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“Well?” he asked expectantly. “Do you feel the same way?”
“Are you…” my voiced trailed off. I cleared my throat and forced myself to say the words out loud. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Of course I am,” he replied with a tolerant smile. “What else does it mean when someone says he wants to spend the rest of his life with you?”
“This is a shock,” I said weakly, trying to get my racing thoughts in order. “I mean… we’ve never even discussed living together, let alone marriage.”
“I’m discussing it now. Will you marry me?”
I stared at him as I tried to make sense of all this. I had never imagined being proposed to like this, in front of cartons of lo mein and tofu stir-fry. Wasn’t he supposed to get down on bended knee or something? Where was the ring?
I gave myself a mental shake, trying to get my priorities in order. Never mind that the actual proposal left a lot to be desired. Even if he had gotten down on one knee and showered me with flowery prose while offering me a glittering diamond ring, it still wouldn’t mask the fact that I had never imagined myself marrying Adam. At one point, I had thought I was in love with him, but even then the thought of marriage had never entered my mind.
Adam’s smile faltered as I continued to stare at him. “Are you going to give me an answer?”
“I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath and tried to be as honest as possible without hurting him. “I’m just trying to process all of this. It’s coming out of left field for me. How long have you been thinking about this?”
He shrugged. “I always figured it was only a matter of time before we got married.”
“Really?” I couldn’t keep the skepticism out of my voice, and he frowned in response.
“Of course. Didn’t you?”
I hesitated, trying to find a balance between honesty and tact. “I never really gave it much thought. Things are going well between us the way they are now. Why change it?”
He frowned at my reply. “This isn’t the response I expected. Is it because I don’t have a ring yet? I thought we could get it together so that you can pick out exactly what you want.”
I rubbed my forehead, trying to get my racing thoughts in order. “This is... It’s just a big surprise. Can you give me some time to think about it?”
Adam nodded, although he didn’t look too pleased. “If that’s what you need, take some time to think it over. “
I took his hand in mine, realizing how difficult it must have been for him to propose, only to be given a non-answer. “I’m sorry, Adam. I’m unbelievably touched by your proposal. I just need a little bit of time to think about it. It just took me off guard.”
His expression cleared, and he gave me a sweet smile. “I understand. I know you’ll come to the conclusion that we’re meant to spend the rest of our lives together once you give it some thought.”
I nodded, although I wasn’t too sure about his assertion. Adam was overly affectionate for the rest of the evening, and I found it stifling, which made me even more confused by what my answer to his proposal would be.
I was relieved when Adam said he couldn’t stay the night because he had to get up early the next day for a meeting. I didn’t even bother asking him what the meeting was about as I ushered him out the door.
I immediately called Emily the moment Adam left, needing to unload my confusion onto someone.
“What’s up?” she asked in lieu of a greeting.
“Adam just proposed to me.”
“What?!” Emily’s screech almost broke my eardrum and I winced. “You’re kidding me!”
“Why is it such a surprise?” I asked sourly, although I had been taken just as off guard. I didn’t appreciate her sounding appalled, as if I had just told her the end of the world was imminent. “We’ve been dating for three years.”
“Yeah, but you guys have never even talked about marriage. Have you? I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, you were doubting your relationship with him. Now he’s asking you to marry him?”
I sighed heavily, knowing that she was right. “I know. And we’ve never talked about marriage. I almost fell off the sofa when he proposed.”
“What did you say?” Her voice turned alarmed. “You didn’t say yes, did you?”
“I told him I needed some time to think about it.”
“Are you actually considering it?” Emily hesitated before continuing. “I don’t mean to tell you what to do with your life, and you know I’ll support whatever decision you make, but you can do so much better. You need someone who’ll make you the most important thing in his life. Adam can’t see beyond his own ego to make you a priority.”
