Page 67 of The Expiration Date

And not just any napkin.

The napkin.

There is no way he kept it all this time. I would’ve thought at some point, it would have fallen out, gotten destroyed, got torn to shreds after our four-month hiatus. Any option would have been more believable than what I am witnessing right now.

He hands it to me. “I added a little addendum to our contract, Ms. Swann.”

How is this happening right now?

“You kept this? For a year and a half, you’ve had this with you every day?”

He nods and gestures to look at the napkin. The only change I notice is that Aidan crossed out the word “not” that followed the word “absolutely” as it pertained to our condition about sex. I let out an exhale and laugh. “Seriously Aidan? I think we’ve already unofficially made this amendment, but thank you for pointing this out.”

“Oh I made that change a long time ago, you goof.” He winks at me, satisfied with himself. “Turn it over.”

The jingling of bells and cheers fill the background as Santa is making his appearance along 34th street. I turn over the wrinkled-up napkin and see the words:

Marry Aidan.

My mouth turns dry and my pulse starts racing. Time stands still and all I can hear is Ginny panting as her tongue is hanging out of her mouth, almost as if she is also anxiously awaiting my answer. The sound of the parade is fading away and suddenly it’s just us. In our living room. With one lingering question – well more like, request – hanging in the balance. I look up at Aidan and finally say, “What?”

He scoots a little closer to me on the couch and gestures toward my phone. “I think the word that they misspelled in that caption was girlfriend. I think, well I hope, that what it’s really supposed to say is fiancée.”

I keep blinking at an uncontrollable rate. I am in such a state of shock that I can’t form any other word except, “What?” I feel like I am back in Samantha’s office the day that Aidan suggested we essentially start a romantic relationship out of the blue. This certainly is out of the blue.

Aidan continues, “I know that I may have been acting weird earlier. Both our moms texted me Happy Thanksgiving and asked if I had proposed yet. Anna and Rachel have also been blowing up my phone incessantly. I didn’t want you to see.”

The air feels like it has been knocked out of me. In the best way. In the absolute best way. I’ve never seen Aidan so flustered. Nervous. I thought I was the one who spewed out the word vomit. It seems like right now the roles have reversed. Then he pulls out a little black box from his pocket as if out of thin air. I inhale sharply. My body starts tingling all over from the excitement of the contents of that little black box. If I thought I knew what breathlessness felt like, I was sorely mistaken. He lifts the top half of the box, revealing the most gorgeous ring I’ve ever seen: a solitaire cushion-cut diamond set in a thin rose-gold band. It is classic, stunning and perfect. Just like the man of my dreams who is kneeling in front of me.

Aidan grabs my left hand and holds it in his. “It’s an absolute privilege to love you, Haley Swann. You’re the best thing I’ve ever had and I know I was made for loving you. Completely. Unconditionally. And if I had an infinite amount of days like today, the everyday where you wake up with your hair a mess, dressed in oversized shirts, preferably mine, and a smile so pure and gorgeous, I would die a happy man. You are like coming home and I’ve never had that before.”

I usually am the one who can’t stop talking, and now it is Aidan’s turn to get flustered. I have to put this poor, devastatingly handsome and amazing man out of his misery. I place my finger to his lips, causing them to pucker slightly.

He chuckles, running his hand through his hair. “Sorry I’m so nervous. You aren’t saying anything and oh my God this is too much, just like when I had you agree to fake-date me except this is worse because we are actually together and you’re freaking out. Oh gosh Haley please don’t break up with me, I should have talked to you about it first. I mean I did ask your mom and Anna for their blessing…yes, I asked Anna too because I figured she would probably kill me if I didn’t…anyway you can seriously say no. I will love you no matter what, you know that right?”

I know exactly what to do. Without saying anything I take the napkin from his hand, stand up and make my way toward the junk drawer in the kitchen. I pull it open and get out a black pen. I scribble on the napkin and return the pen, then walk over to Aidan and hand him the napkin.

He looks down at the napkin and sees what I wrote:

YES!

“Yeah?” He lets out a sigh of relief.

“Yes. Of course!”

Smiling, Aidan takes the ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger. It fits perfectly.

I love that he proposed in the comfort of our own home, while it is snowing, in my favorite city in the world, as bacon sizzled in the kitchen. This moment is perfect, just like Aidan. Just like us.

I take his face in my hands and kiss him like it is for the last time. That’s how I am going to kiss him for always because tomorrow there is no guarantee and when you love someone, truly love someone, you want them to know just how much every day. He sits back on the couch and pulls me on top of his lap so that I am straddling him. His hands slide underneath my shirt. His hands are so hot to the touch in comparison to my cold skin. He lit a fire inside of me the day I met him, and I am convinced it will never diminish as long as he is mine. And now he is going to be mine forever. My hands are running through his hair and his lips are just as hungry as mine. I pull back just for a moment and say, “You know something?”

Breathless, Aidan responds, “What’s that?”

“I am truly the luckiest girl in the world. You destroyed all my walls, Aidan. You found your way into my heart and took up permanent residence. I can’t imagine living my life with anyone else.”

Aidan stands up, carrying me with him. “See, that’s where you are wrong, Hales.”

I can feel the crinkle on my nose start to form. He pushes our breakfast back on the stove and moves the bacon on top of the toaster oven to deter Ginny from inhaling it in one bite. Before I can challenge him, Aidan continues as he carries me toward our bedroom, “I’m the luckiest man in the world. You are my world. There’s no contesting that.”

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