Page 106 of Please Don't Leave Me

"Mmmhmmmm." He manages to keep a very neutral face the whole ride up.

The doors open, and we walk down a hallway to the door leading out to the roof. I walk through it, and a warm summer breeze rushes in, lifting the skirt of my dress. I laugh as I flatten it back down and step out onto the roof.

When I look up from my dress, I see a blanket laid out with a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. Two glasses sit next to it, along with a speaker. It's dark outside, and despite the city lights, the stars are out.

"It's the picnic I promised you."

"Sam, this is so sweet."

I turn to him and wrap my arms around his neck. He leans down and kisses me.

We walk over to the blanket, and Sam turns on the speaker, connecting his phone to it. He starts playing a song that he knows I love. I've made him dance with me around the kitchen to this song many times, and I always joke with him that we're practicing for our first dance at our wedding.

Sam stands up and reaches out a hand to me. I place my hand in his, and he twirls me around and pulls me close. We dance slowly, and my cheeks are starting to hurt from smiling so much.

Looking into his mesmerizing eyes, all I can think about is how happy I am. A year ago, I was at an all-time low, butSam came into my life again and changed everything. My eyes start to fill with tears.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

"Everything is perfect. I just love you so much, and I'm so happy I get to share this life with you."

He twirls me again, but this time, he doesn't pull me in close after. He holds my hand and stretches out his arm to keep me at a distance. He's beaming from ear to ear, and I can't help but blink away my tears and smile back at him.

"It makes me incredibly happy to hear you say that."

As I start to take a step toward him to continue our dance, he stops me and starts to kneel.

Holy shit. Is this really happening right now? My heart starts to race, and I get a little dizzy. He reaches over behind the bucket of ice, pulls out a little red box, and opens it.

"I want to do forever with you, Lou. Will you marry me?"

The tears return to my eyes, and I choke out my answer with not a single doubt in my mind.

"Yes, of course."

SAM

After she said yes, I felt like I could breathe again. We celebrated by popping some champagne and spent a little more time on the roof together, dancing under the stars. I don't recall ever being this happy in my life.

The elevator reaches the main floor again, and we step out and walk through the kitchen. She thinks the surprises are over and that we're just headed back to the car. But when we step out into the dining room, it's been completely transformed in the 30 minutes we spent on the roof.

Lou jumps back, startled by all the people standing around waiting for us. Everyone yells surprise, and she looks like she just had a heart attack. I didn't want to scare her like that, but she loves surprises, and I wanted to make tonight as special as possible.

She turns to me and rests her forehead on my chest while the shock settles.

"You...." Her eyes glare at me, but her mouth spreads into a huge smile.

"Happy Birthday, Lou."

She looks around at all the people who came to celebrate with us, and people start to come over to wish her happy birthday and to congratulate us. All three of our parents are here, as well as several of our friends. I was so happy when people told me they could come. I only told the family that I was planning to propose; everyone else just thought it was for Lou's birthday. But based on the mixed decorations, I'm sure everyone has figured it out by now.

We're chatting with B when I hear a familiar voice behind us.

"Congratulations, you two! And Happy Birthday, Lou!"

We turn and find Sarah, the woman who used to live above Lou in her old apartment. She wraps Lou in a big hug.

"I'm glad you could make it."

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