Hold Me Tight by Faith Sullivan Page A

lighting up her eyes.
    “It’s beautiful,” she whispers reverently.
    “It was my grandmother’s,” I reply, watching her examine every facet of the intricate scrollwork. “You’ll be the only person to have worn it since she took it off her finger.”
    Ivy’s eyes search mine, immediately grasping the meaning behind my statement. It was never Cassidy’s ring. It’ll belong solely to her.
    “Then I want you to do this right,” Ivy proclaims, holding it out to me.
    “Yes, ma’am,” I tease, getting down on one knee before the bed.
    She’s positively glowing as she draws the sheet around herself, her hair spilling over her shoulders. She’s awake, naked in my bed after I kissed her to sleep in my arms. There’s no better scenario than that. It’s everything I could have dreamed of and more.
    “Ivy, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” They’re the words I’ve longed to say from the moment she looked up at me with those dazzling green eyes. I might’ve carried her off that dusty road that day, but she’s the one who lifted me up. I felt it then. I feel it even more now. Deep down, I know she’s all I’ve ever wanted. She’s the one for me. There’s no one for me but her.
    She bends her head, succumbing to her emotions.
    “Ivy,” I repeat gently, bringing my fingers to her chin as she slowly lifts her eyes to mine. “Will you marry me?”
    She reaches out to touch my face before whispering, “Yes! A million times, yes.”
    I take her hand in mine, sliding the ring onto her finger. I breathe a sigh of relief when it glides easily over her knuckle. Bringing her hand to my lips, I kiss the symbol of our love. Beaming with joy, she slips her hand behind my neck, drawing me close.
    We share a tender yet fervent kiss, realizing just how special this moment is and how we’ll always remember it. How we’ll tell our children and our grandchildren about it. How I’ll never forget how she looks right now as long as I live.
    “I think I’m going to like being called your fiancée,” she murmurs, holding out her hand to admire her ring.
    “I’ll like it even better when I can call you my wife,” I counter, nuzzling her behind her ear.
    “But being engaged… There’s just something so romantic about it,” she sighs dreamily as she reaches for my arm, resting it atop her stomach. “It’s such a fleeting time in a couple’s life, and I intend to enjoy every single moment of it.”
    “That’s the way my grandpa felt too.” I lower my head onto her shoulder as I recline against her.
    “Oh, tell me about him,” Ivy begs, tilting her head next to mine.
    “There’s quite a story that goes along with that ring,” I confess as I play with it on her finger. “My grandma loved my grandpa, but she didn’t want to marry him.”
    “Why ever not?” Ivy exclaims, outraged, and I can’t help but chuckle.
    “Because she thought he’d take her for granted once they got hitched. She was afraid he wouldn’t try as hard and the spark between them would fizzle out over time. They’d get too used to each other and fall into the same old routine just like everyone else,” I relate as Ivy’s hair tickles my chin as she nods in agreement.
    “That makes sense. But she really turned him down for that?” Ivy asks incredulously.
    “Well, I think she was angling for something more from him, and she got it.” I can’t help but smile at my grandma’s tenacity. It reminds me so much of Ivy’s.
    “So what did he do to win her over?” Ivy asks as I feel the steady rhythm of her pulse increase next to my ear.
    “He came up with a plan. He said that he’d take her on a hundred dates before they got married. That way, if he ever turned into what she feared, she’d still have a hundred great memories to look back on.” I breathe in the familiar citrus scent of Ivy’s hair and close my eyes, relishing having her next to me again.
    “And did she agree?” Ivy inquires, squeezing my