A hush falls over the room. My heart pounds. I step forward, my pulse in my ears, my body suddenly weightless as the noise around me fades. The anticipation is thick, pressing in on all sides, but my focus narrows to the man in front of me. The man who has carried me through this past year with steady hands and an unwavering heart. The man who loves me in ways I never imagined possible.

Vic exhales, his expression soft but intent with his voice dipping lower, meant only for me even though the whole room hangs onto his every word. “A year ago today, I met this woman right here at a floral shop opening. And if I’m being honest, it was lust at first sight.”

Laughter breaks out, but I playfully cover my embarrassed face. “Vic!”

He grins but doesn’t waver. “I mean it. I saw you looking through a window in that pink dress, and my mind just went black. Then, you opened your mouth and threw me completely off my game. I was intrigued. And annoyed. But then,” he continues, his tone shifting. “I got to know you. And I was captivated. I was drawn in by your light, the way you love people, and the way you move through life with such strength and determination. I never thought I’d experience love again. I didn’t think I deserved it, but Kerry Kind, you’re every dream I never thought I was allowed to have. I don’t want to go on another vacation with my girlfriend,” he says before reaching into his pocket and lowering himself onto one knee. “I want to go on vacation with my fiancée.” His voice is steady, unshaken, filled with a certainty that leaves me breathless. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you as my wife.”

A sharp gasp echoes through the room, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe. My whole world tilts until it narrows down to him—this man on one knee, looking up at me like I hold the universe in my hands. My head is nodding, my tears are falling, and my heart is already his.

“Yes.” My answer’s shaky, nearly swallowed by my emotions, so I say it again, louder, with all the conviction in the world. “Yes, yes, yes, a million times, yes.”

The room explodes in cheers, but all I feel is him. He slips the ring onto my shaking fingers, his arms wrapping around me as he stands, pulls me in, and holds me like he never plans to let go. I clutch at him, burying my face in his shoulder, the warmth of his body, the way he whispers against my hair, “I love you with everything in me, Kerry Kind.”