“Oh. My. God,” I said breathlessly. “Gorgeous. You’ve been up here before?”
“A couple of times,” he admitted. “Never with anyone else, though. This is my first time bringing someone up here.”
“I’m glad I could be your first,” I said with a smile.
“Paige,” he began as we looked out at the mountains in the distance. “Before you, I was a walking zombie. I went to class. I went to parties. I saw plenty of girls. But I was a dead man. You walked into my life at this very bookstore one day last August, and my entire world came to life. With one shy look, with one touch of your hand, with one word uttered from your mouth, I was changed forever. And my destiny finally came to fruition.”
The butterflies I hadn’t known were gathering in my stomach took furious flight at his words. This man had gone to so much trouble to create this kind of magical night for me, and now he was telling me how special I was to him on top of it.
I would never get enough.
His arms tightened around me, and he glanced down to meet my eyes.
“I love you, Paige, with my entire body, with my complete soul. I gave you my heart the night you opened yours up to me for the first time, and I will be forever grateful to you for taking it so willingly. I would do absolutely anything to be the man who deserves you, and to make you happy for the rest of your life.”
My vision went a little blurry then. I brushed the tears away, staring into those clear blue eyes I adored so much.
His eyes shifted to glance behind us, and he pulled my hand to turn me around to face the back of the roof where we’d entered.
Standing there in a line were our friends. Rob, Drew, Gillian, and Tima all stood there smiling gleefully at me. Confused, I cocked my head to the side.
Rob held up a plain white sign, with big, black, bold letters laid out on the front.
WILL
I couldn’t imagine what my face must have looked like, but confused would have been a total understatement. I glanced at Clay, but he was stoic, watching them.
I turned back and Drew was holding up a sign, too. He was next in line and his grin was probably the widest.
YOU
Now my uncertainty was bordering on helplessness. I was missing something huge here, and everyone was in on the joke but me. When I looked at Clay again, he was still staring at our friends. His expression was so somber, panic began to set in deep my veins.
Looking back at the line of people in front of us, Gillian was standing next to Drew holding his hand tightly. In her other hand, however, she now held up a sign as high as her tiny frame could manage.
MARRY
My hands flew to my lips to hold in the gasp that threatened to overload both me and my senses, and as I watched, a smiling Tima held up the last white sign.
ME?
Tears streaming down my face, I stared at them with wide eyes and my hands still firmly covering my mouth. I felt a tug on my hand, and when I looked down, Clay was kneeling before me.
“Paige?” he said, his face still so serious. “I love you, baby. With everything I have, I love you. Marry me.”
My eyes were locked with his. I couldn’t look away even if I’d tried. He had just proposed to me. I wasn’t expecting it. I knew I was going to spend my life with this man; that much had been certain. But I was not expecting him to propose to me right now, today, or anytime in the near future. He had managed to catch me completely by surprise. And I loved him even more for it.
I dropped to my knees beside him. He was still holding my left hand in his, and he squeezed it tightly as I took a deep breath.
“Nothing in this whole damn world would make me happier,” I exhaled the words in a rush of pure joy.
Finally, the smile I’d been missing broke out on his face and he rolled his eyes skyward, sending up a silent prayer.
“Thank God,” he whispered.
Then he loosened his group on my hand long enough to slide a ring onto my finger. The most perfectly beautiful ring I’d ever seen.
“Oh, my God,” I said for the second time tonight. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
And then I was being tugged out of Clay’s hold by a tearful Gillian.
“You’re engaged!” she said happily. “I can’t believe I kept this secret.”
“You only had to keep it for two days,” Drew said wryly. “Clay wouldn’t trust you with it for longer than that.”
“Shut up,” she growled at him without breaking my gaze. “Congratulations, chick. You deserve this. You guys are going to be so crazy happy.”
I believed her. I knew that Clay and I would be deliriously happy. It didn’t matter where we lived, what we were doing, or when the actual wedding took place. He was mine. I was his.
And I had the happily ever after I never dreamed existed.
THE END
About the Author
I’m a mom before I’m anything else. When I finally felt brave enough to quit working and stay at home with my oldest daughter, the idea of becoming an author was born. So now I’m a mom, a wife, AND an author. And I love being all of those things. I live in South Carolina now with my family, but I’m a Southeastern Virginia girl at heart. I love books, steak, and television, and I hate working out. My two kids are Carrington, age 4, and Raleigh, age 1. We also have a four-legged family member of the doggie variety, whose name is Landis.
Please visit my website for future releases, info, and giveaways. Make sure to subscribe to my newsletter: www.dianagardin.com
Tweet Me: @Dianalynngardin
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Acknowledgements
First of all, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave me the desire and skill to write. Through Him I can do all things!
My husband and my children are the source of the greatest love I’ve ever felt—without which I couldn’t create the love stories you find in these pages. Thank you Tyson, Carrington, and Raleigh.
Thank you to my critique partner for The Ashes series, Richelle Calicott. Your insights on this book really helped to sculpt a believable story, at least I hope they did. You are brilliant. Your mind is a source of depth for me, and your heart is a source of friendship. Thank you!
To my amazingly thorough editor, Katrina…I’m so lucky to have found you on that miracle they call the World Wide Web. You help make my writing clearer, and your praise and support means the world to me. My gratitude and appreciation for you literally crosses oceans!
To the creator of both covers for the Ashes Series, Stephanie Mooney…thank you for your re-do of these covers. I liked the first ones fine, but I absolutely fell in love with these. Your work is truly special, and I’m grateful to have you on my team.
To my beta readers for the Ashes Series: Heather Smith, Melody Cariello, and Kim Rowland. Thank you for loving the stories enough to read them first!
To my agent, Stacey Donaghy. You are helping to find the Ahses Series a new home, and I thank you for your tireless efforts. Without you, I wouldn’t know half of the things I know about this publishing industry, and I’m looking forward to many years together.
To my family and friends, thank you for understanding all of the time I spend in a fictional realm, and not thinking me weird for it. I know there has been many a time when I’m looking through you instead of at you while I’m thinking of a story, and that must be annoying. I love you desperately!
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Settling Ashes: A New Adult/College Romance (The Ashes Series Book 2) Page 19