Page 92 of Redemption

I grimace, but Kim holds up a hand. “I’ve got this. I went jewelry shopping with her enough to know her ring finger. She used to try on and buy a lot of jewelry.” The woman gives Kim a slip of paper, and Kim scribbles down a size.

An hour later, I’ve got my future secured in my pocket.

As soon as Lena and Sofia arrived and finished fussing over Carys and Jay, I enlisted their help in decorating the gazebo overlooking a small pond on Thomas’s property. They sent runners to get these tiny lights, flowers, and rose petals. I’m not too proud to admit when I need help. Romance is not my thing, but I’ve got to create a moment that’ll last Carys for the next three years of small tables and stolen conversations. Maybe I can’t give her everything she wants right now, but I can give her the promise something better is coming our way.

“He remembers you.” Carys strokes my arm while I feed Lucas his bottle.

“He won’t be drinking a bottle next time I see him, will he?” He’s making little contented noises in my arms while he sucks back the formula.

“Since you’re going back to minimum-security”—she tries to catch my gaze—“I can bring Lucas for visits. I can arrange for you to see each other. It’ll make the transition easier in three years.”

“Will he remember seeing me in there?” While I don’t want to hide my past from Lucas as he grows up, he doesn’t need the full weight of the decisions I made—the bad things I’ve done.

“I don’t know,” Carys admits. “He’ll be almost four when you get out. So, he might. But I think it’s more important for you two to have a connection than whether he remembers you were once in jail.”

I take a deep breath and give her what she wants because maybe it’s what I want too. “Yeah,” I say. “He can come. If you think it’s a good idea.”

She kisses my cheek and snuggles into me, looping her hands around my bicep. “The next three years won’t be easy,” she says. “But I’m sure they’ll be worth it.”

The lights are strung, the petals are flipping in the breeze, and there are giant vases of flowers at the entrance to the gazebo. I told Carys I had last-minute calls to make before I have to turn myself in tomorrow morning. She didn’t even question it. Kim and Carys are walking around the property, and Kim agreed to end their walk at the pathway that leads to the gazebo. I check my watch. She should be here soon.

Are most men nervous when they propose? It’s not something I ever thought much about. I’m not nervous about the marriage, and I’m not worried she won’t say yes. Mostly, I’m worried I haven’t gone big enough, extravagant enough in my proposal. I don’t want to let her down.

There’s a shuffling noise along the path, and then Kim says in a loud voice. “Why don’t you go check out the gazebo? I have to reply to this message from Lorcan.”

“Oh.” Carys’s voice drifts on the wind. “Sure. Thomas said it’s a lovely lookout over the pond.”

Kim chuckles. “I’m sure it is.”

Carys comes around the corner, and even in the dim lighting from the strands strewn around, her expression is everything I could have hoped for.

“Finn,” she breathes out and takes the two steps up to the wooden platform where I’m standing. “Did you do this?”

My lips tip into an almost-smile. “I’d love to take the credit. I am this amazing, but I had help.”

“Wow,” she murmurs taking in the petals, the lights, the view of the pond, the bouquets of flowers. “This is incredible.”

Relief rushes through me. As long as she likes the presentation, the rest is easy. I have to speak from the heart which used to be impossible but doesn’t feel so difficult anymore. “We’ve got a tough few years ahead of us, but I wanted to give you a really good memory to hold on to. Something concrete to look forward to in three years.” I draw the ring box out of my pocket.

Carys frames my face, and there are tears in her eyes. She kisses me hard. “Yes,” she says against my lips.

I chuckle. “Haven’t even asked you yet. I’ve got this whole sentimental speech planned. You don’t want to hear it?”

She stares up at me, and I’ve never loved anyone more. “Carys Van de Berg, you’ve had my heart for probably more years than you realize. I worshiped you from afar as a kid, loved you fiercely when I was still too much of a boy, and now as a man, I can’t imagine my life without you in it. So, I’m not even going to try.” I go down on one knee and open the ring box. “Will you marry me?”

She wraps her arms around my neck and sits on my bended knee. “Yeah,” she says. “I can’t wait to be your wife.” She kisses me.

“I can’t wait to see what you can cook up with three years to plan.”

“You’ll be horrified.” She traces my face with her index finger.

“And I’ll love every minute of it.” I take the ring out of the box and slip it onto her finger. As soon as it’s secure, a sense of peace blankets me. The next three years might be hard, might even feel impossible some days, but prison isn’t where we end. We’ve got a future together.

Epilogue

Carys

Three Years Later

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