Our forever home.
“You want to saddle your horse in my stable for good.”
She nods.
“Tie your hitch to my truck.”
She nods again, but her gaze never leaves mine.
“You want to do all of this, with me, out of everything else you could do in the world with that money you have.”
“It’s nothing without you. This is the first place I ever felt free to be me. You taught me that, Nick. You gave me the tools to find what I want to do. I want to use my business skills and manage this gym. Expand it and our home. With you. That will make me happy.”
I chuckle and take the ten steps needed to stand directly in front of her.
“So we’re going to go into business together. You and me, partners?” I hold out my hand for her to shake. She puts hers into it.
When she tries to let go, I stop her.
“We’re going to build our forever home…you and me.”
Her response is like watching an angel spread her wings for the first time. Nothing but magnificence in her smile, the light in her eyes, and her reddened cheeks. I can see the happiness radiating from her face, which also makes me head over heels for her.
“There’s only one problem…”
Her eyebrows furrow. “I’ve taken care of everything so far…”
“We’re not married.”
She licks her lips and takes a slow breath, glancing away and then down at her shoes. “Well, um, that’s okay. Lots of people start out their lives unmarried and wait until the time is right.”
“The time is right,” I deadpan.
“It is?” Her question reveals surprise.
“It’s right now.”
Her eyes get teary again. “Nick…”
Right then and there, I get down on one knee. “Honor Carmichael, I love you. Not a person in this world would have ever done this for me. For us. You could have anyone, anything…”
“But I want you.” Her voice is a whisper in the wind.
I grin huge. “Let me finish.”
She swallows and a tear falls. “Okay.”
“You could have anyone, anything with the resources you have, but I will tell you this one thing right now. No man will ever love you the way I do. I will put you and your happiness first in all things, the same way you just proved you will for me. There’s always been something special about you. From the minute I laid eyes on you, I thought to myself…she can’t be real. And you are. More real than anything else in my life.”
Even though I’d been thinking about making her mine for good, this is still sudden, so I don’t have a ring. I pull my dog tags from around my neck, the ones I’ve had with me through all the good, bad, and ugly, and I hold them up to her.
“This will have to do for now, but I will get you a ring that shows my commitment to the world. This is my commitment to you. I’ve worn these every single day for the last eleven years. They represent honor, but I don’t need them anymore. You’re the only Honor I need.” My eyes moisten, and my throat clogs with emotion.
Tears fall down her cheeks, and she gets onto her knees and holds my cheeks in her tiny hands as I place my dog tags around her neck. “I love you.” Her declaration is accompanied by a watery mess of tears.
“Marry me.” I press my forehead to hers. “Be my forever. Marry me.”
She nods.
“Dove…” I warn.
“Yes! Yes, a million times over, I’ll marry you.”
“Fuckin’ A. You’ll marry me. My goddess, my angel, my Honor.”
“I’ll marry you, Nick,” she repeats, as if she also needs to hear it multiple times to believe it’s real.
“Over my dead body!” a woman screeches from the entrance to the building about twenty feet from where we’re kneeling.
I fling my head around and find what has to be an older replica of my woman standing next to a tall, dark-haired man. They are both wearing stuffy suits and matching sneers.
“For heaven’s sake, Honor, get up off this disgusting floor and step away from the filthy mongrel groping you. Don’t act like a dirty tramp. I’ve raised you better than to canoodle with people who are below your status and beneath your caliber of pedigree.”
The words burn me like verbal fire, and I can only imagine what they are doing to my girl. I pull her to a stand. “I’m guessing you’re the mother? The father?”
“We’re Timothy and Judi Carmichael, and we’re here to remove our daughter and prevent a lifetime of mistakes. Come now, Honor.”
Honor’s body goes statue still in my arms. Her skin turns cold and her eyes seem distant.
“Babe, you okay?”
“Don’t let them take me,” she pleads, her lip quivering.
She’s scared of them. Physically trembling in my arms. Oh, hell no! No woman of mine is going to live in fear, especially of her parents.
The couple enters the space, the door swinging shut behind them.
“Look, Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, you busted in on an extremely private moment between me and your daughter. As I’m sure you heard, I’m now her fiancé. You can deal directly with me. Not her.” I put my arm over her shoulders and keep her close. She clings to my side.
Her mother rolls her eyes and sighs. “Timothy, we don’t have time for this. We have the dinner with the Braxtons. Leonard, their son, is expecting her. And look at her.” The woman’s lip curls up as if she’s smelling something funky. “She looks like a heathen. We’ll have to stop at home, get her dressed, hair and makeup done, and move quickly in order to be on time.”
“Leonard?” I jolt, my
