CHAPTER 34
GRANT

As I drove Theresa around the next day to take in the sights of Boston, I kept a close eye on my phone. Every time it lit up with a text message, I tried to hide it from her. I held her hand and walked around the town that had embraced me when no one else would, and I showed her all my favorite spots. The bar I frequented. The corner I sat on with Matt whenever I needed to clear my head from work. I drove by a couple of our latest project and talked Theresa through some of the basics of what my company did. Mostly shit that made people want to snooze.

But not Theresa.

She was full of questions.

“Why is the corner of the house angled like that?”

“Why put up a support beam if you don’t need it?”

“What is shiplap?”

“Why not make it a double-car garage instead of doing two single-car ones?”

I enjoyed answering every single question, but I was ready to get back to the house. I had a massive surprise for her, and it was ready. Theresa wanted to pull over and slip into a boutique she thought was cute, and I ended up buying her a dress that looked fabulous on her. She complained it was too much money to spend on something like that, but a summer dress that looked that phenomenal over her curves would never be too expensive for my wallet. She changed into it right then and there, and I couldn’t believe how perfect it was for the moment we were about to walk into.

It was white and pale pink, with streaks of light yellow painted throughout the freeform design.

I drove us up to the house, and I was relieved when I saw no cars in the driveway. That meant everyone had listened to me. I threaded my fingers through Theresa’s and ushered her into the house, and we didn’t even get down the hallway before everyone jumped out.

“Surprise!”

Theresa screamed before she started laughing hysterically. Jane ran up and hugged her tightly before Hollis followed suit. Glen was there and opened his arms to her as her eyes filled with tears. They were holding glasses of champagne I hoped everyone would toast after what I did. They kept Theresa occupied as I stuck my hand into my pocket, pulled out the small box, and got down on one knee.

And when she turned around, her joyful laughter turned into silent shock.

I opened the small ring box and revealed the dazzling ring I’d seen in the shop window the day I first traveled back to Boston without her. I passed by the shop window, and the colors of the ring caught my eye, but the moment I gazed upon it I was ripped back to our first encounter with one another. In her apartment. Against her wall. Rocking against her sweet body the way I’d wanted to feel for years. We fell asleep on the floor, and I woke up with her head on my chest, and I knew, then and there, that she was the only woman for me. The only woman I’d ever love, and the only woman I could ever dream of sharing my life with.

I held up the sparkling yellow diamond to her as pink gems lining the rose gold band glistened.

“Theresa, you are—without a shadow of a doubt—the most confusing woman I have ever met.”

The room trickled with laughter as a teary smile slid across her cheeks.

“You are spontaneous and reckless. You zag before you zig, and you leave me constantly guessing as to what you’re going to do next. One minute you’re upset, and the next minute you’re in my arms, and there’s never a moment where I’ve ever thought I had you all figured out. Except one.”

I plucked the ring from the box and stood up, taking her left hand in mine.

“When I walked into that apartment after talking to your landlord, I could feel your panic. Our hearts were connected, and I knew exactly what had happened. And even before I tracked you down, I had some sense of where to go. And when I barreled into that warehouse and saw him hovering over you—”

I took a deep breath as I watched a tear rush down Theresa’s cheek.

“I knew that if he took you from me, I would have nothing. This life I built? I built it on the memory of you. On the premise that, one day, I would have something to offer you that you could be proud to take. I built it on the idea that one day, I could offer it to you and you would gladly accept it. And I knew that if someone or something ripped you from me, none of it would matter. The business. The construction. This home. None of it would have meant anything because it would have always been missing you. I would’ve always been missing you.”

I reached up and wiped Theresa’s tears away with my thumb.

“I have always loved you, Theresa. And I’m nothing without you.”

I looked down at the ring in my hand, and I held it in front of her finger. My thumb traced circles on top of her skin as my mind swirled with things to say. But I had nothing else to say.

Only one question to ask.

“Theresa Peterson, love of my life—will you marry me?”

With one sweeping motion, she slipped her finger through the ring and wrapped her arm around my neck. She pulled my lips down to hers, and I embraced her, dipping her back as our tongues connected. Everyone erupted into applause, and I heard a bottle of champagne popping open in the background, and I could feel Theresa’s smile growing against my lips.

“A toast to the happy couple,” Glen said.

I helped steady Theresa on her feet as we each took a flute of champagne from his grasp.

“To a new and brighter future. Just to let you know, I’ll be visiting a lot.”

I chuckled and held my glass in the air, clinking it with Glen’s before pressing a kiss against Theresa’s head.

“To the happy couple!” Jane exclaimed. “I’m in charge of the bachelorette party.”

“Does that mean I get the bachelor party?” Hollis asked.

“No strippers,” Theresa said.

“Can we have strippers?” Jane asked.

“Is this a conversation I should be part of?” Glen asked.

“If you’re coming to the bachelor party, yes,” Hollis said.

The party got started, and everyone was talking away while sipping on their champagne. I looked over and saw Jim standing in the corner, the silent fisherman with his towering six-foot-eight form. Jane was leaning into him with that smile of hers on her face, and I could tell Jim was soaking up the moment. I figured I was wrong about Hollis. I guess he didn’t get his shit together with Jane after all.

But as I looked over at Theresa and watched her talk with her father, I knew the only thing that mattered was that I’d gotten it right.

I’d gotten my happy ending right.

We drank and ate and talked until night fell, then everyone began to trickle out. Jane left with Jim, and Hollis and Glen went to grab another drink in town. I tossed my champagne flute into the kitchen sink and listened to it dance around, but it wasn’t long before a body came catapulting into my vision.

“Catch!” Theresa exclaimed.

I caught her effortlessly in my arms, and I swung her around. Her hair billowed around her shoulders, and her smile was so big it shut her eyes. Alcohol’s warm glow flushed her skin, and her new dress fluttered around her body, and as I walked her into the living room, I held her close to my chest.

I sat us down on the couch and Theresa nuzzled underneath my chin as I gazed out the windows and into the yard.

I was damn glad I’d taken the time to get my shit together. To get my life in order. Glen kicking me out had been the worst thing that had ever happened to me, but later in my life it had turned out to be the best. Every moment, every misstep, and every argument had brought me to this point, with Theresa in my arms and my ring around her finger. I was glad I took the fucking time to be a better man for her because she was the best woman out there.

And she was all mine.

“I love you, Theresa Peterson Hooper.”

She sat up in my lap and straddled my legs, her hands tugging my shirt over my head. She ran her soft touch over my shoulders, gripping my arms before massaging her palms over my chest. Her eyes sparkled with the darkness of the sky and the innocence of the stars, and I gripped her chin so I could turn her gaze back up toward mine.

“I love you too, Grant Hooper.”

Then I guided her lips to mine for a kiss before I lifted her dress from her body.