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I pushed the key inside the doorknob, unlocked it, and opened the door. Then I urged her inside.
Indy cautiously stepped inside, her eyes roaming through the empty space for a long time. When she brought her eyes to mine, I could see the questions lingering in them, and I wasn’t surprised when she asked, “You bought a house?”
“Technically, I didn’t buy it yet,” I told her. “Every day, when you’ve gone to work, I’ve been taking steps to make the dream I have for my future a reality. So, I’ve been looking for homes, and I found this one. I thought it was the perfect place for us to start our lives together, and I wanted to surprise you with it. Fortunately, the current owners were suckers for a love story, and they were willing to grant me access to the house so I could show it to you before I bought it.”
She didn’t respond.
Indy stared at me for a long time, and I started to grow nervous about what was going through her mind.
Unable to stand the suspense while also wanting to make sure this moment was everything I had hoped it would be, I decided to speak again.
“If this isn’t what you want, it’s okay,” I assured her. “It’s the reason I decided to hold off on purchasing the home before you could see it. I figured if we were going to be building a life together, I needed to make sure I started doing things in a way a man in a committed relationship with the woman he loves would do them. So, I searched and found this, but ultimately, this needs to be a decision we make together.”
There was another long stretch of silence before Indy nodded and asked, “Will you show me around the house?”
At least she wasn’t saying no.
“Of course.”
I took her by the hand and led her through each room in the house. She didn’t say much of anything, and I constantly had my eyes on her, taking in her reaction to every room we entered.
The house wasn’t a mansion, but it was notably bigger than the one-bedroom space we were currently in.
When we’d finally checked out the whole house and made our way back to the first floor and into the kitchen, I asked, “So, what do you think?”
“It’s a beautiful home.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t know how I could possibly say otherwise.”
Though she was answering my questions, I could still see some hesitation lingering. I didn’t want Indy to feel forced to give me the answer she thought she needed to give me, especially if it was making her uncomfortable.
So, I decided to do what I probably should have done first, given what I knew about how she might have reacted to this.
“Before you say anything else, I have a confession to make,” I told her.
That caught her by surprise. “What?”
Taking both of her hands in mine, I admitted, “There is one purchase I did make that I didn’t tell you about.”
Her brows pulled together. “Okay. But you say that like you think I need to give you permission.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “I know I don’t need your permission, but that doesn’t mean I don’t value your input.”
“That’s sweet of you to say, Griffin.”
I released one of her hands, reached into my pocket, and said, “I’m not trying to be sweet, sugar. I just want you to know how I plan to do things moving forward.” I pulled the box out of my pocket and held it up between us as I got down on one knee. “You mean the world to me, Indy. When I left Blue Spruce back in April to head to Hawaii, it took me less than a week to know you were the woman I wanted to marry. Being there without you, I was in misery. Not even surfing could fill the void. And every winter, I was chasing storms, thinking I wanted the thrill of riding in the perfect powder conditions, never realizing what I was searching for the whole time was you. It was you all along, and now I want to make you mine forever.” I paused a moment, taking in the streaks of tears that had rolled down her cheeks. “Indy Watson, love of my life, will you marry me?”
It took her almost no time at all. Bobbing her head up and down, she started to lean down with outstretched arms to hug me. I wrapped my arms around her and stood as she rasped, “Yes, Griffin Ross. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
The two of us held on for a long time, neither one willing to loosen our hold. But eventually, I decided I wanted my ring on her finger, so I was the one who forced us to separate slightly. I pulled the ring from the box and slid it on her finger.
The biggest smile I’d ever seen formed on her face as she marveled at the ring. When she brought her eyes to mine, she asked, “So, is this going to be our new home?”
“If you want it to be, it will be.”
“How soon can we move in?”
