“Like I said, it’s my birthday. I get what I want.”
We arrive at Nathan’s parents’ a little late and a touch disheveled. He wraps an arm around my waist and guides me up the walk and I can’t help but smile to myself. A year ago, I was shocked by the simple elegance of the home, then utterly embarrassed to be the only one who dressed up for the evening. I couldn’t stand the thought of touching the man beside me and now, I can’t stand the thought of not touching him.
A lot can change in a year.
Nathan pulls the door open for me and we step through the foyer to find his family waiting. Everyone’s in red. Dresses, ties, shoes, earrings, bracelets, jewelry. They’re dressed to kill, with me in my simple black dress. Even Mom is wearing red, standing with Collin and Harlow West, her new best friends, and her boyfriend, John McFadden, Mr. Silverfox from the hallway at Shady Cove.
“I thought we’d mix it up this year,” Nathan whispers. “Especially after I was such a dick last year.”
Before I can reply, we’re surrounded by his family. Everyone’s talking at once, wishing Nathan happy birthday and passing out hugs like candy.
Nathan’s cousin Nick thumps him on the back, with his latest girlfriend Amanda waiting to give a hug of her own. She’s sweet and funny, but Nick’s track record suggests it’s best not to get attached.
Nicholas Hutton is not the man he was.
Dark circles stand out under his eyes and his smile seems forced. While his body is mostly healed, his spirit seems muted. He’s never complained. He’s never said much of anything really, other than to insist he’s fine and tell us to stop worrying. After his medical discharge, Nick’s been untethered and unsure. Nathan’s sure he’ll find his way again, but I can’t help but think of my dad.
“Another year older,” Nick says with a wry twist of his lips.
“And wiser.” Nathan waggles his eyebrows.
“Let’s not put the cart before the horse on that one.” Nick gives a weak smile then disappears with Amanda in search of a drink.
“I wish you’d gotten to know him better before the accident,” Nathan says to me once he’s out of earshot.
Garrett crosses his arms over his chest. “I keep hoping Amanda will help get him back on track.”
“And Tillie before her, and Aisya before her.” Micah sighs, hands in pockets, shoulders slumped.
Angela stares after Nick, shaking her head with a long, sad smile. “I was shocked when he started dating anyone who wasn’t your sister.” She glances at her husband, obviously distraught.
“I don’t know why everyone thought they’d end up together.” Garrett huffs an exasperated laugh. “Charlie lives across the country.”
“So did you when we first met.” Angela gives him a look that says, ‘so there.’
“Well, he’s seeing someone. She’s seeing someone. And at the rate he’s going through girlfriends, I think it’s time everyone stops being surprised they’re not seeing each other and be happy Charlie dodged a Nick-shaped bullet. I love the guy. I do. But he needs to get his shit together before he’s good enough for my little sister.”
We talk. We eat. We sing happy birthday and laugh until we cry when they bring out a cake with so many candles the smoke alarm goes off. Once that hubbub dies down, Nathan stands and clears his throat.
“So many of you asked what I wanted for my birthday this year,” he begins. “And I replied the way I always do. I have everything I could ever want,” he says, and half the crowd recites the words with him.
“I have a wonderful family and a job that gives me purpose, a beautiful girlfriend.” Nathan looks at me with those soulful eyes. A dreamy sigh floats through those listening with a quiet “Awww…” coming from my mother.
“This year, though?” Nathan continues. “I find myself in the strange position of wanting something I don’t have.” He smiles softly at me with so much love and respect on his face, tears unexpectedly well in my eyes. “A wife. A family of my own. A future with the love of my life bringing out the best in me day after day. At Micah’s wedding, I was sure love was a trap and I’d never be stupid enough to get married. But now, after you, that’s the only thing I want in the world.”
Gasps sound around the room and somewhere, Micah whispers, “I knew it!”
I place a hand to my heart as Nathan kneels beside me.
“Mina,” he says in a quiet voice, just for me. “Will you marry me?”
In his hand is a black box, opened to show an exquisite ring, simple yet dazzling, shimmering spectacularly in the light.
Tears well in my eyes and I glance up to see my mother grinning through tears of her own. Nathan’s dad wraps an arm around his wife’s shoulders and pulls her close, both smiling proudly.
I slide out of my chair and kneel beside Nathan, nodding as I throw my arms around him and nuzzle into his neck. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” I whisper, “but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to earn it.”
“Is that a yes?”
I nod into his shoulder and then he’s sliding the ring onto my finger and kissing me while his family claps and cheers.
The first time Nathan kissed me, it was like my favorite time of day, gentle and unassuming, but filled with expectation and the promise of something wonderful. I didn’t want to like it as much as I did.
The second time he kissed me, it was inevitable. We were drawn to each other like magnets, incapable of ignoring the pull. It broke the definition of what we were and as much as I loved it, it left me confused.
Today, his kiss is sunshine after a hurricane. The first cool breeze on a humid August evening. It’s sweet and welcome and something I never knew I needed but don’t want to live without.
Just like him.
After all that’s happened between us, there’s one thing I know for sure:
I’ll never stop loving Nathan West.
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