Page 171 of See You Maybe
“Where is it you think I’m going?”
Olivia met his gaze, her expression so unhappy his chest burned. “Bloom Communications is in New York. I know you need to be here. I know things will have to change.”
It was true. Even during the two weeks he’d been recovering, he had been inundated by one issue after another. But Declan had also had a lot of time to think while he healed.
He nodded thoughtfully and took her hand, pulling her along with him. Declan abandoned his façade of using her as a crutch and stopped at the door of the atrium. “Things will have to change,” he echoed her words, and then swung the door open.
Olivia gasped as she took in the space in front of her. The early evening light flooded the glass walls of the room, giving the entire room a golden glow. White roses cascaded from the ceiling in wide garlands, framing another floral canopy over a small table. Olivia stared at the candelabra on the table, the chilling bottle of champagne, and the pair of flutes next to it.
“Declan?”
He smiled at her, leading her further into the room, her eyes huge. Declan’s heart pounded. He felt as if he’d waited a lifetime for this moment. Olivia’s eyes shimmered in the candlelight as Declan took both her hands in his.
“We have always shared a love of poetry, and there have always been the same lines that came to me over and over since I met you. Through the storm, we reach the shore. You give it all but I want more, And I’m waiting for you.”
Olivia’s brow furrowed. “I don’t recognize it. Who wrote that? One of the Romantics?”
“Only the greatest Irish poet of all time,” Declan deadpanned.
“Who?”
“Bono.” When she still looked confused, he shook his head. “The singer? U2? It’s from the song ‘With or Without You.’ Sorry, we didn’t all go to Oxford.” He joked, but then Declan sobered.
“I’ve known since the moment I saw you in that pub, we were meant to be together. There hasn’t been a single second that has passed in the last twelve years that I didn’t love you… That every ounce of my soul didn’t miss you…”
Declan lifted a hand to wipe away the tears trickling down her cheeks. “You aren’t supposed to cry yet, Petal. I’m trying to tell you how much I love you,” he teased. And then, because he couldn’t resist, he pressed a kiss against her lips.
“Olivia.” Declan slowly sank to his knee and pulled a ring from his pocket, still holding her hand. He slid the ring onto her finger. “Petal, my rose, my heart, will you spend eternity with me?”
Olivia was already nodding through her tears, reaching to help him stand. “Yes, but get off your knees before you pull your stitches.”
Olivia stared at the ring. “I’ve dreamed of this moment for twelve years,” she admitted.
Declan’s thumb rubbed over the top of the ring. “It’s my grandmother’s Claddagh ring,” he said quietly, before pulling out another velvet box from his pocket and opening it to reveal an oval-shaped sapphire surrounded by diamonds. He slid it on to sit snugly against the antique ring. “Something old and something new. And the blue reminded me of your eyes.”
Olivia stared at the rings with a soft smile. “The grandmother that gave you the cottage?”
Declan nodded. “She and my grandfather loved each other fiercely. I wanted to ask you with their ring. I told you my grandmother moved to the cottage because she couldn’t bear to stay in their Dublin house with all the memories.” Declan took a deep breath. “I never understood until the day I left you at the airport. I wouldn’t even be able to breathe in a space where I’d loved you, knowing I couldn’t have you.”
Olivia’s brows drew together. “Are you saying you haven’t been back to the cottage?”
Declan shook his head. “I knew it would be too painful. It was our place… It wouldn’t feel the same… after.”
“Declan,” Olivia’s voice broke.
“We were apart for so long, I don’t want to wait another minute to start our lives together. You said things were going to change, and they will.”
Olivia lifted her eyes from her rings to meet his. “I know. Nothing is as important as being with you. I am going to manage Armstrong until I can find my replacement. I want to stay here with you.”
“Now you’re just trying to steal my thunder.” Declan pretended to scowl at her. “We aren’t staying here. I’ll be able to fly in another week. It’s time to go home.”
“But your home is here. Your job is here.”
“This is just a house, Petal. I have a lot of houses. I don’t plan on getting rid of it. Atlanta will be ridiculously hot in the summer.” He grinned as cautious hope flit across her face. “My home is wherever you are.”
“How will that work?”
Declan framed her face with his hands and pulled her in for another kiss. “However we want it to.”