"Happy Valentine's Day Beautiful," he said softly.
"Our first," I replied, still marveling at how much had changed in half a year.
After dessert, Wade grew unexpectedly serious. "I want to show you something," he said, leading me to the restaurant's outdoor patio. Heat lamps kept the space warm despite the February chill.
The lake stretched before us, stars reflecting off its icy surface like scattered diamonds. Wade turned to me, his expression both nervous and determined.
"Six months ago, I was rebuilding a broken wedding arch, thinking everything worth having was slipping through my fingers," he said. "I never imagined that broken arch would lead to this moment."
My heart began to race as he reached into his pocket, then dropped to one knee on the snowy patio. In his hands was a small wooden box, intricately carved with patterns I recognized from the wedding arbor he'd repaired.
"You saved a piece," I whispered, touching the polished wood with trembling fingers.
"I rebuilt it into something new," he said, opening the box to reveal a sparkling diamond solitaire. "Just like you rebuilt me."
Tears blurred my vision as he continued.
"Lark Hayes, I've loved you since you stood on that lakeshore pretending not to watch me. Will you marry me?"
"Yes," I answered without hesitation, my voice breaking with emotion. "Yes, Wade Foster."
As he slipped the ring onto my finger next to my grandmother's sapphire, I felt her presence somehow—approving, understanding.
"My grandmother taught me to be strong alone," I said as Wade rose to his feet. "You taught me it's braver to be strong together."
He pulled me into his arms, his kiss warm despite the winter air. Above us, the last traces of sunset faded to stars, their light catching on the diamond now adorning my finger.
Wintervale had begun as my hiding place, my strategic retreat. Now it was simply home—the place where I'd found not just Wade, but myself. The future stretched before us, as vast and beautiful as the star-filled sky above the frozen lake, full of promise and possibility. And I welcomed it all with the man I loved beside me.
