Alive (19 page)

He starts making his way towards me, slow and confident. He grabs my hand and leads me towards the blanket.

“What did you do all this for? And who lit the candles if we were all at school?”

“I called and asked my mom if she would come light them for me.” He leans over and kisses my forehead and when he pulls away his face looks serious.

“Abigail, the moment I saw you I knew there was something special about you. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but I knew that I couldn’t stay away from you, no matter how many times you told me you didn’t want to go out with me.” He smirks. My heart is beating out of my chest, because I know where this speech is going. “But you know what I admire and love most about you, Abigail? No matter how fucked up your life has been in the past, you always held your head high. You didn’t play the poor me card, and you didn’t take the road your mother went down, even though that option could have been really easy for you. I am so damn proud of you, and so proud of the person you have become. You are loving, kind, loyal, and so completely perfect for me. I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it and I’m so thankful every day that you choose me. ” He stands up, and then bends down on one knee. I gasp, and grab at my heart. “Abigail McCarthy, Peaches, will you marry me, baby?”

My heart stops beating and the world stands still. What did I do in life to deserve this beautiful man?

I nod my head up and down several times, and he stands up and wraps me up in his arms squeezing me tightly. I want to scream YES, but the words are caught in the lump in my throat.

“I need to hear you say it, baby. Will you marry me?”

“Yes! A million times yes. There isn’t anyone else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.”

He leans down and kisses my forehead, and wipes the tears from under my eyes with his thumb.

“You just made me the happiest guy in the world, you know that?” he softly says.

“I do know that, because you make me feel the same way.”

I lean up on my toes and softly kiss his lips. I try and pour every ounce of myself into this kiss. In the end, I took a leap of faith and opened myself up to another person. It was scary, it was terrifying, but oh how it was worth it.

The End

Thank you so much for reading my story. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you took the time to purchase and read my book. I still get giddy when I see that I have a download.  I hope you all were able to connect with the characters of this book just as much as I did. If you enjoyed the story please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer. I truly appreciate it, and thanks again you fabulous readers!

Thanks!

Holli Spaulding

Acknowledgements

To my dear sweet husband. Thank you for your encouragement and support while I wrote this book. I’m sure when I came to you out of the blue and told you I was going to write a book, you probably thought I was crazy. But never once did you make me feel like I couldn’t do it, so for that I thank you.

To Elizabeth, my person. Thank you for always listening to my ideas, being honest with me when something in my story sucked, and being my biggest cheerleader along the way.  I honestly don’t think I would have ever completed this story if it wasn’t for you. Thanks for being so damn amazing.

To my Aunt and Grandma. Thank you for being the best two people I know. I owe you my life and without your love and support I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

And last but not least, The Retreat.  I never knew I could have so many friends that I have never met before.  I truly love all y’all. I have grown so much as an author, and I owe that to our crazy group. And for the love of God, can we let Cleve out of the closet yet?

About the Author

I am a writer, mother, Coast Guard military wife, nerf gun ninja, Guns N Roses addict, and an avid reader. Right now I resided in the beautiful state of Hawaii with my awesome (most of the time) hubby and 4 amazing (unless they are smearing peanut butter on the walls) kids. When I'm not chasing my boys around, or being a troop leader for my daughter's Girl Scout troop, I enjoy going to the beach and relaxing with my latest book find. I love music, and a lot of my inspiration comes from the songs that I hear. I have a blog that I am truly awful at updating. I've maybe wrote two entries, but If you'd like, follow me for updates on book releases and other random thoughts that I may have!
http://hollispaulding.wordpress.com/