Ben started fanning out a bunch of cards. “Yours doesn’t have to match mine, so I asked him to doodle a few ideas.”
“Do I need business cards already?”
He stood close beside me, brushing my hair back to kiss my ear. “Yes. I want everyone to know that you’re here permanently.”
I grinned up at him. “Okay. I like that.”
Spreading the cards out more, they didn’t have a title. Just my name, contact info, and Ben Hayes Photography.
“I like these,” I said. “Very clean. Especially this one.”
Glancing up, Ben looked extra excited. “What about that one?” he asked, pointing to the card farthest to the right. It was similar to the rest, but the name seemed longer.
Blinking hard, I saw that it read, “Mrs. Chelsea Morris-Hayes.”
“What’s this?” I asked, picking up the card to show it to him.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, shaking his head. “I meant to ask the designer to drop the ‘Mrs.’ bit. I think it would look cleaner just with Chelsea Morris-Hayes. Don’t you?”
I stared at the card, then up at him again.
“There are some more cards if you’re not sure about that one,” Ben grinned. He pulled some from the bottom of the stack, laying them out in a row. Each card had just one line of text.
Chelsea, I love you more than life itself.
More than light. More than shadow.
I need you. I want to care for you forever.
Will you marry
me?
I had to blink hard to clear the instant tears. Turning to Ben, he was on one knee, holding up a ring. I was frozen. Time slowed down and became fuzzy. Huge cushion cut solitaire in a white gold band. Ben was on the floor. With a ring.
“You’re always wearing light colors, so I thought this would go with everything.”
Blink.
“Chelsea?”
Blink.
“Yes,” I whispered. I tried to breathe. “Yes,” I said a bit louder.
Falling into his arms, I knelt with him on the floor, kissing him wildly. “You’re crazy,” I laughed. “You’re insane and it’s too soon and I love you.”
“I love you, sweetheart. And I want the whole world to know it. When it’s official, there will be no hiding, no switching roles. Just us, together.”
His kiss made me dizzy, as I completely lost my focus.
*** The End ***