I look up at Luke, going back and forth excitedly between him and my photograph.
“You deserve it,” he says, smiling. “You deserve first place, but I’ll let this one slide.”
I giggle and look back at the magazine.
“I hope to freelance for them someday,” I tell him, my eyes scanning over the other winning entries.
“Oh, I know you will,” he says with confidence.
I lift my head from the pages long enough for him to kiss me.
He starts to walk away.
I turn another page and my heart stops beating for a moment when I see a photo of Luke taped to the center. He’s holding up a white sheet of printer paper with the words: I want to see your future photos credited to Sienna Everett.
My right hand involuntarily comes up toward my face, my fingers nervously touching my lips, tears welling up in my eyes.
When I look up from the page, Luke is standing there looking back at me with a ring between his fingers.
My hands are shaking. My heart is pounding crazily. One tear rolls down my cheek. Then another.
I walk toward him, the magazine down at my side wedged within my fingers, tears streaming from my eyes.
“Yes …” I run into his arms, wrapping mine about his neck, the magazine lying against his back.
Luke lifts me, and I lock my legs around him.
I feel breathless. “Yes,” I say again and again, looking into his bright face. “Yes, yes, yes,” and I smother him with kisses.
“I really do love you, Sienna,” he says as he slips the ring on my finger with his free hand.
I stare longingly into his eyes.
“I really do love you, too,” I tell him and kiss him passionately.
And this is just the beginning of a beautiful life made by letting go.