Why was he bringing it up now, in front of Jess? “Can we talk about this later?”
“No. We’re talking about it now.”
“But Jess—”
“Jess should hear what I have to say. You asked if I loved you, if I could say those words to you and the answer is yes, I can.” His voice shook. “I love you. I’ve loved you my whole life although it took a while for me to realize how much.”
She stood, stunned, her breath clouding the freezing air as she tried to work out if she’d misheard.
She’d wanted to hear him say those words for so long, she couldn’t allow herself to believe them. Hope was a roller coaster she was too scared to ride again.
“You love me like a sister.”
“At the beginning, yes. But that changed a while ago.”
Her heart was pounding. “I didn’t think you felt that way. You panicked when I told you how I felt.”
“Yes, I did, but before you judge me for that, you need to remember I’ve messed up every relationship I’ve ever had. The fact that I didn’t want to mess this one up was a measure of how important you are to me. I’ve made so many mistakes—” he glanced at
Jess “—and having you wasn’t one of them, so don’t misinterpret what I’m saying here.”
Mouth closed, eyes wide, Jess simply shook her head, and Tyler turned back to Brenna.
“—so many mistakes in my relationships,” he continued, “I didn’t want to make another one. But after you walked away from me the other night, I knew the biggest mistake of all would be letting you go. I was afraid to be with you in case I hurt you, and the thought of hurting you scared me more than anything I’ve faced before, but then I realized that by letting you go, I was hurting you anyway. And I can’t do it. I can’t let you go. You’re not only my best friend, you’re the woman I love. I want to be with you, always.”
“Tyler—”
“You’ve been by my side my whole life, through the worst and the best. When I had my accident, you were the one who sat in the hospital with me. When I couldn’t see what the future held, you were the one who refused to give up on me, and you were the one who suggested I teach Jess. When I asked you what you wanted for Christmas, you told me there wasn’t anything, and I was trying to think of the perfect gift that would show how much you mean to me. I hope I got it right.” He tugged off his glove, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in silver paper and tied with a bow the color of ice crystals. “Merry Christmas, Brenna.”
Brenna stared at the box.
“Aren’t you going to take it?” He held it out to her, and she noticed his hand wasn’t quite steady.
And hers wasn’t steady, either, because she was so afraid the gift wasn’t going to be what she so badly wanted it to be.
She took it from him with fingers that shook as much as his and fumbled as she unwrapped it, afraid to be wrong. It could be earrings, or a charm—
She blinked as the diamond caught the sun, dazzling her. “Oh, Tyler—”
“Oh, my— Dad?” Jess covered her mouth with her hands. “That is the most awesome present ever.”
Brenna stared at the diamond and then at him, tears blurring her vision as he took her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers.
“I love you.” He said the words against her mouth. “I always have, and I always will.”
And finally, she allowed herself to believe it. “I love you, too. I always have, and I always will.”
His fingers tightened on her face, and he leaned his forehead against hers, holding her gaze with his. “Enough to marry me?”
Her stomach dropped. Her heart flew. “Tyler—”
“I once asked you what you wanted, and you said these mountains. This life. It’s what I want, too, but I want to share it with you. Say yes.”
“Yes.” She was laughing and crying at the same time. “Yes, yes, yes.”
“Good. So let’s do it right now.”
She eased away from him, elated, thrilled and confused. “How can we do it right now?” And then she heard Jess gasp and turned her head to see what had caught the teenager’s attention.