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He looks at me with real pain in his eyes, like whatever way he turns is going to be the wrong direction. But we love each other. I won’t let him walk away from that.

“Not ever,” I repeat. “I’m not interested in you as a boyfriend. You’re going to be my husband. Maybe not this week or next. Maybe it will take a few years, but we’re having an entire life together. We’re going to have bumpy years and smooth sailing and we’re going to get through that together. What we’re not going to do is give up before we’ve taken the first step.”

I stop talking and wait for Ben to react.

“You want to marry me?” he asks.

I shrug. “It’s inevitable. We fell in love in a week. What we have is powerful⁠—”

“Being with you makes me feel like I can do anything,” he says.

“So why walk away? I don’t get it.”

“Because you’re the most important person there’s ever been in my life. I don’t want to hurt you! I’d rather walk away knowing I’ll spend the rest of my life thinking about you than risk being less than you deserve.”

With every word, I start to lose a little hope. But I’m clinging on. I can’t just let him throw away what we have. I can’t.

“You’re going to have to suit up for the ride,” I say. “And you’re going to have to be the man I deserve—no, I know you’re the man I deserve. All you have to be is the man I know you are. There’s no doubt you’re going to make mistakes. So am I. I’ve never been within a five-mile radius of a man I wanted to marry before. It’s not like I’ve got this relationship thing down. We’re going to fuck up. We’re probably going to hurt each other. But that doesn’t mean we should walk away.”

“And that’s just it? You’re saying we have to take the risk.”

“Am I worth it?” I ask him.

He pulls in a breath, and my heart pounds so loudly, it feels like a drumbeat inside of me. “You’re worth everything.”

I sigh. “Then tell me you’ll never leave me.”

“Avril,” he says, and it feels like the grip is tightening around my heart. This is it. This is decision time. He’s either in or he’s out.

“You can only hurt me if you give up on me,” I say. “Tell me you’ll never leave me.”

Seconds tick by and it’s like he’s waiting for something but I don’t know what.

“Not ever,” he says.

I let out a cry of relief and cover my face with my hands.

Thank god.

He scoops me up out of my chair, like he’s done a couple of times now, and sets me down on his lap.

“I love you,” he whispers to me, and I wrap my arms around him, holding on to him in case he changes his mind.

“Did we just negotiate the rest of our lives together?” I pull back to look at him.

“Easiest deal I ever made,” he says with a smirk. “You make me see everything at a slightly different angle.”

Ben’s about to kiss me when the waiter interrupts, asking us if there’s anything else we’d like.

“My fiancée and I would like a bottle of champagne,” he says, picking out a bottle from the list.

A huge grins spreads across my face. “Your fiancée?” I ask, when the waiter disappears to get our champagne. “Did I miss the proposal?”

“Like you said, we’re getting married. So that makes you my fiancée. But don’t worry, you’ll get a proposal.”

“If I don’t ask you first,” I say.

Ben stands. “I don’t know why I ordered more drinks. I need to get you home. If I kiss you here. Now. I’ll never stop.”