Xander laughs. “Yeah, I didn’t see that coming, either. Total disappointment.”
We fall into our banter that anyone else would think is gross and are soon pulling up to a building. Xander parks in the parking garage, and we get out. He leads me into the elevator and hits a code.
“Where are we?”
“You’ll see.” He winks at me, grinning.
When the elevator opens, we step into a massive empty shell, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the entire city and the lake. It’s spring, and there is no snow, but you can even see the ice skating rink.
Suddenly, Xander looks nervous. “I bought this for you.”
I jerk back. “You bought this for me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand.”
He gets down on one knee, pulls out a stack of cards, and places them on the concrete. They are the cards he included when he sent me roses every week. Everyone says, “Don’t forget me” and some form of “I miss you.”
Blinking back tears, I stare at him.
Xander pulls out a massive diamond ring. “You never forgot me. And I didn’t have all the pieces, but my heart was empty without you. I don’t ever want to miss you again. I won’t ever forget you again. I want you to have everything you never had...with me. So I bought you this penthouse so you can design it any way you want for our family. I want you to be my wife and forever mine. You’re my sunshine, and I want to be yours. Will you marry me, Charlotte?”
As I stare into his eyes, our journey together races through my mind. There’s been so much pain, but all I can see is love.
“Yes,” I whisper to him as tears fall from both our eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slides the ring on my finger and pulls me into him, kissing me with so much love, I wonder how I ever existed without him.
“I love you,” I whisper to him.
“Thank you for loving me through everything.” He kisses me again, and I pull back and look at the ring.
“It’s beautiful.” I tell him.
Xander stands up, pulling me into him.
I lace my hands around his head.
He smiles. “You did that the first time we kissed.”
I nod.
“I’ve been trying to figure that out. We were on the dance floor.”
“Yes.”
He traces my lips with his finger. “Do you like the penthouse? If you don’t like it, we can get something else.”
I laugh. “It’s amazing.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
He shows me around, and we stand in front of the windows. He is behind me, his arms around my waist. After he kisses the top of my head, he says, “Okay, time to go.”
I glance up at him. “Why?”
