Chapter 14 - THE PROMISE BENEATH THE AMBER STAR
I proposed to Nora on a cold evening in November.
Not in a ballroom.
Not at a luxury hotel.
Not in front of cameras.
I took her to the bridge where we'd said goodbye fourteen years earlier.
Lake Michigan stretched beneath a silver sky.
The wind was sharp.
But Nora smiled as soon as she recognized the place.
“You remembered,” she whispered.
I laughed softly.
“I never forgot.”
We stood beside the railing.
The same place where I'd fastened the amber necklace around her neck.
The same place where I'd promised to come back.
I reached into my coat.
Nora looked at me.
“Ethan…”
I smiled nervously.
“I've had speeches prepared for billion-dollar negotiations.”
She laughed.
“And?”
“I've never been this scared.”
Her eyes filled.
I took out a small ring box.
Then knelt.
“Nora Lane, when I was eighteen, I promised you I'd come back.”
My voice trembled.
“I didn't.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I let fear, ambition, and other people's choices pull me away from the person I loved.”
I swallowed.
“I can't change those years.”
She shook her head.
“Ethan…”
“But I can choose what I do with the years ahead.”
I opened the box.
Inside was a simple gold ring.
A tiny amber stone rested beside the diamond.
The amber came from the same Michigan beach where I'd found the first piece fourteen years earlier.
“Nora, I don't want to rescue you.”
Her eyes filled.
“I don't want to own your happiness.”
I smiled through tears.
“I want to build a life beside you.”
I swallowed.
“Will you marry me?”
Nora covered her mouth.
Then nodded.
“Yes.”
I laughed.
“Yes?”
She began crying.
“Yes, Ethan.”
I stood and kissed her.
The wind swept around us.
The lake shimmered.
And somewhere behind us, a small voice shouted:
“DID SHE SAY YES?”
We turned.
Maisie stood beside Rachel, wearing a pink winter coat.
Nora burst into laughter.
I grinned.
“She did!”
Maisie screamed with happiness.
Then ran toward us.
I lifted her into my arms.
She wrapped one arm around Nora.
The other around me.
And whispered:
“Now we're a big family.”
Nora kissed her forehead.
“Yes, sunshine.”
May you like
I held them both.
And knew no business deal would ever feel like this.
