I clear my throat and pull her hand into mine.
“I was asked once to close my eyes and imagine I’m dancing. Play the song in my head and feel the person pressed against my body. Look at the person I'm holding and I'd know who my soul mate is.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the black velvet box I bought three days after I saw her. Getting down on one knee, I kiss the inside of her wrist.
Her hand goes to her mouth to stifle her gasp. I can’t help but smile. I know this is right.
“Ryan,” she whispers.
“When I close my eyes, I see you. I’ve seen you since I was eighteen years old. I knew you were the one for me. If you would’ve asked me months ago if it was possible for me to find my soul mate, my answer would’ve been no. But you walked back into my life and I’m not willing to take any chances.
“I know our lifestyles are different and our jobs are crazy, but I can’t see myself with anyone else but you. I don’t want anyone else and I know you were in that bar for a reason.”
“Will you marry me, Hadley?”
“On one condition,” she says.
“What’s that?”
“That we get married right away.”
“Why the rush?” I ask as I slip the ring on her finger.
She picks up my hand and kisses it and then kisses my lips. “I don’t want to live another day without being your wife.”
I move over her, pushing her gently onto the couch. I hover above her, looking into her eyes and I know she’s sincere.
“I love you, Ryan. I always have.”
“You didn’t say yes.”
“What?” she laughs lightly.
“You didn’t say yes. I asked you to marry me and you didn’t say yes.”
“Oh—”
“Will you marry me, Hadley Carter?”
“Yes, yes I will, but only if I can ask you something in return.”
“You don’t like your ring?” I sit back on my knees and look at her. I love her ring. The moment I saw it, I knew it was for her. That’s how I knew I was making the right decision.
“What? No, I love my ring.” She sits up and runs her hands up my chest. “Will you move in here?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” I say as my lips come crashing down on hers.
Finally, my life is playing out like I planned all those years ago. I know things happened for a reason, but not knowing why is probably the hardest part. In the years I was away from Hadley, I grew as a person. I wasn’t cynical or a hard-ass. I worked hard in college and at my job, paving the way for my future. I took care of Dylan as promised and even tried my hand at love once or twice, but nothing felt right until that night in the bar when I saw her standing there – and I knew. I felt it in my bones that if I didn’t keep her, I’d never find the happiness I felt when I knew her the first time because, without a doubt, she and I are meant to be together.
KEEP READING FOR A
SNEAK PEEK
OF
PRETTY LITTLE LIES
By Debut Author
Jennifer Miller
Chapter One
“Fashion tip: Stilettos are great when paired with a great pair of jeans skirt, or dress. Not only do they make your legs look longer and give your calves a great work out but they have the added bonus of coming in handy should you need to give a cheating husband a kick in the crotch!”
I blink hard and try to bring the papers in front of me into focus. I’m almost done. I just need to sign a few more of these freaking legal documents and then I can put this ridiculous mistake of a marriage behind me. When I met Deacon, I was a sophomore in college. I was vulnerable, and looking for an escape from the boring student I had become. Deacon offered me just the release I craved. The endless parties, tapped kegs, promises of hot sex, and occasionally other experimentation that I choose to forget, made getting involved with him a no-brainer. Add a side of studying and managing a fashion blog that took on a life of its own and you have my college life and relationship with Deacon in a nutshell.