When we pull up to the cabin, I’m happy she doesn’t see the surprise I had made for her. Her face is buried in her phone as she gets frustrated that no one is answering her. "How is everyone off their phones?” she huffs, walking up the steps, and I open the door.
She stops when she sees the rose petals at her feet. "What the hell is this?" she asks, looking around seeing balloons everywhere. She has a shocked expression on her face. "This looks like." She takes two more steps in. "The night of your wedding."
"Almost." Smiling, I grab her hand and pull her up the stairs toward the bed.
"Well, this is where we ended up." She laughs and gasps when she sees the MR. & MRS. that were not here the last time we came here. She looks at me. "What is going on?"
"Come this way." I pull her and walk to the door that leads to the balcony. Stepping out, I see the setup exactly how it was the first time I brought her here. The picnic basket sits on the cover and a bottle of white wine sits beside it.
"What is going on?" She looks around and puts her hands to her mouth.
"This is me doing what I should have done a long time ago," I say, as I pull her to stand in the middle of the blanket. She looks at me with tears in her eyes as she laughs and a sob comes out of her. She places her hand in front of her mouth to stop it but it comes out anyway. "Harlow," I say, my voice trembling as much as her hand in mine. "The first day I met you, something happened," I start to say and sniff my own tears back. "You literally knocked me off my feet." I smile at her as she wipes the tears away from the corner of her eyes. "And then by some fucking miracle we started hanging out. That night when I walked you home from the bar, the only thing running through my head was just kiss her." She puts her hand on my cheek now, her thumb rubbing back and forth. "We have so many memories together. But the one that holds a special place in my heart is right here. Right in this spot." I swallow down the lump in my throat. "You might not recognize this place. But it’s the place I first told you I loved you," I say and she gasps and looks around. "The time when you promised me to be here on the best day of my life. The whole time I pictured this very minute." I smile at her and get down on one knee in front of her and her hands go to her mouth as she cries and flips her head down. "When I came back home, I bought this land and built this cabin, knowing that it was the only thing I had of you left. Harlow, four years ago I let you go and it was the single worst mistake of my life. But fate had other plans and the universe brought you back to me. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, and I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you." I grab the red square box that has been weighing in my pocket for the last month. I open it and turn to show her. "Harlow Barnes, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?"
"Oh my God," she gasps. "Is that my mother’s ring?"
"It is," I confirm. "I asked them for your hand in marriage at the barbecue the first time," I say, and her shoulders shake. "It was a lot more intense than that, but your mother called me the day after and asked to see me. She told me it would be her honor to have you wear her ring." I look down at the ring. "If you don’t like it, we can get you another one."
"I love it."
"So is that a yes?" I smile up at her, my whole body crawling out of my skin.
"There isn’t any other answer," she tells me as she comes to me and grabs my face in her hands. "By the way, this is the last time you propose to anyone." She laughs with her lips on mine.
"Well, considering I never proposed the first time, it seems fitting." I take the ring out of the box. She holds her hand out for me, and I slide the ring on her finger. "I love you." I grab her around her waist and turn her in a circle, and here, right where she promised to be the best day of my life, she fulfills her promise to me.