If you haven't read Day 3, I suggest you go back and read it first, as this scene is from later on in that book--Making Memories by Janet Lee Barton. See book cover there also.
Josh was still shaking on the inside from their close call. Had that car taken a slightly different path, they both could have been killed and he would have died without ever letting Amanda know how he felt. He sent a silent prayer upward, thanking the Lord again for watching over them and for giving him another chance to tell Amanda how he felt about her.
“Amanda, you didn’t pull me in. I offered to come with you, remember? It was my idea. The last thing I want to do is turn around and go back home. Besides, you can’t take the blame for the weather. I was the one who should have realized we needed to leave even earlier. If anything had happened to you, I would never have been able to forgive myself.”
Still sniffling, Amanda looked up at him with those big tear filled eyes. “I promise you, I’ll make sure my family knows you aren’t in love with me as soon as we get there so you won’t feel any pressure to act as if you do.”
Josh pulled her into his arms. He had to tell her now. “Oh Amanda, I assure you, letting your family think I’m in love with you won’t be an act.”
He heard her quick intake of breath but he didn’t give her a chance to say anything as his lips claimed hers in a kiss he hoped left no doubt in her mind just how he felt. His heart sang with joy when she kissed him back. Knowing Amanda as he’d come to over the past few months, Josh was sure she wouldn’t have responded the way she did if she didn’t feel the same way.
When she ended the kiss and pulled back, Josh reached into the backseat and pulled a small package out of one of the sacks. “Here, open this.”
Amanda ripped open the paper and opened the box the mistletoe ornament came in. She pulled it out and held it to her heart. “Mistletoe . . .”
“I wanted you to always remember our first kiss when you hang that ornament on your tree. But my heart's wish is for it to be hung on our tree one day.” He hurried to say the words he’d wanted to say for weeks. “I love you Amanda—with all my heart. And if you are willing, we can tell your parents a simple truth . . . we are engaged. Will you marry me?”
Amanda answered him with another kiss that told him all he needed to know. When it ended, she whispered, “Oh, Josh, I love you too. I’ve loved you for weeks—and yes, oh yes! I will marry you.”
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