“Once I realized how I felt about you, and that I wanted to be with you, I knew something had to be done about the situation here. You are more important to me than the bottom line. It may take a while to make back my investment in the renovations, but it isn’t a rush. I think what I have planned will allow the community here to continue safely, but also bring in more foot traffic. It’s a win-win, as long as you’re happy.” Sawyer reached out to take her hand.
“I’m happy,” she said, as he squeezed it gently. “Thank you. On behalf of everyone here, thank you.”
“I was just thinking, what would be the greatest gift I could give Kat for an engagement present?”
She froze in place, her hand still in his. She was almost uncertain she’d heard what he’d said, since he continued talking as though he hadn’t dropped a bomb in the conversation.
“A ring is traditional, of course, and I have one of those, too, but I really wanted to give you something that would have meaning for you. This place is what brought us together, in a way, so it seemed sort of poetic that it would be what would bring us back together...for as long as we both shall live. I love you, Kat. More than anything.”
“You love me?” Kat asked, the letter slipping from her fingers to the ground.
“I do. And I hope that you feel the same way. I wasn’t sure, so I’m taking a gamble here.” Sawyer reached into the same pocket, this time pulling out a small velvet box. “Finn gave me the ring he proposed with. I knew you would like it, but it felt wrong to give you the same ring. I was going to buy a different one and then an opportunity came along that I couldn’t pass up.”
He opened the lid on the box, which looked a great deal older than the one Finn had presented to her. This ring was vintage, she presumed, without even looking at it. Once the box was fully open, Kat gasped at the sight.
The diamond ring was unlike anything she’d seen in the jewelry cases at the mall. It actually looked like a daisy. In the center was a large, round, canary-yellow diamond, surrounded by six smaller diamonds that were at least a third of a karat each. The flower was set in platinum, with leaves and vines engraved into the band. It was unique. Beautiful. And yet oddly familiar.
“This was the ring that my grandfather Edward gave Grandma Ingrid when he proposed. She wore it every day after that, even after he passed away, until a few days ago, when she gave it to me.”
That’s where she had seen it before. Ingrid had worn it every time she’d seen her. Except the last time, when she’d come by her house. Kat thought back to Ingrid’s visit and her next stop, at the jeweler. Perhaps she’d been making plans then, having it cleaned or resized for Sawyer to give her.
“My grandparents were together for nearly sixty years. I don’t know how many I have to offer you, but I will happily give you any that I have left. If you’ll have me.”
* * *
“Will you marry me, Katherine?”
Sawyer dropped to one knee as he said the words and then held his breath. He wasn’t certain what the answer was going to be. He’d thought for sure she would accept Finn’s proposal, but she didn’t. She hadn’t said that she loved him, either. She’d just gotten weepy when he said the words, making him nervously talk far more than he’d intended to. But now he’d asked the question, and all he could do was await the answer.
After an extended moment of silence, he was getting more and more nervous.
“Kat?” he asked.
She was looking down at him with tears in her eyes and her hand covering her mouth.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded before wiping at her tears and taking a deep breath. “Sawyer, are you sure you want to marry me?”
He flinched at the question. “I’m absolutely sure. At the moment, I’m concerned about you, though. It doesn’t sound like you want to marry me.”
“I do,” she said quickly, then crouched down until her eyes were level with his. “But what about the baby?”
Sawyer frowned. “What about her?”
Kat swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip. “Are you going to be okay with raising another man’s child? Your brother’s child at that. It’s not the ideal way to start out a relationship, much less a marriage.”
“You’re pregnant?” Sawyer asked, with mock dismay and surprise.
Kat punched him in the shoulder. “I’m serious. It’s a lot to ask of you, to help me raise Finn’s baby. You and I both know how he can be. I have no idea how involved he’s really going to be in her life. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t a big deal.”
Sawyer understood her concerns. He’d spent the last week thinking all this through. He made sure every eventuality was thought through, every t crossed and every i dotted. He no longer had any doubts about what he wanted to do, so he had to make sure the next words he spoke were enough to convince her that it wasn’t the issue she believed it to be.
“Kat, I love you. And I love that baby. I have since the first moment I saw her on the screen and heard her heartbeat echo through the examination room. Yes, she’s my brother’s child. But that’s as close as she could possibly be without being my own. As far as I’m concerned, she’s as much mine as she is Finn’s daughter, and that’s how I’m going to treat her.
“I want to be there for every doctor’s appointment. I’m going to be there when she’s born and I’ll fight Finn to hold her first. I want to be there when she takes her first steps and says her first words. That baby is a part of you, and a part of Finn. And as much as he makes me crazy sometimes, you two are the most important people in my life. So that means this baby is going to be an amazing combination of the two of you. She’s already the love of my life. The apple of my eye. And I’ll love her just as much as I’ll love any children that you and I may have together someday.”
“Stop now, or I’m going to get jealous,” Kat said through her tears.