“I will,” Thomas said. “And I really do appreciate that you made Ted a promise that you wouldn’t break. I get that. I respect that.”
“But you didn’t,” she said. “Respect it. Instead of sayingThere’s something you don’t know, which, by the way, is pretty damn obvious because there’s a lot you still don’t know about me—I saidTrust me.” Her voice shook. “And you chose not to.”
Thomas nodded. Looked her in the eye. “That was a mistake,” he said. “I am sorry. More sorry than I can say.”
She waited, and there was nobutthis time.
And this time, when he reached to take her hands, Tasha let him.
“I hope you can forgive me,” he said. “And I hope this maybe helps you see that I’m not perfect. I try to be, but I make mistakes all the time. I get things wrong.”
“I never said you were perfect,” she reminded him. “I said that I thought you were perfect for me. But if you don’t trust me...”
Thomas nodded. “I do,” he said, but then quickly corrected himself. “I’ll learn to. It might take some time. I can’t promise you that I won’t make more mistakes, because I’m used to being older than you. It’s hard not to think of you as... young.”
“Cue the intro forSixteen Going on Seventeen.”
“Ouch.” Thomas winced. “That guy was a condescending asshole.”
“And a Nazi,” she agreed. “Luckily, I was born canny and careful. And in your defense, I had to nearly wrestle you to the ground to get you towrite upon myempty page.”
He was laughing now. “Oh, my God, that song. I know those lyrics too damn well. How many times did you make me watch that movie?”
“Makeyou?” she said, laughing, too. “Youalways wanted to watch it.How aboutSound of Music,Tash?you’d say.Why don’t we watchSound of Music,Tash.”
“Because I preferredDoe a deertoBridges of Madison County,which was, like, four hours of sex scenes—which is some kind of amazing feat of physics, because the movie’s two hours and fifteen endless minutes long.”
And now they were both smiling at each other, their fingers tightly entwined.
“I love you,” Thomas said softly. “I promise I’ll try to be less of a condescending douche. Please forgive me, because you’re it, Tash. I want you in my life, forever. Without you...” He shook his head. “Nah, I can’t even imagine that. First time ever, in my entire life, I’ve got no plan B.”
Tasha’s heart leapt as she looked into the eyes of the man she’d loved for as long as she could remember. “Forever’s a long time.”
“It can be.” He paused then, and said it. “Tasha, will you marry me?”
And there it was. The life she’d always dreamed of, with Thomas King by her side. Filled with laughter and sunlight and limitless joy to balance out life’s inevitable hardship, sorrow, and pain.
“Rio and Dave are leaving tomorrow instead of tonight,” Thomas told her. “Air traffic’s still shut down—the world’s on fire. We’re gonna fix it, we’re gonna win, but it’s gonna take time. I need to get back to San Diego as quickly as I can—I really should go with them in the SUV. Will you come, too? I know I can talk ’em into stopping in Vegas, so we can get married right away. We can plan a party for later—as big as you want, with Alan and Mia and the girls—”
“And all of Team Ten,” Tasha said.
“And all of Team Ten,” Thomas agreed. “After we get back to Coronado, things’ll move pretty fast. I expect to go wheels up right away. I don’t know where I’ll be sent or how long I’ll be gone. That’s why I wanna do it in Vegas. I don’t want to wait another second to start my life with you.”
Tasha kissed him, melting into his arms.
But he pulled back. “Is that a yes?”
“It’s a yes to everything,” she told him.
He double-checked, searching her eyes. “It’s not too soon?”
Too soon. He thought it might betoo soonfor the woman who’d loved him for nearly twenty years. Tasha laughed as she stood up, picked up her bags, and looked around the lobby for the hotel elevators. Ah, there they were, back behind the breakfast area.
“If we’re leaving in the morning, we should go to bed.” She looked at Thomas and smiled. “Follow me.”
He smiled back at her as he pulled her into her arms to kiss her soundly. “Always,” he told her, “and forever.”
Author’s Note
