I return to the bed, box clutched tightly in my hand. This isn’t how I planned it. There’s no romantic dinner, no carefully crafted speech. Just us, in my bedroom on a random Thursday, with her wearing my old sweatshirt and me still in my meeting clothes.
“I had this whole plan,” I admit, kneeling down. “I was going to take you to Seoul again, maybe propose under those cherry blossoms your mom loves. Or in that little park where we had our first real date in college. Somewhere significant.”
“Aaron…” she repeats, her voice catching.
“But then I realized something.” I open the box, showing her the ring I spent weeks picking out—a platinum band with a single emerald-cut diamond, simple and elegant, just like her. “I don’t want to wait for the perfect moment. I don’t want to leave for six weeks without knowing if you’ll be my wife when I come back.”
Her eyes fill with tears, which is so rare for Minji that I almost stop breathing. She’s staring at the ring, then at me, then back at the ring.
“I had a whole speech planned too,” I continue, words tumbling out now. “About how you’ve changed my life. About how I’ve loved you since we were twenty-one, even when we were apart. About how you make me believe in all the love stories I write.”
I take her hand, my fingers trembling slightly. “Minji Lee, I don’t want to spend another day of my life not being married to you. Will you?—”
“Yes.” She interrupts, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I blink, caught off guard by her immediate response. “I didn’t even finish asking.”
She laughs through her tears. “I know what the question is, love. And my answer is yes.”
My hands shake as I slide the ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly, gleaming against her skin. She stares at it for a moment, tilting her hand to catch the light. This woman is finally going to be my wife.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispers. “How long have you had this?”
“Three months.” I sit next to her on the bed, grinning. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect time, but then I realized there is no perfect time for us. There’s only now.”
She throws her arms around my neck with such force that we fall backward onto the mattress. I hold her tightly against my chest, breathing in the scent of her hair, her skin, the faint trace of her perfume.
“I can’t believe you beat me to it,” she mumbles against my neck.
I pull back to look at her. “What?”
She laughs, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I’ve been thinking about it too. Not proposing exactly, but… I’ve been imagining our future. What would it be like to be your wife.”
My heart feels like it might burst. “Minji Lee, soon-to-be Minji Singleton?—”
“Or Lee-Singleton,” she interjects, always the negotiator.
“Lee-Singleton, does sound better for you,” I agree, kissing her forehead. “I love you so much it scares me sometimes.”
She traces my jaw with her fingertip, her eyes serious now. “I love you too, but you do know this doesn’t change anything about the tour, right? You still have to go.”
I groan, falling back against the pillows. “Way to kill the mood, Counselor.”
“I’m serious, Aaron. Your career matters too.” She holds up her hand, admiring the ring again. “Besides, think of all the book signings where you can casually mention your fiancée.”
“You think I need that to sell books?” I pull her down to me, nuzzling her neck. “You underestimate my charm.”
She snorts but doesn’t pull away. “I estimate your charm quite accurately. It’s your ego that needs recalibration.”
I roll her beneath me, pinning her hands above her head. “Six weeks is a long time,” I murmur against her lips. “We should make the most of our time before I leave.”
“Starting now?” she asks, already arching against me.
“Starting now,” I confirm, sliding my hand under her sweatshirt to find her bare skin. “Future Mrs. Lee-Singleton.”
She makes that little sound in the back of her throat that drives me wild—half-laugh, half-moan. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me too,” I whisper, and then there are no more words, just Minji’s hands on me and the knowledge that no matter how far apart we might be, she’ll always be mine, and I’ll always be hers.
