Evie laughed.
I opened the ring box. Inside was a four-carat princess-cut diamond, with two smaller stones set into the filigree on either side. The smaller stones were from her grandmother’s ring and Kitty’s. It had taken a few people to get this made. Next to the ring in the black velvet box was the orange piece of sea glass she kept in her purse and never went anywhere without. I took out the glass and held it up to her. “I hope you don’t mind that I stole this from your bag this morning. I needed every bit of luck I could get today.”
She took the sea glass and held it next to her heart. “I think the feeling in my heart right now might be better than the one I had on the beach twenty years ago when I found it.”
I smiled. “Evie, I want to wake up with you every morning and fall asleep next to you every night. I want you to be my wife, and I want to have a family with you. But more than anything, the reason I wanted to do this here is because I want to replace your treehouses, sweetheart. I want to be the person who will always be there for you, the place you run to when you need to feel safe.” I paused and took a deep breath. “Will you marry me, Evie?”
Tears spilled down her face. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. “Yes! Yes!”
My heart raced out of control as I took her mouth in a kiss. When it broke, we were both panting. I pushed the ring onto her finger, and she stared at it.
“The stones on either side are from our grandmothers’ engagement rings, given by their one true loves. Greer helped me find your grandmother’s ring, and Kitty couldn’t wait to give you hers.”
“Oh, Merrick, that means the world to me.” She held out her hand. “It’s absolutely stunning.”
“Well, then I guess I got the right one. Because it matches the woman wearing it.”
THE END