Page 132 of The Rules We Broke
Was this the beginning of the answers I’d been searching for?
“It is,” I whispered, barely believing it myself.
All of this gave me the courage to play and sing like I never had before. The nerves gave way to hope. And before I knew it the song was over. But no one clapped. Not even Brady. For a moment I felt sick, but then I looked around the room and everyone seemed in awe, stunned even.
“I never thought I would say this, but you’re even better than your aunt,” Isaac rasped. And not exactly quietly. That probably didn’t land well with Mrs. Jackson, but I didn’t get the chance to look at her.
Brady was walking my way, smiling the smile I loved the most. He approached the bench and kneeled in front of me, eyes shining full of adoration.
Then it clicked. He was kneeling in front of me. In front of his entire family.
“Daddy, will you please hand me the gift next to you?”
What gift? I hadn’t noticed one.
It took some effort, but Isaac reached down and handed the pretty silver-wrapped box with a meticulous gold bow on it to his son.
Brady took the box before handing it to me. Honestly, I was little disappointed in its size. It was too big to be a ring box.
He turned to his family, who were all as confused as I was. “I hope you don’t mind, but I want Ellie to open the first gift tonight,” he announced.
Caroline did mind and obviously wanted to open the first gift of the night. “Aww man,” she said, but she quickly recovered. “I hope it’s a puppy.”
Everyone laughed, except her dear sweet grandma. I dared a glance at her. Clearly, she was ready to hit the last button on the launch code.
Brady crushed Caroline’s dreams. “It’s not a puppy, darlin’.”
He faced me, his expression tender and full of meaning. “It’s actually something I’ve been waiting to use for ten long years.”
He definitely had my curiosity piqued.
“Ellie, will you please open it now?”
I carefully began to undo the wrapping paper. I tried not to rip the thick silver paper, but Brady became impatient. “Just tear it off, darlin’.”
I smiled and gave in, tearing the paper off in one swift motion. Inside was a simple white rectangular box.
I opened the lid eagerly, and Brady leaned in to peek—despite knowing exactly what was inside. That made me smile even more.
I pulled back the tissue paper, and my breath caught. My eyes stung with tears. There it was. The gift I’d thrown at him ten years ago. Back when my heart was young and broken and convinced it would never mend.
But now . . . Now, it felt like that very gift was stitching it all back together.
“I can’t believe you kept it all these years,” I whispered, running my finger over the license plate cover.House Divided.Half Auburn. Half Alabama.
When I was seventeen, I thought it would tell him I’d always be his. It seemed silly now. But it came from my heart.
Brady smiled and reached into the box. “Well,” he said, “I added a little something to it.”
He lifted the plate cover, and, tied to it with a crimson ribbon was a diamond ring—simple, stunning, and sparkling.
I placed my right hand over my mouth, overwhelmed. I felt like I might burst.
Brady gently untied the ribbon and took my left hand in his.
“I know you think I forgot this minor detail,” he said with a grin.
Brady slipped the ring onto my finger, and it fit perfectly—like it had always belonged there. “Ella Lu Eaton,” he said, voice thick with emotion, “I’ve loved you for half my life, and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone but you. Please say that you’ll be my—”
