Page 97 of The Fear of Falling
He chuckles, and the sound reverberates through me. “You’re never going to let me live that down.”
“Considering how hard I had to work to get you to admit you’re in love with me, no. Never.”
He sighs heavily. “You never should have given me a chance.”
Spinning to face him, I reach up and brush my fingers along his jaw. “I’m glad I did.”
“Me too.” He smiles right as the bells fill the air with their music. The people around us stop walking to admire the moment, and Benson sinks down to one knee.
The air slides out of my lungs.
“Avery Grace,” he says, though I can barely hear him over the tolling bells. “My entire life, I never knew what I wanted. I was chasing something I couldn’t see, this intangible something that seemed to be just out of reach. And I was tired. I was ready to give up. Then I met you, and you saw right through all the pretense. You sawme. You saved me from myself, and everything I have in my life now I owe to you.”
I furiously blink away tears as the bells continue to ring around us. I might have been able to keep it together if Benson wasn’t teary-eyed too. Henevercries. “Benson,” I whisper.
He takes a shaky breath and pulls a ring from his pocket. The simple diamond reflects the golden sun, but it’s the stars in the band that hit me hard. He picked this out himself, and it’s perfect. “I love you, Avery Grace. I love your passion, your dedication, your complete inability to proofread a book without getting sucked into the story.”
The bell tower falls silent, but I’m pretty sure my heart is beating just as loudly as the bells rang.
“I love your family,” Benson continues, his voice dropping lower. People have started to notice us, their whispers and murmurs growing louder, but Benson’s eyes never leave mine. “And I love that you helped me become a part of mine. But I want to build a home and a family with you, Avery. Our very own. Marry me?”
It has taken everything in me to hold my tongue, so his question is hardly out of his mouth before I shout, “Yes! Of course! Yes!” Then I tackle him.
He grunts when he hits the ground, arms wrapping around me protectively as our spectators laugh and clap. “Not the reaction I was ex—”
I press my lips to his, trying to show him exactly how happy he just made me, and he meets my kiss with equal enthusiasm. “Sorry,” I say in between kisses. “Are you okay?”
“Great. I wasn’t sure if you would say yes.”
“Are you kidding?” I push myself up on my hands so I can smirk at him. He’s still crying, but his smile is wide. “Did you think all those times I brought up our future wedding was me being facetious?”
He leans up and kisses the tip of my nose, then gently pushes me off him so he can sit up. “You? Facetious?Never.” He takesmy left hand and slips the ring onto my finger, smiling so wide that he looks like he might start crying again. “You said yes,” he whispers, like he still can’t believe it.
We might be sitting in the middle of the street, but I am too overwhelmed and happy to move. “We’re getting married. When?”
He opens his mouth but stops himself before he says anything, his eyebrows dropping low. “That’s a good question. You have three major releases before the end of the year, including Dani’s.”
We would need more time than that to plan the wedding anyway. I would know. “You’re going to be too busy in the spring with all the plans Rogers has set you up with,” I mutter, frowning to match Benson’s expression.
“Summer weddings in Utah are a nightmare,” Benson says with a shake of his head.
“Everything is probably booked,” I agree. “And with the workshops starting up in May, and my fall lineup next year already looking pretty crazy…”
The idea hits us both at once, and we look at the cathedral in front of us in tandem.
“Any idea how hard it is to get a marriage license in Italy?” I ask slowly.
Benson already has his phone out, a wild grin on his face as he types. “We’ll need our birth certificates,” he mutters. “And we’ll probably have to get some paperwork from the embassy.”
That doesn’t sound too difficult outside the fact that my birth certificate is back in Utah. Oh… “My cousins are going to kill me if I get married without them,” I say as some of my excitement fades.
“I’ll fly them out here,” Benson replies without hesitation, then leans over and kisses me. “It’ll take a couple of days to get everything sorted anyway. Or we have a second ceremony afterwe get back so both our families can be there. But we can also wait.”
Sighing, I brush my hand through his hair and smile when he closes his eyes. It was hard enough to get us both here for Riccardo’s baby. “I don’t want to wait.”
“Neither do I.” He opens his eyes and brushes his thumb along my cheek, wiping a lingering tear. “What do you want to do?”
I want to do whatever it takes to know this man is going to be in my life forever. I’ve waited long enough. “I’ll have Dani bring me my birth certificate.”
