Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
He shrugged. “I don’t have to wonder. I know why I never did.”
Amused, I replied, “Do tell.”
“Because I love you. I always have and I always will. I couldn’t have moved on if I wanted to. You’ve always owned my heart, Ensley, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”
Nodding, I replied, “Same.”
He pulled off his glove. “The thing I’ve always loved most about you, Ensley Wilde, is that you live up to your last name. Not in a crazy way.” Screwing up his face, he went on. “Well, maybe you did do a few wild things in your youth.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You always knew who you wanted to be, Pippa. You were never afraid to go after something, even when you were told you couldn’t. That’s what I’ve always admired in you.” He stopped and drew in a deep breath before letting it go on his next words. “Every single night when I lay in bed, I would sing ‘Silver Springs’ and that one verse in the song. I think you know which one.”
Closing my eyes, I put my hands to my chest. “‘Silver Springs.’ One of my favorite songs. I played that on constant rotation after you left.” I grinned. “That’s probably why you kept singing it to yourself.”
Colt chuckled. “Maybe you really did put a spell on me, Ensley Wilde.”
Laughing, I nodded. “Oh, I put lots of spells on your ass.”
He unzipped his coat pocket and pulled out a box. A blue jewelry box.
My heart started to pound in my chest and my hands began to shake.
Getting down on one knee, he opened the box and held it out. I gasped as I looked down at…a blue diamond?
I could hear other hikers around us now whispering.
“Oh my gosh, you’re really doing this?” I asked with what I was positive was a huge grin on my face.
Looking confused, he glanced around at the few people who were standing by watching, then focused back on me. “Um, you told me to ask you…so I’m asking.”
“Did you plan this?”
He shook his head. “Not really. But I have had ten years to come up with something amazing.”
A woman standing several feet to my right asked, “You waited ten years to ask her to marry you?!”
Colt and I both glanced at her.
“It’s a long story,” I said.
She nodded, then motioned for me to focus back on Colt.
“Don’t leave the poor boy waiting!” the woman standing next to her added.
When I turned back to Colt, he actually wore a worried expression.
I dropped down to my knees as I pulled off my gloves. “You crazy man! What in the world are you doing carrying around a ring in your jacket pocket?”
He grinned. “I don’t know. I guess just in case you did something unconventional, like told me to ask you to marry me!”
A bubble of laughter slipped free, and I cupped his face in my hands. “I love you, Colt Owens.”
“Is that a yes?”
Nodding my head like a mad woman, I threw my arms around him and cried out, “Yes, it’s a yes!”
Cheers erupted around us as I drew back and smiled at Colt.
“We should put it on your finger before I drop it.”
Choked laughter slipped free as I nodded once again. Colt took the emerald-shaped ring out of the box and slipped it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit.
He lifted my hand and kissed it. “I have a confession to make.”
I couldn’t pull my eyes off the large blue diamond. It was flanked on either side by smaller white baguette-cut diamonds, all set in what I assumed was a white-gold band.
Pulling my eyes off the ring, I asked, “What’s your confession?”
“This isn’t the original ring that I bought. That one was about an eighth of the size and it was a white diamond. I bought this in Granby before we left.”
Confused, I said, “You planned on asking me to marry you on this trip?”
Winking, he replied, “I had a feeling I needed to bring it with me, and I’m glad I did. Can you imagine what these people would have thought had I not had a ring?”
I threw my arms around him once again. “I’m glad I’m not the only wild one!”
Colt
Ensley and I sat on the sofa in Ladd and Vivianne’s house while both our parents stared at us. It was my mother who finally broke the silence.
“I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s long overdue. But you both just got back together. Are you sure you want to jump right into marriage? I’m sure you’ve both changed a lot in the last ten years.”
“Nonsense,” my father said. “Look at the two of them, Lynn. It was clear the moment Colt came back to town that nothing between them had changed.”
Ensley and I exchanged a look. She reached for my hand, and I held it tight as I turned back to our parents.