"I can try to save all the animals in the world, Ryder, but what would it matter if I lost the one person who makes it all worthwhile?" My voice breaks, but I push on. "You were right. About everything. About them, about us, about what really matters."
He stares at me, hope warring with caution in his eyes.
"The thing is, Ryder Scott, I've spent eight years thinking I had to do everything alone. That depending on someone meant setting myself up to be left behind."
My hands trembling as I hold up the box.
Ryder's eyes widen comically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not sure how this is supposed to work, but..." I hold out the ring box, still closed. "I think I'm supposed to be on one knee for this part."
A slow smile breaks across his face, and suddenly he's sliding down to kneel in front of me, mirroring my awkward one-kneed position.
"Seriously, Harper? You're stealing my proposal?"
"I'm improvising," I counter, blinking back tears. "Because I need you to know that I choose you. I choose us. I choose the life we're building together in Iron Ridge."
He takes the ring box from my hands, his smile growing. "So you're proposing to me... with the ring I bought for you?"
"Like I said, I'm improvising."
Ryder laughs, the sound washing away the tension of the past few hours. "Well, in that case..."
He opens the box, revealing the most beautiful ring I've ever seen.
"Oh my god.Ryder!"
I gasp at the sight of the ring—a breathtaking solitaire diamond that sparkles at every angle. It's the kind of ring that makes your heart stutter and your fingers tingle before they've even touched it.
The kind that belongs in those viral proposal videos that make you ugly-cry at 2 AM while eating ice cream straight from the carton.
We kneel there, face to face, both of us on one knee, and somehow, it's perfect.
"Will you marry me?" I whisper.
At the exact same moment, he says, "Marry me, Mia."
Our words collide in the space between us, and we both break into laughter, the kind that's edged with relief and joy and a thousand other emotions I can't even name.
"Is that a yes?" he asks, eyes shining.
"Only if you're saying yes too," I counter stubbornly.
Ryder slides the ring onto my finger, and it fits perfectly, like it was always meant to be there. "Worst. Proposal. Ever."
He pulls me into his arms, both of us still kneeling on the carpet of his childhood bedroom, surrounded by hockey posters and trophies and all the memories of where we began.
"No way.Bestproposal ever."
I lean up on my knees, and Ryder kisses me deeply. His hands cradle my face like I'm something precious, something irreplaceable.
Every emotion we've ever felt for each other pours into this kiss. A release of all the teenage butterflies, the years of longing, the hurt, the healing, the certainty.
Our tongues meet, and it feels like our hearts are finally, truly joined.
"So... fiancée," he says, testing the word. "Does this mean I'm forgiven for walking out?"
"Walking outagain," I correct him, trying to sound stern despite the giddy happiness bubbling through me. "But yes, you're forgiven. Only if I'm forgiven for almost ruining the most romantic moment of our lives."
