I love the idea.
I want nothing more than to be his wife, his partner, a lifelong member of his team.
I’m floating above Earth right now. I’m soaring through all the clouds in the sky. My heart is bursting with happiness and joy.
Right here in a Brooklyn garage, my wildest dream is coming true.
Because I’ve known for a long time. Since that night at the beach last summer, really.
Known in the marrow of my bones and deep in every cell that he’s it for me.
He’s the one for the rest of my days.
The fact that he arranged for a studio, that he’s leaving behind his magical, marvelous life in Los Angeles for me, is staggering.
It’s better than rainbow glitter. It’s all the stars in the sky.
He shakes his head with a laugh. “Shit, I almost forgot the most important part.” He gets down on one knee, reaches into his pocket, and takes out a velvet box.
My heart rises from my chest and wedges in my throat. I am overcome.
“Ruby, my favorite person, my one, please say you’ll marry me and be mine forever? And let me be yours?”
I answer him the only way I can. “Yes, yes, all the yes!”
I fall to my knees, throw my arms around him, and kiss my sexy boyfriend who, one day soon, is going to be my sexy, sweet, forever love. My husband.
I cover him in kisses.
I can’t stop kissing him.
I kiss him for minutes that feel like magic.
Then I break the kiss, clasp his face, and whisper, “I love you so much. I can’t believe you’re moving back to New York for us. I can’t believe you’ve got a garage. And a studio. It’s just . . . too perfect.”
He grins, crooked and sexy and so very him. “Believe it. And let me put this ring on your finger.”
Giddy, I hold out my hand. He slides on a gorgeous ring featuring a dark orange stone surrounded by glittering diamonds.
“It’s an orange garnet,” he says. “It reminded me of the colors we used when we painted the mural in the old schoolhouse. That, and your smile. Like sunshine.”
I fight back tears. “It’s so lovely.” And it is. It takes my breath away, because it’s so special, and it’s from him.
We kiss some more, then we kiss again, and then we make out in the doorway between our two fabulous new spaces for good measure.
Many minutes later, we finally stand, and he leads the way into the garage, where a manila folder is waiting on the counter. “Guess I can sign the deal then,” he says wryly, nodding toward the folder.
Eyes wide, I snag the pen from the counter beside the paperwork and shove it at him. “You better sign it right now and keep your sweet butt here in Brooklyn where you belong.”
“I belong with you, sweetheart,” he says, his arm around me. “Wherever you are.”
And I feel the same way about him. One hundred percent—not a single doubt in my mind.
Another Epilogue
Ruby
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