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"Open it"

I peeled away the shiny white paper to reveal a beautiful leather-bound copy of the complete works of Jane Austen

"How did you--"

"When atching Sense and Sensibility You mentioned you didn’t have physical copies"

"Thank you" I ranain

I opened the cover of the book to find the word Will scrawled in Gavin’s untidy writing

"It’s already got the beginnings of an inscription here for solanced at him, puzzled

"Does it? Weird"

Gavin started the car and pulled out onto the street while I exa, he pulled up to a shady patch of woods and I looked around, taking in the bluff that overlooked the city

"This is--" I didn’t finish He knehat I was going to say

It was the place where we’d touched for the first tiet close to hiht I considered the true start of it all

Silently, he got out of the car and opened the trunk to pull out another wrapped package Sliding back into the driver’s seat, he handed it to me

I didn’t need instruction this tihs, Cries, and Broken Things, one of the books fro, I looked up at hi we could read ht now? All I want you to do is open it"

I did, and on a blank page inside the cover ritten the word You Nothing else

My heart beat a little faster as I began to put two and two together, but I couldn’t get ahead of myself I just needed to be here, in theand not expect anything more than that

Still, I held my breath as we pulled back onto the street, the radio turned doe drove past a row of brownstones and stopped at one with a construction sign in front of it I blinked

"This is ot out of the car and opened my door for me, then led me up to the stoop and unlocked the beautiful new turn-of-the-century door We stepped inside the little foyer where the floors were still scratched and gouged, but I could tell as being done here

"What’s all this?" I asked

"I’ your place renovated I kno much it means to you"

As happy as thisme to marry him after all It was just this beautiful, wonderful surprise

"Thank you," I whispered

"But that’s not e’re here"

I looked up at hiift-wrapped book from my bookshelf I tore the paper away and opened the front cover, this ti the word Marry written inside

I couldn’t stop the tears frorinned and backed away "We’re not done yet, love Come on"

Overwhel