Chapter 46

Two Months Later

Ryder and I are driving down the road in New Jersey. I hold his hand on my lap, sporting a one point five million dollar diamond engagement ring, which I got the day before yesterday. A shocking surprise during our date night.

I look out of the car window on this beautiful, sunny day. It is so peaceful.

So much has happened once we left Santorini. Mom and Dad came back with us.

They stayed with us at Ryder's home for a couple of days. Of course, Mom hated the decor of his home, but she fell in love with Freddie. She asked to adopt him, which he loved and accepted. He is currently vacationing in Florida with my parents.

Daddy has business there and doesn't mind Freddie tagging along. Anything to keep Mom busy. He doesn't need a migraine.

Once the media found out what happened, we were splattered all over the television and newspapers. Mom's dream of being a celebrity came true! Thankfully, they never got wind of Ryder or LeAnn. I was actually praised for saving my parents from my lunatic, one-day-old husband. The marriage was annulled very quickly also.

I was very happy about that. I feel horrible for the Crawfords though. I truly do. Not only did they lose their ungrateful son, but they were blamed for his psychotic episode. They said they didn't know anything about Max's intentions with me, and I believed them. It was something my parents didn't believe wholeheartedly. The Crawfords sold their home and moved out of the country.

"So, LeAnn coming over twice a week is a new thing now?" Ryder asks as he kisses my hand. I shift my body to face him.

"Why not? My only friends live in California. And she's teaching me everything in knife throwing. Plus, she's a good workout buddy."

"I thought you only needed me to make you sweat?" He looks at me, making his eyebrows jump.

I blush. "Anyways, she already lives here and works for you. I see no problem with it. Do you honestly care?"

"No, of course not." His brows furrow. "We both can use a new friend."

I beam at him.

A couple of minutes later, Ryder pulls into a familiar farm.

I remember this place—Ryder parks in front of the shabby house. We get out, and I see an old couple sitting on the porch.

"Mr. Forñay! Everything is set up, sir," the old man says from his rocker.

This is the same couple that I had seen when Ryder brought me here for target practice almost a year ago.

"Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan! Thank you," Ryder says as he goes to the trunk and pulls out his metal suitcase.

The old lady smiles at me. I smile back.

Ryder grabs my hand, and we walk towards the barn. I'm glad he told me to wear sneakers this time. This mile-long hike to the barn will be a killer!

Ryder turns to me and smiles. I look at him in confusion as he drops the suitcase, grabs me, and throws me over his shoulder. He grabs the suitcase and begins his march towards the barn. I laugh.

We are close to the barn.

"So have you decided what you're going to do with your flower shop?"

I thought about what I wanted to do with it for a month now. No way will I close it. It was my grandparent's shop. However, my life is here with Ryder, across the country.

I grab his hand. "Well, I'm going to keep it open. Sarah is managing it, and she's doing an excellent job. I am actually thinking of opening a flower shop over here."

Ryder opens the barn door for me. "Really? Another Hallowell flower shop?"

I shake my head "Nope. More like Forñay Flowers."

He stops and turns around. An amused, confused look on his face. "Really?"

"Yes! I mean, Forñay is going to be my last name. Unless you want to do what Daddy did? Become Mr. Hallowell?"

He laughs and shrugs his shoulders. "Whatever makes you happy. I don't mind."

"Wait!" Ryder grabs my hand before I set foot into the barn. I get scared and look around.

"I meant to give you this." He takes out a small, white box from his pocket.

I breathe a sigh of relief. "You're not going to propose again, right?" My eyes look curiously at the box.

Ryder squints at me. "Ha. Ha." Sarcasm.

"It's a necklace. I had it made for us." He opens the box. I take a step closer and remove one of them from its hold.

Ryder grabs my hand and holds it up towards the sun. "Fire and ice," he says, looking at me, carefully examining my face.

It's a quartz crystal necklace, which is made of glass. One half is red while the other side is blue. I squint my eyes and my mouth drops slightly.

It's so beautiful! Holding it up to the sun, it honestly looks like moving fire, and the blue half looks like ice.

"Wow! It looks like it's moving," I whisper, looking at him.

"I hope you like it. I remember your slippers from Naples. I still feel bad for destroying them." Ryder gives me an empathetic smile, and then it turns to a frown.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask.

Ryder opens his mouth and then closes it. He looks flustered. "Sam, there's always a fire burning inside of me. One I don't think I can ever extinguish. I have so much hate in me and it stems from my childhood. But, whenever I look into those beautiful, blue eyes of yours..."

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "I feel like it's possible to leave that hatred behind. Leave my old life behind. In a sense, like the crystal, you keep my fire contained. As long as your with me." He flashes a nervous grin.

Ryder then grabs the necklace that is still in the box and clips it on himself. Then he grabs the one in my hand and opens the clasp. I turn around as I grab my hair out of the way. He puts the necklace on and kisses the back of my neck.

As I turn back to him, I grab the necklace and stare at it. "I love it! I'll never take it off."

"Neither will I." He grabs my hand as we walk into the barn.

Ryder puts the suitcase down and grabs my hips, pulling me into him. He runs his fingers down my cheek and neck. I close my eyes and smile.

"I love you," he whispers.

"I love you more." I stand on my toes and kiss him passionately.

I let him go as he turns and opens the suitcase. He takes out the nine millimeter, handing it to me.

I look up and see a brand new scarecrow with the bulletproof sheet behind it. I cock the gun, feeling more confident than ever.

Ryder stands behind me and rests his hand on my outer thigh, wrapping his other hand around my waist. He then moves my hair to the side and rests his face onto my neck.

I spread my legs apart and aim at the scarecrow, inhaling.

"Don't be afraid," I whisper.

I pull the trigger.

The End