Bailey

His eyes never left mine as his words drifted from his mouth into the clear air around us. I sucked in a breath and felt my heart swell painfully in my chest. I think it was trying to tell my brain that there was only one answer.

"I know it won't be the way you probably dreamed about it, but I want you to say yes so bad I'm not sure I've ever wanted anything more. I can't give you big wedding or a fancy dress, but I promise if you marry me now I'll give you that and so much more in the future." His eyes pleaded with mine. He didn't even have to say any of that. I already had his answer.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

I laughed, "YES." His hands moved to the sides of my face and held me as his lips captured mine. My heart pounded in my chest and my head felt dizzy. I waited for doubt to creep in, or maybe fear, but they were nowhere to be found. I wanted to marry him with every thought in my head and every feeling in my heart.

My toes were going numb and my glasses were fogged up, but Lucas kissed me until my lips were swollen and my teeth were practically chattering. When he finally pulled back, his face grew serious. "You know what this means right? You know what being the wife of a Marine entails?"

I lifted my glasses so I could see him better. "I need to make sure you know what it means before we do this." I nodded with his words. "They'll tell you first." My heart stopped, causing a huge tidal wave of grief to crash into my soul.

I needed him. I lifted my head and took his face between my hands. "It's ok." I kissed him. I used his lips against mine to bring my heart back to life and clear away the grief. It would be ok, because he'd come home to me. And if he didn't, I could survive it for him. I could be the one to tell his brother.

"I love you," he said in between kisses.

"I love you too." His mouth moved down to my neck, and I felt his cold nose against my skin. How he could melt me in the freezing temperature, I didn't know. All I knew was that I was going to marry him because he had my heart.

"Let's get out of the cold," he laughed as he stood up and pulled me with him. "We should get back to the room and change out of these wet clothes." He took my hand and we walked back to his truck together. He wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and pulled me to him by the fabric near my chest. "I'll make sure you never regret this."

I climbed into the truck with a big smile on my face and excitement in my heart. I was going to marry him. Whether it was forever or just a short time, he would be the greatest love of my life. No one would ever compare. "Where are we going?" I asked when we turned back on the road to the base.

"I need to get something from the barracks."

We pulled up outside the building and he left the heater on for me as he ran upstairs really quick. I couldn't stop smiling as I watching him disappear from my sight. I watched as Marines moved around outside. Lucas was right, it was a whole other culture. When I saw him emerge from the door to the barracks building, my heart fluttered in my chest and my eyes were drawn to his every move.

The cold air snuck in with him as he climbed back in and drove us back to the hotel. When we were finally in our room, he stood in front of me and took my hand in his. He pulled the dirty, wet glove from my fingers and moved them to his mouth for a kiss. We both smiled like giddy teenagers. I couldn't take my eyes off of his. His free hand slipped into his pocket and he pulled out a small black box. "These were my grandparents. They knew what it was like to love someone far away. They knew that the most important thing was that they loved each other and distance couldn't take that from them. He promised her he'd love her forever and do his best to come home to her."

He let go of my hand long enough to pop open the lid. Two rings were inside, one a silver band and the other a thin band with a beautiful diamond on top. "I'm going to make you that same promise." He took the diamond ring from the case and closed it again, tucking his grandfather's ring back into his pocket. "I love you, Bailey, and I'll do my best to come home to you."

10:17PM