Page 104 of Nathan
“That’s my point. Awful things happen in life, but I don’t want you to have to go through them without me there to support you and vice versa. I want us to have the kind of relationship where we can lean on each other for strength.”
“Oh my God, Nathan, I just wanna kiss you right now. I was so sure that I was losing you. You don’t know how happy this makes me.”
“Then meet me in Vegas.”
Serena gave a small shriek. “Vegas?”
“Why not? Who would stop us from eloping together?”
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Yes.” I hadn’t planned to propose, but my longing for Serena made me want to make sure we would never be apart like this again.
“Nathan, proposals are supposed to be these grand things and not a question over FaceTime while I’m in my sweatpants with no make-up on.”
“Fine.”
“Fine?” Serena brushed a hand through her hair. “You can’t just throw something like that out there and then end it by saying ‘fine.’”
“I don’t care about the setting or how much make-up you have on. I just want to be close to you and for us to sleep in the same bed at night. The big flashy proposal doesn’t matter to me. I live in Ireland, and we’re pragmatic people.”
“The big flashy proposal isn’t for you, it’s for me. I’ve dreamed of it my whole life.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I smiled a little. “And what would something like that look like?”
“Watch any romantic Hollywood movie, and you’ll find out.”
“If you tell me I have to chase you through an airport…”
I didn’t get to finish my sentence before Serena exclaimed, “That’s so romantic.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a cliché.”
“Maybe to you, but I love that sort of thing.”
I groaned. “I should have known Hollywood rubbed off on you. Forget about Vegas then. Where do you want to meet? We could rent a cabin in Alaska… The salmon are hatching now, and it’s breathtaking this time of year. Or Key West – we could get a house by the sea and enjoy the sunsets. I don’t care where we meet, as long as I can be with you no later than tomorrow.”
“New York!” Serena’s voice rose. “Let’s meet in New York. It’s like meeting in the middle, and I can take you to some of my favorite restaurants and shows.”
I hesitated. “Serena…”
“Mmm?”
“You realize that someone is definitely going to spot us if we walk around New York together. You don’t want a repeat of what happened after that picture of us in the airport.”
Serena had tweeted a picture of us together and explained that I had nothing to do with her black eye, but it had backfired and caused massive attacks on both of us.
A stubborn smile grew on her beautiful face. “I don’t care what happened these past weeks. I’m ready for us to set our own agenda and I say we announce our relationship to the world onourterms.”
Joy filled my chest and spilled over in a wide smile. She looked so beautiful with her whole face smiling and those gorgeous green eyes glowing back at me as she asked:
“The question is, are you ready for the world to know that I’m serious about you?”
The pain from before felt light years away as I gave her my answer: “A trillion times, yes!”
