“Don’t you guys look great?” she said, holding the bowl out to them. She felt Dave standing right behind her and it made her so nervous she had to grip the bowl to keep from dropping it. “Take two each.”
“Thank you!” they answered, then ran off the porch and down the steps to their parents, who were waiting on the sidewalk.
Mia waved the family off, fought down the pang of realization that she would never have children with the man she loved then closed the door and turned to face the man who held her heart even though she couldn’t have him. Steeling herself against whatever might be coming, she said, “Okay, Dave, what is it?”
“I want you to marry me.”
“I can’t believe you came all the way over here to offer me the same empty proposal.” Regret and disappointment twisted together in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head and said, “I’m not interested in a contract, Dave. I already told you that.”
“I didn’t say anything about a contract.”
Then what did he mean? And why was he here? That blasted bit of hope that was still lying buried in the bottom of her heart began to warm. Mia looked up at him and waited.
* * *
Dave stared into her deep blue eyes and started talking. Words rushed from him in a torrent. Didn’t seem to matter that he’d been practicing a perfectly good speech all the way over here. Because it was gone and all he was left with was what was in his heart. He hoped to hell it would be enough.
“Mia, these past few days without you…” He scraped both hands through his hair, then let them drop to his sides again. “I know now what it feels like to walk around with a gaping hole in your chest where your heart used to be.”
He reached for her, but she stepped back and he couldn’t blame her. He hadn’t given her a reason yet to come to him. But he was finally ready. Talking to his mother had helped. But the bottom line was that over the past few empty, lonely days, he’d finally realized that life without Mia wasn’t worth living. He loved her. Whether he admitted it or not, he loved her. So why shouldn’t she know it?
Reaching into his shirt pocket, he pulled out a ring box.
She shook her head and said, “I’m not taking that ring back, Dave.”
“And I wouldn’t expect you to.” He grimaced tightly. “That other ring was big and gaudy and bought for all the wrong reasons. I was making a statement. Showing off. For this proposal, for the real proposal, I needed a ring that meant something.” He opened the jeweler’s box and showed her the new ring he’d purchased just that afternoon.
It was smaller than the other one. Three carats instead of five. The setting was different, too. No more modern, coldly elegant cut. This ring reminded him of Mia. Warm. Traditional. Steady.
She gasped when she looked at it and one hand crept up to the base of her throat as she lifted her gaze to his. “It’s beautiful.”
“The minute I saw it, I knew it was yours.”
“Dave—”
“Do you remember,” he asked, cutting her off neatly, “when I gave you that other ring, I said that it would tell everyone that Mia belongs to Dave?”
She chewed at her bottom lip, swiped at a stray tear trailing from her eye and nodded, clearly unable to speak.
“Well, this one’s different,” he told her quietly. “This one says Dave’s heart belongs to Mia.”
Her hand covered her mouth now and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Every tear tore at him and Dave made a mental vow to never make her cry again.
“I don’t know what to say.” Her voice was choked, raw with emotion.
“Nothing yet,” he said, stepping in closer, pleased when she didn’t move back and away from him. “I’m not near finished talking.”
She snorted a short laugh. “Always in charge…”
He gave her a half smile. “Always. Well, until tonight.”
“Trick or treat!”
Dave laughed. Most important moment of his life being interrupted by groups of kids out for candy.
“Oh, God, I can’t answer the door crying, I’ll scare the kids.” She swiped at her face, but Dave just picked up the candy bowl, opened the door and took care of things. When he stepped back inside, he set the bowl down and turned back to her.
“I’ve got a few more things to say and I’d like to get ’em said before the next crew of trolls and princesses shows up.”
She laughed a little and nodded. “Go ahead.”