“Paradise,” I finally whispered when I felt his hands again.
“This is the best one.”
I tangled my fingers in his. “We definitely agree on that.”
And while he held me, we stayed silent, listening to the sound of the waves, staring at the water and sky and the way the two almost clashed because they were such vibrant but different shades of blue.
He kissed the top of my head, and he left his lips there, breathing me in. “Happy two-year anniversary, baby.”
It was the third night of our stay, the evening of our actual anniversary, and Lance had hired a private chef to prepare dinner. Once we got dressed, he took me onto the pool deck, where a table had been set up with candles and flowers and all white linens.
The sun was just starting to lower in the sky, the blue changing to different shades of pink and purple, the water really beginning to darken to black.
“Is this real?” I paused in front of my chair, unable to take a seat yet. The sky couldn’t be more breathtaking, but seeing the beach and ocean underneath it and the spread he had put together for us was an unforgettable combination.
“I knew you would love it here.”
He gave me the softest kiss, and helped me into my chair, pushing me closer to the table. He took the seat across from me, smiling as he placed his napkin on his lap. We’d been in the sun nonstop since we arrived, and he looked so delicious with a tan.
“I’ll never get tired of seeing the amazement on your face when you witness something for the first time.”
I felt my eyes glimmer as his words passed through me.
So many more firsts.
And these were because of him.
“I’m so curious … why has it taken you so long to bring me here?” I took a quick glance at the horizon, the pink turning to magenta. “We’ve traveled all over.” I grinned as I thought of all the trips, the weekends skiing in Maine and the ones in Utah and Colorado, weeks spent in Europe and the Caribbean during the holidays. “We’ve even been to South Beach.” I then gazed at the house, taking in all the glass and white and beauty. “Seems like, aside from Vail, it would have been one of the first places we visited, especially if it’s one you love the most.”
With an expression on his face I wasn’t able to read, he rose from his chair, lifting his champagne glass before he walked over to me. I grabbed my drink as well and then clasped my hand in his. And silently, he walked me onto the sand. The way the property was nestled on the corner, this section of beach had more privacy than the others, so it felt like we were all alone.
We were halfway to the water, the sky filling with bright orange tiger stripes, the sun getting closer to the edge of the ocean, when Lance began to slow. And when our eyes connected, I knew I was finally going to get my answer.
“When I was in elementary school, my parents bought a house on this beach,” he started, his voice so gentle and smooth. “Whenever we came here, my father changed. He relaxed and turned into this calm version of himself that we rarely ever saw. I was too young to understand, but as I got older, I felt it—the pressure to get good grades, to pass the bar, to take over the responsibility of my family’s legacy. And I found, every time I came here, I was doing the same thing as my father.”
When he paused, I squeezed his hand, and there was the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips right before he kissed me. It was tender, no deeper than a breath, but his scent and presence and mouth took ahold of me. He pulled back just a few inches, and his navy stare was just as powerful.
“The reason I never brought you here is because it’s taken almost a year to build this house, and now, it’s finally ours.”
I scanned his eyes, my chest filling with an immense number of tingles. “Ours?”
He reached for my cheek, holding it so steady. “Our place … our home.” He brought my fingers up to his lips, kissing every knuckle.
I couldn’t breathe. His gaze was so intense, how it was locked on mine, holding it in a way that felt completely different. It deepened, something I hadn’t thought was possible, and he slowly brought my hand down to the small bit of space between our bodies. Once he held it there for a few seconds, he took a step back and gradually got on his knee.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, my free hand going over my mouth.
“Chloe …” He looked up at me from the sand and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black velvet box. “Even after I dropped every one of my faults on you, you never tried to change who I was. You’ve always accepted the impatient, demanding man that I am, and you haven’t fought this lifestyle that I dragged you into when I know you would still probably prefer a much less lavish one.”
Tears stung my eyes, and they dripped, nothing I could do to stop them.
“Baby, you haven’t left my mind since the moment I met you.”
I felt his emotion in every inhale, I saw it, and it was grasping my heart, melting it.
“Everything in my life has led me to this moment, and now, I’m asking you to make me the happiest man in the world.” He opened the box, showing the most exquisite diamond wedged inside. “Chloe, please be my wife.”
I swallowed, squeezing his hand so tightly, tears dripping over my lips as I said, “Yes.” I sucked in a breath of air. “Oh my God, yes.”
There were too many tears filling my eyes to see the details of the ring as he slid it on my finger, but I felt its heaviness and the foreign sensation of the metal. And once it was all the way on, he rose and pulled me into his arms, lifting me in the air.
“I love you so much,” he hummed in my ear, circling us over the sand.
“I love you.” A whole different wave passed through me, like the ones I heard just behind us, but these were slamming inside my chest as I processed what this moment really meant. “Lance”—my fingers raked through the back of his hair—“you’re going to be my husband.”
His lips hovered in front of mine as he growled, “For the rest of my life, you’ll be my queen.”
We came to a standstill, and he kissed me.
“Molly!” I shouted as she answered my call while I was rushing to the bathroom. “He asked me to marry him. We’re engaged.”
“GAH!” Her scream was even louder than mine. “I’m crying. I can’t even—I just can’t. Babe, you’re getting married.”
My feet were wet and sandy, and I was trying not to slip on the pavers around the pool.
Our pool.
“Molly”—the emotion was back in my voice—“it was so perfect. In every single way.”
“Where is the ring, woman? And why aren’t you blowing up my phone with a picture of it?”
“Because I’m peeing, and I only have a second before I rejoin Lance for dinner. Later tonight, I’ll send you everything. I just didn’t want you to hear the news through text.”
“Oh, Chloe …” There was a seriousness in her tone that made me pause, a sound that reminded me of a time so long ago. “He’s the one.”
“I know.” I rushed straight into the pool bath. “Now, we have a wedding to plan, maid of honor.”