My dad hands me off to Nathan, and now I’m in a dream. Jamal is standing behind Nathan, and Lily is behind me. The rest of the guys are all lined up in the front row, each tossing me a thumbs-up. My mom does the same thing from the other side. Nathan’s mom settles for a subdued smile and wave.
Nathan takes my hand, and tingles swirl through me. I look up into his jet black eyes and drown in lavish, luxurious, ardent love.
“Still with me?” he asks with a soft, unsure grin.
I swallow and try to speak through my tears. “You did all of this for me?”
“I’d do anything for you. Do you like it?”
I take a moment to look around again. All the smiling faces. There is no oxygen left in this room, everyone running on emotional fumes. We’re all sobbing messes, and I can’t see straight from joy. I squeeze his hand and meet his gaze again. “I love it. I love you. How long have you been planning this?”
“Since I warned you I was going to propose. I hired a wedding planner the next day. Are you sure you like it? Because if not, we can call it all off right now.”
I search for the best words to adequately express how I feel and come up severely lacking. “Nathan—I…you…and all of this!” I shake my head. “Thank you. I love it all so much.” As I take in Nathan’s eyes, his clean-shaven jaw, his wide shoulders, the sleek black tie knotted at the base of his throat, and his strong hands holding mine so tenderly, a feeling of impatience sweeps over me. “So what now?”
His smile stretches, he nods toward the officiant standing off to the side, and then he looks back at me. “If you’re up for it, we get married.”
I let out a short laugh through my tears. “Yes, please.”
My hand is wrapped in Nathan’s as we walk silently down the carpeted hotel hallway. We’re on the 28th floor, headed to what I have no doubt is the best suite in the whole building. We stop outside the door and Nathan kisses my knuckles. Neither of us can believe this is real. He keeps touching me, kissing me, sliding his hand over my skin at every turn—and I think it’s because he’s trying to convince himself this is real in the same way I am. We’re in a fairy tale. We’re puppet shadows on the wall.
He slides the keycard into the lock, and the light flashes green. His forearm hits the back of my knees as he scoops me up into his arms to carry me over the threshold. My heart is in my throat, and we’re both laughing at the cheesy love that’s been echoing back and forth between us all night. I’ve been calling him husband. He’s been calling me wife. Everyone has cringed. But not us—not tonight.
Nathan carries me inside, and it’s dark. With me still draped in his arms, he reaches for the light switch, but I stop him. The moonlight is spilling in, steeping the room in romance and soothing my nerves.
I swallow, and Nathan looks sharply down at me. His eyes are black, velvet blankets. His gaze wraps me up tight. “Don’t be nervous,” he says, plucking my thoughts right out of my head.
“I am though. I’ve wanted it for too long, and you might be disappointed. I might not be enough.”
His smile is only a hint. A whisper on his mouth. He leans down and nuzzles his face against my neck, five o’clock shadow a murmur of delight. “You will always be enough.”
A trembling sigh falls out of my mouth, and I’m carried to the bed in his strong arms. He stops short and lets me slide down gently until my feet hit the floor. I look up and my breath is strangled. He is perfect. Moonlight casts over his strong jaw and sharp cheekbones, sketching out a profile that should be captured by da Vinci. I rise up onto my toes and kiss his full lips. He responds with patience. It’s so soft and tender. My hip is grasped. I slide my hands under the lapels of his tux and up, up, up his strong chest until they clasp in the soft hair at the nape of his neck.
I’m pulled in tight, pressed into him and grasped as if he’s planning to never release me. I’ll live in his embrace from now on. Our mouths explore. His hand splays out firmly at my back, and the other comes up to my neck. Our lips dance: soft, firm, back and forth.