“Here’s the deal,” she continued. “You might get hurt. You might be married fifty years. No one knows what the outcome is when they take a chance with someone, but the worst thing you can do is take a chance with the wrong man. That is a mistake you’ll never forgive yourself for when you finally realize it.”

“When you have nothing left to lose. When there’s nothing left to gain. You find yourself at the edge of the world, wishing nothing would have changed,” I read and instantly got a twisted feeling in the pit of my stomach.“All you can do is jump.”

“I kissed his forehead. “You don’t have to thank me. I told you, I do anything for someone I care about.”He pulled away and looked up at me. “You said you do anything for someone you love.”I didn’t know how to respond to that. We were in such a precarious place. I didn’t want to say anything that might scare him away or let him know how I truly felt, because at the end of the day, I loved him. It was that simple. Instead I gave him a small smile. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

“Was it worth it?” he asked me, breaking the silence.“Was what worth it?” I asked, looking up at him.“Taking a chance with me,” he said softly, kissing the top of my head. “Not thinking, going with your gut?”“It was the best chance I’ve ever taken,” I said, snuggling closer to him and breathing in his familiar scent.”

“And just because I own a Harley, have a few tattoos and one piercing, doesn’t mean I’m a ‘bad boy’,” he said, his eyes ablaze with conviction. “So if you figured you might go slumming this summer in an effort to try something new and reinvent yourself, I’m not your guy.”

“There was a time when I knew what it was likeTo live without you, to share your painBut time moved on, and you came backLoving me like you’d never left”

“Will you marry me?”I was in shock for a full ten seconds before I realized what was happening. I threw my arms around him and kissed him as hard as I could. “Is that a yes?” he asked, when I pulled away.“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” I shrieked.His face broke into a wide smile. “Thank God,” he said then.”