The conference room door swung open like a thunderclap in the dead of night.

Plot: Six months later. Ronan plans a quiet, meaningful proposal for Ivy during a family vacation to their seaside estate in Cape Cod. With Lily's enthusiastic help, Ronan asks Ivy to officially become a part of their family forever.

The ocean breeze at Cape Cod was cool, sweet, and smelled of salt and wild roses.

Our summer estate sat on a low bluff overlooking a private white-sand beach. Below, the blue waves of the Atlantic rolled smoothly onto the shore, glistening beneath the golden rays of the late afternoon sun.

Sitting on a blanket on the sand, five-year-old Lily was intensely focused on constructing a massive sandcastle, complete with seashell towers and a moat filled with ocean water.

Nearby, Ivy sat in a low beach chair, sketching the shoreline in a small leather notebook. She wore a breezy white linen dress, her hair tied back in a messy knot, looking entirely relaxed and beautiful.

I walked down the wooden steps from the cliffside house, carrying a picnic basket and a blanket.

"Dad!" Lily called out, waving a sandy plastic shovel. "Look! I built the Harbor House out of sand! But without Uncle Brendan's mean chair!"

I chuckled, setting the picnic basket down on the blanket and dropping to one knee beside her sandcastle. "That is an exceptional piece of architecture, Lily-bug. I think we should appoint you Chief Engineer of the Hale Syndicate."

"Can I have ice cream if I'm the Chief Engineer?" she asked slyly, wiping her nose with the back of her sandy hand.

"Definitely," I laughed, bopping her nose playfully. "Go tell Mira up at the house to give you two scoops of strawberry."

"Yay!" Lily squealed, scrambling to her feet and running up the wooden steps toward the beach house, her small feet kicking up sand behind her.

I watched her vanish into the house, then turned to look at Ivy.

Ivy lowered her sketchbook, her hazel eyes warm with amusement. "You're corrupting your Chief Engineer with sugar, Mr. Hale."

"It's a management strategy," I smiled, stepping over to her chair and holding out my hand. "Come walk with me down the shore."

Ivy placed her hand in mine, standing up from her chair.

We walked slowly along the water's edge, the cool sea foam lapping against our bare feet. The sky above was turning brilliant shades of orange, pink, and deep violet as the sun began its slow descent into the ocean horizon.

"It's so quiet here," Ivy murmured, resting her head gently against my shoulder as we walked. "It feels a million miles away from Boston."

"That's why I bought this place five years ago," I said softly. "It's a place where the outside world can't reach us."

I stopped walking, turning to face her completely.

Ivy stopped too, looking up at me, sensing the sudden shift in my energy.

"Ivy," I said, my voice filled with a deep, steady reverence. "A year ago, my life was a dark, cold room. I thought my only purpose left was to stand as a wall of steel between my daughter and a dangerous world."

I took both of her hands in mine, feeling their warmth, their gentle strength.

"And then you came into our lives," I continued, looking directly into her eyes. "You protected my daughter when I couldn't. You showed her what love and safety felt like when she thought she was alone. And you showed me that a man's heart doesn't have to stay buried in the ground."

Ivy’s eyes began to shine with soft, joyful tears. Her hands trembled slightly in mine.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. I opened it to reveal a magnificent ring—a custom-cut sapphire surrounded by a halo of delicate white diamonds, glittering brightly under the twilight sky.

"I didn't buy this ring to show off status," I said softly. "I had it crafted to match the color of the ocean on the day you brought my daughter back to me."

I dropped down onto one knee on the warm sand, holding the ring up toward her.

From the top of the wooden beach steps, I could see little Lily peeking through the railings, holding her breath, her hands clamped over her mouth in sheer excitement.

"Ivy Marlowe," I said, my voice ringing clear and true over the sound of the ocean waves. "Will you do me and Lily the honor of becoming my wife? Will you join our family forever?"

Ivy let out a shaky, joyful gasp, tears spilling over her lashes as a radiant smile broke across her face.

"Yes!" she cried softly, dropping to her knees on the sand right in front of me, throwing her arms around my neck. "Yes, Ronan! Yes!"

I pulled her tight into my arms, lifting her off the ground as I stood up, kissing her deeply while the cool ocean breeze swirled around us.

"SHE SAID YES!" Lily shouted from the top of the stairs, charging down the wooden steps as fast as her little legs could carry her, screaming at the top of her lungs. "DADDY AND IVY ARE GETTING MARRIED! YAY!"