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I take a steadying breath. “A little.”
“Are you alright?” She turns in my direction, and the fists punching my lungs pause momentarily.
“Yeah. It’s just…” I reach for her hand again as we round the corner to our destination. I tug her to a stop and hit the button.
“What are you doing?” Her furrowed brow has turned to concern. “Are you for real?” She looks around. “Wait, is this our elevator? We’re not going in there. You hate elevators. Where are the stairs?”
She tries to let go of my hand in search of the stairs, but I hold her there, trying to keep it together.
“It’ll be fine. It’s just two floors. Ten seconds. I can handle it. The stairs to get down to the tunnel are–”
I can handle it. I can do this. I have Andie.I let out a long, slow breath.
“Sean, you’re an elite athlete. I think we can handle a short walk.”
She tries to tug away again, but I wrap my hands around her waist. “I’ll be fine.” I tip my head in the direction of the opening elevator doors. “For old-time sake. Plus,” I try to say confidently, though I feel anything but, “I have you.”
She stares at me like I’m out of my mind. “Really? You want to go in there?”
I nod, forcing a smile to reassure her and myself. Before I determine this is a dumbass idea, I pull her into the elevator with me, hit the button for the lower level, and back us up to the wall. She comes willingly and rests her body up against mine, linking her arms around my neck.
The doors close, and I bring my forehead to hers as the elevator starts to move.
“Are you ok? I can feel your heart pounding,” she whispers as if not to make this worse.
“As long as I have you.”
She presses up to her tiptoes and nuzzles into my neck as the elevator dings, moving past the first floor. Blood pulses in my ears as I try to do what I came to do.
“You know, the last time I was in here, it changed my life forever.”
“Oh yeah?” I feel her lips press against the side of my neck.
“Yeah. I walked out of here feeling like I was shoved off the ledge I’d been standing on, and it had nothing to do with this elevator.” The elevator dings again, and the doors open. She tries to take a step back, but I hold her there. “I didn’t know it then, but sitting in this elevator with you was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
The doors close again, and Andie turns to look at them and then back at me. “You don’t want to get out of here?”
“I do, but not yet.” My racing heart has calmed, and all I can see is her. Her brilliant green eyes search mine. “Andie, you stirred something inside me that day, and I haven’t been the same since. Running into you after that was a gift, a second chance for me to realize that you are exactly what I needed and everything that was missing in my life.”
She stares up at me, her head falling slightly to the side.
“You very quickly became my best friend, and then, not long after that, I fell ridiculously and hopelessly in love with you.” Her perfect lips turn upward, and it’s as if my nerves snap off and fall to the floor one by one. “You already know I’m spending the rest of my life with you, but I would really like to do that as your husband. I want you to be my wife. I want to continue to build our life together with Ax. I want to make more babies with you, however many you want. I want to laugh and joke, fight and make up, and have you give me shit every single day for the rest of our lives.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out the princess-cut onyx stone surrounded by diamonds. Her eyes grow wide, and I release her to get down on my knee.
“Don’t.” She stops me. “Nope. Just…” She lifts my hand to look at the ring, looks up at me, and then back at the ring. “You…”
My heart starts picking up pace again, and I break out in a cold sweat. Suddenly, I need air, but before I can move to hit the button, Andie grabs me and kisses me like…everything in the world disappears but the warmth of her mouth on mine. Her hands are on the sides of my face, holding me so close and kissing me like she needs to be sure this is real and taking every advantage of it.
My heart and body begin to take on a different need, and I relax into the feel of her pressed up against me. In an instant, I have her up against the side wall, my hands tangled in her wild hair, and I’m oblivious to anything except Andie. I lift her up, guiding her legs around me. I kiss her like my life depends on it because if I stop, I might suffocate in this tiny box.
There’s a noise and a rush of cool air behind me. I slowly pull away and turn to find two dudes standing outside the elevator, staring at us.
Andie laughs, resting her head against my shoulder as I slowly set her down. She adjusts her shirt.
“Sorry, we just need one more minute,” she tells them as the doors close again, hiding their smug smirks.
She grabs both of my hands and holds them. “Sitting in this elevator with you for those two hours helped me see that I still had a life to live. I’d been hiding in the dark, letting life pass me by, thinking somehow it would get better. Eventually, the light would just spill in, and everything would be ok. That light never came.” She shakes her head. “But I stood on that podium afraid to sing, that if I let go, there’d be nothing left. Then, I saw you, and you gave me the courage I needed. I didn’t even like you.”
