Song is in the middle of the chapter
8 months later
"Girls! Let's go!" Roman shouts from the bottom of the stairs.
Willows head shoots up from my lap and I look at her and smile, "you ready to go on an adventure?"
She jumps up and stares and me, "you ready?" I ask again and she goes crazy.
She jumps on top of me, smacking my neck with her tough paws. She jumps off of the bed and dashes downstairs to meet Roman.
I hear Roman talking to Willow like she's a baby as I get up from the bed and adjust my hair and my light purple sundress. I throw on some lipgloss and my white sandals before making my way downstairs.
"Let's go, beautiful." Roman twirls his keys around his pointer finger and looks at me over his black sunglasses.
He's dressed in black bathing suit bottoms and a white t-shirt.
He has yet to tell me where he's taking me, but he has told me to wear a bathing suit underneath my dress. So, I have on a plain purple bikini underneath my dress.
He grabs my hand and leads me out the door, "bye Darcy!" I shout as he closes the door and locks it. Willow is already standing by the door to the car, her tail wagging like the blades on a helicopter.
"Come on girl." Roman runs up to her and messes around with her for a minute before letting her in the back seat.
"Whatcha staring at, Darling?" Roman turns toward me and opens the passenger door for me.
"Nothing." I shrug my shoulders with a sheepish grin on my face.
He grabs my hand and helps me into the car, like how Mr.Darcy assisted Elizabeth into the carriage.
I've forced him to watch that movie about once a month since he surprised me with Darcy on Christmas.
He rolls all of the windows down and I stick my hand out, letting the warm August breeze hit my open palm. My hair flies in my face and I look in the side mirror and see Willow sticking her head out the window, her fur is pushed back revealing her golden brown eyes and a smile on her face.
I grin and look over to Roman to see him nervously tapping the steering wheel.
"You okay?" I ask.
"Never better." His answer is not very reassuring but I leave it be for now.
About halfway through the drive the way we're going seems quite familiar, and it's not until he turns onto a dirt road that I know where we are headed.
"Are we going to the lake?!" I snap my head to face him.
He says nothing. All he does is smirk and speed up, never once taking his eyes off of me as we speed down the dirt road.
Trees speed pass us in a blur and I have to hold my hair back with my hand as I take him in.
We pull up to the lake and I'm in as much awe as I was the first time he brought me here.
He parks the car and rushes to my side to open the door. Willow doesn't let us open the back door to let her out, instead she jumps up front and exits out the passenger door.
"Stay close Willow." Roman commands before she sprints off and dives in the water.
I laugh and interlace our fingers, pulling him behind me as I walk over the shore lined with stones.
"I will never get over this view." I sigh as I look out at the clear blue lake surrounded by trees and mountains.
"Me neither." I turn to him with a smile to see him already looking at me.
"You know, on this day exactly one year ago, I brought you here on our first date." He tells me.
"I do know." I peck his lips, "and I'm so glad you had the guts and decided to text me first and ask me out.
He laughs and pulls me into a deeper kiss. He still seems on edge about something but I know he will tell me if he needs to.
"You think I could get naked right now?" I tease seductively.
"I would rather be the only person to see you naked tonight, not some horny thirteen years old on a hike with his family."
I throw my head back laughing at his words, "tonight then?"
"Tonight."
I slip off my sandals and toss them to the side, keeping my eyes locked on his beautiful blue eyes. I grab the hem of my sundress and slowly pull it over my head.
I shake out my hair and place my dress on top of my sandals.
Romans jaw clenches as he watches my every move. He doesn't say anything, instead he reaches his arm behind his back to the neck of his shirt and pulls it over his head.
He picks up my dress and places it on top of his shirt to keep it from getting any dirt on it.
"Lets swim." I trail my hand up his arm and over his shoulder, and I feel him shiver from my touch.
I turn away from him and pull up the straps holding up my cheeky bikini bottoms, making sure I'm revealing more to him.
"Tsk, your such a tease." I hear him behind me as I step into the cold water of the lake.
"Ooh, it's really cold." My body tenses and my shoulders come up to my ears.
I hear Ro hiss through his teeth as he wades deeper into the lake.
Unfortunately for me I wasn't paying much attention to him until he decides to grab me by the hips and lift me in the air.
"Roman, don't!" I squeal, "Roman, put me down!"
"Not a chance, beautiful." Not a moment later I'm flying through the air and crashing into the deeper end of the freezing cold lake.
I gasp for air and push my hair back when I breach the surface.
"Oh you motherfucker!" I shout as I attempt to run towards him through the water.
He laughs as he watches me struggle but he immediately stops when I splash him right in the face.
"Oh your in for it now." He runs his fingers through his now wet hair and charges at me.
"Ahh!" I shout as he swims after me.
••••••
(Play song at the top: Until I found you by Stephan Sanchez )
I laugh and bury my face in Roman's bare chest, that's glistening with water droplets , as he carry's me out of the water and up the shore.
He places me down gently on the grass behind the shoreline and runs to his car to get us towels.
I take in the breathtaking view of the beginning of the setting sun reflecting on the still water. The sky painted with different shades of oranges and pinks.
I watch as Willow dives under the water and pops back up seconds later in a different spot.
"Catch." Roman shouts and chucks the towel at me hitting me right in the face.
"Rude." I frown at him as I wrap the towel around my waist and watch as he dries his hair with the towel.
He folds the towel and places it on the stones. He goes down to the lake, placing his feet in the water. His back muscles are tense and he keeps nervously running his hand through his hair as he stares at the sunset.
I pick up my dress and put it on top of towel, deciding to put on his shirt instead.
I fold my arms across my chest and come to a stand beside him.
"Hey, tell me what's going on." I wrap my arm around his waist.
He turns in my arms and I place my chin on his chest and look up at him through my lashes.
"Talk to me."
He runs the tips of his fingers down my arms until he gets to my hands. He interlaces both of our hands together, and pulls away slightly.
He inhaled a shaky breath, "have I ever told you how much you've changed my life?"
I shake my head but stay silent, letting him speak.
"Before you, my life was repetitive. I would wake up, workout, maybe hang with the guys, then go to sleep. And it would all repeat the next day, and the next day. But the moment I laid my eyes on you, I new my life was about to change. You were, and still are, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You are like the missing puzzle piece that my life has needed to be complete."
I gasp and tears trail down my cheeks as I watch him get down on one knee, his knee causing ripples in the water as it touches the ground.
He digs his hand through his bathing suit pocket and pulls it back out, holding a black velvet ring box.
He opens the top and reveals the most stunning diamonds ring I've ever seen.
"Arabelle Kehlani Vine, will you marry me?"
I wipe the tears off my cheeks but they are instantly replaced with fresh ones.
I nod my head furiously, "yes."
He takes my left hand in his and slides the ring onto my ring finger, and it fits perfectly.
He stands up and I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him into a searing kiss.
It's slow and passionate, no one is fighting for dominance. We are equal.
Willow barks in the distance and I hear her come running out of the water towards us. She appears at our feet moments later and she shakes her wet fur, getting water all over us.
We both laugh, breaking up the kiss, and I wipe away the tears off of my cheeks and the ones falling down his.
"I love you so much." He looks down at me as if I'm a night sky full of stars.
"I love you, my soon to be husband."
He pulls me into another kiss and we spend the next few moments holding onto each other while we watch the sun dip lower and lower until it's gone.
We pack our stuff up and dry Willow off before we get back into the car and begin the journey home.
Willow sleeps soundly in the back seats, completely knocked out from her day full of play.
Our hands are intertwined on top of the center console and I can't stop looking at him and the beautiful ring on my finger.
Holy shit. I'm engaged.
I pull out my phone and dial my dads number. He picks up on the third ring and I tell him to get papa.
"Hey, munchkin."
"Hey, B, how are you."
"I'm great, amazing actually."
"Oh, why is that? What's going on?"
"Okay, me and Roman have some news." I turn the phone so they can see Roman as well.
"Okay." Papa draws out hesitantly.
I pull my left hand away from his and hold it up in front of the camera, letting them see my ring.
"We're engaged." I smile happily and Roman pulls up to a red light so now he's able to face the camera, a huge grin is planted on his face.
"Oh my god!" My dad shouts.
"Are you really?" Papa asks, tears in his eyes.
"Yes." I nod.
"I can't believe this." Dad says while full on sobbing.
"Our little girl is getting married." Papa pulls my dad into a hug.
"You know what this means Jackson?"
"What, Honey?"
"We are going to be grandparents soon."
"Wait what?" I cut in.
"Well, you know." Dad starts, "after marriage, comes the babies. And we all know how much you want to be a mother, and Roman has has told me how he can't wait to be a dad."
"Okay, Honey, settle down." Papa rubs his shoulder, "but... when do you think you will be ready for a kid."
Roman laughs next to me and the light turns green so he's focused back on the road.
"Okay, calm down." I laugh, "we are taking this one step at a time."
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WORD COUNT: 2135
A/N
The dress she got engaged in
That is it you guys! Roman and Arabelles journey has come to an end. There may be a bonus chapter or two in the future but for now I just wanted to say I am so thankful for everyone who has read my story. I love you all so much<333
I will be working on a new story soon so make sure to check that out and follow me to get the notifications and updates for it!