Broken Kingdom (Royal Hearts Academy #4)(144)

Cole covers his ears and shouts, “Dear God, make it stop.”

I’m not sure why Jace is making a fool of himself right now, but one thing is certain.

Dylan is loving every second of it.

Either the girl is tone deaf, or she’s seriously head over heels in love because she’s looking at Jace like he hung the moon.

Oakley stands behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist as we all suffer through the rest of Jace’s torture.

After the song is over, he looks at Dylan. “Dylan, you’re my best friend.”

My mouth drops open when he gets down on one knee and takes a jewelry box out of his pocket. “But I was hoping you’d make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife, too.”

Sawyer and I start squealing like a couple of crazy banshees.

I had no idea Jace was proposing tonight, but I’m so happy for them.

I’m about to walk over to congratulate them, but I look down at Oakley’s hands and freeze.

With his fingers interlaced against my stomach, the letters tattooed on them don’t spell ‘back in a’ after all.

I tilt my head to look at him. “That’s my name.”

“I know.” A slow smile unfurls. “Like I told you…I got the thing I love most in this world.”

Warmth floods my chest as I spin around. He’s always surprising me when I least expect it.

I blink in confusion when I notice the letter K on his left pinky.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my name doesn’t have a K in it.”

“Your middle name Kennedy does,” he points out with an impish grin. “I just ran out of fingers.”

I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing. “God, I love you.”

He cups my face with one hand, dragging his thumb across my lips. “Thank you.”

“For loving you?” I question as he presses his lips to my forehead.

When he speaks, his voice is gravel. “For saving me.”





Epilogue





Five months later…





I close my eyes and exhale, listening to the waves crash against the shoreline.

It’s such a beautiful day, but all I can think about is that today marks the two-year anniversary of the accident.

It’s crazy how different my life is now compared to then.

Wrapping his arms around me from behind, Oakley’s lips find the shell of my ear. “I love you.”

My heart thunders against my chest and I smile. “I love you, too.”

Yet, some things are still the same.

And while I could sit here and dwell on the past and all the bad things that have happened, I’d rather just enjoy where we are now.

“What time do you have to be at work?”

A couple of months after Oakley started writing songs with Landon, a few other artists hired him.

It’s awesome that he’s able to make a living doing something that he’s not only incredible at, but enjoys.

Although, he still insists on working as a custodian part-time at the college. He said it keeps him humble.

His nose skims the column of my neck and he breathes me in. “I took the day off.”

Oakley’s been acting a little strange lately—well, strange for him—and I’m not sure why.

But if I had to guess…I’d say he has something big up his sleeve.

I try my best to feign innocence. “Why?”

The corner of his lip quirks. “So we could celebrate.”

My heart beats harder now, and an excited flutter goes through me.

This is it. It’s happening.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t waiting for Oakley to propose.

Two months ago, we moved into a new apartment together—and while some people might hem and haw that I’m only twenty and therefore too young to get married and settle down—I know in my marrow that I want to spend the rest of my life with Oakley and see no reason to wait.

I’m glad he wants that, too.

“I got you something.”

Yeah, he did.

Butterflies swarm my belly when he reaches inside his pocket…

And pulls out an envelope.

Puzzled, I give it a shake, hoping a ring falls out of it.

No such luck.

Then I realize. It must be a poem.

I quickly slide my thumb through the seal and unfold it.

I blink when I see two airline tickets to India.

Tenderness swells in my chest. “You’re taking me to India?”

His deep voice is a gentle caress against my ear. “You said you’ve always wanted to go there.”

My heart pounds against my ribs. It’s not a proposal, but what he did is so thoughtful I don’t have the heart to be mad at him. “This is amazing.”

I try my hardest to ignore the flicker of disappointment churning in my gut.

It’s not that I’m not happy with his gift, I totally am.

I was just expecting a ring and a promise of forever to be attached to it.

Oakley must sense something’s wrong, because he says, “You’re upset.”

Given we’ve always kept it real with each other, I tell him the truth. “Not upset…just a little, you know…unfulfilled.”