Page 61 of Marrying Bonnie

Jace’s face fell. “It’s not good. The fire department said we can go in after another day or two and assess the damage.” Sympathy crossed his features. “I’m sorry, Bonnie. We’ll go up together and see what we can salvage.”

Bonnie thought about the photo albums she had, her book collection, and the special things that she’d been given at different times in her life. It might all be gone forever. Tears sprang to her eyes. At the same time, she had her life. And even Oreo was okay.

It could’ve been much worse.

“It’ll be okay,” she whispered. “Thanks for saving my life, Jace.”

“Are you kidding?” He leaned in close, his nose nearly touching hers. “I’d run into a burning building for you any day of the week.”

She laughed then, the motion making her cough again. She thought about the days leading up to the fire and sobered. “I’m sorry about what happened. At my parents’ house.” She paused as she tried to get her breath. “I was going to tell you on Monday. I don’t care about money, Jace. If you have five dollars or five million.” She reached up and pressed her palm to his cheek. “I don’t ever want to leave you and Gunner. I’m so in love with you.”

He smiled tenderly at her as he rested his hand over hers. “And I was going to tell you that I’d give it all away if that’s what it took to make you stay. I love you, Bonnie. More than you’ll ever know.”

He kissed her gently then. A sweet, chaste kiss that made Bonnie feel warm, safe, and content.

* * *

“I’m sorry, darlin’.”Jace walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist as they surveyed the contents of her apartment. While only sections of it had actually been burned, the damage caused by water and smoke had taken its toll.

Very little was recognizable. It would be a miracle if anything could be saved.

She leaned into his chest with a sad sigh. “This is what I’d prepared myself for. But I guess I was still hoping it wouldn’t be this bad.”

“I know. So was I.” He leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Still, we’ll comb through everything just in case. I need to do the same thing downstairs, too, although it looks like nearly everything was incinerated.”

An image of Bonnie trapped in the burning garage entered his mind as it had many times since that night. He looked forward to it becoming a distant memory instead of one that triggered another round of fear and panic.

“I’m sorry about your grandpa’s tools.” Bonnie’s voice had gotten stronger over the last few days, but it was still a little raspy.

Jace held her tighter. “They are just things. I managed to get the most important treasure out in time.” With that, he pressed a kiss to her jaw near her earlobe. He registered the remaining smoke smell in the air and steered Bonnie towards the stairs. “Come on, we need to get out of here before the fumes start to bother you again.”

She didn’t argue with him. The doctors said she’d make a full recovery, but it might take many weeks. Meanwhile, she was using two different inhalers and ordered to stay far away from smoke of any kind.

She’d been lucky. They both had.

Together, they made their way outside and around to the front porch. They sat on the swing, and she leaned into Jace as he put his arm around her shoulders. “You need to make a list of everything you’ve lost. I’m not sure how long it’ll take insurance money to come in, but we’ll start trying to replace what we can.”

Bonnie was silent for several moments. Long enough for Jace to lean back and down to look at her face. “You okay?”

She nodded. “It’s so overwhelming. You know?”

He completely understood. There’d been something he desperately wanted to ask her, but the timing hadn’t been right.

Until now.

Jace shifted away from her a little and reached for her hands. He swallowed as he studied her beautiful eyes—eyes that watched him with the kind of trust and love that had his heart turning over in his chest. “Then we’ll rebuild—and I’d love to do it together. I love you, Bonnie. It took me way too long to realize it, and even longer to admit it, but I can’t imagine doing life without you by my side.” He reached up and tucked some hair gently behind her ear. “Will you marry me?”

She nodded, a sweet smile on her face. “I want to marry you more than anything, Jace Echolls. I love you, too.”

Jace gathered her in his arms and kissed her.

This. It didn’t get much better than this.

Epilogue

Three Months Later

Wyatt stepped up and held his elbow out for Bonnie. As soon as she put her arm in his, he tightened his hold. “You ready for this?”

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