“I’ll admit, I never imagined this moment going down this way,” said Ryan. I looked to him and saw his wry, impish grin. “But that’s what makes this special. Our situation is extraordinary because you’re an extraordinary woman, Sammara. I couldn’t imagine myself — or any of us — with anyone else.”
I turned to Jason last, tears streaming down both my cheeks. He smiled up at me as I blinked them away. “You know a part of me was broken,” he said genuinely. “But you fixed it. Having you in our lives has brought the four of us that much closer. We can only hope to give you even a fraction of the love you’ve given to us.”
Their hands moved in unison, opening four identical boxes. Revealing four very different diamond rings. I was weeping openly as they spoke together.
“Will you marry us?”
I couldn’t breathe. I could barely see. I just kept crying and crying, wiping away my tears of joy. Smiling from ear to ear as my heart felt like it was about to explode with happiness.
My legs were shaking. I could barely stand…
“The question kinda requires an answer,” Dakota winked.
“YES!”
They all rose at once, closing in from all sides. Kyle took my hand first. He slid his ring onto my finger; a radiant-cut, perfectly clear stone on a yellow gold band. I cried as he kissed my cheek, then handed my wrist to Dakota.
“I love you,” Dakota whispered, in his sexy mid-western drawl. He slid on an identical ring, right next to Kyle’s, only his band looked silver, or platinum, or—
“We all love you,” said Ryan, going next. The band from his ring was a beautiful rose gold. He winked at me. “Just remember I’m the best.”
I laughed, and a fresh set of tears made their way downward. A tender hand wiped them away, and I looked up into the smiling face of Jason.
“Bullshit,” he said with a grin. “Everyone knows the best is saved for last.”
The band of his ring was a little darker, but no less lustrous. He slid it snugly against the others, looking deep into my eyes the whole time.
For a long moment, no one spoke. All eyes were on my one trembling finger, now sparking in the candlelight.
“Here,” said Kyle, stepping up again. “Let me show you something.”
He took my hand, rotating the rings slightly until all four diamonds formed a perfect square. Then he pushed them together, ever so gently…
Click.
The four bands snapped flawlessly into each other, forming a single ring. The diamonds formed what looked like a single beautiful jewel, made up of four equal parts.
I was completely speechless. Lost in a sea of thousand emotions.
“I…”
Nothing could describe the moment. No words could ever say what I needed to convey. What I needed them to know, all four of them, in their hearts and minds.
“I—I…”
My throat was locked up. My eyes, glassed over with tears.
I had to try anyway.
“I LOVE you!” I practically yelled. I was bawling now. Uncontrollably. “I love you, and you and you and you!”
I spun around, making sure I faced them all. Then I was reaching out for them. Hugging them, as they closed in around me.
“You’ve made me the happiest girl in the world!” I said, half-laughing, half-crying.
“World?” smiled Ryan. “More like universe!”
I laughed again at our own little inside joke, feeling their arms go around me. Feeling each of them lift me, one by one, into their strong, powerful embrace.