Walking to the wheel, I heard a bunch of girls giggling and talking and Evan’s name being mentioned. He was so recognizable now. Lifting my head, I watched as one of the girls approached us.
“Mr. James?” she tentatively asked.
“Hey girls,” Evan said, giving them a killer smile. Unable to resist, I lightly pinched his ass making him to jump. Chuckling, he playfully glared down at me for a moment. It was so unfair when he unleashed that particular smile on unsuspecting women.
“Give me a minute, love,” he said quietly to me, kissing me on the cheek before making his way over to the girls.
“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” a cute little redhead said excitedly to her friends.
“You see that girl over there,” he asked them, pointing to me. They all nodded. “That’s my lady. I’ve got a really special night planned for her. So, what do you say I have her take our picture together from one of your phones and then you can all pass the photo around, okay? I don’t want to leave my girl waiting,” he said, winking at me and giving me my favorite half smile. I swore he just made every single girl within our vicinity swoon including me.
One of the girls quickly produced a cell phone and approached me with it. “You’re such a lucky lady,” she said, handing me the phone.
“I know. He’s a gem,” I said, using his nickname for me.
Spreading his arms, the girls all snuggled up next to him. As the all smiled widely, I quickly took a photo and handed the phone back.
“Have a great evening, girls,” Evan said, extracting himself from them.
The girls all huddled around the one phone, admiring the photo. “My God, he even smells as good as he looks,” one said, making me chuckle. How right she was.
“Come on, baby,” Evan said, wrapping his arm back around me.
Approaching the attendant, Evan handed him the tickets for the VIP gondola. As it came around and stopped before us, the attendant held the door open, gesturing for us to enter. Evan allowed me to go first, but then he stopped and whispered something to the attendant, who smiled and nodded at him. What in the world was he up to?
Taking the seat across from me, a smile touched his perfect lips. Running his hand over his jacket pocket again, I noticed he looked a little nervous, which was so unlike him. But before I could say anything, the wheel started to move, drawing my attention to the sights of the beautiful city of Seattle.
As we got to the top of the wheel, it stopped moving. As if on cue, Evan reached into his jacket and pulled out a single red rose. Without a word, he handed to me. With my eyes locked onto his, I took it from him. Bringing it my nose to inhale deeply, I encountered something hard and cold. Pulling the rose back, I glanced down to find the most beautiful ring nestled within the center of the rose. Tiny purple stones surrounded the biggest most brilliant heart-shaped ruby while white diamonds lined the platinum band. The red ruby and the purple stones immediately reminded me of the bouquet of flowers Evan had picked up earlier in the market. Was he trying to tell me something then?
Standing, he took the rose from my hand. Pulling the ring out, he got down on his knees before me. Instantly my vision started to blur as my eyes filled with tears, causing me to blink furiously and wipe at my eyes.
“Ember….baby,” he said softly, taking my left hand in his.
Suddenly realizing where this was going, I tried to keep my body from shaking nervously. My hand felt cold in his and even a little sweaty.
“From the moment I saw you in that bar, I knew you were the girl for me. I knew you were the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Marry me, Ember. Let me give you the world. Marry me,” he finished in a whisper.
Looking up at me with the most hopeful look on his face, eyes filled to the brim with nothing but love, made me thankful that I was sitting because my knees would have collapsed under the weight of what I felt for this man. I noticed that he did not ask me to marry him, but almost demanded that I do. The very thought had me smiling widely.
“Is that a yes, Gem?” he asked, sounding uncertain.
Choked by the level of emotion I felt, I simply nodded at him.
“I need to hear you say it, Ember. I need to hear you say it,” he said, a desperate tone to his voice.
“Yes,” I choked out. “I’ll marry you.”
Evan closed his eyes and released his breath in a huff before sliding the ring on the ring finger of my left hand. Lifting my hand to his mouth, he gently kissed the ring.
Sliding out of my seat, I landed on Evan’s lap. Before he could respond, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. With happy tears streaming down my face, I kissed him like my life depended on it, tasting the salt of my tears on our lips. Pulling back, he cupped my face in his hands.
“I know it hasn’t been an easy road that has gotten us to this moment, and I know it won’t always be smooth sailing, but I promise that I will always hear you out and I’ll never go to bed or leave the house angry with you. I’ll never doubt you. I’ll never leave you or abandon you or hurt you. I will always be here for you, and I will always love you.”
“That sounded like a vow,” I chocked out around the lump in my throat.
“It is a vow. I don’t need to stand in front of a room full of friends and family to vow to love you for now and forever.”
Crushing myself to him, I hugged him tightly. “I love you, Evan. I love you so fucking much.” My cursing made him chuckle.
We continued to sit like that on the floor of the VIP gondola until it started moving again. Evan urged me to get up and get back in my seat. Taking the seat next to me, he held my right hand tightly in his left. All I could do was stare at the beautiful ring that was now on the ring finger of my left hand with awe.
“Do you like it?” Evan asked tentatively.
“I love it,” I quickly said, turning to smile at him. “It’s gorgeous with the red and purple colors. It’s unlike any ring I’ve ever seen before.”
“You’re a very special woman, baby. I wanted you to have a ring that was as special as you. The heart is a ruby to represent you since it’s your birthstone. The purple stones surrounding the heart are amethysts, which is my birthstone.”
He put so much thought into the ring, which made it even more special.
As we reached the end of our ride, the attendant opened the door to the gondola so we could exit. Grabbing my hand in his, he led us off the ride and down the pier. Stopping suddenly, he pulled my arm, twirling me around and sending me right into his chest. Cupping my face in his hands, he frowned down at me. His eyes were searching mine as if he was looking for the answer to a question he had not yet asked. I opened my mouth to speak.
“Shhh,” Evan said, placing a finger over my lips. “Did you just agree to marry me?” he asked, frowning and looking perplexed.
Chuckling, I smiled up at him. “Mmhmm,” I said, nodding. Lifting my left hand, I flashed the ring in his face.
His eyes lit up as he stared at the ring as a sexy smile appeared on his face. Hopping up, I wrapped my arms around his neck, crushing myself to him, taking him completely by surprise. Crushing my lips to his, our tongues dueled frantically as the kiss quickly heated. Wrapping my fingers into his hair, I held him to me as we continued to kiss each other breathless.
“Ember? Is that you?”
A voice from the past, a voice I prayed I would never hear again, suddenly penetrated through my passion-filled head. David. I froze. My body instantly tensed in Evan’s arms. Pulling away from Evan, I was now breathing heavily from the rising panic I could feel at having to see David again. Realization of the situation suddenly flared in Evan’s eyes.
“Wow, Ember, it is you.”
Releasing my legs from around Evan’s waist, I slid down his body until my feet were firmly planted on the ground. With weak, shaky knees, Evan kept his hold tight around my waist as if he knew I was about to crumble.
“You look terrific, Ember.”
Davi
d stepped closer to me as if he was going to hug me. Evan’s arm shot out stopping him from coming any closer.
“That’s far enough, Carlisle,” Evan growled.
“Well, look at you, James, acting all tough,” David said, narrowing his eyes at Evan.
It was nice to know that David had not changed. He was still the arrogant asshole he had always been. What did I ever see in him? More importantly, why was I ever afraid of running into this asshole again? With Evan firmly by my side, protecting me like he was, I felt like nothing could ever hurt me again, most of all David.
“Carlisle, I would love to say that it’s been a pleasure seeing you, but that would be a lie.” Evan said that with such a straight face I had to suppress a laugh. “If you’ll excuse us. This beautiful woman.” Evan gazed down at me with eyes brimming to full with love. “Just agreed to marry me and I would hate to have this perfect moment be tainted by her hurtful past. Have a wonderful evening,” Evan finished with a wide smile on his face.
Grabbing my hand, Evan guided me around a very stunned-looking David. I knew in that moment that I truly loved Evan more than I had ever realized. With a smile on my face and a heart filled with love, I walked with my future solidly by my side as I easily left the past behind me, realizing that this moment was just one of many more to come that would be picture perfect.
To my family, especially my daughters Risse and Ally, Mom, my sister Linda, and nieces Amanda and Kristin, for your continued support, unconditional love, and understanding when my crazy writing frenzies strike. None of this would be possible without you. I love you and I know I don’t tell you all enough.
To my husband Michael, thank you for working so hard for your family, allowing me to pursue this crazy dream.
To Lynn C. for your enthusiasm and kind words regarding my work. I know I can always count on you to be honest with me and to give me a good swift kick in the ass when I start to listen to my inner critic. But most importantly, thank you for your friendship. You’ve been there every step of the way. I heart you big time.....so does Jake. ;)
To Kim K. for the tremendous amount of support you continue to give me, and your honest but kind words concerning my work. Words cannot express how much I appreciate it!
To Debbie P. for your support, encouragement, and your friendship through all the years since kindergarten. I love you like a sister!
To Tommy C. for pulling me off the ledge more times than you’ll ever know. I respect you as a fellow writer and I treasure you as a friend. You are, my friend, bad to the bone! ;)
To my fellow Treasures, especially Jen, Kayla, Joan, and Eve, for your friendship and support and the laughs when I felt like crying. I’m proud to be a Crown Treasure and honored to call you all friend. Sparkle on, ladies.
To Ebony for always believing in me and my work. Your efforts to get my name and work out there is appreciated more than I could ever say, and I can never repay you for all that you’ve done for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
To Diana R. for your continued support, kind words about my work, and your friendship. Even though you are a 49ers fan, I still love you. ;)
To Lori with Wicked Book Covers, LLC for the outstanding cover and formatting!! You blew me away with it, and I look forward to working with you again! You rock, lady!
To Lori, Roberto, and everyone at Rosario’s for providing my family with the best pizza in town when I’m too busy writing to cook. You guys so totally rock!
L. E. Maguire is an independent author who is a born and bred Jersey Girl currently living below the Mason-Dixon line.
She is an avid reader with a passion for romance novels. When she’s not reading, you can usually find her writing.
Starting Over (Hart of Seattle, #1) was her first published novel on July 27, 2013. Her second novel, New Beginnings (Hart of Seattle, #2), is the second and final in the Hart of Seattle series, and was published on December 31, 2013.
She also has a special love for photography, football (sharing an equal passion for both the NY Giants and the Seattle Seahawks), and all things vampire.
You can get in touch with her through her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lemaguireauthor or through email at [email protected].
Other Works by L. E. Maguire
Starting Over (Hart of Seattle, #1)
New Beginnings (Hart of Seattle, #2)
Picture Perfect Page 26