I glance down at Nox and he raises an eyebrow in question, then nods toward his mum. I chuckle again. Ten-year-olds are so impatient. But we are here for a reason, so with one more kiss to Avi’s hair, I unwind myself from her and take a step back, and then another. Enough space for her to miss my presence and turn around.
But instead of us coming eye to eye, she finds me on one knee. The damp earth is already seeping into my pants, but I couldn’t care less because I’d do anything to keep the look of delighted shock on her face.
Nox looks almost as excited as she does, bouncing from foot to foot with a wide grin on his face.
“Avonlea Lorna Stewart.” I reach up and grab her hand and she grips me so tightly I’m afraid she’ll cut off the circulation. “I’ve loved you for most of my life, and now that I have you, I never want to let you go. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes fill with tears and she squeezes them shut on a laugh. A joyful laugh, like the ones she used to gift me when we were young, one that is accompanied by a smile that takes my breath away.
When she opens her eyes, they’re filled with so much love, and with a soft nod, she says, “Yes.” Then she falls to her knees in front of me and throws her arms around my neck to kiss me senseless.
“Oh, come on,” Lennox mutters under his breath.
Avi and I separate, both of us laughing as we look up atourson. He offers an unapologetic shrug, but he’s smiling too.
“Were you in on this?” she asks, standing and pulling him into a hug.
He just shrugs again, like he hasn’t been keeping this under wraps for two weeks. I asked him for permission to marry his mum the same day I called her dad to ask for his. Lennox tried to play it cool with a casual “Aye, I guess that’d be cool.” Whereas Callum and Fiona both cried.
“You’re forgetting the best part…” I say, holding out a ring box and swiveling it side to side.
“I thoughtyouwere the best part,” she quips, reaching for the box, but I pull it out of her reach.
“So, you don’t want this then…?” I joke, and she jumps for it, colliding with my body. I wrap my free arm around her and pull her close.
“I want you,” she whispers, “but I also want to see what’s in that box.”
I kiss her forehead and lower it just enough so she can snatch it from my fingers.
The click of the lid is accompanied by a short gasp before her eyes fly to mine. This was one of the other things Nox helped me with: picking out the ring. And I’m going to guess I got it right.
The center stone is a large oval. The soft bluish-green tint makes it stand out against the gold filigree that surrounds it, accented with small diamonds and pearls.
“Jamie, this is—”
“Perfect, right, Mum?” Nox says, and her soft look of love shifts to him.
“Perfect,” she says with watery eyes and a quivering lip.
Pulling the ring from the box, I slip it onto her finger. Then I lift her hand like I did in the car, but this time I place my kiss right over her ring—the one that says she’s mine.
“So, when’s the wedding?” Nox asks.
“That’s a great question, bud,” Avi says, looking at me. I swallow hard. “Soon, I think.”
There’s an understanding in her eyes, a hint of sadness.
“Soon,” I echo, and wonder if we’ve learned to communicate the way my grandparents do, without words. There’s no reason to wait, but there is a very big reason to do it sooner than later.
For Angus, because there’s no way either of us wants to do this without him, and time is not on our side.
On the car ride home, I pull up Rory’s contact and punch the call button. It rings a few times before she answers, a little breathless.
“Jamie!” Her enthusiasm fills the car.
“Hey, Roars,” I say, and she chuckles.
“Gah, you’re worse than my brother these days. Can’t you just call me Rory like a normal person?”
