Page 88 of The Player in New Zealand
By the time I’d hung up with Iris, I’d gotten a pretty picture in my head of her time exploring. She talked a lot about monkeys and jungles and manta rays, and, honestly, it sounded like her and Rico had crammed more into their one-week vacation in Indonesia than I had during my entire time in New Zealand.
But their adventure wasn’t over, and neither was mine.
A knock came from the door and I pushed away from the desk. “Come in, Nina, I’m done—”
But it wasn’t Nina who came through the door: it was Tane.
“What?” I squealed—which might have been the first time I had ever squealed in my life—and leaped into his arms. “You got here so fast.”
“Mum loaded me up with coffee and sent me out early,” he said, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I checked upstairs for you first and saw that you’ve taken over my side of the bed.”
“It’s my side now.” I slid down his body. “You abandoned it.”
Tane cocked his head and studied my face. “How are you feeling about all this? Living with me, not paying rent, not having a job just yet?”
“If I think about it too much, it’s scary. But here’s the thing.” I looked down at my hands, fisted in his shirt, and I suddenly felt shy. I sucked in a deep breath and, in a fake-it-till-you-make-it move, tilted my chin up with confidence. “I love you.”
Tane’s smile was slow and warm. “I love you too.” He planted a firm kiss on my lips. “And I’m glad you are seeing reason now. I’ve wanted you here so bad.”
“Yeah?” My cheeks hurt, I was smiling so hard.
“Yeah.”
“Well then, kiss me.” I tilted my head up, demanding more kisses.
He did kiss me... for a little while. And then we had to move all his things back in, so between trips up the stairs and over boxes of books and dishes and memorabilia, I told Tane about my sister and Rico, and their plans.
“She thinks we should get married,” I said, watching Tane’s face for a reaction. He gave me none. “Not now,” I continued, “but when my visa is up. That would be weird, right?”
“Weird? Marrying someone you love?”
I put my fist on my hip. “Did you talk to Iris somehow? That’s exactly what she said.”
Tane smirked at me while putting a stack of plates back in his cabinet. “No, but it’s logical.”
The box in front of me was full of carefully wrapped picture frames, so I pulled one out, unwrapping it. A team photo stared up at me. “Where should these go?”
“You’ve made yourself at home. Put them where you think they should go and we can always move things around later.”
I stood up and carried the frame over to the bookshelf and placed it on an empty spot. “What do you think about marriage? As a general idea?”
When I turned around, Tane shrugged. “I’d never thought about getting married before. I was too busy with rugby and random dates to get invested in someone. But my parents had a good marriage. Nina and Hemi, despite being absolutely nothing alike, make marriage look easy. They are still both themselves, but they support each other.”
Hm. Well, Tane and I were cut from the same cloth. Our marriage would be different from theirs. If we got married. But it was becoming a lot easier to see the two of us forty years from now, being old and grumpy together.
“I have to admit,” Tane continued, “I have a hard time seeing you as a bride. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything white. Or lace. Or sequined.” He squinted, like he was trying to imagine it.
I laughed and threw balled-up Bubble Wrap at him, but it didn’t get very far. “I can dress up. But I always pictured a courthouse wedding. I don’t want a big party.”
“So how about it?” Tane said. “One month before your visa runs out. If we’re still together, we’ll get married.”
“At the courthouse?”
“At the courthouse.”
“No big party, no lacy dress, no guests?”
“None of those things.”
