“David,” she said, gasping. “What…”

He took hold of her hand once again. “My beautiful, sweet, adorable, sexy Daisy. Would you please do me the huge, enormous, life-changing honor of being my wife?”

“Yes! Oh my God, yes. Yes, yes, yes.” She threw herself into his arms and kissed him.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he said when they came up for air.

“Was there any doubt?”

“Not really, but thanks for not making me suffer.”

“I would never do that to you.”

“Wait! I forgot the most important part.” He hadn’t forgotten, but now he couldn’t wait to give her the ring. Still smiling at her enthusiastic response to his proposal, he retrieved the ring from his pocket and slid the three-carat stunner onto her left hand. A two-carat princess-cut diamond was framed by another carat of smaller diamonds that continued all the way around the platinum band.

“David. Oh my God.”

“Do you like it?”

“Do I like it?” she asked, laughing as tears ran unchecked down her face. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen! How did you do this? You never left the island!”

“A jeweler on the mainland helped me out. I told him I wanted something spectacular for the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. I said it had to be as special as she is. A hundred emails later, I think we got it.” Her reaction made all the effort to get it right worthwhile.

She continued to stare at the ring, moving it this way and that to catch the light from the candles and the tree. And as she studied it, her smiled dimmed ever so slightly, enough that he noticed.

“What’s wrong?”

“How could anything be wrong?”

“Daisy, I know you well enough by now to know when something is troubling you. Please just tell me what it is.”

“You’ll think I’m silly.”

“Never.”

She looked up at him shyly. “I worry that you spent too much money.”

Knowing how frugal she’d had to be in her old life, he’d expected her to feel that way. “If I’d spent ten times more, it still wouldn’t have been enough.”

“Yes, it would!”

“No, it wouldn’t. I don’t want you to worry about money anymore. I make a very nice living, and so do you. We’ve worked hard and have earned the right to have nice things and enjoy life. It made me happy to buy this ring for you. It’s the ring I wanted you to have.”

“It’s incredible, David,” she whispered. “I can’t stop looking at it.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it.” She looked up at him with big eyes gone liquid with emotion. “I’ll never forget this night. Not ever.”