The rest of the evening was a blur for Evie. But certain parts stuck out. Like when Declan slipped that ring on her finger. The ring. The antique ring she’d more or less drooled over from the moment it had arrived in her shop. She fantasized over her one true love putting that ring on her finger and declaring his everlasting devotion.

She’d never really thought it would happen.

Even when they were picking out her fake engagement ring, she couldn’t bear to have her dream ring on her finger. But Declan had noticed. Declan had remembered.

Of course he had.

Declan was the one.

He’d always been the one.

She’d never forget that moment.

Just as she’d never forget when Jonah had grabbed each of them by the hand and pulled them into their very first family group hug. The knife Declan had given him clutched in his hand, he’d leaned over and whispered into Evie’s ear, “I’m glad you said yes, Mom.” She’d almost melted in that moment.

Of course she would say yes. From the moment she saw Declan standing in the campsite, her heart had been lost. She was his. She loved him more than she could put into words and the fact that he loved her just as much made her spirit soar. She wasn’t sure she’d ever come down.

And then there was the moment when they were all sitting around the campfire, raising a plastic glass of champagne in a toast to the new couple. Evie knew there was confusion among most of them. Clearly, Declan hadn’t told the true story to all of them and they were confused as to how an engaged couple had broken up, only to get re-engaged less than twenty-four hours later.

It was confusing.

To everyone but her and Declan and that’s all that mattered. This time, it was real. When she looked at the ring on her finger, the diamond with the little rubies sparkling in the firelight, she knew without a doubt that the love it represented was very, very real.

Evie didn’t think she could be happier. But when Ian stood up from his seat across the fire and held his hand out to Gwen and said, “Well, I think it’s past time that we make our leave,” her heart smiled a little more. Because Evie realized for the first time that as much as she enjoyed the company of all her new extended family, she was more than ready for it to be just them.

Jonah was asleep in Milena’s lap. She gestured to the sleeping boy. “I hate to wake him,” she whispered. Cal lifted him gently and cradled him close, which made Milena’s hand flutter to her heart. A move Evie definitely noticed, even if no one else did.

“I’ll put him in his tent?” Cal asked.

“His tent?”

“I got him his own tent,” Declan said. “He’s close to us, but not too close.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I already showed him his space and told him where we were in case he gets scared. He has his own headlamp, too.”

“You’ve thought of everything.”

“I’ve thought of the two of you. That is everything.”

Evie’s heart squeezed again, this time in happiness. “That really is everything,” she said. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, darling. Having you next to me is the only thing I’ll ever need.”

Declan helped Cal tuck Jonah in, and when Evie crawled into his tent to give him a kiss, her son lazily wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her down. “I’m so happy, Mom.”

“Buddy, so am I.” Tears, unchecked, streamed down her cheek. “So am I.”

She waited with him until he fell back asleep. It only took a moment and then she returned to the campfire, but everyone was gone. Declan sat alone in a nest of blankets, waiting for her.

“Where did everyone go?”

“Back to town,” he said. “They told me to tell you they’d see you in the morning. I think our presence is not only desired but expected at Ian’s house in the morning. My mom may have mentioned something about how we had a lot of explaining to do.” He laughed. “I’m not worried. We’ll deal with that later. Right now, all I want to focus on is you and me.”

She crawled into the blankets next to him, heated by both the fire and the warmth from his body. In that moment, Evie couldn’t imagine how she could ever feel more content. The world was right. Declan McCormick loved her just as much as she loved him, and that’s all that would ever matter.

---

The fire burned low and for a second, Declan considered putting another log on to extend the most perfect evening he’d ever had in his life. And it was. He never wanted it to be over.

When Evie had said yes, it was everything. But the whole night after that, and the celebration that followed with his family and their loved ones, it was beyond perfect. He couldn’t ask for anything more.

Except getting his fiancée alone.

And that’s exactly what he was going to do. He pushed the blankets off his shoulder and stood, reaching out a hand to Evie. “Let me take you to bed, sweetheart.”

She let him pull her up and follow her to their tent, the candles that lit the way almost completely burnt out by now. Not that it mattered. Declan had a lantern inside that he lit to provide just enough glow so he could see his beautiful fiancée.

Fiancée.

He would never tire of saying that word. At least until it came time to call her his wife and he was already looking forward to that.

One thing at a time, he reminded himself. And now it was the time to show Evie just how much he loved her.

“Tonight has been…”

“Perfect,” he finished for her.

She nodded. “That, and so much more. I don’t know how to tell you just how destroyed I was thinking I would never see you again, or if I did, that you would never know how much I loved you.”

He put a finger to her lips. “You don’t have to worry about that. Not now, not ever.”

“But I almost lost you.”

“You didn’t.” He moved his finger and kissed her softly while his hands went to work unbuttoning her shirt. “Not even close. And you won’t ever lose me. I promise.” He slipped the cotton shirt over her shoulders until it fell to the ground. Declan pressed a kiss to her skin. “I’m never going to let you walk away from me like that again,” he said between kisses. “And I’ll never let you push me away. Because I love you, Evie Rose. More than I can even put into words.”

“I don’t know,” she teased. “You did a pretty good job.” He paused what he was doing on her neck and looked up at her. “That was a pretty amazing proposal, Declan. Even better than the first.”

“I meant every word.” He kissed her again. “And I plan on spending the rest of my life telling you every day just how much I love you.” He moved his kisses lower, until he was undoing her shorts and sliding them off to expose her slender, perfect legs. Everything about her was perfect.

Declan sat back and took a moment to admire her beauty before kissing her again, but only a moment before she was reaching up and pulling him down to her. “Get down here. You’re much too far away.”

He did as commanded.

This time when they made love, it was different. Knowing that she was his, and he was hers—that she loved him just as much as he loved her and that everything between them was real—made every kiss, every touch, every breathless moan, mean so much more.

And when he felt the familiar tightening of her body beneath his, he lowered himself so his face was only inches away from hers and stared directly into her eyes when she topped over the edge into an all-consuming orgasm. Declan followed moments later with his own shattering climax.

When finally he regained his senses, he kissed her gently on the nose and lowered himself down to the air mattress next to her. He pulled her into his arms and held her close.

Declan nuzzled the back of her neck and stroked her arm softly, until his hand found hers, and the ring he’d placed there. He traced the diamond with his fingers. “Do you like it?”

She laughed. “You know I do.” Evie twisted a little in his arms so she was looking at him. “How did you know that was the ring? What about the other one you gave me?” Confusion lined her face and Declan grinned.

“The first ring I gave you was beautiful.” He nodded. “But it wasn’t the one that made your heart sing. I saw you that day,” he said. “When we were picking out a fake ring, I saw the way you looked at this one.” He held up her hand. “It was the one you’d dreamed about, the one you wanted the love of your life to give you one day.”

“How could you know that?”

He shrugged. “I just knew. And maybe even part of me knew that day that I would be the one giving it to you.”

“Well, I’m glad you were that guy,” she said. “Because I know without a doubt that you are the love of my life.”

Declan raised her hand to her lips and placed a kiss on the ring. “You bet I am. And I cannot wait for tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Because tomorrow is the first day that I don’t have to pretend that you are my fiancée because it’s finally true. And I was never much good at acting anyway.”

“Oh baby.” Evie laughed. “I thought you were pretty damn good at it.”

“Maybe that’s because I didn’t really have to pretend,” Declan said. “Maybe my heart always knew you were meant to be mine.”

Evie nuzzled in close again and pressed her body up against his. It was the best feeling in the world to have her close. “Maybe that’s true,” she said after a minute. “But something tells me your family is going to want a proper explanation for everything.”

It was true; not one of them had asked, but they’d made it perfectly clear that they were ready for the truth, and after the way they’d all stepped up to help out, he owed it to them. His mom knew the truth, but Declan knew she wouldn’t tell. No doubt they were all being respectful of the night, but he knew his family well enough to know they’d all be bouncing up and down, waiting for their explanations in the morning.

“I’m sure they will.” He chuckled. “But I’m not thinking about that right now. Because right now, tonight, it’s all about you and me, and I can’t imagine being any happier than I am right now, in this moment.”