Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
She’s shaking her head as tears fill her eyes. “We both did. I walked out of the club feeling that magic, too, and I still left. You knew after that night when it took me so long to figure it all out. Jim was always my fate, but you, you Charlie, are my destiny.”
“Today is two years to the day that I first laid eyes on the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” As her tears escape her eyes, she sniffles. I cup her face and run the pads of my thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away the tears. I want to say so much to her. I want to tell her everything I dream of in life, but she knows all that. I want her to know that I want her to be a permanent part of my life. But instead, I kiss her as passionately as I can, needing to show her how much I love her and how much I care.
I grab the bag and take her to the other side of the main library entrance.
“Where are we going now?” she asks. I can hear the excitement in her voice.
“Do you trust me?”
“Why would I not?” She smiles.
“Just checking.” From the moment I kissed her after the book signing, she never held back, even at the threat to her own heart.
I lift her by the waist and set her at the base of the Truth fountain just north of the library entrance. I pull the ring out of my pocket and kneel in front of her. After a large and rather uncomfortable gulp, I say, “Charlotte Barrow, I was attracted to you the moment I saw you on the subway. I liked you the minute we started talking at the club. But I fell in love with you the day you took a chance and went to my great-aunt’s funeral with me.”
She hops down from the ledge and comes to me. “Stand, please, Charlie. I need you to hold me.”
“But tradition?”
“Screw tradition. Nothing we have ever done has been traditional. Why start now?”
I stand, and she throws herself into my arms. With her face tucked against me, she exclaims, “Yes! Yes, yes, a million yeses!”
I can’t stop the laughter that erupts. “I haven’t asked you yet!”
“I don’t care,” she says, leaning back and grabbing my face. A kiss, two more, and a smile. “I want to marry you. I want to share the rest of my life with you. I want to make babies with you. I want everything with you, but I would be fine with nothing else as long as I have you.”
She’s never been one to desire money. “You’ll have everything you ever need and more, baby. I promise you that.” She’s crying. I kiss her forehead and hug her to me. “Will you marry me, Charlie?” I whisper into her ear, nuzzling in her hair.
She nods against my neck, struggling to speak as she cries. “I will. Thank you.”
I lean back, amused by her answer. “Are you thanking me for asking you to marry me?”
She laughs as she wipes her tears away. “Yes, I guess I am.”
Grinning ear to ear and feeling a bit teary-eyed myself, I slip the ring onto her finger. While shopping, I worried I would buy a ring that she thought was too showy or plain. I needed to find balance. I thanked Jim for the inspiration on this one. Seeing that ring at the auction told me that I could buy a ring that was as classic and beautiful as she was. It wasn’t about being the biggest or the flashiest one out there. It would be a ring she loves, not one to impress others. His loss was definitely my gain, and I’ll be forever grateful for their breakup, which led to her being in my life.
“I love it. It’s perfect,” she says, then kisses me. She’s right. The delicate band of diamonds is perfect on her finger.
We spend the rest of the lunch hour eating, laughing, and loving.
“You have the rest of the day off if you want it, but I know how important that consignment is to you.”
“This is real. What we are, this is life, our life, and it’s the most important thing to me. It’s way more important than some old stuff that will still be there tomorrow.”
When I finish reminiscing, one of the other teachers has arrived to take over the painting class for me, and I walk through the gardens to the office to finish some paperwork. It’s a beautiful day, and it’s times like these that I think of my great-aunt and what an inspiration she was in my life. She would have loved how we spent the money. She would have loved Charlie even more. I wish they could have met. Although both Charlie and Grace have told me never to live in regret, all of those regrets led us to where we are now, and this life makes me smile.