Two years later . . .

"Baby, why do you have a thousand boxes?" Raffo groaned, bringing in another stack of boxes with his dolly.

Ruth, who was too busy trying to hide her jitters by unboxing some of her glass trinkets, only shot him a wink. She tucked one peculiar box she had even further down into her pile of stuff while trying her best not to freak out. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to move in together! I have a lot of stuff," she defended, shrugging.

Raffo pushed out a sharp breath of air after taking the boxes off the dolly. "Fair. At least this is the last of it," he breathed, shoving his long braid back over his shoulder. The sun gleamed through the open window and brushed over his flushing cheeks as he cleared his throat. 

She didn't think much of it and turned around to look at the glass cabinet, keeping her slim box in her hands. She counted to five, took a deep breath herself, and then turned back around. Her mouth opened, and she started with, "Hey, Raff, I have something to—"

But then she choked on her words.

For Raffo was down on his knee with a small, velvet box balanced in the palm of his hand. The lid was opened, and tucked in the center was a beautiful, shimmering diamond ring.

It didn't matter that she was stuck in a pair of overalls and a mustard t-shirt, or that he was in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Or that her nails weren't done, and they pulled their hair back into long, messy braids. But none of it seemed to matter in the long run of her memory, because she was always going to remember it.

And all Ruth could do was stand there, frozen, with her own box in hand as she watched the love of her life's expression fill with love. And his cheeks flushed to a dark red that enhanced the emotion unfurling in her chest.

"Ruth Marjorie Semple," he began, his voice wavering. He blinked back the moisture in his eyes and steadied his breathing. "I've started this speech a million times in my head, and pictured every scenario I think of to say it in before now. And now that it's here, I don't know if I can even live up to the speech in my head anymore, because looking at you like I've done for the past few years just makes me nervous."

They both shared a tearful laugh at that. He sniffed, cleared his throat again, and continued.

"Since the moment I met you, I knew you were the one person, the one light in my life that my grandmother sent to me. When I—" he broke off with a choke, his voice rough. "When I was going through what I was going through three years ago, you cared for me. You defended me, encouraged me, and it was everything to me. You saved me, Ruth. And I want to spend the rest of this life thanking you for it in every way that I can.

"Ruth, you're the most important woman in my life. I've spent these last few years being the happiest I've ever been, and I know it's a lot asking for even more, but damn it I'm addicted to you," he joked and Ruth laughed as tears flooded her cheeks. "I'm gonna love you for the rest of your life, Ruth Semple. There's only one thing that'll make it more perfect. Will you marry me, aiukli, and make me the happiest husband in the world?"

Ruth wiped at the big tears gathering under her lashes and fought hard to get a string of words together in a cohesive sentence. With shaky fingers, she reached for Raffo's face with her free hand and blinked through the blur to focus on him. The love in his eyes made her soul ache, and the words he shared with her will forever be the best thing she had ever heard.

"Of course I'll marry you," she sobbed, her smile overtaking her wobbly lips.

Raffo's grin nearly split his face in half. In one motion, he slid the diamond engagement ring onto her left ring finger, and then got off his knee to take her breath away with one outstanding kiss. 

A kiss full of love and heartache, of hope and accomplishment. It was everything the last five-six years had consisted of. There was no going back for either of them, and no one else they'd rather spend forever with. 

Which was why Ruth was more than sure of her next move. 

She broke away from Raffo's heated kiss and took a step back. He tilted his head, confusion drawing his eyebrows together as he watched her get down to one knee herself.

"I was gonna propose too, but you beat me to it," she teased, her words choppy with the emotion swelling inside her.

Raffo laughed, shaking his head. The joy in his eyes would be impossible to get out of her head. "Let's hear it then, baby."

Ruth grinned, opened her mouth, and began. 

*****