Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Walking into the mud room, Lucas reached for my coat and then slipped it on me. He put his coat on and held the back door open, motioning for me to go outside. Once outside, we headed toward his parents’ gazebo.
“Lucas, slow down! Do you know how hard it is to walk in heels even with the sidewalk cleared of snow!”
Stopping, he turned and swept me up into his arms as I let out a shriek of laughter.
He stepped up into the gazebo, then slowly set me down. It was chilly, but Rose had drapes that hung down, and Lucas pulled the two closed, then reached for the small heater. Rose had arranged for the gazebo to be heated in case anyone wanted to slip away. I was pretty sure she hadn’t planned on her son losing his mind, though.
Lucas drew my coat closed, then kissed me as if he hadn’t seen me in a month.
When he drew back and looked into my eyes, I swayed. “Wow. What was that for?”
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, got down on his knee, and opened it. Tears clouded my eyes, and I took a few steps back, my hand over my mouth as a sob forced its way out. Then I broke down crying before I launched myself into his body, damn near knocking him over. I didn’t even care that I heard my dress rip.
With my arms wrapped tightly around him, I cried into his neck.
He held me close and said, “Don’t cry, angel. Please don’t cry.”
Pulling back to look at him, I spoke between sobs. “Yes, oh, my gosh, yes!”
He laughed. “I haven’t even asked yet.”
“I don’t care!” I cried out. “The answer is yes!”
Wrapping my arms around him again, I cried tears of happiness. When I finally got myself settled down, Lucas helped me stand, and we sat on the bench in the gazebo.
“This ring,” he said as he took it out of the box and slipped it onto my finger, “was my great-grandmother’s. My father gave it to me. My mom wanted a yellow diamond, so he saved this for whichever of his kids would want it. I lucked out.”
I wiped the tears from my face as I got a better look at the stunningly beautiful round diamond with the double halo of smaller diamonds. There was a crisscross pattern down the side, and it was set in what I thought was white gold. I couldn’t stop staring at it.
“Is it white gold?”
“Platinum.”
My eyes shot up to his. “Lucas, this ring must be worth a small fortune. Are you sure…?”
“Look at it again, Hollie. It fits you like it was made for you.”
Tearing up again, I held it up and gasped once more. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life.”
He smiled.
“I had this whole beautiful night planned on Christmas, and I was going to ask you then. Even bought a Christmas bulb to put the ring in. Shawn and Kristin are going to be pissed because they had planned on setting up the house for when I asked.”
I laughed and another sob slipped free. “No, I love that you did it in the moment. It means so much more to me.”
“Are you cold? Should we go back in?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “No. The little heater is working great. What made you decide to ask me tonight? Out of the blue like that.”
He looked down, and I could tell he was nervous. With a deep breath in, he looked at me. “An old college professor of mine stopped by my office the other day. He asked if I wanted to help head up a dig site in Ireland. It’s a four-thousand-year-old Bronze Age burial site. It’s a rare find and an archaeologist’s dream come true. I love my job here in Salem, but this…this is why I became an archaeologist. He wants me to leave two days after Christmas, and it would be at least a six-to-eight-month commitment. At first, my reply was no.”
“Why would you say no if this is something you’ve always dreamed of?”
“I didn’t want to leave you, and I would never ask you to just up and leave your life here for months on end. Not when you’ve been doing so good.”
Taking his hand in mine, I said, “Lucas, our relationship is going to be about give and take. If I’m giving now, I’m positive there will be a time when I’m taking and you’re giving. It’s about compromise and doing what makes each other happy. Right now, I simply want to be with you. I know you’ll be busy probably each day, but we’ll be together and in Ireland!”
A wide smile broke across his face. “You can even help at the site if you want.”