She turned to me, her eyes shining with happiness. “Is my jaw on the floor right now?”
“Something like that.” I grinned big and wide.
“Did you do this?”
My answer was a sheepish shrug.
“But how? I knew you’d been out to visit the store and check on things. You told me you were helping my parents figure out some new inventory plans. But this?”
Pride suffused me. I’d done this. I wanted to, but I had to. I had to show her how much she meant to me. I knew this was the way. “That’s what I was up to. It was a surprise. For you.”
“You did all this?”
I nodded.
“They let you? My parents are stoic about taking help from me,” she whispered. “I couldn’t imagine they’d accept it from you, even if you’re their daughter’s boyfriend.”
Another smile. “They did.”
“But how did you convince them?”
“I told them I wanted to do it as a gift to you.”
“And that was all it took?” She eyed me skeptically.
“Sort of,” I said.
There was a lull in the action at the counter and her parents came over, giving a round of quick hugs. Her dad clapped me on the back.
“The floor is yours,” Kat’s father said, and took a step back, putting his arm around Kat’s mom, giving me space.
“What is it?” Kat asked.
It was everything I’d ever wanted. She was everything to me, and I didn’t want to ever be without her.
I was ready, and I hoped she’d say yes.
“It’s really daunting being in love with a jewelry designer,” I said. “You can’t really get her a necklace or earrings or even a ring to show your love, because chances are, she has her own ideas in those areas and might be a little particular. So this”—I spread out my arms to indicate the revitalization of the store—“is my gift to you. But it’s more like a promise. It’s a promise that I don’t want to be your favorite mistake. That I want to be your forever mistake, if you’ll have me.”
Kat
* * *
My heart stopped for a moment, and I couldn’t move or form words.
“What I’m really trying to say is I don’t ever want to lose you again. Now that I have you, I want to be with you always. Will you be mine?”
He bent down on one knee, and my heart nearly stopped. But then he reached for his wallet. I raised an eyebrow curiously as I watched. He removed a tiny white bag that looked familiar.
“You might remember the day I bought this. Back at a little shop in the Village with you. I’ve kept it since then. In my wallet, in this bag, for more than five years. I got it for you then and planned to give it to you as a promise. It’s just a little thing, but you’d said you always loved Paris.”
He reached into the bag and handed me a ring I did remember looking at in the little shop. A little fleur-de-lis in tiny purple stones, and it looked like it had been carried in a wallet for five years. Which is to say, it looked beautiful.
“You kept this all that time?” I wondered.
“With me every single day. Kat, it’s always been you for me. Always.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him to me, wrapping my arms around him.
“I’ll buy you a real ring,” he said. “But I want you to design it, okay?”
I nodded.
“So, that’s a yes?”
Rays of happiness burst from my chest. “I’m yours. I always have been. I always will be.”
Then I kissed him, and of all our wonderful kisses, this kiss was the very best of all. Because it was a new beginning. Here in my home away from home, in the town where I grew up, we’d come back to each other. We had each other to hold tight and never let go.
* * *
THE END
Ready for Jill’s romance? Dive into the sexy forbidden romance THE PRIVATE REHEARSAL, available everywhere!
Are you curious about Elise’s story? Dive into the sinfully sexy romance PART-TIME LOVER. It’s a no-strings-attached arrangement meets a marriage-of-convenience storyline, and it’s available everywhere!
Thanks to Rosemary!
Also by Lauren Blakely
Big Rock Series
Big Rock
Mister O
Well Hung
Full Package
Joy Ride
Hard Wood
* * *
The Gift Series
The Engagement Gift
The Virgin Gift
The Decadent Gift (coming soon)
* * *
The Heartbreakers Series
Once Upon a Real Good Time
Once Upon a Sure Thing
Once Upon a Wild Fling
* * *
Boyfriend Material
Asking For a Friend
Sex and Other Shiny Objects
One Night Stand-In
* * *
Lucky In Love Series
Best Laid Plans
The Feel Good Factor
Nobody Does It Better
Unzipped
* * *
Always Satisfied Series
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Instant Gratification
Overnight Service
Never Have I Ever
Special Delivery
* * *
Lucky Suit
Birthday Suit
* * *
From Paris With Love
Wanderlust
Part-Time Lover
* * *
One Love Series
The Sexy One
The Only One
The Hot One
The Knocked Up Plan
Come As You Are
* * *
Sports Romance
Most Valuable Playboy
Most Likely to Score
* * *
Standalones
Stud Finder
The V Card
The Real Deal
Unbreak My Heart
The Break-Up Album
21 Stolen Kisses
Out of Bounds
* * *
The Caught Up in Love Series:
The Swoony New Reboot of the Contemporary Romance Series
The Pretending Plot (previously called Pretending He’s Mine)
The Dating Proposal
The Second Chance Plan (previously called Caught Up In Us)
The Private Rehearsal (previously called Playing With Her Heart)
* * *
Stars In Their Eyes Duet
My Charming Rival
My Sexy Rival
* * *
The Thrill of It
The Start of Us
Every Second With You
* * *
The Seductive Nights Series
First Night (Julia and Clay, prequel novella)
Night After Night (Julia and Clay, book one)
After This Night (Julia and Clay, book two)
One More Night (Julia and Clay, book three)
A Wildly Seductive Night (Julia and Clay novella, book 3.5)
* * *
The Joy Delivered Duet
Nights With Him (A standalone novel about Michelle and Jack)
Forbidden Nights (A standalone novel about Nate and Casey)
* * *
The Sinful Nights Series
Sweet Sinful Nights
Sinful Desire
Sinful Longing
Sinful Love
* * *
The Fighting Fire Series
Burn For Me (Smith and Jamie)
Melt for Him (Megan and Becker)
Consumed By You (Travis and Cara)
* * *
The Jewel Series
A two-book sexy contemporary romance series
The Sapphire Affair
The Sapphire Heist
Contact
I love hearing
from readers! You can find me on Twitter at LaurenBlakely3, Instagram at LaurenBlakelyBooks, Facebook at LaurenBlakelyBooks, or online at LaurenBlakely.com. You can also email me at laurenblakelybooks@gmail.com