The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (120 page)

All I ever want is to be enough for her. She deserves the best. I might not be it, but I
’
m ready to commit to always strive for better
—
to always be growing and maturing, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. She makes me want to be the best version of myself and I couldn
’
t ask for more from the woman I hope to spend the rest of my life with.

I get up from the couch and head for the window. Last night, we couldn
’
t see much in the darkness, but I
’
m anxious to see what there is to be discovered in the daylight. I push the curtains aside and a smirk tugs at my lips. There are trees as far as the eye can see and they scale up the slopes in the distance.
God is good
—
it
’
s about the only thing anyone could possibly say about this remarkable view. It must have snowed sometime during the middle of the night as all the trees are cloaked in a new layer of white powder. In just a couple weeks, every mountain town will be packed with winter athletes, itching to ride their way up the snowy peaks just to turn around and come racing down.

I take a deep breath and my lungs appreciate the act, almost as if my body knows that the air outside will be some of the cleanest air it will ever draw in. In this moment, I feel more relaxed and ready than I
’
ll ever be
—
so I decide now is the time to wake her up.

I crawl my way across the bed until I
’
ve reached her. I kiss her cheek and sneak my hand underneath the covers until my arm is wrapped around her waist.
“
Wake up, sweetheart,
”
I murmur into her ear. She inhales deeply and exhales slowly as she shakes her head at me, simultaneously curling back against me.
“
Yes. You
’
ve got to see this view.
”

“
Mmm,
”
she groans.
“
It
’
ll be there in a few more minutes.
”

I chuckle as I shower her with a few more kisses.
“
But the sun won
’
t be in the same place. Come on, get up.
”
She peeks open one eye at me and a grin speeds across my face.
“
Come on, Shorty
—
watch the sun come up with me.
”

She groans again as she sits up.
“
Only because you
’
re so handsome.
”
I help her out of the bed and we make our way to the window. She replaces her groan with a pleasant sigh as she rests her head against my chest and wraps her arms around my waist while she admires the scene before her.
“
Do you want to go for a run?
”
I ask, kissing the top of her head.

“
Are you crazy?
”
she mumbles.
“
I
’
m sure it
’
s super freezing out there.
”

“
Are you trying to tell me you
didn
’
t
bring your running gear?
”
She giggles as she holds me tighter.
“
Uh-huh, that
’
s what I thought,
”
I chuckle right along with her.
“
Let
’
s get dressed. After a mile, I
’
m sure you won
’
t even notice.
”

She props her chin in the middle of my chest as she looks up at me.
“
You
’
re going to have to make me
the biggest
cup of coffee
ever
when we get back. Deal?
”

“
Deal,
”
I reply, sealing my promise with a kiss.

Twenty minutes later, after we
’
re both changed and bundled up and Avery
’
s wrestled her hair up into a high ponytail, we make our way outside. We stretch on the wrap around porch that
’
s connected to the front of the house and, I have to admit, it
’
s pretty darn cold. No matter, though, I don
’
t anticipate being out for long.

He
’
s insane. It
’
s
freezing
. The longer I stand out here, trying to stretch out the muscles that are probably going to turn into shards of ice in a few minutes, the closer I get to bailing on him. But he keeps
smiling
at me and those stupid barely-there-dimples keep distracting me to the point where every time I remember that I want to go back inside, just the sight of them makes me forget.

“
Ready?
”
he asks with a grin.

“
As ready as I
’
ll ever be. Maybe if we start moving, my limbs will stop trying to go numb.
”
He chuckles as we make our way down the porch steps, but I
’
m totally serious. He sets a fairly easy pace, for which I am thankful, and when we reach the end of the long driveway, he takes a left. I don
’
t know where we
’
re going or how or
if
he knows either, but I
’
m too cold to care. The only thing I
’
m worried about is staying warm. After about a mile, as the sun rises higher in the sky and my core seems to be doing a decent job of keeping me from turning into a block of ice, I start to appreciate our surroundings a little bit more.

Since it
’
s still early, there are no cars
—
only trees and a long stretch of road. I still have no idea where we are. I know that we
’
re pretty far away from town, so we must still be in the neighborhood
—
if you can call it that. There
’
s so much land between each gigantic house, it
’
s not exactly what one might consider a
neighborhood
.

I
’
m so lost in my own thoughts that I don
’
t realize that Sonny has stopped until I almost run right into him.
“
What
—
what are you doing?
”
I ask, breathless, as he holds me at arm
’
s length to keep me steady.

“
Look,
”
he says, nodding at the view above the tree tops. The sun has died the clouds in the sky orange and pink and it
’
s
gorgeous
. The way the light shines over the massive amount of trees
almost
makes me forget that I
’
m cold. I turn back to Sonny, wanting to offer him a smile in thanks for making me stop and look, and my breath catches in my throat.

What is he doing?

He
’
s on his knee.

When did he get on his knee? Why did he get on his knee?

I check to see if perhaps his shoe is untied, but it isn
’
t.

He
’
s not
…
no
—

“
What are you doing?
”
I finally manage.

“
Avery Jade Grant, I love you.
You
are my proof that God loves me. You mean more to me than I will ever be able to express. You are my sunrise and my sunset; brilliant and gorgeous, constant and genuine, remarkably ever changing and, most of all,
necessary
. Just like a day
needs
a sunrise, my life
needs
you
—
always. I know I
’
m not perfect, and probably never will be, but I promise you I will spend every day working to be the man you need me to be. I
’
ve told you before that you
’
re my family, but those are just words and I want more than that. So, before we freeze to death, I just wanted to ask if you
’
d marry me.
”

I know crying right now is a horrible idea, as I
’
m sure my tears will freeze to my face, but I can
’
t help it. In fact, I feel like I don
’
t have any control over my body at all. I can
’
t tell if I
’
m numb from the cold or from the shock. Either way, I
’
m not entirely certain that I
’
ll be able to move from this very spot any time soon.

“
Oh
—
I forgot,
”
he mutters as he reaches inside of his pocket and pulls out a small velvet box. He pops it open and instinct causes me to clap my hands around my mouth to try and mute the sobs that now wrack my body. The ring is
—
perfect.
It
’
s a white gold band with a string of tiny little diamonds imbedded on either side; there
’
s also a circle of equally delicate diamonds that surround the round emerald jewel that serves as the focal point. I never would have even considered this setting for an engagement ring, but that
’
s what makes it so perfect. I absolutely
love
that he chose a jewel that would remind me of him and my favorite pair of green eyes.

“
Ave?
”
He asks gently as she reaches up and takes my left hand in his.
“
I
’
d like to put this ring on your finger, but I kind of need an answer first,
”
he reminds me as he slides off my mitten.

I start laughing when I realize he
’
s right and that I haven
’
t said anything since he proposed.
Oh, my gosh! He proposed! I
’
m getting married!

“
You
’
re only getting married if you say
yes
,
”
he chuckles as he gives my fingers a squeeze.

A blush heats up my cheeks but I don
’
t care even a little bit.
“
Yes!
”
I cry. He barely has a chance to get the ring on my finger before I
’
m on his knee, showering him with kisses.
“
I love you, I love you, I love you!
”

“
I love you, too, Shorty,
”
he replies between kisses.

“
Oh, my gosh,
”
I gush, throwing my arms around him. He returns my embrace as I try my best to stop crying.
“
Sonny! We
’
re getting married.
”

“
Yes, we are,
”
he says as he rubs his hands in comforting circles around my back.
“
And as much as I hate to ruin this moment, I think we should probably head back to the house.
”