He held me close and said, “Don’t cry, angel. Please don’t cry.”
Pulling back to look at him, I spoke between sobs. “Yes, oh, my gosh, yes!”
He laughed. “I haven’t even asked yet.”
“I don’t care!” I cried out. “The answer is yes!”
Wrapping my arms around him again, I cried tears of happiness. When I finally got myself settled down, Lucas helped me stand, and we sat on the bench in the gazebo.
“This ring,” he said as he took it out of the box and slipped it onto my finger, “was my great-grandmother’s. My father gave it to me. My mom wanted a yellow diamond, so he saved this for whichever of his kids would want it. I lucked out.”
I wiped the tears from my face as I got a better look at the stunningly beautiful round diamond with the double halo of smaller diamonds. There was a crisscross pattern down the side, and it was set in what I thought was white gold. I couldn’t stop staring at it.
“Is it white gold?”
“Platinum.”
My eyes shot up to his. “Lucas, this ring must be worth a small fortune. Are you sure…?”
“Look at it again, Hollie. It fits you like it was made for you.”
Tearing up again, I held it up and gasped once more. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life.”
He smiled.
“I had this whole beautiful night planned on Christmas, and I was going to ask you then. Even bought a Christmas bulb to put the ring in. Shawn and Kristin are going to be pissed because they had planned on setting up the house for when I asked.”
I laughed and another sob slipped free. “No, I love that you did it in the moment. It means so much more to me.”
“Are you cold? Should we go back in?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “No. The little heater is working great. What made you decide to ask me tonight? Out of the blue like that.”
He looked down, and I could tell he was nervous. With a deep breath in, he looked at me. “An old college professor of mine stopped by my office the other day. He asked if I wanted to help head up a dig site in Ireland. It’s a four-thousand-year-old Bronze Age burial site. It’s a rare find and an archaeologist’s dream come true. I love my job here in Salem, but this…this is why I became an archaeologist. He wants me to leave two days after Christmas, and it would be at least a six-to-eight-month commitment. At first, my reply was no.”
“Why would you say no if this is something you’ve always dreamed of?”
“I didn’t want to leave you, and I would never ask you to just up and leave your life here for months on end. Not when you’ve been doing so good.”
Taking his hand in mine, I said, “Lucas, our relationship is going to be about give and take. If I’m giving now, I’m positive there will be a time when I’m taking and you’re giving. It’s about compromise and doing what makes each other happy. Right now, I simply want to be with you. I know you’ll be busy probably each day, but we’ll be together and in Ireland!”
A wide smile broke across his face. “You can even help at the site if you want.”
I perked up. “Would I get to have my own little brush to use?”
Lucas laughed. “I’ll get you your very own kit. How’s that?”
“With my name on it?”
He nodded as he wore a wide smile.
“It’s like what I said earlier, my home is where you are, Lucas.”
He kissed my wrist, and my stomach fluttered. “My home is where you are as well.”
“So, are we going to do this?”
“Wait—what about the parties you already have planned? We won’t be here for New Year’s.”
