Page 122 of His Heart

Sebastian

Brooke cameout of the building and her eyes lit up when she saw me. Her loose yellow dress fluttered in the summer breeze and her bracelets sparkled in the sun. She brushed her hair out of her face and adjusted the strap of her handbag as she walked toward where I was parked.

God, that woman was sexy as fuck. Curves and long legs. Soft skin. I couldn’t wait to get her home.

Our home. I’d moved out of the house Charlie and I had shared for so long, and into Brooke’s place. Olivia and Charlie had wanted to make their living arrangement permanent, so it made sense for me to move out. But even if they hadn’t, I would have moved in with Brooke. We were starting a new life together. Going all in.

We’d be in Iowa City for another year, and then off to a new adventure in Virginia. I’d been accepted to two of the three schools I’d applied to. I chose Virginia Tech. It seemed like the best fit for me. And neither of us had ever been there. That made it even more perfect. A new part of the country to explore. New things to experience. It was going to be strange, not living in Iowa. But for me, home wasn’t a place. It was a person.

She stopped on the sidewalk to answer her phone. Smiling again, she held up a finger, letting me know she needed a minute. I waved. Take your time, baby.

Brooke was going back to school too. She’d been accepted to the University of Colorado’s online program to finish her English degree. Since she’d failed some classes at Arizona State after Liam had died, she’d had to jump through extra hoops to get accepted. She’d written the admissions department a long letter—a letter that had turned into something much more—telling her story.

Not only had she been accepted, they’d directed her toward several scholarships and encouraged her to submit her writing to various publications. She hadn’t submitted anything yet, but I’d been encouraging her. What she’d written was so poignant. Her words were heartfelt and beautiful, even when they described some of her darkest moments.

She’d been expanding on it, weaving my story in with hers, a chronicle of the journeys we had taken. Highlighting the moments that had brought us to where we were. The tragedies that had brought us together.

My phone rang. Charlie.

“Hey bro,” I said. “What’s up?”

“Dude, talk me down,” he said. “I’m freaking the fuck out right now.”

“Why, what’s going on?”

He took a deep breath. “I’m doing it. I’m asking her.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. “You’re proposing tonight?”

“No, not tonight,” he said. “Like, now. Or when she comes in.”

“If it’s now, why the hell are you calling me?” I asked. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“Fuck no,” he said. “I’m gonna marry the shit out of that girl. No, I think I screwed it up already.”

“How?”

“I wanted this to be a big surprise,” he said. “And I’ve been trying to throw her off so she wouldn’t guess. The problem is, I think I did too good of a job, and now she’s mad at me. She’s sitting in the driveway in her car, talking on the phone. She looks pissed.”

I glanced up at Brooke. She was nodding her head slowly, then said something. It looked like everything will be fine.

“Yeah, I think she’s talking to Brooke,” I said. “Listen, calm down. Focus. Stick to the plan. You’ll be fine.”

“God, I’m so nervous,” he said. “I don’t think I was this nervous before I had to wrestle you at state.”

That was funny to hear. We didn’t talk about stuff like that very often. Guy thing—we didn’t want to admit to it. But I knew how he felt. I’d been nervous to face him too. Plus, I had a surprise in the works for Brooke that was making me nervous. It was hard to keep her from finding out.

“Remember, it’s not nerves,” I said. “It’s excitement.”

“Right, excitement. Oh shit, she’s coming. I gotta go.”

Brooke put her phone in her bag and walked out to my car.

“Hey,” she said when she got in the passenger’s side. “Sorry. It was Olivia. I missed her call earlier so I wanted to take it.”

“No problem. What’s up with O?”

She rolled her eyes. “She’s just being Olivia. She’s freaking out because she thinks Charlie has been acting weird. I told her Charlie is always weird, but that didn’t help.”

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