His lips grazed her neck, trailing slowly down to her shoulder as his arms curled around her waist, pulling her back against his firm chest.

Releasing a sigh as the knife fell from her hands and into the bowl, Sharon closed her eyes, throwing her head back as he bit down gently on her flesh.

“You should be working.” She protested weakly, her entire body collapsing against him as he clutched her waist.

His lips trailed back up slowly, making it nearly impossible to breathe as he whispered in her ear, “I should.”

She opened her mouth to probe him further but a low moan drifted from her lips instead as his hands began exploring her form. She instead turned to him, giving in to his seduction. His lips willingly welcomed hers, its warmth hungrily exploring her mouth until her mind was completely rid of the memory of where she was and what she had been doing before he snuck up on her. She threw caution to the wind, ignoring the likelihood of his family returning from their trip to town and finding them in such an immoral state. The look she imagined would be on Gretchen's face if she walked in to find them like this, only helped to spur Sharon on.

She was consumed by Matthew's presence, her fingers clutching his waist as the sweetness of his kisses intoxicated her for several seconds. Then, his lips gently disconnected from hers, her eyelids flickering open in protest.

A coy smile tugged on the edges of his perfect, mesmerizing lips as he stared back at her. “You didn't exactly seem pleased with having me here a few seconds ago.” He teased.

She frowned slightly and tried to appear uninterested, even if she was fully certain that the color that stained her cheeks made it very clear to him that she was indeed beyond interested in him —in every single part of the man who stood before her. She would much rather be in his arms, getting lost in his kisses, than having to stand here and keep to her promise of helping Nana Lois with lunch. But beyond her physical attraction to him, Sharon knew she was falling for him as well. She knew because on the evening he confessed to loving her two weeks ago, she lost her heart. She could neither control nor tame it. Indeed, Matthew seemed to have taken the poor thing captive, forcing it to accelerate at the mere touch of his fingers, skip a beat at the mere brush of his gaze, swell every time she caught a glimpse of him, and most of all, her heart stopped every time he told her he loved her.

She was losing herself and for the first time in her life, Sharon was not afraid to be lost —in his eyes, in his smile, in his kisses, in his arms.

“I still think you should be working,” she managed to speak, her contrary desires quite evident in her voice.

“Oh?” He leaned forward once more, his lips grazing her.

Sighing in satisfaction, she returned his kiss.

“Still want me gone, Blondie?” His warm breath tickled her lips.

“Uh-huh,” she lied, unwilling to admit to her true desires as his finger played with a strand of her hair.

“Alright,” he threw his hands in the air in surrender. “I'm here for a different reason.”

“Really?”

Nodding, he held out a hand to her. “If you'll come with me,”

She shook her head. “I promised Nana I'll have these potatoes ready in time for lunch.” She frowned at the thought of displeasing Nana Lois; the only person who had been kind to her since her marriage to Matthew. She and Nana had managed to form a good relationship through the weeks that had passed, the older woman assuming some sort of motherly role in Sharon's life. And Sharon was in need of a mother. Since the passing of her mother and the escalation of her father's ill habit, she could not help but welcome Nana Lois's effort in caring for her. Nana and Matthew was truly the closest thing Sharon had to a family.

“Trust me, Blondie, Nana will be pleased with my reason for distracting you for a few minutes.”

She frowned, uncertain. “Where are you taking me?”

“Outside,” he said, his hand still outstretched in anticipation.

She folded her arms instead. “Why?” She eyed him suspiciously.

“Please Blondie, it is a surprise.”

“But I don't like surprises.” She shrugged.

“You'll love this one.”

“What if I don't?”

Groaning, Matthew leaned down suddenly and without a word, slung her over his shoulder before proceeding to make his way out of the building through the front door, ignoring her playful protests.

The sun beat down on her back as he carried her down the front stairs, laughter erupting from her lips as he leaned down and settled her on her feet once more.

She planted her fists on her hips, a playful frown creasing her face. “What did you do that for?”

“That's what you get for asking too many questions,” he grinned, motioning to something behind her. “Now turn around.”

Excitement rushed through Sharon's veins but she managed to keep the frown plastered on her face as she rolled her eyes at him before turning around.

A loud gasp drifted from her lips, her eyelids widening at the sight before her; a horse! Sharon stood motionless for several seconds, captivated by the large animal and the bright pink bow that was tied to its shiny raven mane. It had been the last thing she had been expecting when Matthew announced his surprise, and as she stood there with recognition forcing a smile to her lips, Sharon could not help but instantly fall in love with his gift. It was perfect, not only because she was certainly going to be needing a horse to move around the big farm conveniently, but also because the horse held some sentimental value. Perhaps Matthew hadn't thought his gift through beyond her need to move freely around the farm, but the horse was the exact one they had ridden to the lake side —their first date as a couple, a date that had ended with them consummating their marriage on the same night, which had also led to Matthew confessing his love for her. It had all begun with this horse.

She stared at the horse, the animal symbolizing stability. It almost felt like Matthew's gift was assuring her that their marriage wasn't ending any time soon. It assured her of her position as his wife, perhaps even forever.

Her limbs trembled with the thought; the thought of having something permanent, the thought of never being afraid of caring for something because in the end, it was bound to be lost. The loss of her mother and the inevitable loss of her father to his gambling ways had taught her that lesson. But somehow, the horse before her seemed to tell her otherwise.

She must have stood motionless for several seconds when her eyes caught sight of a flash of light by the horse's neck. She frowned, stepping forward to make certain she was seeing correctly.

The more she walked, the more the light became prominent until she saw the piece of gold mental stuck to the pink ribbon where the sun rays reflected off of it.

Her frown deepened as she reached the horse and tugged on the ribbon until the metal fell into her palm.

The air was immediately knocked out of her lungs, her eyelids growing several notches as she stared at the metal in her hands; a ring!

“It belonged to my grandmother,” Matthew was saying but Sharon could barely turn to acknowledge him. “Grandfather handed it to me before he passed. He wanted me to give it to the woman I love.”

She turned the ring over in her hand, barely able to breathe.

“That woman is you, Sharon,”

She clutched the ring, afraid it'll fall out of her trembling hands as she turned stiffly around to Matthew.

“I think the ring comes before the wedding. I know we're married,” he whispered gently as he stepped forward, his fingers sweeping the wet liquid off of her cheek. “But we skipped the ring part,” taking her hand in his, he unclasped her hand, revealing the ring that sat in her palm. He took the ring, and taking a step back, went to his knees on the sand, “and the wedding part.”

For the life of her, Sharon could not convince her lungs to accept oxygen, neither could she talk her heart out of pounding wildly against her chest as she stared at him. It was a wonder how she managed to maintain her footing.

“Sharon —Blondie,” he grinned. “Freelance Steiner, will you not only have a wedding with me, but will you stay married to me?”

Yes! She opened her mouth to speak but her lips felt numb. The part of her that could not believe this was happening to her found it impossible to speak. So she stood, trembling with excitement as she nodded furiously and watched as he slipped the ring into her finger.

She was getting married, for real!