Busy days.
Storms.
Arguments.
Make up sex.
A home.
A place where I finally belong.
Maybe even a ring on my finger and a swollen belly—a life growing.
Felix puts me in the nook again, rolls me to my back. His hot palm covers my belly. "I love you. And if this happens, I couldn't possibly be happier."
"Promise?" I ask, searching him for the truth I know I'll find.
"Promise.”
I put my lips to his ear. "Because I'm pretty sure it did."
"Pretty sure?" His eyes find mine again.
I nod. "Pretty sure."
He stretches out an arm, fumbles in the drawer, and comes up with a red velvet ring box—the velvet is crushed and faded and dirty.
Old—very, very old.
I stop breathing. "Fee?"
"When my parents divorced, Mom gave me this. It was her engagement ring. Before her, her mother wore it and hers before her. If you accept it, you'll be the fourth woman to wear the ring."
"Fee," I whisper. "You have to ask the question."
"Ember James." He slides the ring around my first knuckle, then pauses. "Marry me. Be my wife—my forever. Please. Marry me, Ember."
I push my hand to take the ring, and, impossibly, it fits perfectly.
“Yes," I whisper. "Yes. I'll be your wife."
"You belong now, Ember," he whispers. "To me. With me. To my family. To my friends. To Three Rivers. Youbelong."
He holds me as I cry tears of joy.
Of relief.
Of belonging.
I found my light in the dark.
I found my home.
With Felix Crowe.
Epilogue
RILEY
