across his face as his eyes dart back and forth from the dashboard to the road. “What the hell is going on?”

“What?” I lean over to see his dash lights, but I can’t see without taking my seatbelt off and I don’t know what’s going on right now. “Is everything okay?”

“Shit.” He pulls over and hops out of the truck, popping the hood open. I jump out to meet him around front. Not that I’ll be of much help, but I want to know what’s going on.

I only make it a couple of feet when I see what’s wrong. Nothing at all. Down on one knee in the middle of the breakdown lane, Hayes has a small black box perched on his palm. His eyes are wide and his face a little pale. “I couldn’t wait until tomorrow or even until the restaurant like I planned. I’ve struggled through the last three hundred and sixty-four days thinking about the life I want to start with you. I just want to start it now, Felicity. Right here in the middle of this road. I can’t wait a second longer. I can’t.”

Shaking and shocked, I walk over and pull him up and off the road. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“I know. But I still want you to marry me.” His hand is starting to shake as he opens the box. “There’s a condition, though.” He places the ring on my unsteady finger and then takes my hand with both of his. “I want to marry you as soon as possible.”

“Are you pregnant?” I ask, straight-faced.

“It’s not something I’d like to discuss at the moment. I just want to know if you’ll agree to this.”

“Oh my God. You’re not an illegal immigrant, are you?” I’m totally on a roll at the wrong time. Or maybe it’s the right time.

“You’re killing me, Blondie-locks.” I can see it’s true. He’s becoming more flushed and starting to glisten.

“I would marry you right here on the side of this road if I could,” I say softly. His hands cup my cheeks as he closes his mouth over mine, making me forget where we are and why we’re here. Horns are honking as cars drive by, but it’s like music to my ears right now. For the first time in fifteen months, I feel like everything is exactly the way it should be.

When the chill in the air gets the best of us, we continue on to the restaurant, where we’re greeted by the shrieks of Mom and Hayes’s mom first, and then Dad, who’s just beaming with pride. “I asked him first,” Hayes whispers into my ear, nodding toward Dad. I’m speechless. He really did have this all planned out.

After hugging everyone and showing off the handiwork of his diamond buying skills, we leave our parents to get to know each other a little more. Hayes leads me toward the back door. “Don’t worry, we’re not eating out here,” he says, “but I want to show you something.” Another surprise? What else is there?

He opens up the door and we walk out onto the dock and into the glow of the setting sun. From behind me, he wraps his arms around my shoulders and we stare out into the water, watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon. The sky begins to morph into vibrant shades of orange, yellow…but mostly red. “You know how we’ve made all the bad turn into good?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I breathe.

“This is our red night. This is a night I want you to remember. All red nights from here on out will be the reminder of our beginning and only the good.”

EPILOGUE

“OH, SOMETHING CAME for you in the mail today,” Hayes says. “It was forwarded from your old apartment. It’s on the counter.”

I grab the letter and flip it back and forth. “Weird. No return address.”

I tear open the envelope and unfold the pieces of paper. Scanning over the hand-written words, my hands begin to shake, making it hard to read. I walk backward until my knees buckle at the couch. “What is it?” he asks.

Hayes leans on me, looking over my shoulder as he reads along with me.

Every word has been carefully thought out. Every thought was perfectly planned out. Every action was completely carried out—thankfully in my case, unsuccessfully.

I clench my hand around my throat, squeezing it, needing to feel something other than what I feel in my stomach right now.

Hayes pulls the papers from my hands