Taking Amanda there, suggesting they build a house from theground up, would have been a pretty big deal. The ring burning a hole in herpocket? That was another matter entirely. But in some ways, the two wereinseparable. She wanted to build a life with Amanda, in every sense of theword.
She turned off Route 96 onto Otter Creek Road. Corn field gaveway to forest on one side. The road pitched upward, opening up a view ofrolling hills. They were too far from either lake to have a glimpse of water,but she didn’t mind. Everything else about the location was perfect.
“Are you taking me to see a house?” Amanda turned to her andbeamed. “Is that the surprise?”
“Not exactly.” It wasn’t a question, but her voice did a lilt atthe end like it was. She cleared her throat. “Not exactly.” There. That wasbetter.
Amanda frowned, but more confused than irritated. “What does thatmean?”
She was spared having to answer by their arrival. She pulled intothe gravel driveway that had been started, but only went for about ten feet.“You’ll see.”
She cut the engine and tilted her head, indicating they shouldget out. She rounded the front of the car and took Amanda’s hand. Amandasmirked. “Now I see why you told me to wear practical shoes.”
They picked their way through tall grass and low brush. Aboutfifty feet from the road, trees gave way to the large clearing that would bemore than enough room for a house. Quinn stopped walking but didn’t let go ofAmanda’s hand. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful.” Amanda looked around, then at Quinn. “Do youget to build a house here?”
“Maybe. If I play my cards right.”
Amanda frowned again. “Is this one of those super intense anddemanding clients who’s making you jump through hoops even before you get thejob?”
Quinn bit her lip and resisted the urge to laugh. “I wouldn’tcategorize her that way.”
“Why are you being so weird today? What’s going on?”
Amanda’s cluelessness was about to make this whole harebrainedscheme either a lot more fun or horribly awkward. “I was hoping you might be myclient.”
“Me?”
“Well, technically we.”
Finally, realization dawned. “You want to build a house for us.”
“I’ll hire experts to do the heavy lifting, of course, but I dowant to design it and I’m hoping we can both get our hands a little dirty alongthe way. Makes it so much more personal, don’t you think?”
“You bought this property for us.”
She’d been sorely tempted, but she’d resisted. “Not yet. I thinkit’s perfect, but it’s also the kind of decision we should make together.”
Amanda brought both hands to her cheeks and looked around again.“You want to build me, us, a house.”
She swallowed and reminded herself to breathe. “I do.”
“I can’t think of a better way to start the rest of our livestogether.”
Okay. This was it. Now or never. “I don’t entirely agree on thatfront.”
“What—”
Quinn got down on one knee. She’d not done that when she andLesedi decided to get married, but something about Amanda made her want to gothe traditional route. It had the added bonus of being closer to the ground andmaking it less likely she’d keel over and pass out. “I want a future with you—ahome and a life and a forever. But I’d be so much happier if you would do it asmy wife.”
Amanda didn’t move. She didn’t speak, either. She just stared atQuinn. Then the ring, the antique emerald cut diamond Daniella had helped herpick out. Then Quinn again. “I…”
Waiting for her reply was utter torture. Probably fewer than tenseconds passed, but each one felt like an eternity. “I’m not sure if it willinfluence your answer, but I feel like I should tell you I talked to both Caland Daniella about this. Not that you need their permission, but I wanted themto know I was hoping for the whole family, not just you.”
Amanda nodded. It started slowly but picked up steam. “Of courseyou did.”
It wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes, either. And being on herknee only exacerbated the ticking seconds and the fact that Amanda had yet toanswer. “It seemed like the right thing to do, but please don’t think for asecond it’s anyone but you I’m proposing to. I love you, Amanda, and I want tospend the rest of my life with you.”
“I love you, too. More than I thought possible. And I love who Iam when I’m with you. That’s been maybe the most magical part of all this.”
Quinn’s heart, already at a persistent thud, began to race.“That, too. Absolutely.”
“I can’t imagine wanting to spend my life with anyone else.”
“So, is that a yes?” Please, let it be a yes.
“Oh.” Amanda’s eyes got huge. “Yes. A thousand yeses. A million.”
For as sure as she’d been Amanda would say yes, she’d never beenso relieved in her life. She freed the ring from the cushion in the box andslid it onto Amanda’s finger. “Just to be clear, you can say yes to this and noto the land. I want you to love where we end up.”
Amanda took a second to admire the ring before grabbing Quinn’shands and pulling her to her feet. “Yes to all of it.”
“It’s really okay to think about it for a couple of days.”
Amanda placed a hand on each of her shoulders and looked her inthe eyes. “Are you trying to talk me out of it?”
She laughed. “No. Absolutely not. But they’re two separatedecisions and I don’t want the excitement of one taking over the significanceof—”
“Quinn.”
She’d been rambling. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t ramble.“Sorry.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Utterly.”
Amanda took a deep breath and looked around before returning hergaze to Quinn. “I love it. And you. I want it all.”
Quinn let
