Page 38 of Shaded Amethysts
I immediately obeyed and trusted him implicitly as he led me closer to the bench. Unable to resist teasing him a bit, I asked, “Is this the point in our story where you shove me off a cliff?”
He chuckled good-naturedly before saying, “Nope. I don’t need to serveanotherprison term for murder.”
I smiled, even though I couldn’t quite believe we were joking about such a serious matter. After leading me to the spot where he wanted me, Gage said, “Sit down.”
I complied, having no fear that he would let me fall. The giant rock was surprisingly comfortable, but the rough surface was chilly through the light fabric of my dress.
“Open your eyes,” Gage said quietly.
When I did, the sight below us nearly took my breath away. The stone bench faced west, so the setting sun was highlighting the field below us where beautiful red flowers spelled out the words ‘Marry me?’
My eyelashes fluttered as I tried to absorb the stunning sight. Gage said, “We used a mix of flowers to spell out the words… red roses to say how much I love you, Gerbera daisies to represent my everlasting desire for you, red carnations to show my admiration of the amazing person you are, red chrysanthemums to let you know that you are and always will be my best friend, and red tulips to bless our relationship with plenty of passion and romance.”
“Oh, Gage,” I breathed out, utterly at a loss for words. I couldn’t have dreamed up anything more romantic or ideal.
He gave me a proud smile before revealing, “I spelled it myself. I’ve been taking private tutoring lessons with Dean. I’ve learned more by working with him these past few weeks than I did during all my years in school. You were right… the one-on-one attention seems to be exactly what I needed.”
“That’s wonderful!” I beamed at him before asking, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” he answered simply.
“It’s the most splendid surprise ever,” I weighed in, beyond thrilled by the entire scene.
“I had a lot of help,” he admitted.
I grinned at him before saying, “I noticed you said ‘we’ at the beginning. Was Molly in on this?”
“Yes, plus your parents, Alex, and the entire film crew,” he admitted.
“What?” I asked, feeling astounded that everyone had gone to so much trouble for me.
“I’ve been planning this for quite some time. Farmer Hayes owns the land, and I talked him into letting me plant the flowers in this corner of the field. When Molly revealed that you were going to propose to me tonight, we had to move the timeline up.”
I shook my head and said, “I can’t believe she didn’t clue me in. How could she let me make a fool of myself by prattling on about my planned proposal?”
“She wanted you to be surprised. Besides, she said she volunteered to take care of hiring the string quartet.”
“So, she never called them,” I guessed.
“Oh, she did,” he hinted before yelling toward the trees, “Come on out, guys.”
Right on cue, the elegantly dressed gentlemen emerged from the trees playing their instruments. They stayed unobtrusively in the background as they serenaded us with a lovely rendition of “A Thousand Years.”
Grinning, I turned my attention back to the man beside me before saying, “Smooth.”
“I try,” he answered.
Still unsure how the others had been involved, I asked for clarification.
“The updated timeframe didn’t allow enough time for the flowers to grow and bloom from seeds, so we had to plant each of the buds by hand. Your parents even came out and helped.”
He couldn’t have stunned me more if he’d stripped down to his underwear and dove off the cliff. I forced my mouth closed before verifying, “My mom came out to the woods and planted flowers?”
“She did, and she seemed to enjoy herself,” Gage answered.
I couldn’t imagine the prim woman out here where she might get dirt under her fingernails. When I said as much to Gage, he said, “They love you very much and would do anything for you.”
“They obviously like you quite a bit as well,” I answered before asking, “But where did Alex and the film crew come into the mix?”
