Lucky Chance by Marissa Dobson Page B

she couldn’t keep the smile from curling up the corners of her lips. The future would be nothing like her yesterdays, and for that she was thrilled. Challenges were what she enjoyed, and her new adventure would be full of them. “I just hope I can do the job the way she wants. Marketing clothes is very different then my previous experience. Especially since so many of her designs are aimed at military families. The patriotic line is amazing, but I’ll need specialized marketing to highlight it. I’ve got some ideas, but I need to give it some additional thought.”
    “I’ve no doubt that you’ll be amazing at it.” He ran his hand along her body. “Though I won’t deny that I’m excited that you found something because it means you’ll be in Virginia with me.”
    “Come on, Lucky.” She rubbed his shoulder. “You’re too uptight. Whatever is going to happen will happen. You need to relax.”
    “How am I supposed to keep my mind off what’s coming next? If I don’t win, I’m plane bound for Virginia tomorrow, and you’re off on a whirlwind of two more weeks of commitments. If that happens, it’s going to be the longest two weeks since boot camp.”
    “We’ll get through it.” She curled against his body on the sofa. “Then, when it’s over, we’ll be together.”
    “I’m not letting you get away from me again.” He kissed the top of her head. “Actually, I think it’s time.”
    “Time for what?”
    In answer, he got down on one knee in front of her. He gave her a moment to realize what he was about to ask her. “Maddie, I fell in love with you when you first came splashing around our creek. Your reddish brown curls flying in the breeze and your carefree personality won me over. The brief moments when you’re mad and your temper flares allow me to see a different side of you. One that’s just as fiery as your carefree side. It gives you the nickname I’ll forever call you by. My Maddie, I want you as my wife. You’re my other half, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with and grow old with. I love you with everything in me. Will you marry me?”
    “You told me you’d wait until I was ready, and until just now I wasn’t sure what I would do when the time came. Now I know. This is all happening so fast. But…it’s true that first loves are the hardest to get over, and I was never able to get over you. You’ve always been there with me, even when I was trying to deny it. I’ve always loved you. You’re my world and if you can accept me and my child, then yes, I’ll marry you.”
    “ Our child,” he corrected, as he pulled a ring out of his pocket and slipped it onto her finger.
    “Our child.” She looked down at her finger. The beautiful gold band with a large diamond in the middle and two smaller ones on either side shined up at her. “It’s beautiful, but where did you get it?”
    “I had Ace overnight it to me a few days ago. It’s the ring I bought after graduation. I had planned to propose to you that morning at the bed and breakfast. I was going to set things up with a dozen red roses…” He moved back up on the sofa. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is we’ve found each other again.”
    “The breakfast with the roses arrived while I was getting dressed.”
    “What?”
    She stared down at the ring, which was now on her finger. “At the bed and breakfast…after you left, it came. I cried as I stared down at the perfect roses, the reds and whites mixed together just like I love, and the baby’s breath. That’s when the doubt hit me full force. I ran to the window just as you slammed the door on your truck and drove away.”
    “Maddie, that’s the past. We’ve found each other again.”
    She reached up and cupped his cheek. “We have, but we’ve missed so much time we should have had together. We suffered years of heartache. I was scared we’d grow apart because of the physical separation.”
    “We don’t know what would have happened.” He