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I’ve been thinking about it, and I know just the spot. At night, when the Hidden Pearl Resort’s Christmas lights come on, there’s one particular spot on the beach where the reflections catch on the water and sparkle in shimmering rainbows.
When we reach the spot, I pause. “Just look at that,” I tell her.
She gazes out over the water. “Wow….breathtaking,” she murmurs.
I reach out and brush my fingers along the curve of her cheek. “Still doesn’t compare.”
She blushes and shakes her head, smiling. “You’re so sappy.”
“Yeah, well, it’s about to get sappier,” I tell her, reaching into my pocket.
She looks at me in confusion, and her face shifts to one of shock as I sink down to one knee in the sand and hold up the little velvet box.
“I know it’s not Christmas yet, but I couldn’t resist giving you this one early,” I tell her, flipping the lid open to reveal the ring, “But I’m asking for a pretty big present in return. The best gift you could possibly give me. Hazel Jayne Hughes, I love you more than life itself, and I want to spend the rest of my days with you. The good, the bad, and everything in between…will you be my wife?”
Tears are pouring down Hazel’s cheeks and for a moment, she just nods, too choked up to speak, before finally squeaking out tearful “Yes!”
I pluck the ring from its little velvet cradle and take Hazel’s left hand in mine, sliding it onto her finger, pleased to see that, just like everything else, it’s a perfect fit.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hazel
Three Weeks Later
“That’s it?”
“That’s it?”
“No, there’s got to be more, what about all of those kitchen boxes?”
“Done?”
“All the books?”
“Shelved and alphabetized. And I made the bed, too.”
Chip shakes his head in disbelief. “You’re an unpacking machine, Hazel, I don’t know how you did all of that in the time it took us to set up my sound system.”
I hold up my hand and wiggle my fingers. “Long nails,” I explain, “I get through tape like a fucking beast.”
He and Brendon both laugh. It’s true, though, the nails do help. My pretty flowers from the resort had already chipped away, sadly, but Brendon’s sister had bought me a nail-art-stamping kit for Christmas, and now I was learning to do some fun designs for myself.
At the moment, they were black with tiny golden snowflakes patterned all over them, but unpacking had done a number on the polish, so I’d already been spending a little time contemplating what my next design would be.
“Well, to be fair, setting this shit up took us fucking forever,” Brendon says, gesturing to the elaborate surround-sound speaker setup the guys had been spending the afternoon working on while I flurried through boxes.
“Trust me, it’s worth it,” Chip promises.
“So, are we all done working for the day?” I ask, “Because I think we’ve earned a break.”
“Yeah, I think we’re calling it. Do we want to order some food or something? I haven’t really stocked the kitchen yet.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of breaking in that nice new bed of yours,” I offer, wiggling my eyebrows at the both of them.
I don’t have to tell them twice. We leave a trail of clothing in our wake, and by the time we stumble into the bedroom, I’m wearing nothing but a pair of socks. Chip’s kissing me while we walk, and it’s taking quite a bit of focus to make my way through the room backwards. I’m positive I’m going to trip over something and ruin the moment completely by falling on my ass.
I suppose, technically, I do end up falling on my ass, but it’s one the bed. My calves hit the edge of the mattress and I lose my balance, falling backward into the sheets.
