Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

I gulped, having no idea what he was talking about as he stood up and held his hand down to me. Hesitantly, I put my hand in his and pushed myself up awkwardly, wincing at the tug in my stomach as the wound protested against the movement.

When he shoved his hand in his pocket and then got down on one knee, my breath caught in my throat. The reason for his nervousness now hit me full force. It wasn’t something bad, he wasn’t going to break up with me and he hadn’t been transferred to some random place and didn’t want me to come. No, Ashton Taylor was about to propose to me again.

A little squeal left my lips as my free hand flew to my mouth, grinning behind my hand as he took a deep breath, clearly still nervous, and produced a little, black, leather ring box. He shifted awkwardly on his knee, obviously hurting himself because of his injuries, but it didn’t show on his face as he looked up at me. I could see the love and tenderness in his eyes, and my insides trembled with happiness at the sight of it.

“Annabelle Spencer, I fell in love with you the very first second I saw you. I would do anything for you; I’m going to love you until the day I die. Please will you make me the luckiest man in the world and marry me?” he asked, his voice sounding thick with emotion.

My eyes were blurry with happy tears as his words sank in. “Yes,” I managed to choke out.

His shoulders relaxed as his smile grew wider and his eyes twinkled with happiness. His hand left mine and he popped open the ring box, exposing the most beautiful ring I had ever seen in my life. “This was my mom’s engagement ring. It’s the only thing I have of hers. I’d love for you to have it, but if you’d rather me buy you something new instead, then I totally understand.”

His mother’s ring? I whimpered because of how special it was. Not only did I love it because it was a symbol of his love for me, I also loved it because he was giving me something that obviously meant a lot to him because he’d lost his mother so young. My heart swelled in my chest as my emotion threatened to bubble over and leave me a blubbering wreck.

“I love it,” I whispered. And I did. It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen, classy, not overstated, just perfect and something I would have chosen for myself. It was white gold, with three diamonds set into it – one bigger one in the centre and a smaller one either side.

“You do, honestly?”

I nodded, chewing on my lip, grinning down at him as I offered my shaky left hand to him. “It’s perfect. I’d love to wear it. Thank you.”

He grinned as he plucked the ring from the box before sliding it onto my finger. As he got to his feet again, he took my face in his hands and brushed my tears away with his thumbs. “Thank you, Baby Girl. I promise that I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy every day of your life,” he whispered against my lips just before he kissed me, stealing my breath and making my heart speed up uncontrollably.

I gulped. I just couldn’t speak. So much happiness was swelling inside me that I could barely cope with it all. It was too much. “I love you, Ashton Taylor,” I whispered, looking into his beautiful green eyes.

“And I love you, Annabelle Spencer.” He pulled me closer so that my body was pressed against his gently, as he ran his hands down my back with his forehead still pressed to mine. “I can’t believe you couldn’t wait though,” he said suddenly, shaking his head and laughing.

A blush heated my cheeks as I smiled apologetically. “You looked nervous; I thought it was something bad.”

He sighed. “Don’t assume the worst all the time. The worst is over. There are only good times for us now,” he said tenderly.

I smiled at his beautiful words. “Get that from a how to propose to a girl book?” I teased.

He nodded, smiling. “Yeah, you know I like those how to books,” he joked.

He pulled away and sat down, spreading his legs and patting the ground for me to sit between them. I sat obediently, leaning against him carefully because he was still covered in bruises. When his lips touched the back of my neck, I felt a little shiver of desire tickle down my spine.

I sighed contentedly and looked down at the ring that was now mine, tracing my thumb over the stones. “This ring is so beautiful,” I gushed. I’d never owned anything so special.

His arms wrapped around me so gently, it was as if he thought I was made of glass. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather me buy you something new? I have money saved,” he stated.

I shook my head adamantly and twisted so I could see him. “It means so much to me that you’ve given me your mom’s ring. Honestly, I feel so special.”

He grinned and kissed the tip of my nose. “You are special.” I chuckled and sat back down, reaching for two plates before scooping up a few M&Ms. “You do know that I won’t ever be able to give you everything you want, and I’ll never have the kind of money that your parents have, but I promise I’ll give you everything I can. I just hope it’s enough to make you happy,” he said quietly, sounding a little sad about it.

I turned to look at him and frowned. “You really think I care how much money you earn, or where we live, or what car we drive?” I asked. I was a little disappointed that he would think that of me.

“No, Baby Girl, I know you don’t. I just wish I could give you everything in the world,” he explained, his voice apologetic.

Now he was just being silly. “Ashton, all that stuff is nothing without this.” I pointed to his heart. “I don’t want anything else from you, apart from you to love me and be happy. I would live in a cardboard box with you, blissfully happy. It’d be a bit of a pain in the butt when it rained, but I’d do it,” I joked, trying to lighten his mood. It worked, he laughed.