I’d sworn not to marry again after my second divorce, and I’d managed to stick to that resolution for a full ten years before I met Vince and was instantly captivated by his kind eyes and gentle soul. He was a man ruled by his intellect rather than his passions, which was one of the things that attracted me.

Vince was the only one of my husbands who’d had the foresight to buy a ring before his proposal, so I knew it hadn’t been a spontaneous gesture, a giddy impulse in the spur of the moment. He surprised me by taking me to dinner at an exclusive restaurant in a vineyard in Paarl. I hadn’t expected such a fancy place and stuck out like a sore thumb.

“You should have told me I wasn’t dressed classy enough,” I whispered to Vince as we made our way through the rows of tables to our own one on the terrace overlooking the vineyards. I tugged my tight dress down as a few women glanced at my hemline. Someone recognized me too, I heard them say my name, and though I’d never been ashamed of my past, I didn’t want it thrown in Vince’s face all the time.

“Nonsense. You look perfect.”

And that was enough for me. Suddenly, none of those behind-the-hand comments and knowing smirks mattered. What mattered was Vince and that he thought that I belonged there with him in that beautiful place with its glittering chandeliers and silver cutlery, its crystal glasses and his heart of gold. It was the best gift anyone had ever given me: to see me with such forgiving eyes.

Just before dessert was served, Vince ran his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat before reaching into his dinner jacket to pull out a small box. Inside its velvety folds sat the most utterly perfect ring I’d ever seen. It was made from rose gold and the metal took on a coppery-pink tint in the candlelight. A clear, round diamond nestled in the middle of a lush rose that was in full bloom, and the exquisitely rendered leaves extending up the side of the band looked like ivy that had grown around it.

Vince plucked it from the box, his thick fingers dwarfing the ring as he held it out to me. “Ruth, I’m not a young man anymore, so forgive me for not getting down on my knee to do this. But this old heart, scuffed as it is, wants to spend the rest of its days beating next to yours. Will you honor me by becoming my wife?”

Of course I said yes.

You promised to love me just the way I am, Vince. You even said it in your vows. Either you broke your promise or you never really knew me because I never changed.