Chapter 44: Revisiting Old Haunts

AVA

~What?~ I stared at Cyrus, blinking slowly. ~What did he just say?!~ I suddenly felt sure I had made it up in my head.

He grabbed my hand, his brow low and dark. “Marry me, Ava,” he repeated.

My mom gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. I just kept staring at my beautiful man, who was now sliding off his chair and onto his knee at my parents’ kitchen table.

My dad, who had obviously gathered what was going on, slammed his fist on the table, snapping Cyrus and me out of our dazes.

I was tremendously relieved to see my dad’s face had lit up in delight, instead of being contorted with anger like I had halfway expected.

I tried to see it from my parents’ point of view.

Their daughter, who had been engaged to an abusive man before, had just brought her boyfriend home for the first time, a man they had never met before and she herself had only known for mere months, and he had just ~proposed~ to her.

It was hard to imagine any reaction other than shock, or even anger. But they both looked happy, genuinely happy.

Before I could answer, Cyrus turned to my parents, still on his knee.

“I’m so sorry, Violet, Lincoln. I hadn’t intended it to happen this way.” He spoke clearly and slowly, so my dad could follow along.

“I was going to wait until we all had gotten to know each other a little better and properly ask you guys for your blessing.”

He paused for a moment, and then signed, “I love your daughter very much, I hope for your blessing to ask her to marry me.”

He scratched his head, scrunching his nose when he turned to me. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

My mom was full-on crying at this point, and my dad rubbed her back soothingly while downing his coffee and gathering himself. He looked at me and brushed his fingers over my cheek briefly.

“How do you feel?” he signed. “Do you want to marry him? It’s all happening very fast.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It is very fast. But I love him ~so much,~ and it feels so different. I feel very sure.”

My dad shrugged, winking at me. “When you know, you know. He seems like a good guy.”

I looked at Cyrus, who clearly didn’t have a clue what my dad and I had just exchanged.

“I was going to ask you properly too, Aves,” he said. “I’m sorry for just blurting it out like that.”

I ran my hand through his hair. A million thoughts raced through my head, crowding my brain to the point where I couldn’t even think straight.

But then there was Cyrus, standing in the middle of it all, emitting calmness and quiet. My mind stopped racing, and I was able to focus again.

“What would you have said?”

Cyrus stood up and pulled me to my feet. His beautiful, dark features turned serious.

“Ava Ruth Mayweather, I’ve been yours since the first day we met. I tried to stay away from you, determined not to give in to my heart of hearts, but you kept pulling me in unintentionally.

“Everything about you is intoxicating to me. You draw me to you like you’re magnetic. You’re clever, kind, talented, beautiful, and sexy.”

He turned to my parents. “Sorry, you weren’t supposed to be here for this part.”

He turned back to me, pulling me to him, holding my hands up to his heart. “It’s not just that I see a future ~with~ you, it’s that I don’t see a future ~without~ you.

“I know it’s fast, but I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. And we can take our time with the wedding. I just can’t wait any longer to ask you to be mine in every way possible.”

He smiled. “Of course, I can’t promise I won’t be bossy.”

I giggled and wiped the tears from my eyes. “I prefer you bossy.”

“Well then”—he got back down on his knee—“marry me, Ava.”

I took a deep breath, and my chest all but exploded with happiness as I spoke my answer.

“Yes, Mr. Brentstone.”

***

“MAISY!” I ran to her and closed her in my embrace as soon as I reached her. She hugged me back, humming contently.

“I missed you!” she said as we released each other. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Me neither!” I turned around to search for Cyrus. I found him leaning against a tree a few yards away, looking at us with a grin on his face.

I stretched my arm out to him and invited him over with a small jerk of my head.

“This is Cyrus.” I looked up at his gorgeous face as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. “My fiancé.”

Maisy snapped her head to me, her eyes impossibly wide. “Your ~WHAT?!~”

She grabbed my left hand and yanked it up toward her face. My engagement ring glittered in the sunlight, making both of us marvel at it.

It was a beautiful, delicate ring, an oval-cut diamond set in a very thin golden band. Her eyes darted between the ring, Cyrus, and me as she tried to collect herself.

“You didn’t tell me you got ~engaged~!”

“Just yesterday. I haven’t fully wrapped my head around it myself.”

She wiped tears from her eyes and finally turned to Cyrus, extending her hand. “Well, hi. I’m Maisy. Nice to finally meet you.”

Cyrus shook her hand. “You too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Not as much as I have about you.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

I gave him an apologetic look. “Yeah, eh, she knows ~a lot~.”

He grimaced at me and then pulled me by my hips. “As long as you keep ~some~ details to yourself.”

“Mm-hmm,” I said innocently as I shook my head no.

He chuckled and sighed. “All right, well, no pictures.”

“I promise.”

We spent the day going to all the places I’d wanted to see since leaving. We ran into some childhood friends, and I was happy I got to show off my striking fiancé to everyone.

I had mixed feelings when we went to see my old high school, as so much of it was directly tied to my time with Timothy.

Maisy and Cyrus each held one of my hands, and I took deep, calming breaths as the memories washed over me. It was strange, standing there, feeling so vulnerable and safe at the same time.

I was so happy to be able to be there with the two people I loved most, and I pulled them to me, wrapping my arms around each of their waists.

“Thank you, guys,” I whispered, and they each squeezed me back lovingly.

The days after that were spent meeting friends, hanging with family, and sightseeing. I felt rejuvenated, and the bad taste in my mouth when I thought about Seattle had started to fade.

***

We lay on our bed in the hotel room. Cyrus was answering some emails on his phone while I was making dinner reservations.

“We have to be there by seven,” I said sleepily. My head was resting on Cyrus’s chest, slowly rising and falling as he breathed.

He put away his phone and kissed the top of my head. “That leaves about an hour. Do you want to take a nap?”

I lifted my head to look at him. “We could nap”—I slid my hand down his sculpted torso—“or, you know, use our time otherwise.”

He rolled over so he was on top of me. “Good answer,” he said before he crashed his lips into mine.