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She held his stare for a long-loaded moment then slowly shook her head. “I know what this ring cost. You shouldn’t have done this. How can you pay this back?”
At that, he cocked his head, regarding her. She obviously thought he was going back to his old ways. Not thinking things through. Living on the edge. Making rash decisions. Before, he would’ve let her believe that. Not anymore. He stroked her fingers in his, enraptured by the warmth she made him feel. “I’m going to sell my house.”
She blinked. Twice. “But that’s Blackshaw land. You would never do that.”
“You’re right—before I never would have sold Blackshaw land.” He squeezed her hand tighter, aware people around them were watching them now. He didn’t care. Megan mattered. Only her. “But now, there’s you, and what this ring meant to you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“I should have done something like this for you a long time ago,” he retorted. “I’m making up for that now.” He released her hand, and when she opened her fingers, he took the ring again. “It’s not the only thing I should have done either.” He slid off the bench, watching her teary eyes widen as he went down onto one knee. “You told me that this ring was a symbol for what love should be. Real love. True love. You’ve shown me that kind of love is possible. And damn if I won’t love you the rest of my life for it.” He paused. Then, knowing he was doing things exactly right, he said, “This ring first told the love story of your grandparents. Now this ring will tell our story. I love you, Megan. Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes, of course, I’ll marry you.” She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, Nash. I love you so much.”
He held her tight until he needed more. She cupped his face, pressing her lips against his. It was a perfect kiss in a perfect moment that he’d never forget.
Hoots and hollers, as well as clapping, suddenly surrounded them. Megan broke the kiss with a gasp. That was when he noticed the group of people around them. Some were River Rock residents. Others Nash didn’t know personally. He appreciated the congratulations, nonetheless.
Turning away from them, he slid the ring onto her left ring finger.
Megan stared down at the ring with smile that made him know he’d made the right choice. He always fought to protect the Blackshaw name and his family’s land. But none of it mattered without Megan in his life.
She laughed softly and glanced up, tears on her cheeks. “We seem to keep giving the town something to talk about.”
Heat consumed him when he slid his hand over her nape. “Then let’s really give them something to talk about.” His mouth met hers, and for once in his life, Nash knew he’d gotten this perfectly right.
* * *
After making the rounds of phone calls to spill the news to family on both sides, which took longer than expected since both Jenny and her mom spent a while crying in joy and then talking wedding plans, Megan called Jannie. Megan wasn’t sure how Dad would feel about it all, but she decided to think of herself from here on out and enjoy the fact that she was blissfully happy.
That was until she followed Nash through the kitchen and the dining room of the new house. Gus squeezed his way past them, entering each room first and taking up a lot of space. God, he was a big dog. She supposed that’s why Nash had an open-concept house.
Once they were in the living room, Nash examined the space and then stared out the big front window. Megan had been quiet, trying to let him absorb the new house that he would be moving into that he had no say in.
“We’re going to have to downsize our furniture,” he said, glancing at the small space. “Not a bad thing. We can sell my stuff and use the money for baby furniture.”
She hadn’t thought of that, and she shrugged. “That’s actually a really good idea. It’ll help for sure.” Hell, when she picked this place, it was only going to be her and the baby. Now, looking around, she realized he was right—none of Nash’s furniture would fit into the new house. His log home had space for large couches and tables. None of that would fit in here.
Megan’s chest got a little heavy at that, as she followed Nash up the stairs.
“Isn’t this staircase incredible?” she said.
He ran his hand up the shiny wood. “Gorgeous.”
When they reached the landing, he entered the smallest room first. “Good office.”
“I thought that too.”
He turned down the hallway and passed the bathroom, glancing inside, but didn’t comment and moved on. Gus charged into the master bedroom first. Megan looked on in slight horror as Gus walked between the bed and the wall, then realized he couldn’t turn around and had to back up out of the space.
Nash glanced back at Megan. She smiled and shrugged. “It’s a little small.”
“He’ll get used to it,” Nash said gently, then moved on down the hallway. When he entered the nursery, he walked into the center of the room. He studied the space with his normal intensity, his expression showing very little.
“So . . .” she finally asked, fiddling her fingers, unable to stand the silence. “Now that you’ve seen it all, what do you think?”
“I really like this room.” He smiled.
She melted a little and moved closer. “I fell in love with it too. Maybe it’s the soft lighting or the crib?”
