I furrow my brow as Mia adjusts the straps on her parachute. “Make sure they’re tight.”
Mia smiles at me. “Stop fussing. I know what I’m doing. It’s been almost a year since I did my first tandem jump with you, and I’ve had plenty of training and practice since then.”
“It’s been exactly one year since that first time we went skydiving together,” I say. “This is our skydiving anniversary.”
“I don’t know if that’s a day we want to celebrate.” Mia frowns. “That fight we had was horrible.”
“It was all my fault,” I say. “I overreacted when you told me you had been married before.”
“No, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have sprung it on you like that.” She squeezes my arm. “At least you didn’t have an embarrassing misunderstanding like I did. Can you believe I thought you were going to propose to me when we landed?”
I suppress a smile. “Yeah. What a crazy idea, huh?”
“Enough rehashing of the past,” Mia says. “It’s time to jump out of a plane.”
The door opens, cold air rushes in, and I feel goosebumps all over my body. The goosebumps aren’t a new sensation—I feel them every time I’m about to skydive. But this time, they’re a reminder of how nervous I am for this particular jump. This is the jump that could change everything.
I watch as Mia steps out of the plane. It’s hard to believe that only a year ago she was afraid of flying. Now she can’t wait to get back up in the air and go skydiving. As I follow her, a huge grin spreads across my face. Sharing my passion for skydiving with the woman I love is more than I could have ever hoped for.
After we land and remove our gear, Stefan walks toward us with a spaniel-mix puppy bounding alongside him.
“Who is this cutie-pie?” Mia asks.
“His name is Yoda,” Stefan says.
“Yoda? I didn’t think you were a Star Wars fan,” Mia says.
Stefan shakes his head. “I’m not.”
Mia cocks her head to one side. “Then why did you name your dog after a Star Wars character?”
“I didn’t,” Stefan says, giving me a sideways glance.
I clear my throat. “I named him. He came from the animal shelter.”
“He’s adorable,” Mia says. “It’s great that you’re going to give him a good home.”
“Um . . . I was hoping we would give him a good home.” I nod at Stefan and he unclips Yoda’s leash.
Mia gives me a quizzical look as the puppy runs toward her. She bends down and grins as he licks her repeatedly on the face. As she scratches Yoda’s head, she asks, “What’s this attached to his collar?”
“Why don’t you have a look?” I take a deep breath while she unties the small velvet pouch from Yoda’s collar. As she opens it, I kneel on the ground next to her. She gasps as she peeks inside.
“Is this what I think it is?” she asks.
Her hands are trembling, so I take the pouch from her and pull out a diamond ring. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Mia?”
She looks up at me, her eyes glistening with tears, and nods.
While I slip the ring onto her finger, Yoda runs in circles around the two of us, barking excitedly.
Mia laughs, then pulls the dog into her lap. “You didn’t have to bribe me with a puppy. I would have said yes, anyway.”
“But it didn’t hurt, did it?” I rub the dog’s silky ears. “He was one of a litter of three who were abandoned.”
“You mean there are two other puppies who need homes? We should adopt them.” When I raise my eyebrows, she quickly adds, “What should we name them? Leia and Luke? Or should we go with Han and Lando? Maybe Rey—”
I silence her with a gentle kiss. “Enough Star Wars talk.”
She kisses me back, then says, “You know we’re going to have a Star Wars-themed wedding, don’t you?”
“I’d expect nothing less,” I say dryly.
Then we play smoochy-face again.