Emma felt a jolt of panic and yelled tothe onlookers. “Can someone grab him? Riley!”
As Emma moved through the throngs of people, her heart began pounding in her chest and her desperation only grew stronger. She had to find him. Finally, her eyes locked onto his figure in the distance. He wasn’t too far ahead, sitting where a small opening had formed around him.
Emma made her way to him, her steps quickening with each passing moment. As she drew closer, she reached out to grab what she thought was Riley’s leash, but her fingers closed around something else entirely—a piece of red ribbon.
With shaking hands, Emma unraveled the ribbon, her heart racing as she felt the weight of something dangling from it. And then she saw it—a breathtaking diamond ring, glittering in the sunlight.
She looked up at the crowd, her eyes wide with wonder and amazement. It was then that she knew—this was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment that would change everything.
She saw the crowd goers pointing at something behind her. Confused, she turned around and found Luke down on one knee. Her mouth dropped as he took the ribbon from her hand and untied the ring. Luke held it up as it glimmered in the sun like a tiny star, casting its own light across everything nearby.
“You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. Emma, will you marry me?”
Emma’s heart raced as she nodded her head quicker than she could speak. “Yes! Yes, Luke! I will!”
Her eyes brimmed with tears when Luke slipped the ring on her slender finger. Emma threw herself into his arms, laughing and crying all at once. Riley jumped up too, wanting to be part of their hug as the cheers swept through the crowd, growing louder with each passing second.
Emma looked up into Luke’s eyes as he wiped away the tears from her face. “I can’t believe this is real,” she whispered.
“It is,” Luke said, holding onto her. “I promise to make you feel loved every day of your life.”
Emma smiled through the tears, the weight of his words echoing through every fiber of her being. “You already do. I love you, Luke.”
“I love you too, Emma. Forever and always,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss.
Emma’s heart soared as his soft and full lips met hers. The moment she had been waiting for had arrived. She let herself fall into him, her fingertips tracing the profile of his cheekbones. Their beating hearts collided together like a cosmic miracle, which had created the stars and galaxies. It was a kiss that had felt like the beginning of time itself.
She knew with Luke by her side, anything was possible. Their wandering souls had finally found home.
***
