Page 78 of Be My Reason

“I asked him not to.I wanted everything in place before I came down here to try to win you back. You see these sketches? This is what Ryan and I have been working on. You are looking at the newest location of Brooklyn’s Bakery. Up in Raleigh. You will own a chain.” His eyes light up.

My eyes widen with alarm.

He shakes his head. “Not a franchise, Brooklyn, a second location. One that you will have complete control over.” He retrieves some papers from the file folder. “See, this is a new contract allowing you to buy out Ryan over the next few years.”

“Buy him out? Butthat’s not—”

“His idea, not mine,” he assures me.

I am stunned silent. I try to process this information.New bakery . . . he and Ryan are friends . . . he wants me back.

He interrupts my thoughts when he says, “There is one more sketch I want you to see.” Then he slowly lifts the sleeve of his left arm up to his shoulder, revealing a new tattoo. I can’t quite believe what I’m seeing and I’m not sure if I’m going to laugh or cry. Right there on the outside of his arm, for the entire world to see is my name, ‘Brooklyn’ emblazoned over the outline of a cupcake that is identical to the one on my marquee. Underneath the picture are two small italicized words that read ‘My Reason’.

I trace the tattoo with my finger and notice goose bumps traveling down his arm. “When did you do this?” I ask him.

“About three weeks ago. It’s fully healed, see?” He pokes his finger on it.

Three weeks ago?But I just found out about the baby three days ago. “Nate, I have to tell you something.” I brace myself for his reaction.

“No,Brooklyn. You don’t. I already know everything, he told me. Anyway, it doesn’t matter what happened while we were apart. We are together now and I’m better and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if that is what it takes for you to forgive me.”

He knows everything?Then why doesn’t he talk about the baby? He has been here ten whole minutes and hasn’t brought up the fact that we are going to be parents. Is he scared? Maybe he doesn’t really want it. Plus he said ‘hetold me everything’. Who told him? Graham? I asked Emma not to tell anyone. I’m so confused.

I look down at the sketches again. “So, I guess you expect me to just forgive you and move up to Raleigh to run the new shop?”

He angles his head to study my reaction. “No, not at all,” he says, “but I certainly won’t object to you spending lots of time up there. You do what you want. It is your choice.”

He stands up and holds his hand out to me. “Will you come with me?” he asks, begging me with his eyes. “Please? Will you go on a drive with me?”

I want to say no. I should say no.

“Okay,” I whisper.

He runs out to the kitchen and has a quick conversation with . . . Ryan? I didn’t even know he was back. Then it dawns on me. New business venture . . . he was up in Raleigh with Nate and he probably came back down here with him.

He leads me out to his car and we ride in silence. As soon as he makes the turn, I know where he is taking me.As we pull up to The Bend, memories shuffle through my head. The first time we came here, he took my virginity. The second time we came here he stole my heart forever. I fear this third time will erase those memories if we end up fighting over where I’m going to live or who will raise the baby. “Nate, do we have to—”

“Yes, Brooklyn.Wehaveto be here. This is the one place we absolutely have to be right now. There is no other place I could imagine being with you on this day.”

He parks the car and runs around to open the door for me. He walks me over to a clearing that is already set up with a blanket and a cooler. He drops my hand then heads back to the car to retrieve something from the glove box.

He walks back slowly towards me, hand running through his hair. I see beads of sweat dot his forehead even though it is a mild day. He steps onto the blanket, taking me with him but we don’t sit down. He takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly as he gathers my hands in his.

“Brooklyn,I love you so much. More than I ever thought possible. You are my reason.” He gestures with his eyes towards his new tattoo. “You are the reason I changed, you are the reason I’m still changing because I want to become a better person for you.” He gestures to his old tattoo and says, “You are my reason to live and I know for damn sure I would die for you.”

He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a small velvet box while tears roll down my face. He starts to lower himself onto a knee.

Oh, God. He is going to propose. This is all happening too fast. I can’t let him do this. Not for all the wrong reasons. I know that I will love this man until the day I die but I can’t let him be forced into marrying me. He will end up resenting me and I love him too much for that.

I shake my head at him. “Nate, no. You can’t do this just because of the baby.”

His face pales and he takes a step back. “What did you say?”

“I know that Graham told you, you said back at the shop that he did,” I say.

“Graham?” He looks confused. “What Graham told me?” He shakes his head. “Graham didn’t tell me anything.Ryantold me that you made a pass at him. He told me that you were trying to get over me and that you kissed him. I told you back at the shop that it didn’t matter, that none of that matters anymore.”

Oh, God. He doesn’t know. The new bakery, the tattoo, the flowers, the proposal. . . it was all to get me back. Not because he was forced into anything.

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