They went off together to explore, peeking into all of the rooms, their voices echoing through the empty space, mid-day sunlight spilling through the windows onto golden wood floors, graceful arched entryways, and gray granitecountertops.
“It’s beautiful, Joaquin. I love it. It’s so bright and cheery andpeaceful.”
Best of all for both of them, it came without bullet holes and badmemories.
She’d gained some peace and healing from going public with her story, which had made international headlines. She’d received many requests for interviews and had also gotten a phone call from a three-star general who had apologized to her on behalf of the Army—and promised they would do better on sexualharassment.
She seemed so much happier now, more confident, more outgoing in bed and out. She believed in more than her intellectual abilities now. She believed in herself as a red-blooded woman. And, yeah, that hadn’t hurt their sexlife.
Santa María Madre de Dios, she amazedhim.
No woman could do to him what Miadid.
His family and friends adored her. Now Joaquin wanted to make it official. He was pretty sure she’d say yes, but, shit, what if she surprisedhim?
Mia made her way toward the sliding glass door that led to the big concrete patio in back. She was impatient to look at the mud and the weeds, of course. He’d known she’d head in that direction sooner rather than later. In fact, he’d worked it into hisplans.
They stepped outside into the warm springair.
“Isn’t itbeautiful?”
Joaquin could only see her face. “Yes.”
She started telling him about the trees she wanted to plant. “I think a bigtooth maple over there for fall color. I really want some pines in the front yard and back here so we can decorate them with Christmas lights. Won’t that bepretty?”
“Yeah. That sounds good.” He wondered when she would notice it, some part of him excited and some part of him scared out of hismind.
“I’m torn between mugo pines and some kind of Swiss stone pine. Mugos do really well in Colorado because they’re well adapted for our climate and fairly xeric, but the stone pines do well, too. I want to avoid arborvitae. They just don’t thrivehere.”
Trees, trees,trees.
It was adorable, really, but he needed her toseebefore José-Luis and his crew arrived and started lugging boxeseverywhere.
“What about over there?” Joaquinpointed.
She turned her head—and gave a little gasp. “Boutelouagracilis.”
She walked over to the little pot, picked it up, lovingly ran her fingers over the grass blades. “You got me my favorite grass. You know me sowell.”
This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. She still hadn’tseen.
“Are you sure this is the kind of grass you want?”¡Carajo!What would he do if she flat-out didn’tnotice?
She gave him a look. “I know mygrasses.”
Desperate now, he took the pot ofBoutelouagrassy stuff, and dropped to one knee, hoping this would make his intentions obvious. “Lookat it,miamor.”
“Why are you on your knee?” She gaped at him as if he were a lunatic—which maybe he was—then peeked down among the grass blades. “What am I supposed—oh, my God! Oh,Joaquin!”
Her eyes went wide, and she reached inside the clump of grass with careful fingers and pulled out the ring—a single oval-cut diamond encircled by diamonds and set in an antique band of white gold. “It’sbeautiful!”
“Mia Rose, my love, my soul, will you marry me?” The words were out now, his heart beating naked on hissleeve.
She didn’t make him wait for an answer. “Are you kidding? Yes! ¡Sí!”
He got to his feet, took the ring from her, and slid it onto her finger, relieved to see that itfit.
She sniffed, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I loveit.”