Spirits of Spring (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 4) (55 page)

“We haven’t decided on a first name yet but I want her
middle name to be Ruby.” Cue the tears—this time from her
and me both.
After all this time, she was still my best
living
friend.

When our waitress approached our table, I immediately
thought that she looked familiar so I glanced at her name tag.
Misty. She barely resembled the beautiful girl I’d shared the
title of prom queen with so many years ago.
Her hair was
darker now and she had packed on some massive pounds. A
thick scar ran across her right cheek, presumably something
she acquired during the accident the night of graduation. When
the karma bus finally caught up with her, it practically ran her
over. Despite everything she’d put me through, I felt sorry for
her. But in a way, hardship seemed to have made her a better
person.
She politely smiled and addressed me by name when
she took my order. I did the same when she placed my meal in
front of me.

After the meal,
I moved sluggishly
to the door yet
somehow I seemed to be the one moving the fastest.
As I
started to turn the handle, I felt a light tap on my shoulder
accompanied by an electrical pulse almost as strong as the one
I’d felt the day that Zach got shot. I was afraid to turn around.
Slowly, I pivoted on one heel and looked…down.

There he was, my Norse god, on one knee with one
hand outstretched, fingers tightly closed. “You have the key to
my heart,” he whispered. “Will you marry me?”
He slowly
opened his fingers to reveal a beautiful ruby and diamond ring.

I dropped to both knees in front of him and took the
ring from his hand. As our fingers touched, another wave of
electricity
radiated
between
us.
My
brain
reverted
to
something primal, something instinctual so I made the only
move that made sense.

I cried, he smiled, and everyone else cheered as he
slipped that engagement ring onto my waiting finger. There.
Now
I was truly home.