Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
He smiled down at me, lifting his palm to press to my cheek, his fingers sliding into my hair. “I love you,” he said.
I smiled, and just then, I knew exactly what my next step needed to be. Sometimes, simple was best.
“Marry me,” I said.
Adorably, his eyes flew wide open, and he stuttered, “W-what?”
“Marry me,” I said again and grinned. “Or rather,” I rephrased, “would you please marry me, Forrest Powell?”
He grinned back, his eyes bright. But instead of answering me immediately, he rolled away from me to face his side of the bed, opened and shut a drawer, then rolled back, light flashing from what was in his hand.
It was perfect. We were perfect.
“I was going to give this to you that day on the cliffs,” he said. “But after everything that happened, it didn’t seem like the right moment. And then we got back, and Quinn and Hawk were getting married, and it felt better to let them have their time. Now that they’re married, I planned to try again, but you beat me to it.” He lifted my hand and slid the ring on my finger. “Yes, Sterling Sawyer, I would love nothing more than to marry you.”
A tear welled in my eye and skated down my cheek. I leaned up to press a kiss to Forrest’s mouth, lingering, my heart so full I couldn’t catch my breath. Pulling back, I looked down at the ring on my finger. A generous emerald-cut diamond on a gold band, it could have been plain, but for the size—a touch bigger than it needed to be—and the fire inside the stone. The diamond was the highest quality I’d ever seen, cut so every facet caught the light.
“It’s so beautiful.” I tilted my hand and watched it turn the morning light into spears of rainbow. “Where did you find it?”
“It was my mother’s,” Forrest said. “It’s the ring my father gave her. She gave it to me for you. If you want something else, that’s okay.”
My heart swelled, so much I thought it would burst. “No, I love it. It’s gorgeous.” I splayed my hand on his bare chest, admiring the picture it made. “Emmett said your father was frugal, but clearly not when it came to this diamond.”
It was exactly what I would have chosen myself. Big, but not obnoxiously so, and elegant through and through.
“Your mom really gave you her ring?” I asked. “For me?” That was huge, at least to me—to know that Emily wanted me as a daughter-in-law enough to give me a ring she must have treasured.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice gruff. “She knew I was going to ask.”
I loved that he’d been thinking about it for a while, too.
“She’s a smart lady, your mom,” I said.
“Yeah, she is. Now we have something to celebrate.” He closed his hands around my upper arms and tugged me to lie over his chest, bringing my mouth even with his own. He kissed me, his lips lingering until I sighed.
“I love you so much, Forrest,” I said as he rolled me to my back, and we celebrated our engagement. Thoroughly.
After, Forrest swore he didn’t tell Savannah a thing, and I knew I hadn’t, but somehow she and Finn had figured it out. By the time I made it to the kitchens to show off my gorgeous ring, Finn was already baking my favorite layered coconut cake in celebration.
Dinner that night was an impromptu engagement party. My heart squeezed just a fraction as I remembered Hawk and Quinn’s engagement dinner only a few weeks before. This time, no one looked annoyed at me or otherwise. Ford sat at the end of the table opposite Brax’s empty seat, a faint smile on his lips, his eyes avoiding the space where Brax should be. I grieved the brother Brax could have been, but it was hard to miss the man he’d chosen to be. I wasn’t planning to waste a lot of time grieving my would-be murderer.
Forrest and I wanted to take our time setting a wedding date. For one, I couldn’t decide what I wanted. When it came to the event itself, Forrest claimed not to have an opinion, saying he simply wanted me to be his wife and getting there was up to me. I wasn’t sure that was entirely true, but I’d find out once I got to planning. First, I had to figure out what kind of wedding I had in mind.
If I wanted to marry him anytime soon, it would have to be something small. I already knew Hawk would kill me himself if I tried to throw a big bash. The security for something like that would be a nightmare.
So, I could wait and hope we managed to catch my father’s killer and eliminate the threat against our family, or I could get married soon and have a small family wedding like everyone else had.