Naked. Naked is what he wants me to be.
We spend the day on the beach, reading and napping, cooling down in the sea. Nate has made a Baby Hawkins–sized hole in the sand, the perfect size to fit my bump in, and for the first time in months, I’m able to sleep on my stomach.Bliss.
“Stas, you nearly ready?”
“Stop rushing me!”
I hear him chuckle in the living room. “Well, can you at least speed it up a little? We have a reservation.”
Having had no choice but to wash all the salt water out of my hair, I made the critical post-shower error of sitting on the bed in my towel, with a bag of barbecue Lays and my phone. I’m now up to date with what everyone I’ve ever followed is doing, but I unfortunately have no clothes on and damp, frizzy hair.
Dragging my hair back into a sleek ponytail, I pull on a sundress, dab a small amount of highlighter around various points of my face, and add some mascara. The beauty of being on vacation is I can pretend this is the look I was going for, and nobody can tell me otherwise.
When I finally emerge from the bedroom, Nate is watching the Grand Prix with a beer. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”
His mouth opens and his head turns to look at me in disbelief. “I’m waiting foryou! I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”
“That feels like an exaggeration,” I mutter, putting my phone in my purse. “Should we head out?”
Standing, he guzzles the rest of his beer, still shaking his head and cursing me under his breath. “Gotta check something, I’ll meet you outside.”
“Hurry up, Nathan.” I fight to keep the smirk from my face. “We have a reservation.”
His eyes widen, then snap shut as he takes a deep breath. “I know. I’ve been telling you that.”
The walk to the restaurant is a short one, and they lead us through the main dining area and out the back to a private beach area. Rose petals have been used to create a pathway to a lone table on the beach.
Nathan helps me tuck in my chair, before moving to sit opposite me. “I’m going to eat everything on the menu,” I warn him. “It isn’t going to be attractive.”
“Everything you do is attractive.”
“We’ll see about that…”
I don’t quite manage everything on the menu, but I make a significant dent in my meal, Nate’s meal, and the bread basket. I sit staring at him while he sips on his wine and people watches. He’s oddly quiet tonight, but sometimes he’s like this in his downtime. Being surrounded by noise and chaos all the time at work is tiring for him, and some of the most special times between us involve us silently being in each other’s company.
Sensing my eyes on him, his head turns toward me, eyes locking with mine, taking my breath away. The tip of his nose is pink from today’s sun, and his normally trimmed short stubble has grown longer. Every time I look at him my pulse soars and my heart hammers in my chest, and when I think I’ve reached maximum capacity for how much I love him, something proves me wrong.
Falling in love with Nathan Hawkins was not something I could have planned.
No planner, iPad, or freaking sticker chart could have prepared me for my future.
My imagination isn’t capable of dreaming up this level of happiness.
“You’re staring at me with that goofy look you do when you’re thinking too hard.”
Rolling my eyes, I chuckle at his rude interruption to my inner monologue. “I’m thinking about how much I love you.”
“That’s funny. I was thinking about you too.”
Pushing his chair back, he stands from our table, and I watch him curiously. “What’re you do—” He sinks one knee into the sand beside me. “Oh my God.”
Reaching into his pocket, my heart slows down and a lump—big, but not as big as the diamond being held out in front of me—forms in my throat. BabyHis having a rave in my stomach, and tears preemptively line my eyes.
“Anastasia, you are the best thing to ever happen to me, and to call you the love of my life does not do justice to how much I love you. My existence doesn’t make sense without you by my side. For the rest of our lives, in the next life, in every alternate reality, I’ll be yours if you’ll have me. You are my best friend, my greatest gift, and Mila—and Bunny—are so blessed to have you as their mom.”
Okay, here are the tears.
“Will you marry me?”
Nodding frantically, I launch myself at him, nearly knocking him over into the sand. “Yes, yes, yes!” My hands shake as he slides the ring onto my finger, immediately taking my face between his hands and kissing the life out of me.
“Anastasia Hawkins. Wow. And here I was thinking this was just a casual, no commitment, no jealousy thing.”
He snorts, pressing his lips against mine one more time. “Shut up, Anastasia.