Series Starter Firsts in Series Collection - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,392

it in my hands, it’s perfect. I feel Aiden come up beside me, and he whistles.

“Holy shit, are you going to propose?” he asks, shocked.

I shrug my shoulders. “Well, yeah. I love her.” I hand the ring back to the sales lady. “I’ll take it in a size six, please.” I turn back to Aiden. “I have my trust money Hales and I got when Granddad passed, I’ve never touched it until now.” I smile at him. “Do you think she’s going to like it?”

“Yeah, man, I do. It looks like Allison,” he agrees.

I pay for Allison’s ring, Aiden finishes up his shopping, and we start home. We pull into his driveway, and I hand him the bag from the jewelry store. “Keep this for me, man. I can’t hide it in our luggage.” He smiles and shakes his head.

The next few days fly by. This is mainly due to the fact Allison allows me to sleep with her in her room. Hales sleeps over at Aiden’s in the guest room. I make sure she is okay with it. She just smiles and tells me to enjoy my girl. My sister knows what Allison means to me, she also knows how cranky I get when I don’t get to sleep with her in my arms.

Christmas Eve we have a huge brunch that Mrs. Emerson, along with Hailey and Allison, prepare. We eat way too much and open gifts. I brought half of Allie’s gifts for her to open here. She got three outfits and her boots. She got me the new Call of Duty for the Xbox and an iTunes gift card. Aiden and Hales are exchanging gifts tomorrow.

After brunch and presents, Allison wants to go visit her parents’ grave. I beg her to let me go with her, but she says she needs to go alone. She does agree to let Hales drive her. I am relieved that at least she won’t be driving upset. Aiden went to hang out with his parents, and I stay with Gran. We sit, talking for a while, and I suddenly have the urge to show her the ring. I text Aiden and ask him if he could bring it over. Before I know it, he’s walking in the room with a grin on his face.

I take a seat in the chair beside Gran. “I want you to know I love Allison with everything in me. I would like to have your permission to marry her.” I open the ring box and lay it in her hands.

“Oh, Liam, it’s beautiful.” Gran takes the ring out of the box and examines it. “This is perfect for Allison, you know her so well.” She replaces the ring in the box and hands it back to me, grasping my hand. “Liam, I’m honored that you asked for my permission. Allison loves you so much, and you make her so happy. You’ve brought life back to my girl. You’ve already promised me to always take care of her, so, of course, you have my blessing to marry her.”

I kiss her on the cheek. “Thank you, I promise she’ll always be loved and protected, you have my word.” I hand the ring back to Aiden. He shoves it into his pocket and takes it back to his house.

Chapter 31

Allison

I agree to let Hailey drive me to the cemetery, more for Liam’s piece of mind. I know he really wants to be here with me, but I need to talk to my parents about him. I know that sounds odd, but losing them at such a young age, growing up without them, and coming here and talking to them about life always seemed to help. Hailey eases into the cemetery lot and turns off Liam’s Pathfinder. “I’ll be right here if you need me,” she says as she squeezes my hand.

I squeeze hers back. “Thank you for being here, for doing this.”

“Anytime, but promise me you won’t shut Liam out, he loves you and wants to be there for you.”

“I know, and I love him too, so much. When I was little I would come here and talk to my parents about everything and, well, I kind of want to tell them about Liam.” I slip my gloves onto my hands. “I know you’re his sister, but you’ve also become my best friend. Liam, he says he wants forever with me. I know we’re young and haven’t been together all that long, but I want that too.” I watch