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“You love me too?” he asked.
“I do,” she said, “I didn’t realize it until I walked away, but I do love you, Stone.”
“I think that I’ve loved you since the night you agreed to share my bed, honey. Can you forgive me for letting you leave?” he asked.
“I can if you can forgive me for leaving,” she insisted.
“Already done, honey,” he agreed. “So, where do we stand on you moving back into my place—this time on a permanent basis? I want you to live with me,” he said.
“I’d like that,” she agreed without hesitation. “I think that my place is a little crowded now. My brother is still living there and he’s got a girlfriend. Three’s a crowd,” she teased.
“Well, his gaining a girlfriend is my good fortune,” Stone said.
“I think that she’s more than his girlfriend,” Jolene said. “She was wearing an engagement ring and when I asked my brother if he was engaged, he didn’t give me a straight answer.”
“Well, good for Jacob,” Stone said. “I think that marriage is a wonderful institution,” he said.
“Um, you do?” she squeaked.
He shrugged, trying for casual. “I do,” he said. “In fact, I was kind of hoping that you’d be willing to wear this,” he said, pulling a ring box from his gym shorts and holding it out to her.
“What’s this?” she asked taking the box from him.
“Open it,” he insisted. Jo did and her gasp filled the space between them. Everyone watching them went completely silent and he was sure that he could hear his own heart beating.
“Do you like it?” he breathed.
“I love it, Stone,” she whispered, holding the box out, studying the ring.
“Marry me, Jolene,” he asked.
“But you just asked me to move in with you,” she reminded.
“I know that,” he said, “and now, I’m asking you to marry me. I kind of felt like since I was asking for an inch, I might as well as for the whole damn mile. I love you, Jolene, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Move in with me, marry me—all of it,” he said.
She handed him back the ring and his heart sank. “I’d like for you to put this on me, Stone,” she said. “I’d love to move in with you and marry you.”
“You would?” he asked.
“I would,” she agreed. “Now, will you put that beautiful ring on me or what?” she asked. He grabbed the diamond ring with his shaking hand and put it on her finger. Jolene squealed and jumped up and down, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him down for a kiss.
“You know,” she said, quickly breaking their kiss, “this doesn’t get you out of doing your therapy, right?”
“I know,” he grumbled.
“Because therapy is important. You’re going to do your therapy and then, we can celebrate,” she insisted.
“Yes, dear,” he mumbled, pretending to be upset about the whole deal.
“You know, a girl can get used to her future husband saying those words to her.”
“What words?” he asked.
“Yes, dear,” she teased. “I like the sound of you saying those words to me.” He picked her up, spinning around with her, making her giggle.
“And I can get used to the sound of you being happy, honey,” he said. He had found the happiness that both of his sisters told him they wanted for him. He thought that they had lost their minds, but now, he understood. Jolene made him feel that sappy, lovesick feeling that both of his sisters talked about and he had to be the luckiest man on the planet that he found her.
“Getting shot was the best thing to happen to me,” he joked.
