~{Prologue}~

"Kate? Are you ready?" I heard James call from downstairs.

I took one last look in the mirror at my outfit. I'm wearing a deep red dress that reaches just above my knees. It has lace all over it and quarter length sleeves. It has a small scoop neck. My brown hair is in beach waves with a few strands of my blonde highlights. I have on little jewelry and make-up. I hurry out my bedroom door and down to where James was waiting.

I gave a smile when James froze in place and stared at me coming down the stairs.

"Kate, you look absolutely gorgeous." I laughed at his words and hurried down the rest of the stairs.

I gave him a small peck on the cheek before hurrying out the door, and I heard him grunting behind me. I was still running when I felt an arm wrap around my waist, stopping me from running any further.

I turned and saw James grinning down at me. I laughed and said, "You couldn't have gotten me if I hadn't had heels on."

James let go of my waist and took my hand. "I'm sure that's true. Now, enough with the games. We have to get going. I have something special planned for you tonight."

I assented and followed him to his car. In just a few minutes, we were driving through the city of New York as fast as traffic would allow. Every few lights, James would impatiently tap on his wheel and let out an impatient grunt.

I laughed at him and asked, "Why so impatient?"

"I have a schedule that I'm not on time with," he impatiently replied.

"Since when do you have a schedule?" I asked with another laugh.

"Since I joined the military," he said as the light turned green.

The car became silent. I slowly pulled my hand out of his and turned to look out of my window. I could feel him sneaking glances at me. I didn't turn my head a single time until we reached the restaurant.

I was moving to open the door when James touched my arm and said, "Kate, we have to sort this out first."

I sighed and turned to look at him. "There is nothing to talk about."

"Kate, you know that isn't true."

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say that I'm alright with you going overseas for a year and half? I'm not, and you know that I can't lie to you!" my eyes began to water.

I could feel his eyes on me. I turned my head away so he couldn't see my eyes filling with tears.

I heard him shift in his seat. I felt his hand softly take my hand in his.

"Hey," he began, "You don't have to hide your tears. I'm sorry for pushing you."

I turned my head and carefully wiped my eyes, trying not to smear my makeup. "It's okay. I'm just going to miss you."

He smiled and cupped my face with his hands. "Me too."

I smiled back and backed away from his hands and opened the car door.

"Want to go eat?"

"You sure you'll be okay?" He asked.

I nodded. "We can talk about it inside."

"Okay."

~-~-~-~
"Thanks so much, James. I had an amazing time," I told him as we buckled our seat belts.

As it turned out, James had picked my favorite restaurant. We did talk more about the fact that he was leaving. Even though I still was unhappy and sad, I knew that it would be okay.

"It's not over yet." I turned to look at him and was met with his smiling gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out." I smiled at his response.

He pulled out of his parking spot and began to drive down unfamiliar roads. After about ten minutes of driving, he told me to put a bandana over my eyes. I gave him a weird look, but he ignored it. I put it on and was soon aware that all I could see was darkness.

All of a sudden, the car came to a stop.

"Stay here," I heard him say.

I didn't answer as I heard him open and close his car door. Soon, he opened my door and took my hand. He began to slowly walk with me clinging to his hand. I trusted him, but it was still a little scary to not be able to see anything.

"You aren't going to murder me or anything, right?" I asked jokingly yet with a hint of seriousness.

"If I wanted to do that, I would have done that a long time ago," he replied in an equally jesting tone.

I laughed at his response. After walking for what seemed like an eternity, we came to a stop. I felt him carefully slip his hand out of mine. I could hear his footsteps gradually getting quieter and quieter until I could not hear his footsteps anymore.

"James?" I called out.

"I'm here, but you need to be quiet," I heard him say from somewhere on the left side of me, but his voice did not sound very close.

I gave a sigh of relief that he was still there.

After a couple of more minutes, he said, "Take the bandana off."

I struggled to take the bandana off, but when I did get it off, I was greeted by twinkling lights all around me. I gave a full circle just looking at all the twinkling lights in the trees and along the ground. As I turned around to where I had heard his voice, I was greeted with a white gazebo and James standing in the center.

The gazebo had lights and flowers around the columns and top. He was standing with a bouquet of my favorite kind of flower, red roses. He had put on a black suit jacket.

"Come here," he said.

I smiled and walked towards the gazebo. As I stepped up, he held out his hand for me to take. I took his hand and stood directly in front of him.

He gave me the roses as I asked, "You did this all for me?"

"Of course I did. Don't you know I would do anything for you?"

I gave his hand a squeeze. "Well, thank you."

"Dance with me?" He softly asked.

I laughed. "With no music?"

He gave a sly smile and took my bouquet. He set it on one of the railings and slipped his hand out of mine. He walked to a corner of the gazebo where I think I saw a small Bluetooth speaker.

Suddenly, my favorite song was playing! It was "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran.

He turned around and gave a mock bow. I laughed and gave a mock curtsy. He walked over to me and dipped me. We continued to dance to the whole song and a few more. We finished the sixth song and then he turned the music off.

When he came back to the center of the gazebo, he stood directly across from me and took my left hand in both of his hands.

"Kate," he began, "You have been so important in my life since the day I met you six years ago. You have been by my side through thick and thin. As I went through training, I got to truly see your heart. I found that you have the kindest and purest heart. I was truly able to see why God brought you into my life. He brought you into my life to teach me, to love me, and to support me in what I do."

He paused and pulled out a small box as he knelt down. I covered my mouth with my hands and my eyes began to water.

"Kate, will you do me the privilege of agreeing to become my wife?"

I held out my hand to him. "Yes, of course I will!"

He gave me a big smile and slipped the ring onto my finger and stood up. He bent his head down like he was going to kiss me. Instead, he took a hand in each of his and put his forehead against mine. We stood like that for what seemed like an eternity.

~-~-~-~
When he dropped me off at home, he took my hands in his. He softly buried his face in my hair that was down by my neck.

I could feel his warm breath on my neck as he whispered, "I love you."

I pulled out of his embrace and gave him a kiss on the cheek before I unlocked my door.

Right before I opened my door, I turned and whispered, "I love you too."

______________________
I'm back! I have been working on this new book for a couple of weeks. If you could tell me what you think, I would really appreciate it!

With this book, I will update when I can and as I please. I will take time to write chapters so that it can be the best it can be. If I want to actually finish this book, I need to write on my own time.

I also I won't be able to write anything good if I don't have the support system I need. As an amateur writer, I need all the support I can get from the people who read my stories.

(If you catch any mistakes, please point it out to me!)

Thank you to all who have given me a reason to write (especially God).

God Bless
~CGirlyGirl

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Other Books:
•Finding Me
•Wanted Treasure
•Something More
•Inches Apart