“Sit down.” I grabbed Austin’s shoulders and guided him over to the couch. “I have a gift for you.”
“Charlie,” he crooned, and I pushed his shoulders down, forcing him to sit.
“It’s small, I promise.”
I ran upstairs to grab the gifts I’d been hiding in my closet and came back downstairs, where Austin was holding a wrapped gift.
“What’s this?” I almost dropped my gifts when I saw what he was holding. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Of course I did.” He patted the couch next to him. “Sit.”
I sat down next to him, carefully placing the gifts I’d brought on the coffee table. My heart raced as I glanced at the small, neatly wrapped package in his hands.
“Austin . . .” I started.
He shook his head. “No, just open it.”
I took the gift from him, my fingers trembling slightly as I unwrapped it. My breath hitched when I saw the small velvet box, and I looked up at him, my eyes wide.
“Austin,” I whispered.
“Open it.” His gaze was steady, but his lips twitched nervously.
I flipped open the lid to reveal a delicate gold bracelet with tiny, intricate charms hanging from it. Each charm was something meaningful—a small hockey stick, a pencil, a tiny star, a wave, and a heart engraved with the letterH.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I ran my fingers over the charms. “This... It’s beautiful,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“I wanted you to have something that represented us,” he said. “The hockey stick is a reminder of me. The pencil for what brought you to Chicago. The star because you always find a way to light up even the darkest days. A wave to represent the moment I fell in love with you, when I thought you were dying in the lake.”
I chuckled as I swiped at my lash line.
“And theH... for Hart. For the family we’re building.”
I couldn’t speak. My throat felt tight, and my hands shook as I reached for him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “This is... it’s perfect,” I managed to choke out.
He held me tightly, rubbing soothing circles on my back. “You’ve given me so much, Charlie. I wanted you to have something that reminded you how much you mean to me, every single day.”
I pulled back just enough to look at him, tears streaming down my face but a smile breaking through. “I love you,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against his.
“I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.”
“I, uh, let me get your gifts.”
“Two?” he asked as I pulled out the gift bags.
I giggled nervously. “Yeah, but one is serious and one is... not?”
He smirked in that way that said he already had a clue about what was coming. “Okay...?”
I handed him the larger package first, unable to keep the grin off my face. “The first one.”
He took it, glancing at me briefly before carefully pulling at the paper. I bit my lip, waiting for his reaction.
Austin unwrapped the package carefully, revealing a simple wooden frame. Inside, my bucket list was displayed, written on lined paper in my slightly messy handwriting. He tilted his head, scanning the list, and a small smile tugged at his lips.
“Swim naked in the lake,” he read aloud, the crossed-off item making him chuckle. His gaze moved down. “See a lake at sunset—checked off. Go on a date at the farmers’ market—checked. And...” He paused and looked at me. “Go to a hockey game? Really?”
I shrugged, my cheeks heating slightly. “Hey, Chicago is known as a hockey city.”
