“Yes,” Griffin said, his eyes firmly fixed on Marin. “It is.”
She peeked over her shoulder at him. Her smile dimmed when she saw the ice bucket of champagne and two glasses. Griffin’s breath stilled in his lungs at her reaction.
“Griffin, we have to go. I think Aunt Harriet and Uncle Conrad have plans out here.”
Chuckling with relief, Griffin closed the distance between them. “I had dibs on it first.”
He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist pulling her body up against his.
“You did?” she asked.
“Remember when I told you I wanted you the first time I saw you in the pastry kitchen?”
Marin blushed and nodded.
“Well, I fell in love with you out here, on this balcony. On our first date.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t the ravioli?” she teased.
Griffin pretended to ponder her question, and she smacked him on the chest. His throat suddenly became clogged with emotion.
“This is where it all started,” he said. “So it is where I wanted to make it official.”
He pulled the velvet Tiffany’s pouch out of his pocket. Marin’s eye’s widened, and her hands shook against his chest. The diamond ring sparkled in the moonlight when Griffin lifted it from the pouch.
“Marin Chevalier, I couldn’t not kiss you. Just as I couldn’t not love you. And I definitely can’t not spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
Years later, Griffin wouldn’t remember what Marin actually said. Just that with the stunning panorama of Washington DC behind her, she kissed him with reckless abandon and made him the happiest man alive.
* * *