Pinned but Fluttering

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

     “Open your eyes, Isabella,” he murmured softly, but still with that strange timbre of repressed feeling.

     Immediately I opened my eyes and gasped, both hands flying up to cover my mouth in surprise.

     On a winding stone pathway lined with stunning roses, fragrant lavender and freesia, with sweet honeysuckle climbing over a trellis arcing over a white-picket gate of the low white fence surrounding the lovely garden in which we stood, Edward knelt before me on one knee.

     As soon as I had released his hands, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small box.

     My eyes widened with shock; I knew what had to be coming next, but somehow I still couldn’t wrap even this amazing vampire brain around the fact that this beautiful, perfect-for-me man was kneeling, smiling tremulously with nerves, a ring box in his hand.

     Edward’s soothing voice was strong and sure despite the uncertainty lurking behind his beautiful eyes. Wrapping one of my hands in his large, free hand, he held it tightly as he spoke the words that would bring us truly together…forever.          

     “Isabella, I have loved you since the very moment I laid eyes upon you. Although you were human and incredibly fragile that first day at school, I admired your strength and fortitude more than I can express. My love for you has only grown since then, both while you were human and since you’ve become one of us. Nothing in the world would bring me more happiness than having you by my side for all eternity. Isabella, will you marry me?”

     I couldn’t speak. If I were still human, I would have been a tearful mess. Looking into his earnest, hope-filled eyes, I knew that I wanted nothing and nobody else in this existence more than I wanted, needed, and loved Edward Cullen.

     I nodded, my shy smile spreading across my face until it felt radiant.

     “Really? You will become my wife, Isabella?” he asked again, almost as if he couldn’t believe his good fortune.

     Still unable to speak, I nodded more emphatically.

     Smiling tenderly at me, he gently opened the box to reveal a ring that could be either an engagement ring or a wedding band. It was deceptively simple: a rounded diamond set squarely in white gold, with two small square-set diamonds on each side, also in white gold. A yellow gold heart, the rounded edges touching the square diamonds, narrowed to a delicate yellow gold band. The diamonds were not large, but they were perfectly set into this modest, lovely design that seemed antique in design.

     “This was my mother’s ring,” Edward said quietly. “It dates to the 1890s. If you don’t like it…if you would prefer something more modern or with bigger stones, we can go to Tiffany’s—“

     “No,” I interrupted, finally willing myself to speak. “No, Edward. It’s perfect just as it is. I love it.” I smiled at him, my eyes misting for just a moment with the ghost of happy tears. “I love you.”