Page 41 of Safer Together
While there I grab a bottle of spray and wipe and begin to clean the surface of the countertop. Once complete, I look at Elliot who is smiling at me. “What?” I ask.
He gets up from his position and walks around the counter, wrapping his arms around me from behind. Encircling my waist, he kisses my cheek. “You look beautiful Angie. We match.”
I see his arms are also covered in green, he is wearing the Ralph Lauren sweater I gave him this morning. “We are, too. It fits you well,” I comment.
Turning in his arms, I lift my face to look into his eyes “are those presents for me?” I ask, feigning innocence.
He smiles. “They sure are, want to open them? We have half an hour before my family arrive.” He presses his lips gently on the tip of my nose before pulling away taking my hand in his pulling me around to the other side of the counter.
There are two parcels, one larger than the other. I’m not sure which one to open first. Elliot makes the decision easy by giving me the large one first. It has a card attached to the front, I pull that away and open it first.
Dear Angela,
Merry Christmas, Baby.
I hope with all my heart that this is just the beginning of our forever.
Love, Elliot xx
I feel a tear sliding down my cheek, it’s so beautiful. It doesn’t escape my notice that it says forever. He wants me to be a part of his life forever.
I look up from the card and smile at him. His face seems to be a little reserved as though he doesn’t know how I will react. “I hope so, too.” I reach my hand out and take his in mine and squeeze.
“Okay. Open your presents” he orders. I pull my hand back and open the first package, as soon as I see the Prada gift box inside the wrap, I know exactly what it is.
“Elliot Sands. You did not buy me a Prada handbag” I pull open the box to reveal the beautiful black and red leather handbag we saw yesterday.
I look up at him and he is smiling shyly. “Looks like I did buy you a Prada handbag.” He shrugs his shoulders.
I can’t help but laugh. “Yes, you did. I love it,” I say. I keep to myself that it’s far too expensive a gift. After yesterday’s gift of the Cartier necklace, it seems like it’s a normal present for Elliot to give to a loved one. In fact, I know that he is giving his mother a handbag and his sister jewelry.
He pushes the small box towards me. It’s very small. I unwrap the paper to reveal a simple black box. I lift the lid and inside are two keys, I look at Elliot, no doubt the shock displayed clearly on my face. “The keys are for you. One is for this place, the other one is for the home in Nashville,” is his explanation.
My mouth drops open. “Why?” is all I can manage to get out.
“I know you can’t just pack up your life in Nashville and move to New York for me, but you can have it for when you visit. The key for the Nashville home, on the other hand, is an offer for it to be our home. If you choose to live there, I’ll move there permanently to be with you.”
I drop the keys that I had picked up and started playing with. I can’t have possibly heard that right. Elliot is asking me to move in with him. “You can’t move to Nashville; your company is here.”
He smiles. “I can run my company from home most of the time, only needing to come to the office for meetings when required.”
I shake my head. He can’t go doing this, he must not be thinking straight. “You want to live in Nashville?” My hands are shaking. He takes them in his own.
“Angie, look at me.” I do. “I want to live wherever you want to live. I want to be with you.” He takes one of his hands back and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small black box. He takes his other hand away and lifts the lid. Sitting in a cushion of black velvet I see a ring. It’s a white gold band with a large heart-shaped diamond, surrounded by a halo of smaller diamonds, and even here in the dim light of the kitchen it’s sparkling like a twinkling star. I take a sharp inhale of breath as Elliot is lowering himself in front of me onto one knee.
“What are you doing?” I whisper. He smiles a shy smile and I see him take a deep breath to ready himself for what’s to come.
“Angela, I love you. I want everything of mine to be yours. It’s so evident that when you are not with me, my heart goes with you. And I don’t want to live the life of half a man when you make me whole. Will you do me the greatest honor and accept my proposal? Become my wife, my love. Will you marry me?”
I stare at Elliot, and then at the engagement ring he is holding in his hand, before returning to Elliot’s face, so full of love. My heart tells me what to say right away. My head, however, urges caution.
Is it possible for a heart to burst? Because right here, in this moment, my heart feels like a balloon that has been filled with too much air, and because it can’t contain it anymore, it pops. Here I am, with my heart beating so fast and hard against my chest it feels as though it may burst open. And the reason for that is because the man I am totally and wholeheartedly in love with has just confessed that he wants to be with me, now and forever.
Here was Elliot, kneeling before me, asking me to marry him. A certain elation has spread through my entire being. I know we haven’t been together that long, and yes, I acknowledge that it has been a whirlwind couple of months. But as my grandmother always told me, “Trust me Angela, when you meet that special person, the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, you will know.” And being here with Elliot, looking into his handsome face, his eyes filled with emotion, I agree with grandma one hundred percent. I know that I want to be with this man for the rest of my life. I know that I could never love another the way that I love him. He is mine and I am his, and so we shall be, forever.
“Angela, don’t leave me hanging.”
I smile and hop off the stool to get down on my knees in front of the man I love. “Yes, Elliot, I will marry you.”
