Meant to Marry Me

Bree tipped her face toward his, and he closed the space between them, his warm lips soft and secure as he gently ran his thumb along her cheek. Trent sat up, abruptly ending the kiss. "Hold that thought...." he said, shooting up off of the bed like he'd forgotten he was boiling water in the kitchen. Bree watched as he went around the end of the bed, over to his side, and opened the drawer in his nightstand. He reached in and grabbed something small enough that she couldn't see it in his hand. Curiosity got the better of her, and as he made his way back, she had to ask, "What do you have?"

"You know..." he began, sitting back down next to her, but not facing her. He turned his head to look at her. "For weeks, I've been second guessing myself, wondering if it's too soon, if it's silly of me to even be contemplating this. But after everything that's gone on, Bree, I know the timing is right. Maybe I could find a better location, something more romantic." He shook his head. "But none of that matters. In the end, the only thing that matters to me is that I want to be with you forever. There's no doubt in my mind that you got it right when you wrote that song. You and I are meant to be married, Bree. So...."

It was then she knew for sure what he was doing. Trent slid off of the bed onto the floor, one knee up, and she saw a sparkling object in his hand as he thrust it in her direction. "Bree... would you care to make it official? Will you do me the honor of promising to make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?"

Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe and answer the question. Her head bobbed up and down before she got the words out. "Yes, Trent. Of course. I love you so much."

"I love you, too. I know I can't put it on your left hand right now, so how about your right?"

She thrust her unwrapped hand in his direction, and Trent slipped the ring on before leaning forward and kissing her again.

His lips were warm and soft. Bree's head began to whirl as he deepened the kiss, letting her know just how much he meant every word he'd said. He was still gentle, careful with her. Bree lost herself in his kiss, wishing it could be more but knowing she wasn't physically ready for anything else just yet. Soon enough, they'd be able to express their love to each other again completely.

Bree realized this was the perfect way to end what had otherwise been a disastrous event. Knowing Trent would be with her forever was a powerful way to put the past behind her and step into the future. He pulled back, smiled at her, and then kissed her softly again.

A knock on the door interrupted them. "You kids all right in there?" her mom's voice called.

Leaning back, Trent sighed. "I told them I'd be right back. I forgot." His face turned slightly red as they both imagined what her parents were thinking.

Bree laughed. "That's okay--I want them to see the ring."

Trent got up and went to open the door. "Sorry. Yes, we're fine. Come in. Bree wants to show you something."

Her mother's eyes widened as she crossed to the bed. Bree lifted her hand and said, "I know it's the wrong hand, but...."

"Oh, my gosh!" Judy exclaimed, covering her mouth with both hands. Her father was behind her and couldn't see over Judy's shoulder, but once her mom started squealing, he figured it out pretty quickly, too. "Let me see!" Paul jostled Trent good naturedly as he chuckled with pride.

Her mom sat down next to her and looked at the ring. "Isn't it beautiful?" Bree asked. Her dad congratulated Trent and welcomed him to the family. Paul didn't look as surprised as Bree had expected, so she had to wonder if maybe Trent had talked to her dad ahead of time.

"It's gorgeous. Oh, honey, I'm so happy for you!" Her mom wrapped her arms around her, and then her dad came over and hugged her, too.

"You got yourself a good one, sweetheart," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

Bree looked over her dad's shoulder and saw Trent standing at the foot of the bed, his hands in his pockets. "Yes, I did," she agreed.

"Well as much as we'd love to stay here and help you get started planning the wedding, I suppose now is as good a time as ever for us to leave you be and get on the road home." There were tears in her mom's eyes as she spoke, a mixture of happiness over the upcoming nuptials and sadness at leaving, Bree assumed.

She couldn't help but tear up as she told her parents goodbye. She waved goodbye as Trent walked them to the door.

Once she was alone, Bree stared at her ring, wishing she could put it on the other hand, the one it was supposed to go on, but tried not to let that get her down. In a few minutes, Trent was back, a big smile on his face, and she assumed that was because they were alone again. As much as he liked her parents, she knew he preferred it to be just the two of them. In many ways, so did she.

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He kicked off his shoes and went around to the other side of the bed, flopping backward onto his pillow before moving closer to her. Gently, he picked up her hand and looked at the ring. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. It's perfect. How did you know my ring size?"

"I borrowed another one of your rings and took it with me to the jeweler," he said with a sly smile.

"When did you even go?"

"A few weeks ago."

Bree's eyes widened. She'd had no idea he was considering proposing. That was before everything had happened with Cat. "Well, you did a great job picking it out and surprising me."

"Thanks." The smile on his face let her know he was proud of himself.

He turned toward her, and Bree couldn't help but smile. "Are you all right?"

"I'm wonderful. I just... can't believe you're engaged--to me."

"I can't believe it either," she said. Looking at her hand, she said, "But I think I could get used to it."

"Yeah? Good--because this is one marriage I'm planning to see through."

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That made her laugh out loud. "Great. Because I'm holding you to it."

"I'm pretty sure I got all the crazy out in my first wedding," he said, but Bree wasn't so sure.

"Bite your tongue. You'll curse us," she said

"Seriously? What else could possibly go wrong?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to tempt fate."

"You're right. I'm sorry," Trent conceded. "It's just... I meant it when I said I know we can overcome anything as long as we're together. That's all."

Bree nodded. "I believe that, too. But... I'd prefer it if 'anything' meant the difficulties of deciding what to have for dinner or whether or not to buy a new couch--not more fires, near-death experiences, or God forbid, anything worse." Holding back a laugh, Trent said, "I agree. Now, why don't we put all of those obstacles--past, present, future--behind--and admire your ring." He held her hand up and gazed at it, smiling.

“I'd rather admire the man that gave it to me," Bree said. That got his attention. He turned to face her, and Bree pressed her lips to his, so glad to finally be completely alone with him again after so much time with family, doctors, nurses, and friends around.

"Well, then," Trent said, coming up for air, "I guess I can get onboard with that."

He kissed her, and Bree let her mind return to that first kiss, outside of the cabin, when they were both in college. She'd thought that day would be the start of something wonderful, and even though they'd taken a few twists and turns, and a detour or two, they were together now, and she couldn't be any happier than she was in that moment, knowing one day she'd be his wife--no matter what.