by Parker, Ali
“You think he bought it?” I asked, but I already knew the answer.
Rylen confirmed it for me anyway. “Not a chance, but he was good enough about it not to ask too many questions.”
Another knock at the door interrupted us. Rylen smiled. “That will be the champagne. Let me go get it and then maybe we can have a sundowner out here?”
“Sounds good.” I made myself comfortable in one of the deck chairs, putting my feet up and crossing them at the ankles.
The sun was now a glowing orange ball on the horizon, painting the sky in a multitude of pinks, yellows, and oranges. Having an unimpeded view of it was incredible.
I was still smiling to myself and admiring the view when Rylen came back. He had already uncorked the bottle and filled two crystal flutes with the bubbly liquid, handing one over to me before he took the other chair.
Lifting his glass to mine once he was seated, we clinked them together. “Here’s to us, Olive.”
“To us.” I looked into his eyes as I said it, feeling that rush of love for him that still made my head spin.
The fact that he looked at me the same way was mind-boggling, but I’d come to accept that for whatever reasons, he loved me in the same way that I did him. He’d been a groomsman at Heidi and Will’s wedding last weekend, and throughout the entire time they recited their vows, his eyes had never left mine.
It had felt like we were making those promises to each other without having to say the words, but there were still a couple of important issues we had to clear up. We’d covered a lot of ground since we met, but there was one pertinent question we hadn’t yet discussed.
Of course there was also the fact that we weren’t engaged, so we couldn’t exactly make those kinds of promises to each other. I hadn’t pushed Rylen toward getting engaged or married, though. I knew that I loved him and that I wanted to be with him forever. I also knew that he felt the same way.
I could wait for him to do something about it, but that question we hadn’t discussed yet was bugging me. I wanted kids and I didn’t know if he did too. I’d always envisioned myself having a few, but if I did, I wanted them with Rylen.
“Do you ever want to have kids?”
Crap. I nearly buried my head in my hands. After months of not asking because I didn’t want to sound like I was trying to push him into anything, and then it just came rushing out like that?
I was half expecting him to spray the sip of champagne he’d just taken, but he didn’t. Calmly swallowing, he set his glass down and put his feet on the ground to sit facing me fully.
“Yeah, I definitely want them.” My heart swelled with relief, but it didn’t look like he was done so I didn’t say anything about it.
This time I was expecting him to tell me that while he did want kids, he didn’t want them for a few years or something around those lines. Maybe that he wanted them but wasn’t sure when yet.
What I wasn’t expecting was for him to dig around in his pocket, pull out a small, velvet box, then slide off of his chair to land in front of me on one knee. But that was exactly what happened.
My hand sneaked to my lap to pinch my thigh, but after I blinked back the pain, he was still there. He opened the box to reveal three diamond-crusted silver bands with a huge square-cut diamond sitting atop the one in the middle. It was so wide that it covered the two rings on either side of it too.
I gasped, clamping my hand over my mouth. Rylen’s eyes came to rest on mine, bursting with so much love and warmth that it brought tears to my eyes.
“I definitely want kids, but we have to do things right.” He breathed in deeply through his nose. “Here’s the thing, Olive. I do want them, but only if I have them with you. I want everything, as long as it’s with you. I want to give everything I have, everything that I am, as long as it’s to you. I love you, and I want it all with you. Will you marry me, Olive?”
Blinking rapidly so as not to spoil his amazing proposal by becoming a giant blubbering sap, I slid off my own chair and onto my knees. Bringing my hands to his cheeks, I pressed my palms to them, then leaned forward so my lips touched his when I gave him my answer.
“I love you, too, Rylen. Of course I will marry you.”
And then he kissed me.
In my head, I heard the nonexistent narrator in the story of our lives declare that we would live happily ever after, and I believed him.
The End
Want More?
Check out Hot Summer Lovin’!
Grab your copy HERE!
Insider Group
Join Ali’s Insiders Newsletter Group for New Releases, Updates and to Connect with Ali.
As a thank you for joining her list,
you’ll receive a starter library from Ali.
Join Here
About the Author
Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.
She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.
Website ~ Insider’s Group ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
Instagram ~ Pinterest ~ Google+
The Parker’s Playground ~ Pen Names
Rule Breaker By Accident
Copyright © 2019 by Ali Parker
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
First Edition.
Editor: Eric Martinez
Cover Designer: Ryn Katryn Digital Art