Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

Her lips parted slightly, then she looked down at her hands before she met my gaze again.

“So what you’re telling me is you’re not planning on selling me your half of the house?”

Laughing, I shook my head. “No. I’m not.”

“And no chance you’re moving out?”

“No chance at all.”

Her teeth dug into her lip as a smile bloomed over her beautiful face. “I’m not selling you my half, and there is no way I’m moving out. So where does that leave us exactly?”

I opened the door to the truck and got out. As I walked around the front, Paige watched me. Opening her door, I reached for her hand and helped her out. She leaned against the truck and looked up at me. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Milo. Paige gave me a confused look.

“We’ve handled so many things badly. I don’t want to mess this up again.”

“You won’t. We won’t,” she whispered.

Music filtered from the dance hall as we looked into each other’s eyes. A light breeze blew her curls, and I lifted my fingers to brush one from her face.

“Do you remember that night we danced in the parking lot of the football stadium after the game?”

With a small nod, she replied, “I remember.”

My chest rumbled with thunder as the memory of that night came back in a rush.

“Do you remember the song?”

Before she had a chance to answer, the song started to play.

A single tear slipped free and moved slowly down her cheek. Leaning down, I kissed it away, then whispered, “‘To Make You Feel My Love’ by Garth Brooks.”

“Oh, Lucas.”

“I made a mistake, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, Paige.”

I took her hand in mine and drew her against my body, slowly dancing while the song played. I was going to owe Milo big time for making that happen at the exact freaking moment I needed it to.

With the only woman I’d ever loved held tightly in my arms, I sang to her and we let everything but that moment slip away.

When the last note played, I pulled out the ring in my pocket and got down on one knee. Paige shook her head and looked at me in complete shock.

“Lucas.”

“Don’t say we need to move slow. Ten years is pretty damn slow, if you think about it. We are moving slow…just backwards. I’ve been carrying this ring with me for a long time. I think it’s time I slipped it onto your finger.”

Her soft brown eyes were lost in a sea of tears. She bent down and kissed me as she let out half a sob and half a laugh.

“Is that a yes? I need a firm, confirmed yes.”

“Yes! That is a confirmed yes.”

My cheeks burned with a wide smile as I slipped the ring on her finger. I stood, framed her face within my hands, and pressed my mouth to hers. After a soft moan, I deepened the kiss. I wanted to take her back to our house and make love to her all night, but I also wanted to shout to the world that this woman, this amazing, beautiful, loving woman was going to be mine.

We broke the kiss when we both needed to breathe. Paige gazed up at me, and I swore I saw the stars dancing in her eyes. I wished Granddad were here, so I could tell him thank you. If it hadn’t been for him, none of this would be happening.

Meeting her gaze, I kissed her forehead and said, “Tell me what you’re thinking, Paige.”

She touched the side of my face and took in a slow breath before letting it out.

“How happy I am. How unimaginably happy I am.”

Paige

THE MOMENT WE walked into the dance hall, our friends erupted in cheers. Lucas wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to him. Milo walked up to us and shook his head.

“Jesus, Mary, and all the Josephs in Bethlehem. Only you two would go from enemies to engaged in what? A week’s time?”

Lucas shot him the finger. “What are you talking about? This is us going slow.”

Milo looked confused, and I laughed as I exchanged a look with Lucas. The private joke was just that, private. We didn’t need to explain anything to anyone. I knew the only people who would worry would be our parents. My father, mostly, who would say we were moving entirely too fast. But that was a worry for later.

We spent the rest of the evening simply enjoying ourselves. We danced, we kissed, we made out in a back corner like two teenagers, then we danced some more. Jen was confused, especially when she saw the engagement ring on my finger. We hadn’t told anyone, and even though Jen had caught a glimpse of it right off the bat, she didn’t push the issue, and honestly, I was relieved. So many emotions had hit me in the last twenty-four hours. I wasn’t sure I was able to take any more.