face, but I know you, Carls. You miss me as much as I miss you.”
She choked out a sob.
“Babe, if treasure hunting means being away from you, then I never want to look for another treasure in my life. Nothing feels as good as when we do it together. You’re my adventure partner, my best friend. Carls, you are the love of my life. Hell, baby, you are my life. You need stability and you have a full life here. I don’t want to screw that up. I want to go cliff diving and deep-sea diving with you, or not at all. I want to see that spark in your eyes when we find a concretion or pull a cannon from the sea, but we can fit those things in on vacations, when you have time off. They don’t have to rule my life. I want to be here with you, inspiring new chocolates and by your side to taste test them. I want to be the man dancing with you under the stars and handing out samples at the festival. I want to be at the Roadhouse Wednesday nights to give Cowboy and Dare a hard time and to make you hot and bothered under the table.”
Chuckles rose around them, and Carly smiled despite her tears.
“Can we clone him?” Quinn said, earning a “Shh” from Charlotte.
“You can’t give up your life. I won’t let you,” Carly said, looking beautifully stubborn. “You’re living our dream. I was just coming to you to tell you that I want to be there with you, but I also want to be here.”
His heart beat so hard, he was sure his chest would break open. “Then let’s figure it out, write it down, do whatever we need to do. I don’t care about the details as long as I get to spend every day with you. You’re the only treasure I need.”
He dropped to one knee, vaguely aware of a collective gasp as he opened his hand, revealing a yellow plastic treasure chest.
More tears spilled down Carly’s cheeks. She lifted a shaky hand over her mouth, laughing softly as she said, “Zevy…? Is that my treasure chest?”
“It was, until you left it on my windowsill the night you agreed to be my girlfriend. But this is your ring.” He opened the treasure chest, revealing the pink plastic ring with the star on top he’d taken from her jewelry box before he’d left Pleasant Hill all those years ago.
Sobs bubbled out of her lips, and she collapsed to her knees before him, her eyes glittering with love as she said, “You’re a thief.”
“No. I was just a kid who had made a promise I never intended to break. I figured it was a fair trade. I left you my heart, so I took your engagement ring.”
She laugh-cried as he withdrew the ring from the treasure chest and said, “Carly, baby, you are and will always be the very air that I breathe, the only treasure to my empty chest. I don’t want to spend another day waking up without you in my arms. Will you take another leap of faith and color outside the lines with me, Carls? Marry me so we can begin our greatest adventure yet? You’re the only one who can keep up with me. Say yes, and I promise we’ll figure out the rest with concrete plans you can count on.”
“Yes!” she said breathlessly. “Yes to everything!”
Cheers and applause rang out as he slid the plastic ring onto her finger. It stopped before her knuckle, and everyone laughed. He took the ring off and slid it on her pinkie.
Gazing deeply into her eyes, he said, “I love you, Carls, and I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much.”
Kneeling on the front steps of the chocolate shop, surrounded by throngs of strangers and a handful of family and friends, Zev lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with everything he had, which had already become more than he’d ever dreamed possible.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
BY NIGHTFALL EVERYONE Carly knew and all of Zev’s Colorado relatives had heard about their storefront proposal, and thanks to Beau, they all got to see it on video. Beau had taken one look at Zev’s face when Carly had run into him, and he’d followed his gut feeling of what was to come. Slipping off to the side, he’d captured the whole proposal on video. Carly couldn’t be happier. She’d been too stunned to try