Page 51 of Rekindled

“I have one in the car. We’re good.”

She nodded as she they made their way outside and took off in his car for their date. As they drove over, Molly was texting on her phone.

“Who are you texting?” Spencer asked out of curiosity.

“Oh, just my mom. She wanted to know what I was doing tonight since I was in town.”

“Was she disappointed you couldn’t hang out? Did she say anything else?” Spencer asked with apprehension. He had asked Molly’s father last week for his blessing, and he was worried her mother might let it slip.

“No, she understands we have plans. She told us to have a good time.”

Spencer relaxed, grateful the surprise engagement wasn’t ruined. He should have known they wouldn’t say anything, since they helped him plan the whole evening.

They arrived at the Mariner’s Club, and Molly turned to Spencer with a giant smile on her face. “We’re having dinner here? We haven’t been back since our first kiss.” Her face scrunched up as she laughed, “Well, our second first kiss that is.”

“I thought we could celebrate you finally being a permanent Bayfield resident again.”

“I like the sound of that. It’s nice being home,” she said as Spencer helped her out of the car.

They made their way down the pier and into the swanky establishment. The same twinkling lights were glowing around the property, but this time there were extra strands on the wooden wall, arranged to spell out, “Will you marry me?”

Molly stopped moving, and turned to Spencer with disbelief. “Is that for me?”

Spencer nodded, getting down on one knee in front of her. He pulled out the ring box and opened it to reveal the engagement ring. “Will you marry me, that is?”

Her hands flew to her mouth as her body shook. She jumped up and down as she shouted, “Yes, yes, I will marry you.”

He placed the ring on her finger, then stood up and pulled her into a hug. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world.”

“Why don’t we go inside and enjoy dinner. I still have a couple more surprises for you.”

“There’s more?” Molly asked with awe. “What is it?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Spencer said with a wink, as he pushed open the doors to the club, revealing tons of twinkling lights and candles, making the room glow with warmth. The back doors started to open, and in filed all of their friends and Molly’s family.

They surrounded the newly engaged couple, as Spencer yelled, “She said, ‘yes,’” as he took her hand and raised it in the air for all to see.

There was deafening applause and cheers that filled the massive room. Spencer turned around.

“Is this a loud enough shout that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you?”

“Yes, of course it is.”

“I’m glad to hear it, but there’s still more,” he told her.

The familiar sound ofOnly Youstarted, causing Molly to jerk her head towards the stage. “You hadBlindsidedcome perform for us again?”

“You bet I did. I want to make you happy every day of your life, Molly.” He leaned towards her and kissed her before adding, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she said, letting him gather her into his arms.

They swayed to the music together, enjoying their song, with all their friends and family around them. When the music ended, Spencer turned to the crowd and said, “I’m so glad all of you could be here with us tonight. Pastor Matt said a few months back that sometimes God gives you a second chance because you’re not ready the first time. That’s exactly how I feel about Molly and me ending up together all these years later. I wasn’t ready back when we were kids—actually it was worse than that, I messed it up completely, but our God is a God of second chances. Fortunately, Molly and I both believe in love and forgiveness. We’ve realized that this time we can get it right.”

He turned to Molly, his heart full with joy at the thought of marrying her, and said, “We were meant to be, Molly. I’m so glad you decided to take another chance on me. I didn’t deserve it, but you gave it to me anyway, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you that you made the right decision.”

Over the course of the next two hours everyone came up and congratulated the happily engaged couple. Towards the end of the evening, Molly’s parents came up to them and handed them an envelope.

“What’s this?” Molly asked with puzzlement.