Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
With that, he inches back just a bit, putting space between us as he drops to one knee. Releasing one of my hands, he pulls a small velvet box from his pocket. He holds it up toward me, and my hands shake as he opens the lid, revealing a beautiful diamond ring—a diamond ring that I’d recognize anywhere.
I suck in a gasp, my eyes lifting to his. “Is that?”
“The same one I proposed to you with when I was seven,” he confirms.
“But how did you—”
“Your dad found it,” he says, squeezing my hand. “He kept it for you—for us—because even back then, they all knew we’d make it right here.”
“Noah,” I breathe, the tears graduating from a steady flow into a raging river.
“Zo,” he says, his voice shifting, a seriousness wrapping around us and closing us into this beautiful private bubble for this moment I’ve always dreamed about. “You had me wrapped around your little finger from the day I first met you, and every day since has led us right here. I’ve always known that this is the path we would take and that you would be the one I would give myself to, vowing to love you in front of all our friends and family for as long as we both shall live. And I’ve been so lucky and grateful that you’ve opened your world to me and loved me in return, even when I didn’t deserve it. Every piece of me belongs to you, Zoey James, and though we won’t have as much time as we always dreamed of, nothing would make me happier than to be your husband.” He pauses, holding my stare, those dark eyes so full of undeniable, overwhelmingly pure love. “Zoey, will you marry me?”
A wide smile stretches across my face, and I fall right into his open arms, our bodies colliding as tears stream down my face. “Yes,” I whimper. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
Noah holds me so damn tight as our family cheers for us, and honestly, I’d forgotten they were even there. He crushes his lips to mine, kissing me so tenderly, and even through our kiss, it’s impossible to wipe the smile off my face. I’ve never been so happy.
Over the past few months, I had to come to terms with the fact that marrying Noah Ryan was only ever going to be a dream for me. But the fact that Noah is willing to get down on one knee and ask me to marry him, despite the heartbreak he knows is coming his way, fills me with the most genuine, unadulterated, pure kind of love.
When we finally break apart, Noah takes my hand and slides the ring into place, right where it’s always belonged.
He kisses me again, and with that, we’re swarmed by our family, each one of them crashing into us and wrapping us into their warm arms, not a single dry eye to be seen. Noah doesn’t dare let go of my hand, keeping me right by his side as our family offers us their congratulations.
It’s an incredible night, easily the best one of my life, and as Noah drives me home after all is said and done, I can’t help but smile. His hand lingers on my thigh, the weight of my illness not welcome here tonight. As I gaze at him, his elbow resting against the driver’s door, his fingers carelessly draped over the steering wheel, my heart flutters. Things could not be more perfect.
This incredible man is going to be my husband.
Right from the start he was mine, and now I’m going to walk down the aisle to marry him before he inevitably walks me through to the end, our hearts entwined until the end of time.
57
Zoey
The beautiful Arizona sun peaks above the horizon, welcoming a new day and turning the sky into brilliant shades of dazzling gold. It’s a perfect day, more than I could have ever asked for because, in a little more than an hour, I’m going to marry my best friend.
It’s been a week since Noah proposed at the lake, and while I know this is all happening so fast and not typically how this would go down, I wouldn’t have it any other way, especially considering the circumstances. We want to make the most of every second, and if that means getting to marry the man who makes me the happiest woman in the world in a short, private ceremony while the sun still rises in the dewy morning, then that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
I stand at my bedroom window, not brave enough to crawl out onto the roof. At this point, I don’t even think I’d have the strength to haul myself out through the frame. While this past week has been incredible with Noah getting to plan our wedding and Mom helping me choose a dress, I’ve also continued my steady decline, which is part of the reason why we’re doing this so early in the morning.