Her eyes brimmed with tears and expectation. Against the backdrop of the black night, the ocean, and flickering tiki lamps, I couldn’t think of a more romantic moment, even if I had been a writer.
This was it. The moment was upon us. A thousand different ways to actually ask the question went through my head. Should I get down on one knee, here on the beach? I spotted some bistro tables in the distance. Should I break the moment, and take her over there?
Finally, I just went for it.
“Vicki,” I whispered as she leaned over my shoulder.
“Mmm,” she murmured.
“I have to ask you something,” I said.
“Oh yeah?” she responded as she lifted her head and met my eyes.
“Yeah,” I said as I discreetly pulled the ring out of my pocket and opened the box.
Then, there on the sand, lit up by firelight, and surrounded by hypnotic love songs, I got down on one knee in front of my girlfriend.
Vicki clasped her hand over her mouth and gasped.
“Will you marry me?” I asked and held out the ring.
Tears of joy freely flowed down her face as she nodded and then blurted out, “Yes, yes!”
My heart nearly leapt from my chest with joy, and a grin of relief spread over my face.
Vicki took the ring, and I rose and watched her put it on her finger.
“Oh my god,” she gasped. “It’s massive!”
“It was my grandmother’s,” I chuckled. “She was a British aristocrat.”
“It’s perfect,” Vicki gushed as she held it up. It fit perfectly.
There was a sudden applause, and the rest of the beach party joined in our celebration.
“Congratulations to the lovebirds,” the band’s frontman announced.
We nodded and smiled at the cheering crowd of onlookers.
“Lock that one down,” some guy yelled and toasted his drink to me.
I laughed and nodded to him as cheers and congratulations came at us from all directions.
“This is for you guys,” the band leader said. Then he played Van Morrison’s These Are The Days. It was the perfect summer love song.
I wrapped my arms around my fianceé, and we slow-danced on the beach, this time with a massive rock on her finger.
“Tell me it will always be like this,” Vicki whispered into my chest.
“It will always be like this,” I promised as I held her close.
And I meant it.
End Book 5
Author’s Notes
Thank you for reading my novel! If you enjoyed it, and you’d like to read another story about Henry in Sedona, please leave a nice review here.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2021 Dave Daren
