She covered her mouth. “Oh my God.”
“Maggie Louise Donovan, you have made me the happiest man on this earth, so I might be getting greedy now, asking for more, but I’m going to do it anyway.” He sank to one knee and pulled out a little blue box—one she probably recognized all too well. “You are the one person I never have to wonder about, the one person I always want by my side. Will you make me an even happier man and agree to be my wife? To spend the rest of our lives together—here or in New York, I don’t give a damn, as long as I have you—loving one another? No matter what comes?”
She fell to her knees in front of him and kissed him. She tasted like tears and sunshine—and forever. By the time she pulled back, his vision was less than perfectly clear. He blinked rapidly, grinning as she sniffed loudly and said, “I love you. I love you so much.”
He nodded. “But you still have to answer me.”
“Oh my—” She laughed and covered her mouth. “Well, I can only think of one appropriate reply.” She rested her hands on his shoulders, giving him the brightest smile he’d ever seen. “I thought you’d never ask, Benji.”
She threw herself at him, and they fell to the ground, lips locked. The ring tumbled somewhere in the snow, but neither of them broke off long enough to search for it. She eventually ended the kiss, resting her forehead on his. “I can’t believe you knew about this tree. How did you find out about it?”
“Like a wise person once told me…” He tucked her hair behind her ear and craned his neck, searching for the blue box. He found it easily. “Research. Always research.”
She cupped his face. “I love you, Benji.”
“I love you, too. And I meant what I said.” He pulled the ring out with a trembling hand. “I’ll move out here with you, if that’s what you want. We can be farmers and live here and keep the family business going. This farm means a lot to your family—and to me, too.”
“What about your family business?”
“That doesn’t seem as important as it did a year ago. Probably because my mother isn’t really my family. You are.” He kissed her again and held out the ring. “I love you.”
She blinked away tears and took it. “I love you, too.”
“Read it.”
“What?” She picked it up and held it to the moonlight, squinting. “Forever yours, for all time, Benji.”
He took it from her and slid it on, watching the way it fit as he did so. It was the same ring as before—he’d planned to give it back to her someday, for real this time, so it wasn’t the first time he’d seen it on her. But it was the first time it meant something. Something real. And he’d never been happier. “Seeing that on you…it does things to me, darling. I was alone for so long.”
“You’re not alone. Not anymore.” She wrapped her arms around him and straddled him, face to face. “And never again.”
“Because of you.” He rubbed noses with her. Hers was freezing. “Because of us.”
She kissed him again, and he pulled her closer against his chest, wrapping the blanket around the both of them. It still wasn’t close enough. Nothing ever would be. Not for this beast and the beauty who had saved him from himself. By the time they came up for air, the kiss had taken on a whole new meaning.
It was a beginning. A promise. A vow.
Of forever.
THE END
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Acknowledgments
I’ve written lots of books, and with that, lots of acknowledgements. But this time, I want to keep it short and sweet, and say thank you to those of you out there who have read those books. Whether this is your twentieth book by me, or your first…
THANK YOU.
Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do this.
About the Author
Diane Alberts is a multi-published, bestselling contemporary romance author with Entangled Publishing. She also writes New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling new adult books under the name Jen McLaughlin. She’s hit the Top 100 lists on Amazon and Barnes and Noble numerous times with numerous titles. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.
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Also by Diane Alberts…
Take a Chance series
Try Me
Love Me
Play Me
Take Me
Shillings Agency series
Temporarily Yours
Stealing His Heart
Seducing the Princess
Taking What’s His
Faking It
Falling for the Groomsman
Kiss Me at Midnight
Divinely Ruined
On One Condition
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