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She dug into the pocket of her running pants and pulled out a little drawstring pouch. “I don’t have a timeline or a plan, and I’m happy to wait as long as needed, but I really wanted you to know how much I love you and that I want to be with you forever, so…”
With shaking hands, she opened the bag and took out a men’s ring—a simple, polished band the color of the foggy sky.
“Grant Taylor, I love you.” She put the ring in her palm and extended it toward him. “Will you marry me?”
He looked from the ring to her. Shock descended over his features.
That couldn’t be good. Rory’s heart began to sink.
“I…” His throat worked with a swallow. He looked at the ring again and shook his head. “I can’t believe it.”
“I know it may be too soon,” she added quickly, “and like I said, I don’t have a timeline or anything, so it’s not as if I want to go to Vegas tonight or—”
Grant laughed suddenly—a rich, booming laugh that echoed over the white-capped water and mingled with the cawing of the seagulls. Rory stared at him. Her heart hammered.
He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her to him so swiftly that their bodies collided in a rush of heat. He brought his mouth down on hers in a hard, fast kiss that sent a shockwave of warmth right to her toes.
Well, that didn’t feel like a “no.”
“I love you.” He lifted his head, his eyes filled with tenderness and heat. “I’ve loved you a lot longer than I know, too, but I’m positive that everything between us happened exactly the way it was supposed to. Including this.”
He stepped away from her and reached into the pocket of his track jacket. When he pulled out a small velvet box, Rory gasped in astonishment.
“Rory Prescott, on December fifteenth, the anniversary of the first time we met…” He opened the box to reveal an elegant, white-gold band set with a rich sapphire. “Will you marry me, too?”
Rory couldn’t speak. She pressed a hand to her chest and struggled to find the words. “You…you’re kidding.”
He grinned. “I’m most definitely not kidding. I’ve been planning this for a while now. I was going to ask you at the Mousehole, but I wanted it to be private. Just you and me. And since we’re always alone when we go running, this seemed like the perfect time.”
Tears flooded Rory’s eyes. She pressed her hands to her face. “That’s exactly what I wanted. On the anniversary of the day we met. I can’t believe you remember.”
“I’ve never forgotten. Well, I didn’t remember the exact date until you mentioned it, but after you told me, I knew that when I asked you to marry me, it would be on the same day.”
“I can’t believe this.” She lowered her hands, staring at the sapphire ring in disbelief.
“I can.” He took her left hand in his and slipped the ring on her finger. “Destiny helped me pick the stone. I wanted it because it’s the color of your eyes, but she said it’s also a symbol of power and kindness, and that it provides protection and great fortune. That was good enough for me.”
“I love it.” She spread her hand out and admired the ring through blurry vision. “I love you. Oh! Here’s mine. I mean, yours.”
With a laugh, she reached for his left hand and held up the silver ring. “I picked it out because it’s classic, solid, and eternal, and it’s made of this super-strong metal that I can’t remember the name of, but if you were a ring, this is the one you would be. I had a special engraving put on it, too.”
She turned the ring toward the sunlight to reveal the grill fork and spatula, crossed in the shape of an X, on the inside curve.
“I love it.” His eyes were suspiciously bright. “It’s perfect. Like you.”
Rory slipped the band on his finger. He took both of her hands in his and pressed them to his chest.
“So will you marry me?” He lifted his eyebrows hopefully.
“Yes.” Rory smiled and threw her arms around him, hugging him close. “Yes.Will you marry me?”
“A thousand times yes.” He tightened his arms around her. “And then a thousand more.”
Their lips met in another warm kiss that contained infinite promises to be kept, wishes to be granted, laughs to share, and a powerful, unbreakable love that had found its forever home.
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Thank you for reading LOVE ME TENDER.
