Hot, urgent tears spring to my eyes. “This song?—”
“You were right, Asti. We did save the best for last, only I was too much of an idiot to show it.” The intensity of his gaze now makes my entire body feel as though it might ignite in a single spark.
I swallow hard, my heart pounding.
“I’m not very good at this sort of thing.” He drags a hand through his hair, frustration etched across his face. He takes a breath, his eyes trained on me as though we’re the only two people on this busy city platform. “Asti, I know I’ve spent my whole life keeping people from touching my heart, believing that was the only way to survive. I’ve hidden behind protocol and rigid schedules. They always made me feel safe because so much of my life was decided for me. It gave me some sense of control.”
My breath is ragged, my heart aching for him, this man who has so little choice in his life.
He takes a step closer to me. “The truth is, I was terrified of the way you made me feel. You touched me in a way I didn’t expect. So, I did what I’ve always done. I fought it.”
“I know you did.”
“I’ve been a fool, Asti. I’ve clung to the Ice Prince the papers labeled me while pushing away the one person who actually saw me, not the prince, but the man.”
His raw words settle between us, and I see a man who has finally stoppedhiding.
I take his hand in mine. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
His lips lift. “I know, or at least I know now. Last night on the balcony, I let my fear take over.”
Standing here now, his hand warm in mine, I finally understand that it was never him rejecting me.
It was fear.
And the realization changes everything.
He takes my other hand in his, and an excited murmur ripples through the crowd around us. “Please stay. I know I can be stiff and incredibly awkward, and I’ll probably never stop making binders to make sense of the world. But I promise it will be different.Iwill be different. Last night I was a coward. I don’t want to be that man anymore. I want to be brave enough to love you the way you deserve.”
As tears prick my eyes, my chest expands. It’s filled with warmth and possibility.Ourpossibility. “Love me?” I ask, my voice full of breath.
He reaches out and pushes a stray strand of hair from my forehead. “I’m falling in love with you, my beautiful, impulsive, clever Asti.”
Tears stream down my face. “You are?” My voice cracks.
“We’ve saved the best to last, you and me.”
A smile claims his face and I give a gurgling, giddy laugh. Vanessa Williams’s voice still sounds out over the loud speakers, and as I gaze at the man I will soon marry, my heart feels absolutely full.
“We did, didn’t we,” I reply. “Will you talk to me about things? Open up? Share yourself with me?”
“I will,” he says without hesitation. “You have my word.”
“And when we kiss, will you not run away?”
He lifts my hand to his lips and presses a kiss against my skin. “When I kiss you I promise I won't retreat behind a wall. I’ll stay right here with you. I can’t promise I won’t still be awkward sometimes, and I’ll probably still make far too many binders.” He lifts a hand and lets his fingers trail gently down my cheek.
I laugh through my tears.
“But I promise,” he continues, his voice steady now. “I will never stop trying to be brave enough to love you the way you deserve. Because Idolove you. I truly do, and I want to be with you forever.”
The tears spill over then, my voice thick and unsteady when I finally manage to reply. “That’s all I ever wanted, Fred,” I whisper. “Just you. The real you.”
And then he does something I never would have expected. He drops to one knee and takes my hand in his, right there on the platform in front of a growing crowd of people, all of whom seem to hold their collective breath. “Astrid, my love, will you do me the great honor of being with me always, of being my best friend, and being my wife?”
“Yes, Fred. Yes!”
The crowd roars their approval, and I can hear Anya’s voice in the crowd, whooping and cheering.
