Page 34 of Unconditionally With Me
He steps partway out onto the deck and shudders. “I want to be your man, however you’ll have me.”
I nod, stepping to the edge of the bench. “I want that too. And you will be. But what do you want foryou, Julian?”
“Damnit, Elle, why does it matter?” he growls.
“Because I’ve learned you can’t sacrifice your sense of self. Dream big. You are allowed to have it. Writing is a part of your soul, and you have to feed that. So you don’t want to be the Gossip Guy, fine. While you’re the best part of my today and every day, you need to find the best part of yourself. Who do you want to be for you?” I challenge him.
And like a dam, the words I’ve been waiting for rush out. “I want to help people in more ways than just finding the next hot spot. I loved what I did, but it was so exclusive. The everyday person didn’t read me because it didn’t pertain to them. I want my column to mean something to a lot of people. I don’t even know what I’m saying.” He thrusts his hands through his hair in frustration.
I understand perfectly. “You want to stop being superfluous and for your words to matter.”
He stumbles, whether that’s due to the eager couple who shoves past him or due to my words—I don’t know. “That’s it. That’s exactly it.”
I spread my arms wide, stretching my Girl Boss T-shirt across my chest. “Then do it. Talk with Karlson and propose the new column.”
His face shuts down. “With you here in Seattle?”
I plant my hands on my hips. I toss the few pieces of hair that have escaped out of my face and pucker my lips. People pass between us, raising my anticipation and Julian’s frustration. Finally, when there’s a break, he rushes toward me—heedless of any anxiety about being on the clear deck. “Here in Seattle, Elle?” he repeats.
I shake my head before reaching up and loosening the clip holding my hair back. My hair catches the wind as I lean down and wrap my arms around him. “I came out here to find out what I wanted from myself. I did that, and I want it all. I just want it at home. With you.” My voice cracks. “If you’ll still have me.”
His answer is to pull out of my arms.
My heart thumps because it’s suddenly out of sync with his. But as quickly as that happens, it speeds up to such a degree, I feel like I’m going to be dizzy.
Because Julian is down on one knee holding a ring up toward me that almost exactly matches my eyes. Inanely, I declare, “It’s purple.”
“And it’s your birthstone.”
I shake my head. “There’s no way. Sapphires aren’t purple.”
“Oh, my Elle. Once I get your wedding band made, I’ll write an article about where others can buy them.”
I toss my head back and laugh. “If that was a proposal, it sucks, Julian.”
He surges to his feet, capturing my left hand in his right. “Then how about this. I want to be the man you go to for the rest of your life for the simplest of things. If you’re having a good day, a bad day, or if you just need a hug. I want to sleep by your side and have the fire inside feed my soul so it never goes cold.”
The tears on my face are whipped away by the wind. I’m already beginning to nod, but he keeps going.
“I love how protective you are of me and anyone else you let inside your heart. Our love is forever, timeless, and it has no boundaries. Let’s build on that for the rest of our lives.” He begins to slide the ring on my finger but pauses. “This is the part where you can say ‘yes,’” he prompts.
“From today forward, it’s forever. So, yes, Julian. I’ll marry you.”
He pushes the ring forward, but before I have a chance to admire it, he wraps me in his arms and yanks me off the bench to kiss me with all of the irrefutable love in his heart.
Long moments after he’s done, the crowd that’s been applauding around us shows us how to install the Space Needle app on our phones. Turns out, we were standing on one of the photo mats, so our engagement kiss has been captured for prosperity.
We end up buying all of the pictures—later. Much later after we race back to the hotel and celebrate in a much more intimate way. Not that I’ll ever have any problems remembering this feeling. But for the rest of my life, I want to be able to show everyone the look on Julian’s face when he remembers exactly where he was when he proposed. And the panic that immediately followed when he glanced down and saw the ground.
Epilogue
~Eleanor – Two Years Later~
“Elle’s Edibles, how can I help…” I don’t even get the words out of my mouth before Trina screams in my ear.
“Elle! I just fired my executive pastry chef.”
“Good God, why?” Uncertain if this is going to result in an emergency order for the restaurant or just her calling to let off steam, I leave my computer up though I was getting ready to shut it down for the day.
