As the evening had slipped past, people had come and gone from the outside eating area, and now there wasn’t anyone seated at the tables nearest theirs. Kieran looked over at Cara, taking in her smile and the way she laughed at something his mom had said. His heart expanded with love for her. She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and he felt confident that it was also God’s will.
With that in mind, he reached into his pocket for the small ring box he’d placed there earlier. With just one hand, he managed to open the box and slip the ring onto the end of his pinky.
He glanced at Gio, and the man’s smile broadened. He knew what was coming. In the absence of her father, Kieran had asked Gio for his blessing. Not that he wouldn’t have proposed without it, but if they were building a future as a family, he wanted the man to know that he was welcome in their lives.
When he reached for Cara’s hand, she looked over at him, her smile growing as their gazes met. With slow movements, and never letting go of her hand, he slid from his chair onto one knee. Cara’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but then she snapped it closed.
Kieran had tried to rehearse what he wanted to say, but the long speech slipped away, so he just went with the main points. “Love, though we’ve had our ups and downs through the time we’ve been dating, all they’ve done is show me that you are the one I want to be with. The ups, the downs. The good, the bad. I want it all with you. I love you. Will you marry me?”
Cara reached out to lightly touch his cheek with her fingertips, blinking rapidly against the moisture that suddenly made her eyes gleam like silver. Her fingers lingered on his skin, a gentle touch that became firmer as she slid her hand to cup his cheek before she bent forward so their faces were closer.
“I love you, Kieran. So very much.” She gave him a soft kiss. “I would love to marry you.”
Kieran couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he slipped the ring from his finger. He took her hand in his and slid it into place on her finger. Once it was securely in place, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to it before getting to his feet, drawing her up with him.
As he wrapped his arms around her, Kieran said a prayer of thanks that out of the darkest moments of both their lives, love had grown. And though it had taken time for him to accept Cara’s father’s role in those dark moments, he also knew it was because of him that they had reached this point of committing to a future together, and that was something he never wanted to give up.
Each of them had faced tremendous loss in their lives, but Kieran hoped that the past was behind them now. That their love marked the end of the darkness that had dominated their lives, allowing them to accept the past without it dimming the light that now filled their hearts and would guide them into the future.
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Dearest Reader ~ Thank you so much for reading Kieran and Cara’s story! With most books, I have just the most general idea of where the story is going as I write. With Kieran and Cara, I knew, for the most part, how things were going to unfold. For some reason, that made it more of a challenge to write… and at times I wondered if I was ever going to get it done!
But I did get it done, and I’m grateful that you decided to spend some of your time reading their story. If you enjoyed Because of Him, I hope you’ll consider sharing about it, and be sure to pick up book 3, The Color of Love. Though the mystery of Sheila’s disappearance is still not solved, it will be continued in future books.
Kimberly Rae
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If you want to continue to follow the lives of the people of New Hope Falls, be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you find out when future books become available!
Click here to sign up.
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New Hope Falls: Book 3—The Color of Love—will be available in Spring 2020.
Available now for pre-order!
Single and nice…those were the only two requirements Sarah McNamara had for any man she’d consider dating. So why is she even remotely drawn to the new resident at the lodge? He isn’t overly friendly—aloof being a better description—and he is somewhat rude at times. But whenever she sees the man, her fingers itch to paint him, and everything within her wants to get past the walls he clearly has in place.
Banished to New Hope Falls after the spectacular implosion of his engagement to a socialite in Houston, Charles Beaumont Allerton is way out of his comfort zone and not at all happy about it. With his trust fund on the line, however, Beau knows that if he ever wants to have any sort of control over his life, he has to follow through on what his father has demanded of him.
Making the acquaintance of his maternal grandfather for the first time in his life, Beau is introduced to a different way of life in New Hope Falls. One without people at his beck and call. One without all the trappings he’s used to. And one that includes a woman with a warm smile, a friendly personality, and a faith that is foreign to him.
Sarah is different from the women in Beau’s social circle in Houston, which makes her intriguing to him. He won’t follow through on the draw he feels toward her, however, because his exile to New Hope is only for a month. He still has a year until he can claim his trust fund, and he can’t let anything deter him from that goal. Not even the beautiful woman who makes him want to smile more than he ever has before.
Click HERE to get your pre-order copy!
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Because of Him: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 2) Page 33