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“What are you doing?” Lilly asks as I lead her to the love seat for no other reason than I like it has the wordlovein it.
“You take a seat there.” I guide Lilly onto the cushion.
She looks around wildly at my parents, then at me with an expression that says she thinks I might have gone crazy, but I also see her lips twitching in amusement.
“These are for you,” I say as I sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of her, our knees touching. I hand over the flowers and watch her eyes widen with delight.
She takes a delicate sniff and smiles at me over the blooms. “These are beautiful. What’s the occasion?”
“There never needs to be an occasion to give flowers to a beautiful woman,” I chide, and Lilly blushes. Fucking one of the reasons I love her so much. “But there just happens to be an occasion.”
Lilly laughs. “I guess moving to a new house is an occasion.”
“That’s not the occasion,” I say and then hold the ring box in the palm of my hand for her to see.
Her eyes drop to it and her entire body tenses. She stares at it in what might be horror and I wonder how big of a mistake I’ve just made. This is far too soon after Aiden’s funeral to be asking her to commit her life to mine. She just lost the most important person in her life and I’m a total clod for even thinking this was the right time.
I’m on the verge of chucking the ring over my shoulder when Lilly’s eyes snap up to mine and she yells, “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“The answer’s yes!” she confirms, eyes dropping back to the box with a nod.
“You don’t even know what’s in here,” I point out.
“Pretty sure it’s a ring.”
“You were looking at it like it was a venomous snake.”
“Merely caught off guard,” she assures me. “But the answer is yes.”
“I have an entire speech planned,” I say, dramatizing the nonexistent irritation I have that she ruined my proposal.
Lilly grins and motions with her hand. “I’m so sorry. Please proceed.”
My dad snickers but I don’t dare look his way or I’ll bust out laughing. Giving a chastising look at Lilly, I take the flowers from her hands so I can see her fully and set them on the table behind me.
I don’t bother going down on one knee. It seems uncomfortable and besides, we’re eye to eye right where we’re at, and I don’t ever want her to doubt my words.
“Lilly,” I begin, my voice strong and true because I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. “I watched you through your absolute toughest moments. Your strength, resilience and boundless love amazed me every single day. Even in the darkest times, your determination shone bright. A beacon I found myself helplessly drawn to.”
I expected no less, but tears form in her eyes. They are a thing of beauty today and I love that she never hides her emotion from me. It’s that unwavering spirit that makes me fall more in love with her every day.
“When I first met Aiden,” I continue, my voice thick with emotion, “I never imagined how deeply I would grow to love him. But watching him, and more so watching you with him, changed me. Experiencing his loss beside you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Yet, through it all, you became my role model. You showed me what true love, bravery and sacrifice mean. In the midst of our pain, I found solace in you. I found a love so profound, it’s impossible to put into words. And I realized that I want to spend the rest of my life honoring what we have, cherishing every moment, and facing every challenge hand in hand with you. I promised Aiden I would take care of you forever and I mean to honor that. Will you let me? Will you be my wife and let me love you for the rest of our lives?”
The beautiful moment is only slightly marred by my mother choking back a sob, but it’s Lilly I focus on. As my words pour out—admittedly practiced over the last few days because I didn’t want to forget a single important thing—I watch Lilly’s face grow softer. The silver tears spill freely down her cheeks and by the time I pop the ultimate question, she’s nodding her acceptance.
I mean, she already said yes, but this is icing on the cake.
Opening the box, I remove the ring and slide it on Lilly’s left ring finger. I then pull her into my arms, giving her a kiss that my parents really shouldn’t witness and if they weren’t here would’ve led us to the bedroom.
My girl is breathless when I let her up for air. Her eyes shine with a happiness I’ve yet to witness on her gorgeous face. “Aiden is smiling right now,” she says.
“Yeah… I bet he is,” I murmur, hugging her tight to me. “You and me, Lilly. Through every high and low, he’ll only ever have reason to smile for us.”
Lilly pulls back, her eyes lasered onto mine. “We’ve faced so much together, haven’t we?”
I nod, my words strangled with emotion. “And we’ve come out stronger.” Taking her hand, I feel the reassuring weight of the ring. “Here’s to us, and all the challenges we’ll conquer together. I love you.”
“I love you,” she says, and then kisses me again.
Callum Derringer was hired by the Pittsburgh Titans to help rebuild the organization after a devastating plane crash left its future unknown. Now that he’s got the team back on track, it’s time to put some effort into his own life.
