He ran over to her, and she knelt down to hug him. I felt tears welling up as I watched them. They looked so perfect together.
How could I have been so stupid as to separate them?
“I brought you a present,” Nina continued.
“Thank you,” he said quickly. He squeezed Nina then stepped back to look up at me. “But Daddy, you forgot something.”
I frowned at him.
“You still haven’t said ‘I’m sorry’! It’s the most important thing to say when you hurt someone’s feelings.”
Here I was, getting schooled by a six-year-old. Wait, hold on, a just-turned-seven-year-old. No wonder he was so wise.
“You’re one hundred percent correct,” I agreed, rapidly revising my speech in my head. The wording I’d planned needed to be adjusted, now that we had a new audience to hear it.
Nina was still on the ground next to Noah, so I lowered myself down on my knees to look her in the eyes.
“Nina Reyes, I am so incredibly sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry I took you for granted, and that I said those horrible things. I understand how sad and angry my words made you, and I promise that I will never,everlet it happen again.”
Noah leaned closer to me. “Good job, Daddy,” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “Now keep going.”
He gave me a big smile for encouragement, and I couldn’t help smiling back, even as I braced myself for what I was about to say. It could change everything. I’d talked about it with him, and my family, and Josie, and his therapist, and the consensus was strong: do it, or regretnotdoing it for the rest of your life.
“Noah just reminded me, again, that I have done everything in the wrong order.” I paused to gather my courage. “Nina, I love you.”
She stared at me for a long time. “Because I’m good with Noah?”
Theof coursewas on the tip of my tongue, because Iadoredhow good she was with Noah—but that wasn’t the answer to the question she was really asking. “I love you because from the moment we met, you weren’t afraid to go toe to toe with me,” I said, delighting when her eyes seemed to shine. “You came up with a business plan on the fly. You quote Austen with me. And so much more. If I listed all the things I love about you, we’d be here all day.” I reached out and brushed at the tears on her cheeks with my fingers. “You’ve had my heart in your hands for longer than I even realized, and I was an idiot for chasing you away.”
She bowed her head, now fully crying.
Noah looked stricken at Nina’s reaction. He squatted to try to see her face. “Nina, it’s okay! Don’t be sad!”
She looked up at him, smiling through her tears. “Oh Noey, I’m not sad at all. These are happy tears.”
His head swiveled, taking us both in and trying to make sense of what was happening.
“Daddy, you have to ask herthe question!” Noah stage whispered to me.
“You’re right, buddy; I need to make it official.” My heart sped up as I braced myself. “Nina, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
“Thering, Daddy,” Noah said in a frustrated voice, like I was messing up everything.
Nina was now laugh-crying at the two of us.
“Yeah, buddy, that’s my bad.” I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out the velvet bag she’d left in her room. I pulled the drawstring and presented the engagement ring I’d given her on our private cruise. “Let’s try that again. Nina, will you marry me?”
Noah hopped up and down and clapped his hands like his joy couldn’t be contained.
But Nina still hadn’t answered.
I started to feel a little lightheaded. I’d tried to prepare Noah—and me—for the possibility that she’d say no, but now that the moment was here, the prospect had me in a total panic. Was she trying to formulate a “no” in a way that wouldn’t hurt Noah? Was she wondering if slapping me was out of the question? She’d gotten out a tissue to wipe at her face, so I couldn’t read her expression.
Noah hopped away still giggling and clapping; he’d decided that there was only one answer to my question.
I knew better.
“Logan Ashford,” Nina began in a quiet, trembly voice. “You’ve made me feel things I didn’t think were possible for me. A sense of belonging, and family, and…home. And then when you took all of those away?—”
