She looked up at me in alarm. “I thought you were afraid of marriage.”
I shook my head quickly. “No, I just don’t want to be pressured into it too fast like I thought Dale was. I really do want my beautiful wife, a big house, and two kids someday.”
Allie’s grin made my heart melt. “Cool. Some time down the road, I’ll pick up a new notebook just for that.” She paused. “Um, I know it sounds silly, but that’s how I make things happen properly.”
“Good. Glad we’re on the same page,” I said, holding our hands between us. “I love you, Allie. I want to be with you. For us to be together.”
Her smile lit up those pretty eyes. “I love you, too. Can I be an overbearing, pushy girlfriend and suggest you come to my place for dinner tonight?”
“Yes.”
EPILOGUE ONE
* Allie *
*** Eight Months Later ***
“An eight-month anniversary isn’t a thing,” I laughed, as Kellan led me to his living room couch, where a large white and silver gift box sat on the coffee table. We sat in front of it, and I turned to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“I can celebrate any anniversary I want,” he laughed.
Pulling off the lid, there were several lumpy items wrapped in white and purple tissue paper. The first few small round ones were decorative washi tape, with purple and baby pink floral patterns.
I realized that he was giving me journaling supplies, and stifled my giggle as I realized my manifesting project had come full circle, since my man was helping.
The next two gifts were pens – one silver, one light purple. “You already have tons of black pens,” he said. “So, I figured you could use some fancy ones for special plotting and planning.”
“It’s not plotting,” I tried to scowl through my laugh. “It’s manifesting intentions.”
“Whatever. Keep going.”
There were several little boxes of stickers, with flowers, hearts, and stars, all in soft pink and mauve. The large square tissue wrapped block at the bottom was obviously a book. Kellan slid away a bit so that he could push the larger box aside for me.
Unwrapping the journal slowly, I gasped. It was exquisite. Light purple faux leather with rose gold trim, and a beautiful violet and rose gold braided elastic to hold it closed. Which was convenient, since the book was lumpy, somehow.
“This is beautiful. Thank you so much.”
“Open it,” Kellan said excitedly.
Slipping off the elastic, I opened the cover. A printed page had been glued inside, with a beautiful rose gold script.
Planning Our Wedding
Beneath it, attached to the page with purple floral washi tape, was a ring with a deep purple stone.
I nearly dropped the book, setting it down with shaking hands as I turned to see Kellan on his knees beside me. He took my hand, kissing the back of it gently.
“If it’s too soon, we can wait as long as you like,” he said. “Or we can have an incredibly long engagement. Whatever you want. But I need to feel that I have you permanently, Allie. I love you more than anything in this world, and my only goal from now on is to make you happy. Will you marry me?”
My throat closed up tightly as I fought back tears, unable to make a sound. Nodding emphatically, I lunged for him, ending up sitting beside him on the floor with our arms tangled around each other.
He stroked my back gently, murmuring in my ear, “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” I managed to squeak. “I love you.”
We’d known for months now that we were permanently together, but I didn’t mention it for fear of spooking him. When we’d started planning for me to move in with him next month, I thought that was a significant step. Knowing that we were entirely on the same page was another sign.
The same page.