Page 116 of Dangerous Rhythm

“You don’t need it. She’s good for you, man,” Brandon said.

“That may be, but it guarantees nothing.”

“Nope. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but you’ll never know until you go for it.”

“True. Hug my family for me.”

“Absolutely,” Brandon said. “Go for it, bro.”

Curtis ended the call, sipped his coffee, and got that extra caffeine circulating in his system, along with the low dose of adrenaline and endorphins. He walked out of the café and didn’t find Lina.

He looked around the street, where a handful of people were making their way somewhere. He noted there wasn’t a peep of worry in his chest as he scanned his surroundings for Lina. He found her talking to a tourist-looking couple. She was pointing at something on the couple’s phone, then gestured to the cross street ahead of them. As he walked toward them, he could hear her talking in Korean. She blew his mind every day.

As she sent the couple on their way, Curtis put an arm around her shoulders. “I didn’t know you spoke Korean.”

“Rudimentary Korean. I can ask for and understand directions. I figured I can give them as well. They’re heading to where we’re going.”

They started walking leisurely, drinking their coffee, without a care in the world. Not today.

“This is exactly what I pictured we do when I said I wanted to be normal with you,” Curtis said. “Strolling the streets without any of us checking if there’s anyone following or trying to stab us.”

Lina laughed. “We are in the city, and you have some obsessive fans. I’d say some vigilance is still required.”

“Nah. This is perfect,” Curtis said as they crossed Fifth Avenue and continued into Central Park.

“You’re right.” Lina smiled up at him. “It’s the simple thing that makes a moment perfect.”

“Yup. All I need is my woman on my arm, a cup of java, and no one trying to kill me.” Curtis looked at the burst of white blossoms ahead of them. “That view isn’t bad, either.”

Lina took in her first view of the cherry blossoms in full bloom and sighed heavily. “Gorgeous. Reminds me of Lunar New Year.”

And the first time I said I love you.

She didn’t have to say it. Curtis remembered the moment in details. They’d walked around a peach blossom tree—a different yet similar tree—and Lina’s mother had told them when one walked around the tree, they’d find love. But love had already found him.

“Good. They found their way,” Lina pointed out to the couple she had talked to earlier. They looked like they were in their early twenties and were eager to set up video equipment in the middle of the hill.

“They should just enjoy the view,” Curtis commented as he disposed of their empty cups in a trash can.

“You’re showing your age,” Lina teased.

Curtis took her hand and led her to the cluster of flowering trees. “I just think we don’t have to document everything and miss out on being in the moment.

“I mean, just look at this.” He stopped them right under a tree and looked up at the cloud of flowers above them. “Never in my life did I ever think I’d ever wake up early to walk in a park to look at a bunch of trees.”

“It was your idea,” Lina said.

“I know.”

“So, why did you want to come here?”

Curtis faced her and smiled. “I thought it’d be a pretty backdrop.”

“For what?”

“To ask you to marry me.” Curtis took a box out of his pocket. With a push of a small button, the square black box opened up like a Chinese puzzle.

Lina laughed at the way the box opened and sobered up at the sight of the ring it revealed. “Curtis…”

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