Page 118 of Cut up
“Okay, but let me freshen up first. I’ll meet you out there?”
“I’ll wait out there. Just head towards the wildflower fields, past the big gumtree.”
She nods, and she walks off.
“Good luck.” Mum and Nicole whisper, giving me a thumbs up before I head outside.
I grab the picnic basket I hid in the back of the ute and walk down the field. The sun is warm against my cream shirt, the grass soft beneath my feet.
I head towards the blanket Mum spread out earlier.
The farm has never looked more beautiful. Green everywhere and small butterflies flutter around. The soft hum of bees, the birds singing, the gentle rustle of wind through the leaves. It smells like soil and gumtrees, wildflowers and fresh-cut grass. It smells like spring.
I hear the back door close. She’s coming.
She walks toward me, barefoot through the field, the hem of her dress catching the breeze. It’s light blue and flowy, the kind that flutters in the wind and makes her look like she stepped out of a dream.
The waves of hair catching the sun, and she’s laughing at something I can’t hear from this distance.
God, she’s beautiful.
My Angel. My Camille.
My heart doesn’t just beat for her. It belongs to her. I can’t believe I get to love her.
When she reaches me, I stand and press a kiss to her temple, guiding her down onto the blanket. The basket is full—cheese, crackers, strawberries, wine—and she looks delighted as she leans into me, giggling at the effort I put into this. She has no idea.
“What’s all this?
“I wanted to have a picnic.”
“Yum! You packed all my favourites,” she grins, popping a grape into her mouth. “If this is how you treat me all the time, I might just keep you forever.”
“Might?” I tease, nudging her knee with mine. “I drove all the way out here, picked this spot, packed the picnic, chilled the wine, and even remembered the gluten-free crackers you pretend taste good.”
“They do taste good,” she says with a mock glare. “But you forgot chocolate.”
“I didn’t forget it,” I smirk, reaching behind me and pulling it from the basket. “I was saving it for after I asked you the most important question of my life.”
She blinks, her smile softening. “Lucas…”
I can barely listen now, because my heart is thudding with nerves. I know what I’m about to do. I know what I want. I reach into my jacket and pull out the satin white ring box.
I kneel.
She freezes.
“Camille,” I say, my voice already thick, “you’re everything I never knew I needed. You walked into my life and everything finally made sense. You didn’t just give me love—you gave me a life I want to keep building, day by day, with you in the center of it. You’re my best friend, my peace, my future. You are my home. You are a love so big I still don’t know how my chest holds it.”
Her eyes fill with tears instantly.
“I’ve watched you build a life from everything that tried to break you. I’ve seen you rise, over and over. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I don’t think I could. You are it for me, Cam. You always will be. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you and I will love you for the rest of my life.”
I open the box.
A simple, perfect oval-cut diamond on a gold band. Exactlywhat she described she wanted.
“Will you marry me?”
