“I love you more than anyone can possibly be loved. And you’ve shown me what it truly means to love someone. So, Avery Poindexter, I would be incredibly honored if you would be my wife,” he proclaims, holding the ring higher in his grasp. “Will you marry me?”
It takes her a moment to catch her breath and gain some composure to answer his request.
“Logan, are you sure?” Avery asks hesitantly, certain he has made a mistake.
“Surer than I have been about anything in my entire life.”
“Yes! One hundred times, yes!” she exclaims as she falls down to her knees and wraps her arms around his neck, his free arm enclosing her around her waist.
“I love you, Avery,” he says into her neck, wetness settling onto the skin.
As Logan pulls back, Avery sees the moistness glistening in his eyes, confirming the tears she thought she had felt on her skin.
“I love you too, Logan,” she replies breathlessly as he slides the overly-large diamond onto her finger.
She knows Logan does well financially, but a diamond this size must have set him back a pretty penny.
“I can see the gears turning, the ring is part of the reason I’ve been so distant the past week, besides the fact I was nervous as hell.”
“You were nervous?”
“Of course I w
as. I can’t imagine you not in my life. Anyway, the diamond came from a necklace that belonged to your great-great-great-grandmother.”
Avery peers down at the perfectly cut oval diamond - which she’s guessing is about five-carats, set in a single band of white gold.
“Do you think that it’s bad luck...with my family history and…” Avery begins until Logan cuts her off by placing a kiss on her lips, silencing any more discussion.
“Sweetheart, it’s from your great-great-great-grandmother on your father’s side. Joseph gave it to me last week when I asked his permission to propose. He has rings set aside for all of his other children, but he wanted you to have this. It brought his family good luck when they traveled here from England to start a new life.”
“Oh wow,” Avery sighs, peering closer at the flawless diamond in awe.
“So I’ve spent the last week searching for someone – anyone - willing to pry it from the necklace and set it in a ring. Austin ran into someone yesterday and she offered to do it last night. He took me out after to celebrate the end of my bachelorhood, or so he says, and I’m sorry about the perfume. I swear, we talked about how the lady went swimming in it.
Her daughter called me this morning when the ring was finished. That’s why I needed to run off. But my plan was to propose today all along; I had a backup ring just in case I couldn’t find anyone nearby to take care of this one. It looks beautiful on you,” he says as he twirls the ring around her finger.
“I can’t believe you did all of that for me. You’re incredible.” Avery breathes out an excited gush of air. “Wow, we’re getting married!”
“We sure are. It will be one of the happiest days of my life.”
Logan stands and tugs her up into his arms, kissing her senseless, her patchwork heart beating mercilessly in her chest, confirming the notion that Logan is her savior, the only person capable of bringing her to life despite the pile of ashes.
They drive to her father’s house, excited to share their news but nervous about the family’s reaction. When they stroll into the house, later than the rest of the family, they find them all seated in the family room watching a football game. No one pays them any mind, except for Austin who shoots a conspiratorial wink in her direction.
She takes Logan’s hand in hers and they walk across the room to the large sofa that is occupied solely by Sydney. Logan stops along the way to greet Austin and Jameson, while Avery sits beside Sydney and smiles in her direction. She returns Avery’s smile and turns back to the television, but then she returns her gaze quickly as if something caught her off guard. Avery finds her staring at the obscenely large diamond on her small finger.
Unable to control her excitement, Sydney shouts, “Oh my God! What is that? Are you?”
Avery nods and then Sydney tugs Avery’s hand in her direction, which prompts a high-pitched squeal from her. The noise is immediately followed by more shrieking from the females in the room. Avery sneaks a glance at Logan just as her dad is releasing him from a hug and Austin is patting him on the back. Jameson reluctantly offers him a handshake.
A knock has Amy pulling away from Avery to answer the door, and Avery makes her way back to Logan where he wraps his arm around her shoulder.
“So I hear congratulations are in order?” a dark voice echoes from the entryway, his mother obviously filling him in on the news.
“Ryker!” Cassidy exclaims as she rushes forward to embrace her youngest brother.
Joseph steps ahead and hugs his son, tugging him toward the chair where Logan and Avery stand.