AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, Ry.” Charlie gasps, her hand covering her mouth, spinning toward me with wide eyes. “Did you do this?”
Today, the pavilion is filled with flowers. Large bouquets in tall vases, mason jars with smaller ones, floral garlands draped all across the posts and the ceiling. There are thousands of flowers, shades of pink mixed with white.
“I had help,” I tell her, casting a quick glance at Leo and Georgia, tucked off in the wooded area to the side. I told them what I wanted and they came here hours ago to set everything up, and to gently suggest that anyone who might want to visit this spring come back another day.
Charlie follows my gaze and gives the couple a quick wave before turning back to me. Her joy radiates out of her, so beautiful my heart aches from it. “Ry. This is so amazing. What a wonderful way to taste our last spring. And a perfect way to visit again.”
“Well.” I lead her over to the spring, my heart skipping unevenly. “I thought maybe it was the perfect place for something else. To signify when I started falling in love with you, walking in the park. And you were so stunning I couldn’t believe it.”
“I started falling for you then, too.” She squeezes my hand. “I knew right then, you were special.”
This moment. I want to freeze this moment, so I can look at it always.
Charlie smiling at me, her eyes so full of love.
Her hair dancing in the breeze, shimmering chestnut and gold and crimson.
Her hand in mine, so right, and I never want to let her go.
I drop to my knee, and she stills. “Ry?”
Then.
I take the ring from my pocket, and it sparkles along with her eyes.
Her hand shakes, and she whispers, “Oh, Ry.”
All the beautiful things I planned to say slip away as I stare up at her. And all I can come up with is the simplest of truths.
“I love you, Charlie. More than anything. I don’t know how to put it into words. But I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
My hand shakes too, as I ask her the question that could mean everything.
“Will you marry me?”
Time seems to stand still. A second feels like an hour.
“Yes.” Her gaze meets mine, promising a lifetime with me. “A thousand times, yes.”
Tears spilling over, she watches as I slip the ring on her finger. It’s a perfect fit. Just like Charlie is for me.
“You’re my perfect fit,” I tell her, standing up and pulling her into my arms. “Every part of you fits me. You fill all the empty spots, Charlie. You make me whole.”
“Ry.” She peppers my face with wet kisses; she’s crying but they’re happy tears. “I love you so much. Thank you for showing me that love is so much more than I thought it was. And thank you for loving me. I’ll spend my life showing you how much you mean to me.”
This joy.
I swing her around, kissing her, so happy and so damn thankful that Cole sent me to Saratoga. That I met this incredible person who’s perfect for me.
Charlie is hugging me, her heart pounding against my chest, breaking our kiss every so often to take a quick breath and whisper, “Yes. A thousand, million, billion times, yes.”
And then soft laughter drifts over to us, and Leo’s low rumbling voice. “Can we come over and congratulate you two yet?”
“I took a ton of pictures,” adds Georgia, sniffling. “It was so beautiful.”
Still holding Charlie, I turn around to face my teammate and his fiancée. Giving them both a little chin lift, I say, “This was perfect, you guys. Thank you so much.”
Charlie twists to look at them, damp cheeked and beaming. “It was wonderful. Thank you.”
