"No," he says. "I bought this place for you. And whatever you want to do, I'm with you. If you'll have me."
He slides down on one knee and takes a small box out of his pocket.
My heart leaps into my throat. "Amos." I gasp his name as I realize what he's about to do.
"I couldn't have gotten through the last six months without you, Alana. Since the night we spent together, I knew you were the only women for me. I've been patient, I've waited for you, but I don't want to wait another moment. I want to join our families together and start our lives together. Will you marry me?"
I clasp my hands over my mouth as emotion swirls inside me. It's all so sudden, and yet, so right. The last six months, keeping Amos at a distance, have been agony, but I did it for Kyra. Maybe it's time to do something for myself.
"Even if you say no, I'm gifting this place to you," Amos says. "So don't say yes for the house. Say yes because you feel thesame way I do. Say yes because you need me the way I need you. Because being apart for even one more day will destroy me. Say yes because it's the only answer you could possible give."
I look into his eyes, so open and full of love, and there's only one answer to this question.
"Yes. Yes, yes! I'll marry you, Amos. With or without the house."
He slides the ring on my finger and then his arms are around me, lifting me off the floor. I'm laughing and he's laughing, and as he spins me around, I feel a release I didn't know I needed. For so many years I've been putting the kids first. And it feels good to make a decision because it's what I want.
Tears course down my cheeks, and when Amos sets me down his face drops in dismay.
"I didn't mean to make you cry." He wipes his thumbs across my cheeks, wiping the tears away.
"They're happy tears. I can't believe you did this. This house is perfect."
He barks out a laugh. "I'd hardly call the crumbling walls and creaky floorboards perfect."
"Those things can be fixed."
He keeps his arms around my waist and I lean against them to look back at him, my fiancé. "This is the most thoughtful gesture that anyone could make. But it won't be easy."
"I know." He nods. "But we'll work through it."
He kisses my tears away and with his warm breath on my cheek, a new sensation grips my body. It's been six months since I sleptwith Amos, and now every move he makes has my body waking up to his touch.
He must feel the same, because he gives me a hooded look and his lips brush mine. I lean in for more, but he pulls away.
"Come on." He slides my hand into his and pulls me toward the door. "I haven't shown you the best bit yet."
27
AMOS
There's a trapdoor in the hallway just outside the main bedroom. I tug on the string that hangs down, and wooden stairs slide into position. Alana looks at me in amazement, her eyes wide.
"There's another level?"
Her amazement makes me grin. "After you."
She goes up the small steps, and I follow. The attic is large, and it will be good for storage. But the part I want to show her is toward the back of the house. We step over dusty floorboards to get to a rickety wooden door that leads out to the top of the roof. I have to shove it hard to get it open. Just one more thing to add to the list of repairs the house needs.
We step out onto the flat part of the roof, and I watch Alana's expression as she takes in the roof terrace. Her eyes go wide in amazement, and then she frowns when she sees the small wrought-iron railing around the edge, the only thing separating us from a fall to the ground.
"This is definitely not kid-proof," Alana says.
"We'll need a higher railing and a lock on the door. But this space is just for you and me."
I come up behind her and slide my arms around her waist, and she leans back against me. From here, you can see the lights of Hope in one direction and the dark woods in the other. I tilt my head back, and above me stars twinkle in the night sky. It's a warm spring night, and a soft breeze whispers across my bare arms.
I kiss the top of her head and breathe in the scent of her. It feels so damn good to have her in my arms.
