AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A way to prove it?
We didn’t discuss this.
Where is he going with this? Does he have something up his sleeve that he didn’t warn me about?
“If you think you can, then do it,” Dad grunts. He has a surly look on his face that tells me he wants to believe and trust in what I’m saying – but he just can’t because his protective instinct won’t let him.
“I will,” Finlay nods, and then he gets up from the couch, prompting me to look up at him with wide eyes of surprise and confusion.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Finlay
Alana stares at me in utter confusion. I would laugh at her expression if I wasn’t so nervous right now.
I know that the time to do this is now, and I’m almost sure this is going to be well-received. It’s just that whenever you take this kind of step, you can never really be absolutely sure until you do it.
I drop down on one knee in front of both Alana and the phone’s camera, knowing I’m still on screen for her parents to witness this special moment.
There is an audible gasp from both Sandra and Alana, and Alana’s hands fly up to cover her mouth. I have no idea how her dad, Rod, is reacting because I can’t tear my eyes away from Alana to check the screen.
Only one person matters at this moment, and I’m not going to miss her reaction to watch someone else’s.
No matter how important in this equation her parents might happen to be, it’s Alana who deserves my attention the most.
“Alana Covington,” I say, beginning the speech I have been secretly working on in my mind since that second day. “I know we have only known each other for a short time, but something in me knew it the very moment I first saw you.
“You are the woman I have been waiting for my whole life. You are the reason everything has happened the way it has – because the universe knew it was sending you to me one day. I can’t express it any more clearly than this.
“I truly believe we are meant to spend our lives together. Please, do me the honor of taking my hand in marriage. Please stay by my side for the rest of my days.”
I reach into my pocket and draw out the ring box, snapping it open at the same time so that she can see the antique ring. It belonged to my mother, my grandmother before her, and my great-grandmother before that.
The ancestral ring is passed from Laird to Laird so that they can propose to their lady wife.
“Oh, my god,” Alana gasps, tears flooding her eyes and then spilling down her cheeks over the beautiful smile that lights up her face. “Oh, my god, Finlay! Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you! Yes!”
I laugh and find myself blinking back tears as well, sliding the ring onto her finger and finding it a perfect fit. I had expected that I might need to send it off to have it altered by the jeweler in the village, but it’s like it was made for her already.
Just one more sign that we were destined.
Once it’s on her finger, she half-falls down into my arms as I lift up off my knee to embrace her, springing up and lifting her into the air as we both laugh and cry simultaneously.
I feel that same lightness in my heart, an almost unbearable happiness, an utter joy that is stronger than anything I have ever felt before in my life.
This truly is what I’ve been waiting for my entire life.
There is a choked noise from the screen. It brings me back to the present moment with all its realities.
I gather my composure as much as I can and help Alana sit back down on the sofa, clutching her arm and hand openly, this time in full view of her parents.
Her face is flushed from crying but is still illuminated by that gorgeous smile that seems to lift the gloom from every single corner of the room.
“Oh, darling,” Sandra says in a choked voice, wiping a tear away from her own face. Even Rod looked a little mollified, a little emotional.
“If you’re sure about taking this course,” her dad says, his tone begrudging – but it’s good enough for me.
“Of course, I am, Dad,” Alana says. “I’ve only been here a week, and Finlay has already made me the happiest that I’ve ever been in my life. And it’s not just that – the estate, too. It’s so beautiful here.”
