She bobbed her head, the first tears spilling down her cheeks as her smile went wider.
I sucked in a breath and tried to center myself by reminding myself that this would probably be one of the biggest, most pivotal moments of my life. That reminder didn’t do much to calm or center me. So I just got after it. I squeezed her hand and studied the spot on her finger where I prayed a certain ring would be resting after I’d made my plea.
“I’ve known from the moment I met you that nothing would be fine unless you were somehow, some way, in my life,” I started, looking her in the eye. She looked right back at me, through the tears and everything. “I’ve known from the moment I fell in love with you that nothing would be fine unless I figured out somehow, some way, to spend forever with you. And I’ve known from the moment I picked out this ring and tucked it in my back pocket that nothing would be fine unless somehow, some way, I figured out a way to make you agree to marry me.” I had to stop and swallow. This wasn’t easy, asking the woman I loved to be my wife, asking this extraordinary woman to spend her life with someone who could never live up to what she deserved. “Nothing’s fine without you, Joze. But with you? Everything’s perfect.”
She continued to listen, bouncing as she stood there, still grinning through her tears.
“And I know I’m such a far cry from being perfect or making things perfect or being perfect for you that I don’t have a right to even say the word, but I love you, Josie Gibson.” I stopped to catch my breath. I was on my knees and doing nothing more than saying words, but I could barely breathe. It was the most exhilarating moment of my life, finally finding my nerve to ask Josie Gibson to marry me. “I love you so much it’s what defines me. You define me, Joze. You make my existence count.” Another pause to catch my breath. “I get more things wrong than I get right, but there’s one thing I’m really damn good at, and that’s loving you. I’ve loved you most of my whole life.” Holding the ring above her finger, I looked at her. Her answer was written on her face. In a way, I think it always had been, but I’d been too blind to see it. “Will you give me permission to love you the rest of it too?”
She dropped her purse to the ground and placed her other hand on my face. “Is that you asking me to marry you, Garth Black?”
I slid off my hat and nodded. “That’s me asking you to marry me, Joze.”
Her bouncing in place came to a stop as she pulled me up off my knees. “Then this is my answer.”
Throwing her body against mine, her mouth found mine as her arms wound around my neck. She laughed as we kissed. She cried as we kissed. She didn’t seem to want to stop that kiss.
I had to pull away, still clutching the ring, and confirm, “Was that a yes?”
She held out her hand, fingers splayed, and arched an eyebrow. “That wasn’t just a yes. That was an ‘it’s about time.’”
My hand shook as I slid the ring onto Josie’s finger. The rest of her body might have been bouncing again, but her hand didn’t shake once as it went into place.
“You said the man who picked out that ring could ask you his question when he showed back up again. I’m pretty sure he’s back now.” I smiled at her hand. The ring looked even better on her hand than I’d imagined it would. Like it belonged there.
“No,” Josie replied, shaking her head, “but this one’s even better.”
I skimmed my fingers down one of the braids hanging over her shoulder. The roar of the crowd filtered down the tunnel. It sounded like the next rider had made one hell of a ride. He’d found his glory in the arena tonight—I’d found mine in this tunnel. “How do you know?”
She glanced at the ring shining on her finger before her eyes lifted to mine. Leaning in, she slid her other hand into the back pocket of my jeans, the same one I’d kept the ring in for months, but I had finally gotten around to putting it where it really belonged—on the ring finger of the woman I wanted to marry. Right before she lowered her lips to mine, she whispered, “Because this one’s my fiancé.”
Thank you for reading LOSERS WEEPERS by NEW YORK TIMES and USATODAY bestselling author, Nicole Williams. If you haven’t read the other books in the LOST & FOUND series, FINDERS KEEPERS is the prequel to LOSERS WEEPERS, and LOST & FOUND, then NEAR & FAR are Jesse and Rowen’s story.
In related news. . .
Jesse and Rowen will have one last chapter in their story (if you couldn’t have guessed from the way this book left off!)! Their third and final installment in the series, HEART & SOUL, is available for pre-order now on Amazon. It will be officially released in June 2015.
Nicole loves to hear from her readers. You can connect with her on:
Facebook: Nicole Williams (Official Author Page)
Twitter: nwilliamsbooks
Blog: nicoleawilliams.blogspot.com
Other Works by Nicole:
THREE BROTHERS
CROSSING STARS
CRASH, CLASH, and CRUSH (HarperCollins)
LOST & FOUND, NEAR & FAR
FINDERS KEEPERS
UP IN FLAMES (Simon & Schuster UK)