Free Intentional by MK Harkins

It’s an antique white-gold band with a two-carat, pale-yellow, round brilliant-cut diamond. The salesclerk starts to ramble on about clarity, cut, weight, and certificates.
    I’ve zoned out. It doesn’t matter. I’ve found the ring I’m going to give Mattie.

    I set my next plan in motion. Mattie loves a little coastal town on the Oregon coast—Cannon Beach. I’ve made reservations for a weekend next month at a waterfront home that sits in front of the famous Haystack Rock.
    Mattie has been talking about this place ever since I met her. She told me it’s her favorite place in the world—she compares it to heaven.
    Apparently, Mattie and her parents spent every summer vacationing there during her childhood years.
    I want to start our own family tradition by proposing to her right on the beach. We can take our own children there in the future.

December

Mattie
    I’m getting married next month! A feeling of excitement flows through my body. I’m on a plane, headed to a graphic-design seminar in Miami, Florida. This will be a good diversion from all the wedding prep I’ve been doing. The wedding will be small, but it has been taking up a lot of my time lately. I can’t wait to be Jeremy’s wife.
    The next couple days will be a great opportunity for me to learn about new software, color design, social networking, and many other useful topics related to graphic-design. I’m excited about the seminar, but I’m going to miss Jeremy so much. I’ll be gone two whole days. This will be the first time we’ve been separated since we met.
    I think back on the past year with Jeremy. I let the warm feeling of love envelop me. Jeremy. I can’t imagine a person on Earth who would be better suited for me. The connection was instant, and it hasn’t let up since. It keeps getting better and better. We have built such a beautiful life together. I’m so excited to move in with him!
    I already know that we are going to be compatible living together. I’ve even changed my messy cleaning habits. After meeting his sister, I knew what I needed to do. If Jeremy could go through everything he did at such an early age, then I could learn to pick up after myself. Once Jeremy noticed my efforts, he teased me with comments like “I fell in love with the Tornado Woman—where did she go?” It’s amazing that I knew so early on that Jeremy was my soul mate. I love him so much.
    Jeremy has done so much for me, for us. He has totally changed his lifestyle for our future. He honored his promise to cut back his work hours right after our talk in his office. I knew it would be difficult for him, but he proved to me that he was a man of his word. Since then, we’ve spent every day together, enjoying each other and life.
    It took a while, but I finally convinced Sarah that Jeremy was the real deal. She could see how much I loved him. Also, no one could dispute his devotion to me. For the first six months, Sarah would bring me all sorts of office gossip. I would just shake my head and tell her, “No, that’s not true.” I knew better. I would trust Jeremy with my life. When Jeremy and I started spending every day together, it was hardfor Sarah to bring forward any more claims of cheating. When would he have the time?
    Even if we spent only one day a week together, I would know that Jeremy would never do anything like that.

    It’s Thursday night, and I’m exhausted. I packed in every workshop I could during the past two days. I’ve learned so much. I’m excited to get back to Sedona to implement some of the new design techniques I know will be beneficial to my clients.
    I finished with my last workshop today at 5:00 p.m., and I’m tucked away for the night in my hotel. I look at my cell phone to see if I have any missed calls. It looks like Jeremy called at 12:00 p.m. and Sarah called at 4:30 p.m. I think their holiday office party started a couple hours ago, so it should be in full swing.
    I decide to call Jeremy first. He picks up