“And we are,” he stated with certainty from somewhere behind her.
“Then why are you looking at houses almost an hour away from here? And why haven’t you said something before now? It’s not like there weren’t plenty of opportunities.”
Still refusing to look at him, she began stirring the sauce with a little more gusto than was necessary.
“I mean, I get that you’ve probably just been staying here because you feel responsible for what happened to me. Which, by the way, I’ve made clear on several occasions that it was not necessary for you to do so, nor was anything that Yavuz and his goon did to me your fault in any way.”
“I do feel responsible for what happened to you, sweetheart. I always will. But that’s not why I’ve been staying with you.”
Still unable to look at him for fear she’d break down into a blubbering mess, Gracie began straining the pasta over the sink.
“I just don’t understand,” she tried to explain her feelings. “If you want to move away from here, that’s fine. But why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Like I said, I’d planned to. I just really wanted to talk to you about something else, first.”
“What?” She poured the drained noodles back into the large pot.
Nate’s voice softened. “This.”
Feeling frustrated and hurt, Gracie practically slammed the pot down onto the stove and spun around.
Inhaling sharply, her knees began to shake so suddenly, she had to grab onto the counter’s edge to keep from falling.
Nate was in the middle of her living room. And he was down on one knee.
In one of his hands was something small and shiny. She didn’t have to see it clearly to know what it was.
“Oh, my God.” Her hands flew to her mouth as his image began to blur.
“I didn’t tell you about my thoughts on moving yet because I wanted you to have this first.” Looking adorably nervous, he gave a little shrug and said, “Kole knows this jeweler who designs one-of-a-kind rings. That’s where I went just now. Kole called to tell me the ring I’d had made for you was finished.”
And here she’d been ranting on and on about him keeping secrets from her. Gracie was speechless.
“I was trying to plan something really special,” he said, still kneeling before her. “I wanted the proposal to be perfect for you. And just so we’re clear,” he smirked. “This isn’t a façade like our last marriage. This is a real engagement ring and I’m really proposing.”
“It is perfect,” she managed to whisper from behind her trembling fingers. “It’s absolutely perfect. Nate, I-I…”
Gracie was so stunned, so full of love and excitement, she could barely speak.
He looked up at her and smiled. “I never believed in love, Gracie. Not really. Then, I met you. You were sunshine and happiness and love, all rolled into one. I couldn’t get enough of you.” He shrugged. “Never will.”
Nate stood then and came to her. Wrapping his fingers around her wrists, he gently pulled her hands from her mouth and kissed her knuckles.
“From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew my world would never be the same.”
Gracie thought back to that day at Kole and Sarah’s. It seemed a lifetime ago, but she remembered it as if it were yesterday.
Nate was sitting there with that ball cap, looking at her behind those mirrored Aviators and wearing that cocky smile.
Despite having tried to pretend otherwise, deep down she’d known right then that this was a man she needed in her life. She just hadn’t realized how much.
Releasing one of her wrists, Nate cupped the side of her face, his thumb caressing her in the most gentlest of touches. Tears welled in his eyes, his words filling her with more love than she’d ever thought possible.
“I can’t imagine my life without you, baby. You’re everything I never even knew I needed.”
Tears poured down her cheeks as he slid the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen onto her finger.
The round stone in the middle was the color of honey and it was surrounded by several small diamonds. It had a vintage feel and it was perfect. Just like him.
