About halfway into the drive, I think somewhere near Lafayette, Stone pulls off into some secluded park area. The sun is starting to set, the sky a calming symphony of reds and oranges. It’s stunning.

We get off the bike, and Stone ushers us down a small trail. I can’t help but notice his jerky movements and the slight shake of his hand as he holds mine.

“You okay?” I ask him.

He glances over his shoulder, meeting my gaze for half a second before he averts his eyes. “Yes, of course. Why?”

“You just seem a bit jumpy. What are we doing here, anyway?”

Continuing to look straight ahead, he says, “Julian told me about this spot. It’s apparently gorgeous at sunset. Thought it would be a cool place to get some pictures.”

My chest warms at the sincerity in his tone. The last two years have been nothing short of a dream. In no way am I saying we never fight or have our disagreements, because we do, but from the moment he brought me to house he built while I was in Europe, I knew I was home. I knew I was exactly where I needed to be, where I was destined to be.

We wind up at a spot at the end of the trail that overlooks the water. With the sunset hues hitting the water, it’s breathtaking. There’s a wooden railing all along the edge, probably to keep people from falling in. It’s about a ten-foot drop from here.

Stone turns, facing me, as he rakes his fingers through his thick, dark hair—which is completely disheveled from the helmet. He’s somehow still able to look mouthwateringly sexy, unsurprisingly. But I think I’ll always look at him and think he’s the most beautiful man that’s ever walked the earth. He could be waist deep in cow manure, sweating like a pig, and I’d still want to rip all his clothes off and jump his bones.

“Do you remember what I said about the love my parents had for one another?” he asks, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

I nod. “You said it was unwavering, and the type of love the greats wrote about.”

My heart’s suddenly hammering inside my chest as he grabs my hand, using his other to cup the back of my neck.

“For many, many years, I believed I wasn’t capable of a love like that. That I’d never get the deep, unparalleled type of love I grew up watching. And that was a tough pill to swallow. I spent years unhappy, but not really knowing I was… until I met you.” His voice cracks at the end, a pressure building behind my eyes as he continues.