Adding Up to Marriage (20 page)

“But that's not why I did it! No matter what Noah might tell you—”

“I know,” she whispered, her eyes never leaving his. “Which is why…it's yours. My heart, I mean. Turns out it
wasn't freedom I was looking for, after all. It was courage. And if, after everything I've put you through, you're
still
willing to take a chance on me…I'd be ten kinds of fool not to return the favor.”

Hardly daring to believe his ears, Silas stood there like a primo dork, staring at the woman. “I love you, honey. Although I could kick myself for not saying it sooner—”

“Silas?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

So he did, until some yahoo drove by and honked his horn at them in some lame attempt at ruining the moment. Except that was followed by another kiss that was far sweeter, especially when Jewel said, “You don't have to do anything to prove your love, Si. I knew that long before you brought my brother home. And what's more, I trust it. I trust
you.
But most important…I trust myself. That I can do this. That my love isn't going to go ‘poof,' either. Because I won't let it.”

He thought he'd pop. “Wow.”

“I know, right?” Giggling, she touched her forehead to his chest. “I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. But you know what?” Her eyes lifted again, clear and free and unconflicted. “Turns out I'd much rather have company while I'm at it.”

Taking another huge chance—was this getting to be a habit or what?—Silas reached into his pocket and pulled out the modest diamond ring he'd picked up on a whim before they'd left Denver. When Jewel gasped, he quickly said, “This is only a token of how serious I am, if you're not ready I completely understand. Sure, my parents eloped after they'd only known each other a month, but everyone thought they were crazy—”

“Oh, no, you don't.”

“Oh. Okay,” he said, starting to slip the ring back into his pocket, only Jewel laughed and grabbed his arm.

“No, goof. I mean—you want to propose, you do it right. Down on one knee.” She pointed to the floor in front of her. “Now.”

“Damn, you're bossy—”

“And you might not want to miss your window of opportunity when I'm feeling all overcome with gratitude and such. Because you never know when such a moment might come around again. Might even have to wait, oh, ten minutes.”

Chuckling, Silas eased himself down on one knee, wincing at the hard floorboard. “Jewel Jasper…will you marry me?”

“You betcha—”

“But there's one condition.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Aaron has to live with us or the deal's off.”

Grinning, Jewel threw her arms around him, throwing them both off balance and onto the porch floor where they laughed and kissed and kissed and laughed, not even noticing the sound of the car pulling up into the driveway until Jewel's mother called out, “Sugar, is there something you want to tell me?”

 

Blushing furiously, Jewel scrambled backward off Silas, who didn't look even remotely embarrassed as he hauled her to her feet…and hooked his arm protectively around her waist, and she thought,
So this is what it feels like to have someone get your back. I like it.

Because for the first time in her life, she felt truly safe, free to love and be loved without fear of either being taken advantage of or abandoned.

Holy mackerel. What a rush.

Jewel slowly lifted her left hand, letting the ring catch the light, and her mother squealed and clasped her hands together, then started toward Jewel, her arms extended.

Not quite ready to leave the comforting circle of Silas's arm, Jewel took in Kathryn's slightly shorter hair and more subdued boot-length skirt and suede jacket—still gorgeous, still sexy, but in a manner far more befitting someone in her middle forties rather than a time-warped twentysomething.

But it was the genuine smile, the kind brown eyes, beaming from the gangly, weathered-faced man scooting to keep up with her—the sun flashing off the sizeable chunk of turquoise in his bolo tie—that really snagged her attention, especially when he turned those eyes and that smile on her still-squealing mother, and it was clear as day the man was completely head-over-heels.

Would it last? Who knew? But it occurred to Jewel that it wasn't like we're only given a certain number of chances to get something right, whether you were talking baking the perfect cheesecake—which Jewel had yet to conquer but she hadn't given up—mastering a piece of music…or finding the right person to keep you sane. And a little bit crazy, too.

Then she looked up and saw Silas looking at her exactly the same way Monty was at her mother, all that endless, bottomless, limitless love, and a great calm came over her, and she realized there was nothing saying it had to take umpteen tries to get it right, either.

She stood on tiptoe to kiss her future
husband
—ohmigosh!—once more, then ran down the steps to hug her mother, her heart about to explode with happiness and the heady confidence that came with knowing that for the
first time in her life everything was adding up exactly as it should.

And that the total promised to be infinitely more than the sum of its parts.