Page 83 of Forever Fallen

“Ooooh! Do ya’ now, flyboy?” Glory teased, grabbing him by the lapels of his uniform jacket and kissing him as Alpo laughed happily, tugging on one of her pigtails playfully.

They quickly walked off as several others made their way over to congratulate the two of them and look at their rings. Delilah took several photos just before Armadillo ordered her to sit down again, looking concerned.

Sophie couldn’t blame him.

The poor woman looked miserable… and he was quick to give her his seat, making her put her feet up.

Looking up at Ryan, she smiled tenderly at him.

“You are incredible, you know that?”

“I’m just me…”

“Modesty? Hmm… not exactly a quality I’ve seen yet,” she teased, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek as he smiled. “I can’t believe you planned all of this?”

“I had a lot of help and you almost found out,” he admitted. “Never dreamed you would actually blow your top, but I really love the fact that my little wife is possessive and loves me enough to fight for what we have.”

“Oh, gosh yes…” she uttered emphatically. “I meant every word, Ryan.”

“I did, too.”

Sophie looked at her wide wedding band, touched by how beautiful it was. It was unassuming and classic, just like him, but there was a touch of sparkle that was just enough to catch the eye.

The white-gold band nearly spanned the entire space of her finger up to her knuckle… and noticed that his was wide as well. It was still narrower than hers, in a masculine fashion, but larger than what was normal. A silent way to say that they were both taken – with each other.

“I love our rings.”

“Me too…” and then he had this secretive smile that appeared on his lips.

“What?” she said instantly, chuckling. He looked almost boyish in that moment. She could almost picture what a little boy would look like between them, and felt a pang of longing.

Maybe she would broach the subject later? Today was the first time he’d ever uttered a word about children and it was at the forefront of her mind the last few hours.

“Our rings are engraved,” he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her.

“They are?” she asked, backing away and looking at him in shock before yanking off her wedding band. “Oh shoot. I can’t see it out here in this light…”

Sophie clasped his hand and yanked him towards the house quickly, hearing his laughter directly behind her.

As they stepped inside, she saw several sets of eyes look at them in surprise from the kitchen where they were making drinks, getting out plates, and starting to uncover the multiple crockpots full of food.

Luke was already in a booster seat at the table, happily eating.

“Is everything okay?” Thumper asked.

“Oh yes…” she replied, turning on a lamp nearby and looking inside her ring – before staring up at him in surprise, feeling tears well up at the strange, yet bittersweet message inside the ring.

His… until the reaper comes

“Before you say anything,” Ryan began, pulling off his own ring and handing it to her. “Full transparency – I wish I could take credit for it, but the rings were like this already.”

“You’re kidding… this is…Ryan,” her voice broke.

The elegant writing inside of Ryan’s ring ran from one side to the other. They were so beautiful, such sweet sentiments that seemed so incredibly fitting, it was hard to believe that it was already engraved there.

Hers… until the sun doesn’t shine

“I’m yours,” he said quietly, kneeling beside her where she sat next to the lamp to look inside the rings. “I’m yours until the sun stops shining… and you are mine, even after the reaper comes,” he smiled. “Comes home, that is.”

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