“I’ll monitor her. If she’s working with me, I’ll make sure she’s never out of my sight,” Lydia offered.
“Thanks.” I nodded.
“I better go check on the guests and make sure they are keeping off the grass like the signs I put out say.” Lydia left the room.
“I know you don’t want your sister here, but you can’t help who you’re related to.”
He stared at the ring in his hand and held me with one arm. “I know. I think the only thing that will make me feel better would be...” He stepped away and lowered himself onto his knee.
“Lola, I meant it before, and I mean it even more now. I love you. I love you more than I thought possible. It would make me the happiest man in the world if you agreed to be my wife. If you had said ten years ago, I’d be on my knees proposing to you, I would have laughed, believing my plan worked. But now I know how foolish I was. Because the heart can rip even the soundest plan to shreds. My heart wants you because you saw through my bitterness and cared for me the way no one ever had. I can only hope I can be what you want in a husband. To help you, to hold you, and to love you until my dying breath.”
Tears streamed down my face, and I hiccupped, nodding as my throat tightened.
“I take that as a yes.” He stood with the biggest grin on his handsome face.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He picked me up in his arms and kissed my neck. This day was officially the greatest day of my life. Better than any dream I could imagine because my love promised me his heart and sealed it with a ring.
***