“I need to hear it.”
“Lawson, I’m yours.”
The memory fills my head, and I know he’s remembering the same.
“You can’t take that away from me, Greer. I need to hear YOU say yes.”
“Does it matter that much?”
“To me, it does.”
“Ask me again.”
He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in his throat. His eyes don’t waver, locking with mine and holding me hostage as he begins to speak. “I promised I’d never lie to you again, but even that was a lie.”
My heart sinks, and a knot coils in my gut.
“I lied because I told you I love you. It’s not enough or even close to how deep my devotion to you goes. Being in love makes people crazy and irrational, and I’m no exception. You are my whole fucking world. I wake up each morning alive because that’s what you do. You give me life. You give me everything. There’s not a second of the day that isn’t consumed by thoughts of you. I will never understand the creation of the universe or the cosmic existence of the stars, but I know, to the depths of my soul, that you were put on this earth for me. There will never be even a millisecond of my life going forward that I’m not aware how fortunate I was to find you. I fall into tradition, professing my love, but it’s so much more for me. I’ve waited a lifetime for a moment like this, a moment I didn’t know existed until now. Please, put me out of my misery and say you’ll marry me. Let me love you the only way I know how and be mine forever.”
His face becomes blurry as tears spill down my cheeks and my body quakes. “Yes,” I croak, swallowing hard and clearing my throat. “Yes,” I repeat clearer.
His eyes close and face fills with the most beautiful expression I’ve ever witnessed. I tug on our hands, trying to bring him to me, but he refuses to move. A single tear escapes from the corner of one eye.
My breath hitches, and I struggle to keep from sobbing as he twists, releasing my hands. The noise of a drawer opening and closing sounds through the room. I squeak when he jostles me, hauling me easily to his side. Cold, smooth metal slides up my finger, and I glance down to see a stunning diamond sparkling radiantly. The air is sucked out of my lungs as my eyes bulge almost out of their sockets.
“Lawson,” I squeal, snatching my hand from his. I was wrong. It’s not a stunning diamond. On closer look, I see that it’s a dozen sparkling diamonds—big, small, round, cut—all surrounding an enormous center stone that’s shining so bright I blink over and over.
“Oh my God.” I suck in harshly.
“I was prepared to go back this week to add another diamond. There’s one for every week you turned me down.”
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“Now, you know how I feel every day.”
I lift my eyes to his and lunge, wrapping my legs and arms around him and crushing my mouth to his.
“I love you,” I say freely, kissing everywhere. My stomach lurches between us, and we both freeze, our hands moving lower together.
“Was that?” he questions with awe.
“I think so.”
As if on cue, it happens again, and my groin tightens in response. The gravity of the last few minutes comes crashing down, and I cry openly, gripping his hand to me.
To most, he may still be arrogant, egotistical, and cocky, but when it comes to us, there is no humility. His eyes shine, moving from my face to our hands and finally resting back on me.
“I’m pretty sure St. Patrick’s Day is my new favorite day.” There is so much meaning behind his words, and I agree completely.
“Me too.”
Epilogue
Lawson —9 Months Later
“We’re moving,” I declare.
“No, we’re not.” Greer sighs, ignoring my irritation, folding baby clothes and putting them away.