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“We’ll stay here. I’ll take care of Noa and start doing bookkeeping or something. I won’t nanny anymore.”
“Just be mine. Just be Noa’s mom. Anything else… We’ll figure it out.”
Just be Luca’s. I liked that.
“And you can just be mine.”
Fifteen
Luca
Duty called, and though I went in late, I’d had to make an appearance in the office to meet with the visitors from the university. The meeting had run over, and my insecurities rose while I drove home. I almost worried that Em wouldn’t be at my place when I got there.
But she’d told me she loved me. Intellectually, I knew she wouldn’t just leave. But in my chest… The unsettled feeling squeezed my heart, a residual from the days of not knowing where we stood.
I meant what I’d told her. I’d follow her. I hadn’t lied about that. Fuck, I could sell my company and never work another day in my life. Em and I could travel the world or build a little place on the edge of our hometown where we could be homebodies together. Or we could do both.
When I walked into the house, a bouquet of flowers in my hand, the place was quiet and just a dim light shown from the back of the house. Like a moth, I headed that way—not to the lamp but to my light, Em.
She was curled in a chair, looking out over the ocean, baby monitor beside her once again. Her hair was piled on her head in a messy bun, a loose cardigan over her capri jeans and tank top. Delicious. And mine.
Hearing me, she tilted up her head and smiled up at me as I stepped out onto the deck. This was it. Our moment, with the quiet around us, the bright moon and stars overhead.
I handed her the flowers and dropped to one knee.
Em gasped, sitting up straight with wide eyes, the roses on her lap. I took her hand. “Emerson Crane, my sweet stalker, I’m glad I was your crush all those years ago—”
She covered her eyes with her free hand and groaned. “Oh my God.”
“Because it paved the way for me. You know me, because I might be older and not quite as much of a geek as back then, but ultimately, I haven’t changed much. And you… Well, back then, I also knew what I wanted and was never deterred from my goal. That hasn’t changed either. I still know what I want. You. You, Em.” I reached into my pocket to pull out the ring I’d bought for her.
“Luca…” she whispered.
“Will you marry me? We can live wherever you want—”
“Here. We’ll live here.”
“Is that a yes?”
Scooching around on the lounger, she placed the flowers behind her then turned so she could lean into me. “I always have to think through big decisions and work my way around to answers. I’m an overthinker. You need to know that about me.”
“Noted,” I rasped, a rock in my throat as I worried she’d say no.
“I don’t have to think about this, Luca.” Her hand came up to cup my cheek. “It’s not about my old crush. It’s about you. It’s about how much I love you. The last few days were killing me because I was scared, but I didn’t want to leave you. And…I was overthinking. I want to be with you—”
“Say yes.”
“Yes. Of course, yes.”
My fingers shook a little as I pulled the solitaire from the box, which I let bounce to the deck floor, then slid the diamond on her. My arms went around her, and I lifted her into my arms, rising at the same time. In long strides, I rushed through the house and up to our room. I placed Em on the bed while I crawled over her, and her arms and legs went around me.
“Are you sure you’re really okay moving to California?” I asked while brushing my lips over hers.
“Yeah, I am. I was holding on too hard to what I knew. My immediate family isn’t even there anymore. The thought of leaving you guys was gutting me, I wasn’t thinking around the problem. I was letting my old stuck self tell me how things had to be. I never stop to consider I could just stay. I could be with you guys here.”
“More than be with us. You’ll be my wife and Noa’s mom. Soon.”
“How soon?”
