When we pass the curve on the path, a freshly washed green bench with a polished and gleaming plaque greets us.

“But as I was saying, your worries about us finding something new are unfounded. That’s something new to uncover, for instance.” I point to the bench.

She peers at the plaque and anticipation winds tight in my body. Hope fills my cells. When she gasps, that’s my cue.

I bend to one knee and flip open a jewelry box. “What does it say?” I ask, though I already know.

Once upon a time, a duke met an angel and fell madly in love. He fell in love so deeply, so truly, he asked her to marry him. Marry me, Sabrina, and be mine always.

She spins around, tears sliding down her face over a smile more radiant than any I’ve ever seen. “Yes. I say yes.”

I slide the ring on her finger, and the princess-cut diamond shines brighter than the sun. It better. It’s huge.

Well, I wasn’t going to buy her a tiny ring.

She deserves the best.

“It’s perfect, because you’re the perfect guy,” she says, and kisses me as deeply and as passionately as she did that first night.

When she breaks the kiss, she takes my hand and guides me to the bench. “Let’s go enjoy our bench.”

We sit, and we kiss more, and we talk more, and she stares at her ring, and I tell her that it was either the bench or a knock-knock joke for the proposal, but the bench won out.

“I still want to hear the knock-knock joke.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Marry.”

“Marry who?”

“Marry me.”

Sabrina

I laugh and wrap an arm around him. “My answer is still yes.”

“Good because we have lots of favorite places to find. Always is a long, long time.”

“I like always with you.”

“You should. Want to know why?” my fiancé asks as a bird chirps overhead. He squeezes my finger and admires my ring.

I admire it too. When I look at it, I see hope, and a future, and love. This certainty was worth every risk. “Why?”

“Because always means we live happily ever after.”

THE END

Dear Reader:

You may be curious about the NYC locations in this story. The hotel where Sabrina and Flynn first meet is inspired by the New York City mansions and clubs on the East side, and The Dollhouse is inspired by a number of underground speakeasies.

The abandoned subway stations are real, including the City Hall one, as is the Starry Night locksmith, the Elevator Museum, and the inscriptions on the benches in Central Park, including the ones from Tony and Karen, and Vic and Nancy. The streetlamps are also numbered to help you find your way. Gramercy Park requires a key.

Manhattan is also magical when you fall in love.

* * *

Want more Flynn and Sabrina? Sign up here to receive a bonus scene of this sexy, fun couple sent straight to your inbox! If you’ve already signed up for my list, be sure to sign up again! It’s the only way to receive the COME AS YOU ARE bonus scene, but rest assured you won’t be double subscribed to the list! You can also sign up directly for my newsletter to receive an alert when these sexy new books are available!