Shine With Me (With Me in Seattle 15.5)

She shivers and then moans, and I can’t hold back any longer. I protect us both and slide home, inside this beautiful woman. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

The ride is long and slow, and when we’re nothing more than a tangled mess of sweaty limbs and gasping breaths, Rina brushes her fingers through my hair and kisses my cheek.

“I love you, too, you know.”

My head comes up, and I stare down at her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. And I don’t care that it’s fast. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Sometimes life just happens, and you meet someone you recognize. Someone that always held a place in your life, you just never knew it before.”

I kiss her forehead and then her nose. “You have a way with words, babe.”

“And no one else even wrote them for me.”Epilogue~Ben~One year later…“Have you done it yet?” Nic asks. We’re at a New Year’s Eve party at the O’Callaghan Museum of Glass near Seattle. The entire Montgomery family is here, along with their cousins and extended family. It’s a packed party.

“Not yet.” I don’t usually drink, but I take a sip of champagne to help calm my nerves. “I need to talk to Zane first.”

“Well, get a move on. We’re only thirty minutes from midnight.”

She walks away, and I hunt down Zane. He’s sitting near the bar, chatting with Kane O’Callaghan, the artist himself.

“Can I please have a word, Zane?” I ask.

“I need to find my wife,” Kane says, then nods and leaves me with Zane.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“I’ve been trying to think of how to approach you about this for weeks, and I think I just have to be blunt about it.”

“If you’re breaking up with Rina, I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.”

I grin at the fierce loyalty in his voice. And I don’t doubt for a minute that he could do exactly that.

“No. The opposite, actually. I want to ask her to marry me.”

He narrows his eyes on me. “You don’t need my permission to do that.”

“Actually, yeah, I do. You’re her only family, and the other man in her life. You know her better than anyone, and she loves you. So, I want your permission to ask her to be my wife.”

Zane sighs and looks as emotional as I’ve ever seen the other man.

“Rina is the best of us,” he says. “She deserves so much out of life. More than she realizes. And if you recognize that and want to give it to her, you have my blessing to marry her.”

“Thank you.” I pat his shoulder, already searching the crowd for the woman I love. “That means a lot, Zane.”

“If you’re planning to do it at midnight, you’d better get a move on.” He grins.

I push my hand into my pocket as I walk away from him, fingering the diamond ring that’s been burning a hole there for two months. I was going to propose at the premiere of the movie, but that didn’t seem appropriate. I considered doing it the night she officially moved in with me here in Seattle.

But then my hot water heater blew up, and the moment was lost.

And so here, while surrounded by the people we love, I want to ask the woman who means the most to me if she’ll spend the rest of her life with me.

I find Rina chatting and giggling with Natalie and Jules. Her eyes light up when she sees me approaching.

I nod at the other ladies, and they quickly move away as if they can sense that something’s about to happen.

I’ve never been more nervous in my life.

“Let’s dance.” I hold out my hand. She immediately accepts it, and I lead her out onto the dance floor.

The song is soft and slow, perfect for what I have in mind.

“This is a great party,” she says as she leans her head on my chest.

“Yeah. You look amazing in this dress.”

She smiles up at me. “Thanks. And you’re quite dashing in a tux. How is it possible that even with this jacket on, I can still see the outline of your muscles?”

I laugh and lean in to kiss her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I need to talk to you about something serious.”

She frowns up at me. “Okay. Me, too. You first.”

I tilt my head to the side, curious about what she has to say, but I’m too nervous to stop now. “I don’t ever want to spend a day without you, babe. You’re the best part of my life.”

We stop dancing, and I lower myself to one knee, holding her hand.

“Will you marry me?”

Her eyes flood with unshed tears, and she nods excitedly. I push the ring onto her finger and stand to pull her into my arms. The room erupts into applause, and suddenly, everyone is counting down to the New Year.