Smiling, I took Ryn’s hand in mine as I looked into her eyes.
“Ryn, when I close my eyes and picture my life, I picture you standing looking out over the ocean and my hands on your pregnant stomach.”
Tears rolled down, Ryn’s face and I fought like hell to keep my composure in front of everyone. Swallowing hard, I kept talking.
“When I’m holding you, Ryn, I’m holding my entire world. I’m nothing without you, baby. You’re the best part of who I am.”
Ryn began crying harder as I took the princess cut diamond out of the box and held it up. “Ryn, will you marry me?”
Her hand was shaking as she nodded her head frantically. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Dropping to her knees, Ryn wrapped her arms around me as everyone began standing up and saying their congratulations. I’d been nervous as hell to ask Ryn to marry me in front of our friends. Seeing the happiness in her eyes would be something I would never forget. I wasn’t sure how long Ryn and I held each other before we stood. Lark was the first to hug Ryn.
Azurdee and Ryn both started crying again when they hugged. Sierra came walking up and gave me a hug and whispered, “It’s about time.”
Dodge and Chris both shook my hand and gave Ryn a kiss on the cheek.
Clapping his hands together, Lark said, “This calls for a celebration.”
Smiling, I looked at Ryn. She walked up to me and kissed me gently on the lips. “You want to go out, baby, and celebrate?”
“As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we are.”
Looking around I said, “All right, let’s party.”
GLANCING DOWN AGAIN, I LOOKED at the ring on my finger. Smiling, I looked at Tristan. He hadn’t let go of me since we walked into the dance club. He either had my hand in his or had his arm around my waist.
Looking up, I noticed Dodge staring out to the dance floor. Following his gaze, I saw Chris and Sierra dancing. “Freak Me” was playing and Chris and Sierra were for sure getting their freak on. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris ended up in Sierra’s bed tonight.
I knew Sierra secretly wished for Dodge to make some kind of move, but he ended up dancing with some red head almost as soon as we walked into the club. I saw the hurt move across Sierra’s face. But as soon as I saw it, it was gone and her attention was turned to the man who had been making a move for the last two days.
“You want to dance, baby?”
Giving Tristan a smile, I nodded and let him lead me to the dance floor. The beat of the song moved through my body as Tristan took me into his arms. Tristan was an amazing dancer. He pulled me closer and began moving his hands over my body as I melted into his body. The last few days had been amazing. I never wanted this time to end.
“Tell me what you are thinking right now,” Tristan said in my ear.
“I’m thinking about life after this weekend.”
Giving me a smile that melted my heart, Tristan placed his lips back to my ear. “Slow. Life is going to be slow. I want to enjoy every single second with you. Every night I want to lie in the back of my truck and look up at the clear sky full of stars. Every morning I want to wake up with you in my arms as we listen to the world come alive.”
Moving my lips along his jaw, I said, “Hmm . . . cowboy take me home and make love to me.”
“Gladly.”
Walking back over to the bar, Tristan told Lark and Azurdee we were heading back to the house. Lark gave Tristan a thumbs-up as Azurdee stood and gave me a kiss on the cheek and then Tristan.
The rest of the evening was spent with Tristan making slow passionate love to me as he whispered in my ear how much he desired me.
This night would forever be the most romantic night of my life.
Standing at the water’s edge, Tristan held the bottle in his hand. We had put both our letters into the bottle and Tristan had sealed it the same day we wrote them. We had both agreed to throw the bottle into the ocean at sunrise. This was our last day at the beach and the first official full day as an engaged couple.
The sun was beginning to rise as Tristan and I stood in front of each other. “Are we supposed to say something?” I asked.
Tristan looked out over the water. “Um . . . like what?”
Giggling, I said, “Maybe we just kiss and then give it a toss.”
“I like that plan.”
Taking a step forward, Tristan began screaming out, “Ouch! Shit! Oh, what the hell?”
I jumped back and looked at him. “What’s wrong? Tristan. What’s wrong?”
Tristan was jumping around on one foot as he kept screaming out. “Fuuck! Get it off. Get. It. Off!”