Page 144 of Falling Into Forever
Blake stares at her for a beat too long, and my chest aches for the guy. Sometimes Saylor’s expressions are a spitting image of Shannon’s. I don’t blame him for staying away, but I’m glad he’s forcing himself to live.
“I will,” he says gruffly, then hugs her.
I offer him my hand, and he attempts a smile. I told him this morning that I was planning to propose to Saylor. I’m not sure why. It’s not like I was asking his permission, but if Shannon were alive, I would have asked for hers, so it felt right.
When he said Shannon would be happy for us, it was all the confirmation I needed. Now, how the hell do I do it?
“I’ll be back soon,” Blake says.
I believe him. Now that he’s back in Saylor and Ainsley’s life, he realizes he needs them as much as they need him. They’ll never get Shannon back, but together, they’ll keep her memory alive.
Music plays softly from a nearby speaker, and I take Saylor’s hand when Blake is out of view. “Dance with me?”
“We haven’t danced in a long time,” she says.
Does she remember our last dance? It’s a memory I replayed often. “I haven’t danced with anyone else.”
She pulls back to check my expression for the truth.
“Sayls, the last time we danced was on your front porch, the day I told you I would marry you someday. There wasn’t a dance worth ruining that memory for me.”
Her chin wobbles, but when I tug her into my body, all feels right with the world.
“I am, you know.”
“Hmm?” she says, and it vibrates against my chest.
“Going to marry you.”
“Someday.” She smiles against my T-shirt.
“Yes,” I say begrudgingly. “Someday. But only because I don’t have a ring yet.”
Her back expands sharply against my palm, and I chuckle.
“But someday soon, my sweet and sassy Saylor girl, you will be mine.”
She nods, and her fists twist into the back of my shirt. “Mio amato,” she murmurs, and I’ve never heard a more beautiful song in all my life.
* * *
“I’m goingto ask her to marry me, and soon,” I announce as Grady, Harrison, Adam, James, and Lena help me clean up the backyard.
Everyone keeps moving as if I didn’t just drop a bomb.
“I’m serious,” I say when no one acknowledges me. “I’m going to buy a ring. Tomorrow.”
Lena pats my chest and dumps a bucket of water on the fire.
“What?” I ask, more than a little annoyed that everyone isn’t shocked or happy, or, well, anything. “I am.”
“Jesus, Dante. Everyone is aware that you’ll propose. That’s not a question. We’re worried about what kind of bullshit you’ll drag us into to make it happen,” Grady says.
“What do you mean?”
“Dude, you can’t just ask a girl to marry you anymore. It’s a whole thing now. You have to plan, and there’s grand gestures and shit,” Harrison says, walking behind me with folding chairs in each hand.
“What?”
