“Grant, what are you saying?”
But before I could force an explanation from him, he was off his seat and down on the ground on one knee. I felt a sudden pang of nervousness that caused my heart to flutter. I knew what this meant. I knew what was happening. And yet, it was all so sudden, so unexpected, that my mind was having a hard time keeping up with what my eyes were seeing.
Could this really be happening to me? To Lacey? The girl who never chose the right man? And could it be happening with Grant Lucas? The man who swore he’d never get married for as long as he lived?
Tears filled my eyes instantly. They blurred everything. My lip started to tremble. I looked down at Grant, through my teary eyes, and knew that everything I’d ever wanted was about to come true.
“Lacey,” he said.
All I could do was shake my head. He reached into his breast pocket and took out a small box. I struggled to hold back tears of pure joy. He opened it in front of me and I was so startled I could hardly breathe.
Inside the box was the ring I’d chosen from the jewelry store, the really expensive one I was going to make Rob buy. I remembered then that Rob had said someone else had already bought it. Had Grant had it all this time? Had he known all this time that he was going to make me his? Rob had said the ring had been purchased the very same day I’d looked at it. Had Grant known all of this was going to happen, even then? I couldn’t believe it.
I wanted to fall down onto him and hug him. I wanted to cry. But I kept my nerve and just looked into his eyes.
“Lacey,” he said again, “would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
That was it. I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I got down and put my arms around his neck. He held me close, put his lips on mine, and we had the strongest, most passionate, intense kiss you could ever imagine. It was heaven. I felt as if my heart was about to burst. The thing I’d been dreaming about, fantasizing about, since I was a girl of seventeen and my father brought him to my house, was finally coming true.
“Yes,” I said to him. “Yes, yes, yes, yes. Of course I’ll be your wife.”
“Oh, thank God,” Grant said, and it surprised me to realize that he must have been just as nervous as I was. “Thank you God,” he said again.
We kissed some more, and then sheepishly looked around the restaurant at the other diners. Everyone there knew what they were witnessing, and when we looked up, they applauded spontaneously. Even the waiters and kitchen staff joined in.
Grant took the ring from the box and slipped it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit. I was dizzy from looking at it. The diamond was enormous. Just knowing how much he’d spent on it, and the fact that he’d bought it way back when I still thought I was going to be Rob’s bride, showed me how certain he was about his decision. It made me feel safe and secure. It meant that even if I hadn’t fully known what I’d wanted, and even though I gave him a hard time for intruding into my life and making decisions for me, he’d known, even then, that he was going to marry me. He was going to be my husband.
I looked across the table at my new fiancé.
“What the hell took you so long?” I asked, my eyes full of tears.
“I had to make sure you were ready to say yes, Lacey. You’re a very stubborn girl.”
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to wife me, Grant Lucas.”
“And I’ve been waiting my whole life to make you mine.”
Chapter 48
Lacey
LUNCH SLIPPED BY IN A DAZE. I didn’t even taste the expensive wine, but Grant didn’t notice. After the meal, Grant said that there was something else he had to show me. I couldn’t imagine what else there might be on top of what had already happened, and I followed him back to the car more concerned about my ring than anything else.
It looked so beautiful on my finger, like it had been made just for me. When I chose it originally, I’d thought I was marrying Rob, but now I knew it had always been meant for me and Grant.
“Are you really going to marry me?” I said when we got into the car.
He leaned across and gave me a long, passionate kiss.
“Yes, I am.”
“When will we get married?” I said.
He caressed my hand gently as he drove.
“Do you trust me?” he said.
“Of course I do.”
“All right. Then leave that to me.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but he refused to say anything else about it as we drove out of the city. We were headed back toward the valley and I started to think he was taking me home, but as we approached the valley, he turned up, into the mountains, rather than going down toward the river.
“Where are we going?” I said.
There was a hotel high in the mountains at a place overlooking the entire Socorro Valley. It was a beautiful spot and when he pulled into the lot, I wondered if he was going to take me to a hotel room to celebrate our engagement, but instead he just drove up to the door and stayed in the car.