“Granddaddy pulled me to the side. Actually, he pulled each of us to the side and spoke to us alone. None of us ever shared with each other what he said. I guess it was sort of special for each of us, having Granddaddy give us his words of wisdom. He’d never done it before, and I’m pretty sure he knew his days were limited.
“Anyway, he started with the youngest and finished with me. I remember thinking that he’d begun to lose his mind. Most of the stuff he said made sense, until he got to one thing. He looked out over the lake and said to me, ‘You’ll find the meaning of life at the lake. She’ll show you the light.’”
My chin trembled, and goose bumps erupted over my skin.
Ty turned and caught my teary gaze. “Granddaddy saw something; I think he saw you. I don’t know if I’ve found the meaning of life, but I know you are my life. You light up my world and make everything beautiful, Kaylee.”
Covering my mouth with my hand, I tried harder not to cry.
Ty reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened it, and I lost the battle. Tears streamed down my face. I wiped at my cheeks in an attempt to control the water leaking from me like a freaking dam had broken.
It was then I noticed the diamond. I saw sparks of colors in it.
“When I came across this ring, I asked the jeweler why it looked like I could see colors in the diamond. He told me it was a new technology this designer uses that creates flashes of light from the diamond. How incredibly perfect is that?”
I tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a half sob, half laugh. Ty took the ring out of the box and reached for my left hand, then slid the ring on. I gazed down at it, in utter awe at the beauty.
“I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you, and I really don’t think that’s going to be enough time.”
“Ty,” I whispered, not able to say anything else. I’d never in my life felt this powerful a love from anyone.
“I know I already asked and the ring is already on your finger, but this was how I had originally planned it.”
He stood, helping me to stand with him. Then, he got down on one knee, held my hand in his, and looked up at me. My knees felt weak when I saw the tears in his eyes.
“Yes!” I cried out.
Ty shook his head and looked down, and then back up at me. “Damn, woman. I haven’t even said anything yet!”
My hand covered my mouth as I giggled. “I’m sorry, go on.”
“Kaylee, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I dropped to my knees, cupped his face, and kissed him. I’d already said yes twice. Now I needed to feel as close to him as possible.
When we pulled slightly back, Ty rested his head against mine.
“Ty?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we get married at that lake? Where your granddaddy took you? Just you and me. I don’t want a big wedding or anything. I just want to be your wife.”
He wrapped his arms around me, holding me against his body. “That sounds perfect to me.”
Chapter Thirty-One
TY
I paced back and forth, not even able to think straight. It had been a month since that day next to the lake. The day I’d slipped a ring on Kaylee’s finger. We’d decided to get married sooner rather than later, since winter would be setting in, and getting up to Hidden Pines Lake could be tricky.
Kaylee suddenly appeared in front of me. I took a few steps back and placed my hand over my chest.
“You look . . . beautiful.”
She smiled, her cheeks turning the perfect shade of pink. Her eyes moved over my body, and she dug her teeth into her lip. “You look handsome. Yummy handsome.”
I raised a brow. “Yummy handsome?”
“That’s a compliment, trust me.”
Smiling, I walked up to her, but she took a step back. “Don’t touch me!”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because right now, all I want you to do is take your little guy out and lift my dress and take me right here. The photographer will be really pissed if I ruin my dress and my makeup.”
“My little guy? Little?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, your big guy. Anyway, it’s hard enough looking at you dressed in a tux. If you touch me, I’ll explode into a horny mess. So no touching.”
“What if she needs us to touch for the photos?”
“That’s different. We won’t be alone.”
I shot her a sexy grin. “So, that’s the key. Being alone.”
“Ty!” she warned, her hand coming up.
“Ty! Kaylee! Come on, Blayze is about to lose his mind!” Brock shouted from downstairs.