Free Rapture and Lace (Lace #3) (Lace Series) by Adriane Leigh Page A

of the mountain. A pouty huff escaped Carter and I smiled and grabbed his hand as I darted out of the gondola to take in the mountain air and the view surrounding us.  
      We stood at the top of the mountain on a viewing deck overlooking the valley. With the birds twittering and the chilly breeze rustling through the leaves, it felt like we were the only people that existed in our perfect world at that moment. I sighed and Carter stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and swaying us back and forth with the breeze.  
      "I have something for you," he whispered in my ear. He turned me around in his arms to face him. "You've made me the happiest man on earth, Evangeline." He dropped to his knees in front of me. "I know that we've done things a bit out of sync, but it wouldn't be us if we did it conventional." A lopsided grin spread across his face.  
      I looked down into his eyes that were swimming with emotion. He pulled a black velvet box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a glistening ring nestled inside. I dropped to my knees in front of him, tears streaming from my eyes.  
      "Carter." The air whooshed out of my lungs. A round, pale-blue, cushion-cut stone was surrounded by dozens of pave diamonds that extended down the band. The ring was stunning and unique and took my breath away, just like Carter had.  
      "It's my birthstone, aquamarine. And your birthstone is diamond, so I think we're covered there." His mouth curved up at the corners. "It's us. You and me, always." He pulled the ring out of the box and held my hand gently in his own, sliding the ring on my left ring finger.  "Will you wear it? For me?" Carter watched me thoughtfully.  
      "Oh, Carter. It's so beautiful. I love it. But I thought we were going to wait until we got back to Boston? When did you do this?" My eyes searched his.
      "I picked it out the day before we were married." A grin spread across his face. "But they had to size it, so it wasn't ready until now." He rubbed the pad of his thumb around the ring on my finger softly.  I watched the light sparkle off the stones.  
      "I love that I have you with me always." I looked up into his eyes as a few tears trailed down my cheeks. His eyes stared back at me, emotion pooling in their blue depths. I flung myself at him; my arms wrapped around his neck, and hugged him tightly to my body.  
      "You are the most beautiful man I have ever met." I held his cheeks in my palms and kissed his lips, slowly deepening the kiss, our tongues dancing together softly.  
      "I'm so glad I spilled champagne on you at that party," I whispered against his lips. A hearty chuckle escaped his throat.  
      "Me too." His hands wrapped around my neck, holding me to him.  
      "Thank you for bringing me here."  
      "I love it here. I love sharing the things I love with you." He stood and helped me off my knees, encircling me in his arms as we took in the view. We gazed out at the sun lighting the valley below. It was breathtaking and perfect. Just like this whole week had been with Carter. A moment of fear flashed across my brain at the thought that the bottom might fall out once we were back in Boston.  
      Some irrational part of me didn't want to go back, afraid that we would lose this perfect part of us if we did. I sighed deep to quell the anxiety and tried to refocus my brain on the beautiful view before me, and the beautiful man behind me.  
      "You're cold, we should head back down."  
      I nodded softly.
      We hadn't yet decided when we would leave Aspen, but I was already dreading it.  
      He pulled me over to the gondola, my hand firmly locked in his. I stood by the window, ready to take in the view on the way back down. Carter's strong arms trapped me, his hands on the rail in front of me. The gondola started again and we descended back down the sunlit mountain. The new addition on my left hand felt foreign and heavy on my finger, but was also comforting.