“You win,” she whispered.
He dropped the papers and reached into his pocket. “Maggie Nichols…”
“Holy shit. Are you seriously about to overshadow my grand gesture?” The hand she brought to her mouth was shaking.
He paused, midkneel. “You’re damn right I am.”
“Don’t you dare propose. I haven’t even told you about the sign. About Ava and Wallace. And my dad. You deserve to know everything before you do whatever crazy thing it is you’re about to do.”
“After,” he said, sinking down to one knee and holding the ring that had been burning a hole in his damn pocket since he’d arrived. “Maggie Nichols, will you do me the great honor of putting up with me for the rest of your life? Will you let me love you? Will you be my wife and partner and best friend?”
“Dammit! That’s a lot nicer than five dollars and a dumb greenhouse,” she whispered, eyeing the diamond solitaire.
“Maggie, say yes right now or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
“Can I say yes and still not hold you responsible for your actions? Because I’d really like that.”
He surged up, lifting her high and wrapping her legs around his waist.
“Wait, Silas!” Her laugh was breathless. “There’s something you really need to know.”
“Did you murder a bunch of people for money?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then I think it can wait.”
“My mom loved your energy,” she said.
He stilled. “What?”
She pointed to the picture he hadn’t noticed until now. The framed one she kept in her bedroom of her mom laughing.
“Look at the picture, Silas,” she whispered.
He picked it up rather than putting her down because he wasn’t ready to be without Maggie Nichols in his arms for a good, long time.
“She’s beautiful,” he told her.
“Look at what she’s smiling at,” she insisted.
He looked closer, and the recognition dawned slowly. “Wait. Is that—”
“It’s you. You can just barely see your mom’s profile behind her,” she said, tapping a finger to the glass. “I didn’t want to get in the lake because I couldn’t see the bottom. I couldn’t see where I was walking or what was coming. And my mom pointed to a boy charging into the water with a battle cry. He’d run up and attack that water with a cannonball or a front flip. Even a terrible cartwheel. It was you. She was looking at you.”
His throat was closing up. The image was blurring before his eyes. “My cartwheels still need work,” he said.
“My mom said, ‘Maggie, that’s the way you do all the best things in life. You just run and jump and hope for the best. Just like that boy.’ Just like you, Silas.”
“How?” It wasn’t the right question, but it was the only one he could come up with.
“It’s our sign. I’ve been carrying you around with me since I was twelve years old,” she told him.
And then the time for words was over. Their kiss went on and on, spiraling out in time. Reaching both backward and forward until he knew that his life wasn’t just his own. It was Maggie’s, too.
“I love you, Silas.” They were just words. But coming from her mouth, he felt them like a spell.
He kissed her again, loving her with his mouth. With the promises he whispered, the breath he shared with her, they let themselves love.
“We should get back downstairs,” she whispered against his shoulder a long while later.
He stroked his hand down her back. “I guess that wouldn’t be the worst idea.” He still had one surprise left for his girl.
“I missed you,” she confessed as they both searched for her underwear.
“I missed you, too, Mags.”
They heard the click of toenails on hardwood and glanced toward the door of the closet. A wet nose wedged itself in the crack, and suddenly there was Kevin, a caterer’s apron dangling from his mouth. The dog’s eyes widened, and he froze.
“Busted, buddy,” Maggie teased.
Silas groaned. “You thieving butterball.”
Kevin, carefully avoiding making any eye contact, backed out of the doorway and trotted away before either of them could steal his treasure.
It was dark by the time they made it outside. Disheveled and so damn happy. Silas had lipstick not just on his collar, but right down the placket of his shirt. Maggie’s hair couldn’t be tamed, so she’d pinned it back from her face. But it didn’t matter because she kept staring down at the diamond that glinted on her left hand and beaming.