Page 84 of The Breakup

“Come here.” Christian’s voice and expression were gentle. He hauled me off the ground.

I was vaguely aware of people moving quickly past us, of umbrellas bouncing along and shoes splashing water up in arcs. I swiped at my eyes. Christian’s navy T-shirt was soaked and his eyelashes had droplets clinging to them. Then his face disappeared.

He was dropping back down to the sidewalk. On one knee. Pulling a box out of his pocket.

Oh, God.

I stared at him, heart racing.

“Bella Rose Bigelow, will you marry me?” he asked, peering at me with a very solemn and intense expression. His pale blue eyes were darker than normal, the way they got when we had sex. He opened the box and a simple, but very beautiful, pink diamond flashed up at me before he pulled it out. “Not because of Camp or this baby, but because I love you. Because I was a cynical asshole who didn’t believe in a happily ever after, and then you crashed into my life, with your amazingly sweet heart and a smile that turns my world upset down twenty times a day. Will you marry me because I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up every morning and the last thing I see before I fall asleep at night? Will you marry me because you and I were meant to be?”

With each word, I grew warmer and warmer, despite the cool rain pummeling me. Now that was a proposal. I nodded frantically, not sure I could speak. I fingered my horseshoe necklace and swallowed hard. “Yes. I will marry you, for all those reasons. And because I love you too. So much.”

Christian stood up and slipped the ring onto my finger.

“It’s pink,” I said, thrilled beyond belief. It felt…personal. Like Christian had thought about me when he picked it out.

He nodded. “Pink for my perfect princess.” Then he kissed me. “I love you.”

Christian grabbed me in a hard hug, whirling me around in the rain, while I laughed and the crowd of people who had gathered around us clapped.

If that wasn’t a fairy tale ending I don’t know what would be.

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