Page 23 of The Marriage Narrative
She was going tofaintany minute now.
“—and I think we should have a Birthday clause. We promise to always remember and do something special on the day. Yours is February thirteenth.”
She laughed at the expectant look on his face. “December twenty-ninth. Don’t ever doubt me.”
“Never again.”
His undefeatable smile persisted as he took a sip of his drink. She was fully obsessed with how comfortably he showed his emotions and wasprayingthat vulnerability extended beyond happiness.
“I’d like a Quality Time clause,” he said thoughtfully. “You have to promise to dothingswith me.”
“Oh? Do tell.” Zinnia fought the sudden urge to move closer to him.
But Jordan had no such qualms. He leaned into the respectable distance between them in the booth. She inhaled deeply as his subtle, pleasant cologne wafted over her—how had she not noticed that he smelled sogood?
“I love going out,” he said. “There’s always something to do.Music festivals, flea markets, cultural food fairs, road trips to new places just because, but I also love staying home too. Being boring and enjoying each other’s company.”
“I’m in. One hundred percent. Do you like going to the movies?”
“I love going to the movies. How do you feel about plays? Theater?”
“I feel like that’s a yes for me too, but I’ve never been.”
“Oh, that’s unacceptable. We’re fixing that as soon as we get back.” His expression suddenly dipped, becoming somber, and her stomach flipped. “And I’d like…I don’t think it’s right to make this a clause, but I really hope that you’ll be kind to my family. They can be a lot, but please give them a chance.”
“Of course I will. No clause required,” she promised. “All I know about them is their names, their faces, and that you love them. We’re starting from scratch, as it should be.”
“Thank you. That really means a lot.”
His eyes were so soft and so nervous it almost took her breath away. Prayer answered.
“Now, back to business,” she joked to lift the mood. “Do you want to have kids? We never explicitly talked about that.” She was more curious than hopeful.
“I don’t know yet. I definitely need to see how we function as partners before throwing parenting into the mix, but there’s no rush on my end.”
“Same. When I picture my future there’s a place for them. I’d love to meet them someday, and if it’s meant to be I will. But more than that, I want to live a life filled with the people I love and the people who love me. However that looks.”
“Let’s call this the Five Year clause because I like what you said before. Five years ofusfirst feels right.”
Zinnia stared at him in disbelief. This man had really remembered everything she’d said without a single reminder. “Whyme?” she blurted out. “I’d bet money, real American dollars, that you’d be able to convince almost anyone to marry you.”
He blinked in surprise, but it quickly faded into certainty. “I meant it when I saidyouconvincedme. You changed my entire plan—my mindset, actually. I didn’t realize how long I’d been living on pause until you showed me a new starting line. I want this kind of marriage as much as you do. I just have thisfeelingthat we’ll be good together.”
“Jordan?” She exhaled, staring into those brown eyes of his burning in the sunset. “Will you marry me?”
“That’s supposed to be my line.” He reached into his pocket and set a ring box down in front of her. “I wanted to be ready. Just in case.”
He’d picked a gorgeous diamond ring that matched her bracelet.
She pulled a ring box of her own out of her purse. “It was my grandpa’s. I want you to have it.”
A gold wedding band dotted with sapphires.
“Borrowed and blue,” she said.
Chapter 7
Zinnia
