She hated the fact that it wasn’t a ring box. It was covered in thick, glossy gold paper and tied with a bright golden bow.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Open it.”

She took off her mittens and removed the paper, then peeked into the slender black box. “A charm bracelet.” She smiled, but it felt bittersweet, because her expectations had painted a different scenario. “You got me a charm bracelet.” She lifted the silver chain from the box. It was pretty, catching glints of light.

“Check it out,” he said. “The first charm is the Camp Kioga flag, because that’s where I met you for the first time. Got it from the gift shop there.”

“I yelled at India for trying to fix us up.”

“I think I did, too,” he admitted. “Now I can’t thank her enough. Okay, the next two. A surfboard and a dolphin.”

“Our Florida Thanksgiving.”

“Our first kiss. I was so hot for you I couldn’t see straight.”

“Yeah?” she teased, liking the bracelet more and more, even though it wasn’t what she expected. “I guess you couldn’t see the screen on your phone, because you never called. You never wrote...”

“Hey. I made up for it. Here’s the snowshoe charm for last Christmas. The heart—that’s Valentine’s Day, of course.”

“We were in New York, taking Maya to lunch to celebrate her release. I loved that day, Logan.”

There were charms to mark the milestones through the year—a seashell for the first time she’d taken him to Cupsogue and introduced him to her family, and a tiny lighthouse for the weekend they’d spent in Montauk, where the O’Donnells lived. A maple leaf for their fall weekend in Canada, and a pinecone from Mohonk Mountain House, where he’d taken her for her birthday.

“It’s very romantic,” she said. “You’re very romantic.”

“Because you’re very inspiring.”

The last charm was a pickle. “It’s a tiny silver pickle,” she said stupidly. “Who knew there was such a thing?”

“I had no idea, until you explained it to me last year.”

“So the pickle is to commemorate this Christmas?”

“Yep. It means you win the pickle prize.”

“Isn’t this bracelet the pickle prize?”

“Nope. This is.” He opened his hand and, in one smooth motion, slipped a diamond ring on her finger.

Her jaw dropped, even as her heart soared. “Logan...”

“I want forever with you. I’m going to love you until the end of time. Darcy, will you marry me?”

She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his parka. The inevitable tears came, but she was laughing, too. “Oh my gosh. Yes, of course yes. A thousand yeses wouldn’t be enough.”

There was a sweetness to their kiss that felt brand-new, like something she’d never tasted before. “You had me going,” she murmured against his soft mouth. “You made me think I was getting a silver bracelet for Christmas.”

“Instead, you get me. And Charlie. And Taffy.”

“And forever,” she said. “You’re my forever person. Ah, Logan. I’m so happy. I was just thinking this morning, I’ve never felt this kind of happiness. It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

He kissed her lips, and then her hand with the ring on it. “Hold still,” he said. “I’ll put the bracelet on you.”

She admired the collection of charms, a chronicle of their year together. “Let’s go back and tell everyone. And I still haven’t given you your gift.”

He leaned over and gave her a kiss, and whispered in her ear, “I haven’t opened a single present, but I already have everything I want.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from RETURN TO WILLOW LAKE by Susan Wiggs.