“You knew?”
Chase nodded slowly. “Believe me, it wasn’t my idea to keep you in the dark. Both Tony and Roth thought you would be in danger if even a hint of the truth leaked out before you were finished testifying to the Grand Jury. Besides, they wanted a completely natural reaction.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t trust me!” She looked at Tony’s postcard again. “Did you know where he was this whole time?”
He shook his head. “No clue. But that night at The Squealing Pig he mentioned he’d invested a retirement fund in a Caribbean resort. I’m assuming once Agent Roth finished with him, Tony headed south.”
“That all seems so long ago…” Her words trailed off, her mind replaying the bar fight and the shooting. She sighed. “I guess they were right not to tell me. I’m not sure I could have kept a secret like that for all this time.”
A thoughtful look crossed Sean’s face, and he put a finger to his chin tapping a slow rhythm. “Hey, that’s right! You guys met during Carnival Week last summer. That would make it officially one year right now. Chase, didn’t you say she wanted to wait a year? You should ask her. Or do you want me to do it for you?”
“Now wait just a minute…” Emma was feeling like the butt of some sort of joke. She didn’t want Chase put on the spot, but she also didn’t want to jump into an engagement just because the time was up. What if marriage changed things? What if everything went downhill once they said I do? Things were pretty perfect right now. Why rush into anything? Waiting was the safer option. The direction of her thoughts startled her.
Since when did I start liking safe options?
Her mother called Sean into the house for a phone call. “Better hurry up,” Emma teased. “Kallie doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Watching him take the kitchen stairs in one leap, Emma knew she’d better take advantage of this moment alone to make sure Chase knew this wasn’t the time or place for a hasty proposal.
She turned to tell him, and found him down on one knee in the middle of the driveway. He had a black velvet jewelry box in his outstretched hands, which he opened. The large round diamond sparkled in the morning sunshine like sunrise glittering on the ocean’s surface. Her hands flew to cover her mouth; tears stung her eyes. “Oh. My. God.” Her legs trembled and she fell to her knees in front of him.
The look on his face was pure tenderness and love so sincere it made her heart ache with happiness. “Emma Andromeda Maguire, it’s been a whole year and ten days since I first ran into you on MacMillan Wharf. We’ve been through a lot together, and I’m still crazy about you. Will you marry me?”
She forgot all about waiting. “Yes,” she whispered and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her tight and she knew it could only get better.
A word about the author…
Katie O’Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and now writes young adult and contemporary romance, as well as working as an editor.
To learn more about Katie, visit:
http://katieosullivan.blogspot.com
http://www.katie-osullivan.com
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