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Giving me a little half-smile, Ryan held out his hand to me.
“Come with me,” he ordered.
Raising my brow, I slid my hand in his.
Intertwining our fingers, he turned and led me out of the room.
“Where are we going?” I asked him with a small laugh as we continued down the stairs.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he told me, shooting a wink over his shoulder.
“What kind of surprise?”
“You’ll just to wait and see.”
I grinned and rolled my eyes, but I let him continue to lead me out the back door. Stepping out onto the back porch, I froze, stunned.
“Ryan? What…?”
“Surprise,” he said and chuckled, letting go of my hand and stepping aside so I could take in the whole scene unobstructed.
There were candles in mason jars set out all throughout the porch and down in the yard, giving everything a soft, warm glow. Toward the middle of the yard was a picnic blanket, on which sat a platter of cheese, crackers, meat, and other finger foods, as well as a bottle of wine.
“What is all this?” I gasped.
Ryan took my hand again and pulled me along down the porch steps and toward the blanket. Reaching it, we sat, and Ryan picked up the bottle of wine. Opening it, he poured two glasses, handing one to me. I took it, baffled, still uncertain what in the world was going on.
“I wanted to give you a little bit of romance tonight,” he told me at length. “We’ve been so busy the last few weeks that we haven’t had much time together, just the two of us.”
“I suppose that’s true.” I nodded before taking a sip of the wine. “There’s just been so much happening.”
“I know,” Ryan agreed. “It’s been crazy, but things will settle down soon, I promise. I’ve almost got everything figured out with the company. I’ll be able to work primarily from home, and we’ll only have to go into the city a few times a month.”
“We?” I bit my lip, my heart hammering. “You want us to go with you?”
“Of course,” he assured me. “I don’t want us to ever be apart, Sam. I’ve missed so much time because I was an idiot, I’m not about to lose any more with you and Henry.”
I released a deep breath and nodded. “I understand. I don’t want to be apart from you either, Ryan.”
He set his glass down and reached over to take my hand.
“I’m serious, Sam,” he said, his tone insistent. “I love you so much, I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you. You or Henry. We’ve been talking about being a family, but I want us to make that official.”
I blinked at him, caught off guard. “What does that mean? Official?”
Holding my gaze, he reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a square, velvet jewelry box. My heart seemed to stop.
“Ryan…” I breathed.
“Sam, I’m sorry that I didn’t recognize when we were younger just how crazy I’ve always been for you,” he began. “There has never been anyone else for me but you. Even when I denied it, you were there, in my heart, a permanent fixture. I love you, Sam. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you make me happier than I’ve ever been and marry me?”
For a moment, I could only stare at him, totally speechless. I hadn’t expected this outcome, not really. I mean, I wanted to marry him and assumed it would happen one day, but I hadn’t anticipated that he’d ask me so soon.
My silence appeared to make him nervous. He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Sam?” he murmured. “Are you okay?”
I snapped out of my daze and nodded vigorously.
