Then, my door opened, and I was about to get out, but then Garrett scooped me up and began carrying me.
I let out a little squeal and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Mr. Mathews, where could you be taking me?” Then, a thought occurred to me. “Garrett, if you even think of throwing me in the river, I will never talk to you again. Do you hear me?”
He didn’t say a word. His silence was killing me.
“Garrett? Garrett! I’m going to rip this thing off my eyes if you don’t talk to me.”
Then, I felt him slowly lowering me down onto solid ground. I let out a sigh and tried to reach for him.
“Garrett, where are you? Stop with this silly silence game and tell me where you are right now.”
“Take off your blindfold, Em,” Garrett said, his voice sounding different.
I couldn’t tell if he was upset or if it was because he hadn’t really talked to me the whole way here.
I reached up and took off the blindfold, but I kept my eyes closed. I wasn’t sure what I was afraid of. Maybe I was nervous. Whatever it was, I stood there with my eyes closed.
“Emma…” Garrett whispered.
I snapped my eyes open. I looked down to see Garrett on one knee…on our quilt…under our tree. My eyes instantly filled with tears as I stared at him while he held a small box in his hands. I quickly looked around at everything. Small bouquets of daisies had been placed all over. Daisy petals and a few rose petals covered the quilt. I brought my hands up to my mouth and attempted to hold back the tears. I looked to the other side of the quilt, and a basket was sitting there. I was instantly taken back to the moment when we had gone on our first date—the picnic where Garrett had given me my first orgasm and when I’d fallen even more in love with him.
I looked down into his eyes, and he smiled so big and beautiful.
“Emma Rose Birk, the first time I saw you in that drugstore, I knew…I knew I would love you for the rest of my life. You captured my heart the moment your beautiful eyes met mine. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of this moment along with all the other ones—making you completely mine, making love to you under the stars, marrying you, and living in the house my father built for my mother. I just want to make all your dreams come true, Emma. I want to love you like I’ve never loved anyone. I want to make you laugh. I never, ever want to make you cry because it would destroy me if I hurt you. I want to see your belly swell up with our children. I want to tell you every chance I get how much I love you and how beautiful you are.”
He opened the box, and I wiped the tears from my eyes and face. In a very unladylike fashion, I used the back of my right hand to wipe under my nose.
When my vision finally cleared, I let out a gasp. “Garrett…” I whispered.
“Em, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and only you. I promise to always be faithful to you and to love you and take care of you to the best of my ability. Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Garrett Thomas Mathews?”
I let out a sob and fell to my knees before throwing myself into his body. “Yes! Oh my God, yes! Yes! Garrett, I love you so much.”
I held on to him as tight as I could, and he wrapped his arms around me.
Nothing would ever top this moment. Nothing.
“Thank God,” Garrett barely said.
I couldn’t help but giggle. Now, I knew why he had been so nervous for the last few days.
I pulled back, and he took my left hand in his. Before he took out the ring, he kissed the back of my hand and looked up at me. He smiled, and my heart melted on the spot.
He slipped the ring on my finger, and I got a good look at it. It was beautiful. I had to take in a deep breath as I looked at the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen in my life. It was a round cut diamond surrounded by a halo of diamond accents. Two smaller diamonds on the side led to more accent diamonds that moved down the band. The way the ring sparkled in the sun was amazing.
A sob escaped my throat as I looked up at Garrett. The moment I saw a tear moving down his face, my whole world stopped.
“It’s the most breathtaking ring I’ve ever seen,” I said as I reached up and wiped away his tear.
He slowly took in a breath of air and let it out. “My father designed it. It was my mother’s engagement ring.”
I placed my hand over my mouth and began crying harder.
Garrett pulled me into his arms. “No, Buttercup, please don’t cry. I don’t want you to cry.”
“I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m crying because I’ve never been so happy in my life. For this to be your mother’s ring just makes it all the more special. I swear, I can feel your father with us at this very moment.”
Garrett pulled me even closer to him, and he just held me. As I kept my face buried in his chest, I was pretty sure I could hear him crying as well. Nothing needed to be said between us. It was almost as if this was a healing process for Garrett. He’d held it together for so long after his father died. I thought it was finally all coming to the surface. If this was where it needed to happen, then I would be here for him. I would always be here for him. I could feel Garrett’s body as he slowly let it all out.