“I am. I even asked your mom for permission.”
She choked out a laugh, imagining how that conversation must have gone. “Oh, you didn’t.”
“I did. Because while my family is a hot mess, yours isn’t. I thought it would mean a lot to you.”
She sighed. “It does.”
“Tori?”
She couldn’t stop staring at the ring. “Hmm?”
“Will you marry me?”
She looked up at him, all gray stormy eyes and wild hair and sexy vulnerability. It was hard to believe that a chance affair months earlier had led to this moment, but it had, and he was standing before her, asking her to be his wife.
And she knew now, without a doubt, that he’d lied to his mom and he’d been honest every step of the way. The proof was in his smiles, in his tender gestures, in the way he made her laugh. In the way they made love. He wasn’t perfect. And neither was she. But he was hers, and she was his, and it was time she had a little faith.
So she nodded, said yes, and told him to put it on her finger.
When he slid it over her knuckle, she started to cry. It was beautiful, but what it meant was more so. They’d stopped being afraid and had started facing things together.
He kissed her softly, his lips cold from the wind. “So that’s not the only surprise,” he said against her mouth.
“It’s not?”
“Don’t you wonder why I brought you here?”
She looked around. The for-sale sign was gone from the yard. There was a wreath on the door. “I don’t know, but don’t you think the owners will wonder why we’re standing out here on their bluff?”
He reached into his pocket again, and this time he took out a key and placed it in her palm.
She lifted startled eyes to his.
“I doubt it, since I’m the new owner.”
“You... What?”
He grinned at her now, excitement flashing through his smile. “You love it here. I love it here. I don’t necessarily want to relocate, but can you think of a better summer home? You can be close to your mom whenever you want. We can spend summer days building sandcastles with our kids on the beach. We can put a boat in here and sail down the coast. Have bonfires in the back. Marrying
me shouldn’t have to mean you leave home behind. Not when we can manage to have you here. And if you want to keep up with your innkeeper roots...” He swept his arm to the other side of the property. “The guesthouse is there. You’re right. You could turn it into a vacation rental with no trouble at all. If you want to.”
She couldn’t believe it. “You bought me...a house? For Christmas?”
He nodded.
She started to laugh. And then she laughed more and more until the sound of it echoed through the winter air.
“What’s so funny?” His brows pulled together.
“Just that when we were looking at houses, you said this one wasn’t large enough to suit. And now it’s yours.”
“I said it wasn’t suited for Bran. Me? Well, I realized that it’s not the house but the love inside it that matters.” He spread his arms wide. “I came from a huge mansion with every advantage, but little love. Honey, let me tell you, this house is plenty big enough, as long as you’re inside it.”
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. She wasn’t sure if fate was a thing, or serendipity, or what, but something had brought him here last summer and turned her world upside down. It was wonderful.
“Let’s go inside,” she suggested.
“You’ve got the key.”