Page 153 of Ten Years and Then…
“I know now.” She was starting to cry again. He felt like he might, too.
But there was no reason for either of them to cry anymore.
He gently wiped the tears from her face. “We both know. And you don’t need to worry about falling asleep for a hundred years, because I would never let some witch put a curse on you.”
She smiled. “It was an evil fairy, not a witch.” Now she giggled. “But either way, I’m going to hold you to that.”
Chapter 50
New Year’s Eve, Part 2—Paris, France
Nora, eleven o’clock in the evening
There they were, right by the sign for the Charles de Gaulle-Étoile Metro station, just like Daniel said.
Rachel and Bianca were already well into each other’s personal space, chattering away like they’d known each other for years.
Nora understood the closeness—probably to share body heat. It was absolutely freezing. She hadn’t noticed it on the walk here, not with Daniel’s arm around her. But now that they were standing still, it hit her full force.
Even Daniel was feeling it, if the way his teeth were chattering was any indication. He went up to Bianca and hugged her, and Nora did the same with her aunt. Then they switched partners, and Bianca squeezed her tight enough to break a rib.
“I’m so happy for you,” Bianca said. “For both of you!”
“I’m just glad to finally meet you in the flesh,” Rachel was saying to Daniel. “And that everything worked out in the end, even if someone,”—she nodded at Bianca—“kept going to the wrong places.” But she was laughing as she said it.
“Thank you,” Nora said, once Bianca let go of her and she was in Daniel’s arms again. “I don’t know how we could ever repay you guys for this.”
“Well, I already assumed I’d be Maid of Honor when you got married,” Rachel said. “So you’ll have to top that somehow.”
“I was thinking you two could name your first child after me,” Bianca chimed in.
Nora expected Daniel to blush, or cringe or even just hesitate. But he didn’t. “Even if it’s a boy?”
Hearing him just accept the idea of having a baby with her—like it was the most natural thing in the world—shook her all the way down to her toes. She had to cling to him to keep her balance.
He loved her that much?
Of course he did. As much as she loved him.
“Hang on, Daniel,” she said. “We won’t have room for a baby on the houseboat.”
He kissed her, and she shivered again.
“Remember, we’re buying two houseboats,” he said. “The nursery can go in the second one along with your closet.”
Bianca and Rachel both stared at them.
“I was joking about the baby,” Bianca said. “Well, ninety percent joking.”
“I don’t think it’s such a joke,” Daniel replied. “Nora already asked me to marry her.”
“You didn’t!” Rachel said. She looked—maybe horrified wasn’t the right word, but Nora didn’t know how else to describe it.
“I did. And if he’d said yes, we’d be married right now.”
That probably wasn’t true, now she thought about it. Even if they’d figured out where to go, they might not have been able to get a marriage license today. Back home, you had to wait a few days, unless you were in Las Vegas.
“Smart move, Danny,” Bianca said. “Aunt Marie would never forgive you if you eloped.”
