Page 137 of Finding Noah

I went home shortly after, my mind full of all the possible plans I could think of. Vacations, beaches, cabins in the woods somewhere, a camping trip. Every scenario seemed more elaborate than the last until they felt downright ridiculous. And by the time I climbed the steps to the apartment we lived in, I was ready to book a trip to Ireland to propose to her in the town her family had hailed from.

Until I saw her.

She was standing in our little living room, her curls piled on top of her head in a chaotic tangle, the vacuum in her hand. She was wearing one of my T-shirts, sweatpants both of us wore when there was nothing left to throw on, and slippers a year past their expiration date. She kept saying she was going to buy a new pair, but never did because she liked how broken in these were.

She was listening to music, her earbuds in place, unaware that I was there for a moment before lifting her head. When she saw me, she gasped, then immediately laughed, clapping a hand over her chest as her cheeks pinked with an embarrassed flush.

I hoped I could always make her blush like that.

I couldn't wait to find out, and I realized … I didn’t want to wait. And why should I? I didn’t need an elaborate, extravagant proposal. I didn’t need to put myself into debt to take her on a trip around the world just to put a ring on her finger. Not when she was already here, and so was I, and this velvet box was in my pocket when its rightful place was just right over there.

I’ll take her to Ireland another time, I thought.

She plucked her earbuds from her ears and asked, “Hey, where were you?”

I swallowed, the ring suddenly a ten-thousand-pound weight in my pocket. “I went to my parents' house to show them something,” I admitted, crossing the living room to press a kiss to her forehead.

She laid her hand against my chest, smiling into my eyes. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, hold on.”

My palms were sweating as I made the final decision to throw all grand gestures aside and reached into my pocket for the velvet box, then presented it to her without ceremony.

Her eyes widened at the sight, her hand frozen against my chest, as if to keep herself steady as she stared at the navy velvet. “What … what is this?”

I shrugged casually. “Open it.”

She hesitated, her eyes fixed on the box in my hand. One hand was on my chest while the other gripped the vacuum, her lips pulled between her teeth as she lifted her gaze to mine.

“I'm scared,” she blurted, then laughed. “No, I'm not scared, but … God, Noah, what did you do?”

“You gotta open it to find out,” I said, leaning in to press another kiss to her forehead, burying my nose in her pile of curls and breathing deeply.

With a sigh and a shake of her head, she carefully plucked the box from my palm. She sucked in a deep breath, then creaked it open to immediately lay a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

“Do you like it?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“It's beautiful,” she whispered, nodding.

“Good, ‘cause I was hoping you'd wanna wear it.”

“Like … now?”

I laughed. “I mean, that's usually what people do when someone asks them to marry them, so …”

Her chin lifted, and her eyes darted to mine. “But you didn't ask.”

“Shit. You're right.”

Then, slowly, without either of us looking away, I got to my knees. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her to me, looking up into her gaze.

“Meghan.”

She swallowed, losing a battle against a smile. “Yes, Noah?”

“Every single day, I look at you and wonder how the fuck I got so lucky,” I said, pulling the words not from some written script, but the warmest, happiest places in my heart. “So many times, I could've died, I could've been lost—more times than I deserved—but I didn't. I was spared, and I know it was only to spend the rest of my life finding a way to thank you. First, for staying with me when I was all alone, but more importantly, for giving me a chance, and somehow, for whatever insane reason, for falling in love with me.”

She placed her hand on the back of my head, smoothing her palm over my hair. “You don't have to thank me for anything, baby. You were lost, you needed someone to find you, and I did what anybody else would've done—”