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“You know, the old-fashioned, ask your father for your hand in marriage thing. I’m hoping this is where you say yes.”
She blinked and wondered if this was all a dream. Her father was one tough man when it came to men in her life. No one went to speak to him, definitely not willingly. Yet Gareth went there on his own and actually came out in one piece. Should she be impressed or scared?
“Brooke, are you going to answer me?” he asked.
“Gareth, I’m . . . you’re . . . sure about this, right? I mean . . . there is so much you don’t know about me.”
“And so much you don’t know about me either. But if you say yes, we’ll have a lifetime to find out.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “Brooke, until I met you, I never thought I’d want to settle down.”
“I know. You told me. That’s why I . . . I don’t know why you’re asking me to marry you now.”
“Sometimes you don’t know you’re missing something in your life, until you have it. And once you have it, you can’t picture being without it. For me, that is you, Brooke. Home is not the walls that surround us. It’s a feeling you carry inside. For me, home is waking with you in my arms every day. Whether it’s here, back in New York, or in Panama, I want to be where you are. Brooke, I’m not asking you to give up your life, I’m asking to be part of it.”
Her hands trembled, her legs wobbled, and her stomach fluttered. “Gareth, can you . . . will you . . . ask me again please?”
Gareth reached out to take her hand in his and dropped down on one knee. “Brooke Cortes, would you do me the honor of marrying me so we can spend the rest of our lives laughing, loving, and learning all about each other?”
“Gareth, no one can make me laugh like you do, and I have never felt so loved. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Gareth rose, dropped the flowers on the ground, and scooped her into his arms. She felt him wince as he kissed her. She loved the feel of his lips on hers, but she also felt how tense his body was.
Breaking their sweet reunion, she said, “Gareth, put me down.” He let her slide down him and back into the cool water. “You’re . . . hurting, aren’t you?”
“The only thing that would’ve hurt is if you had said no.”
She placed her hands on his chest. “If I’m going to be your wife, you might as well start telling me the truth. Are you okay?”
He shook his head. “I’m not supposed to be lifting anything more than ten pounds until I see the doctor again.”
“And you picked me up? Are you crazy?” she blurted.
He laughed. “I’ve been crazy about you since the first time I saw you.” Gareth pulled her even closer. “And when you kiss me like that, I freaking lose my mind.”
“So, you’re saying this is all my fault?” she teased.
“Absolutely. You stole my heart and won’t give it back. Now you’re stuck with me.”
Brooke smiled and stood on her tippy toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I hate to deliver bad news, but I’m holding your heart hostage. We can negotiate its return in about seventy years from now.”
Gareth laughed “I’ll be one hundred three by then.”
“Hmm. Do you know studies show a healthy, active sex life can actually add years to your life?”
“Really? I have no problem living to be one hundred fifty if it’s with you. But I think we should start working on it now. What do you say?”
Brooke said, “Okay, but until you get the all clear from the doctor—”
“Don’t you dare say we can’t make love,” Gareth warned.
Brooke snickered. “I was going to say, I’ll be on top.” She pulled him closer and said, “And I say we shoot for one seventy-five.”
The moment their lips made contact, she knew it was no dream. Dreams didn’t come as sweet at that. She’d come to Tabiq to learn about a culture, but in actuality, Tabiq had taught her more about herself. She hadn’t been searching, she’d been running. And for the first time in her life, she wasn’t dreaming of what came next. Because she had everything she could possible want.
