Page 128 of Forbidden Kisses
Since when did he have keys in his back pocket?
He resurfaced a few seconds later. Only he wasn't holding a key. He had a ring. Then he changed positions so he wasn't just kneeling with both knees in front of the bed. He put one in front of him, and my heart nearly stopped, my breath catching in my throat.
"Riley, today was full of surprises. Some went the way I imagined. Then some—" He paused, looking at the ring. "—didn't. But I want to make you some promises. One, that I'll get better at sharing my feelings. And the second one, that Iwill make you very, very happy as my wife. I love you with a fierceness I didn't know existed inside me. What we have together is incredible. I promise to value and cherish you for the rest of my life. Make sure you’re spoiled every day and that you will want for nothing. Will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course. I promise to love you forever, Duncan. To love and support you no matter what. And I promise to love Jeremy, too, and be the best mother figure I can.”
“You’re amazing, you know that? I love you so damn much for caring about him like you do.”
“I want to make his little soul happy even if it means talking you into camping trips,” I teased.
He scoffed. “Already siding with him more than me?”
“Nah, just on some things. I just… You and him, it’s more than I could ever dream of. Our little family. I’m so immensely happy,” I said as he slid on the ring.
Then he rose, putting one knee on the bed and moving toward the center of the mattress.
"And I promise I'll get better at surprises," he said, laughing.
I giggled, pointing at my new gorgeous ring. It was a huge, round diamond with several smaller ones around it. The band was platinum, and I couldn't stop looking at it.
"Oh, you're excellent at it," I assured him.
Then I pulled him toward me, and we both tumbled onto the mattress.
EPILOGUE
Duncan
Each summer, I brought Jeremy to Dublin to spend three weeks with his mother. This year was no different, except that Riley had traveled with us. She and I were going to spend the next three weeks touring Europe while Jeremy spent time with Shona.
"Darling, you grew four inches," Shona said. "And you must be Riley. Nice to meet you in person," she said as the two women shook hands.
Jeremy looked at her excitedly. "When are we going to the zoo?"
Shona laughed. "I bought tickets for later today. I have a surprise for you inside the house."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's in your room."
Jeremy darted inside the house without even looking back at us.
"Some things don't change about him, huh?" Shona said.
"No, he still loves the zoo," I said. "Still makes me feel like a second-class citizen every time I drop him off with my brothers or with you."
"Thank you, both of you, for bringing him. Riley, thanks for coming to meet me in person. Are you staying in Dublin? Do you want us to meet for dinner or something?"
I shook my head and put an arm around Riley's shoulders, kissing the side of her head. "No, I'm taking her on a tour of Europe. Our plane leaves tomorrow morning. We just want to walk around the city for a bit."
Shona smiled. "I'm so glad that you two are happy together. I mean it. I've never seen Jeremy this ecstatic."
He darted back out the door. "Dad, I have a huge Spider-Man room, like the one back home!"
She winked at us, hugging Jeremy. "I figured it would make your day."
"All right, well, Riley and I will head out now. You can call either of us at any time. We'll be in the same time zone, give or take one or two hours. But you can always reach us," I assured him.
