Page 126 of Teach Me Your Ways

“Would that be the worst thing?” he asked, amusement tugging at his mouth.

“No.” I popped the box open and stared down, not sure I understood what I was looking at. Yes, I did feel a hint of disappointment. “A pendant? Oh wait.”

It was the Roman Promise Pendant. The one from his office. The one I’d stared at too many times when he wasn’t looking. The one I saw that night when we’d first met and I was straddling him.

“I thought you lost this,” I said, touching the worn metal. “When I asked you about it, you said you thought it might have been misplaced during the remodel.”

He grinned. “Nope. I knew exactly where it was. It’s yours. I will always look at that and remember you storming into my world and forever changing me.”

“In the best way, right?” I teased.

“Of course.”

It wasn’t a ring, but it was perfect. It meant something and it was special to us. I liked that only the two of us understood the significance of the pendant. No average Joe was going to look at the thing and understand. It was our little secret.

“I have something else for you,” he said quietly.

Before I could ask what he meant, he pulled out another box. Smaller. Square. Very obviously a ring box.

I froze. “Grady, oh my god.”

“I was going to do this later, when you were slightly less murderous. But I couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to do this. We’re going to make a lot of memories together and I don’t want them to overshadow this one. When you agree to be my wife, I want to make sure it’s a memory you are never going to forget. I want you to remember every detail of this morning.”

He dropped to one knee. I could barely see him through the tears welling in my eyes. I couldn’t believe it was happening. We tossed around plans for our future, but we never really talked about marriage. There just never seemed to be a right time to talk about it and I was happy with him and us as we were.

“I don’t want to waste any more time pretending I don’t know exactly what I want,” he said. “I want you, Cece. You and Sophie and your mother and your waffles with strawberries. I want all of it. I want us to travel and show Sophie everything this world has to offer. I want to spend the rest of my life showing three of my favorite ladies on the planet how special you all are to me. I want to wake up with you every morning and plan a new adventure. I want to go to bed every night with you in my arms thinking about our tomorrow.”

My hands flew to my mouth. “You’re crazy.”

“I love you,” he said. “Marry me.”

The sun chose that moment to highlight the most handsome man in the world with a yellow beam of light. It highlighted his dirty blond hair and the scruff on his jaw. His green eyes looked even greener. I had to close my eyes like the shutter of a camera clicking. The memory was locked away. The image of him would be there for me to revisit for the rest of my days.

I opened my eyes and looked down at him. I wiped away the tears and smiled, my head bobbing up and down.

“Is that a yes?”

I dropped to my knees in front of him and kissed him. “Of course it’s a yes.”

He slid the ring on my finger. It fit perfectly. Of course it did. Grady was observant. Attentive. He would make sure the ring would slide on and stay on, even while digging in the jungle.

Behind us, the sky burst open in a brilliant display of yellows and oranges. I felt it on my skin and in my very soul.

Grady pulled me close. “This is it,” he whispered into my hair. “This is the moment we’ll remember when we’re old and tired.”

I tilted my head to look up at him, nose brushing his. “I hope we’re never too tired for adventure.”

“Promise me we won’t be,” he said. “You might have to push my old ass around in a wheelchair, but I’ll always be up for anything with you. Promise me you won’t get tired of me and trade me in for a younger model.”

“Sorry, bud, you are stuck with me. And you will not get old. I forbid it.”

He laughed. “Deal. I don’t want to be one of those old guys who just sits around telling stories about the good old days.”

“Oh, you’ll have plenty of stories,” I teased, leaning into him. “But I’ll make sure we’re still making new ones. Even if it’s just sneaking out of the nursing home to go on a midnight dig.”

“Deal,” he said. He kissed me again, slow and deep, and for a moment, the world around us faded away. It was just us.

When we finally pulled apart, he stood and helped me to my feet. “Come on,” he said, taking my hand. “Let’s get back down and get my fiancée some breakfast.”