He looked up at me. “If you’re the fire, Ellie … I’ll burn.”

A tear tumbled over my cheek, and I could see him waiting for me to decide what my tears meant. I reached for him, and he pulled me over the console into his lap, wrapping his arms around me and planting tiny pecks on my neck and cheek until he reached my mouth.

His hands cupped each side of my jaw, and he kissed me deep and slow, telling me he loved me without saying anything at all.

He pulled back, touching his forehead to mine, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling with every quick breath. He looked up at me, his eyebrows pulling in, but before he could ask, I blurted out the answer.

“Yes.”

“Really?” he asked with a small, hopeful smile.

“But,” I began. His face fell, the hope in his eyes extinguished. “I have a lot of things I need to work on. I’m going to need a lot of time, and a lot of patience.”

He shook his head and sat up, ready to fight for me. He opened the box, plucking the small silver band with a single round solitaire diamond. “I know it’s not as big as Finley’s…”

“I don’t care about that. I just care about what this means.”

He slipped the band onto my finger and choked out a laugh. “Holy shit.”

I thought about his words, letting them bounce around in my mind along with everything I’d learned over the past two months. Returning to old relationships or starting new ones was a recipe for a relapse, and Tyler and I qualified as both. Knowing that, I knew no one could teach me how to love me better than him.

“Can we just…?” I began.

“Whatever you need, baby,” he said, holding my hand to his lips.

I settled back into my seat, and Tyler’s hand encompassed mine for the rest of the way back to Estes Park. I didn’t feel added stress or worry or anxious—quite the opposite. Everything had seemed to fall into place in the same day. The new Ellie was home, in love, engaged, and happy. I couldn’t imagine anything emotionally healthier than that. Not that I expected everything to be smooth sailing, but when I looked at Tyler, the only thing I felt was content.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Jojo poked her head around the corner, looking like she’d fallen asleep in a tanning bed. Her long blonde braid hung from the nape of her neck, swinging a bit in front of her shoulder. “Got a minute?”

“Sure,” I said. “Just let me finish up this…” I typed out a few more words, saved the document, and sat back in my office chair.

“How does it feel to be back?” she asked, collapsing into the love seat in front of my desk.

“Um … fine,” I said, nodding.