Chapter Eighteen
Rich
“I can’t believe you’re deserting me again,” Nathan whined teasingly, while pulling me in for a kiss. “I feel like a military wife.”
“I know, but it’s only for two months, then you’ll be flying out to hang out with me in Paris anyway. You could’ve come on the whole tour with me if you wanted!”
“I know, but I have work. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
“Yeah, yeah, I respect that, but I’ll still miss you. Two months is ages. By then, if you’re lucky we’ll have a new baby to hang around with too.”
“Urgh.” Nathan laughed and rolled his eyes. “Rather Liam and Amy than me. Although at least the press is only interested in them now. I haven’t seen anything in the news about any of the rest of you for ages now.”
There had been a stint where the onus was only on us, but thankfully that time was long behind us. It had caused us both to suffer more than enough unnecessary stress. Luckily by that point we’d decided to stick together, so there wasn’t a damn thing the papers could say to pull us apart. We had a pact, one solidified by love.
“Oh you’ll change your mind as soon as you see the bundle of joy. Your heart will swell and you’ll be begging me to have one with you.”
“Hmmm, we’ll see about that.” His hand fell on his hip and he raised his eyebrow at me as I delved into a potential future we hadn’t ever discussed. He didn’t look mad though, which meant maybe one day we could have kids running around our feet.
I could dream anyway!
I pressed my lips hard against his, half to shut him up and half because I wanted to commit as much of him to memory as possible before I was forced to leave him for two whole months. It was always hard to go and leave Nathan behind, but this time it was even worse. It was a worldwide tour which took me too far away from him for too long, and ever since we’d bought our new home together, we spent so much time together that the hole he’d leave behind would be massive.
Nathan pulled back and stared at me, his eyes fixed firmly on mine, and for a moment I found myself transported back to a time when he was only a stranger, a man in the crowd who I found attractive. I loved his eyes, his honest open face, that was what had drawn me to him in the first place. If I’d known then that he was about to become the most important person in my life then things would’ve all happened in such a different way.
“Marry me,” I blurted out without thinking, though I didn’t regret the words as soon as they were free from my mouth. We were going to be together forever more, what did it matter if the proposal came a little earlier than expected?
“Oh, just like that, is it?” Nathan’s eyes glinted cheekily. “Marry me? No ring, no big romantic gesture, you’re not even going to get on one knee?”
“Oh, shut it, will you?” I bumped my hip against his and smirked. “It wasn’t exactly a planned statement, but I still want it to be true.”
“You want me to be Mr. Gold? Hmmm…” He tapped his chin, pretending to think it through. “I suppose. I mean, I don’t see why not.”
I grabbed him and held tightly onto his body, flooding myself with that wonderful sense of him he was giving me. “I’ll marry you when we get home, or maybe while we’re away if you’re lucky. I’ve always fancied the idea of eloping.”
“Oh God, get going will you.” Nathan pushed me out the door and chuckled. “I thought I was going to miss you but now you’re going all bridezilla on me. I need a break.”
“You say that now, but you’ll be the one calling me in a moment.”
“Well, after I call Michelle. You just know she’s going to be wedding planning for two whole months now.”
I laughed loudly, knowing exactly what he was talking about. I loved Michelle, she was an awesome friend for Nathan, and from what I understood part of the reason we ended up together, but if she was about to start wedding planning then I wanted no part of that.
“Right, well I love you, and uhm… good luck with that. If Michelle is going to start organizing this wedding, then please tell her I’m not quite the millionaire she seems to think I am.”
“I can’t reel her in.” He shrugged and smirked, his cell phone already clutched between his finger ready to speak to her. “But I’ll do my best.”
“I’ll miss you. I love you.”
I forced my feet down the garden path and made myself get into the car which was going to take me to the airport. It was getting increasingly harder to leave, to keep up with the demanding lifestyle that Morton demanded, but if Liam could leave his very pregnant wife, then I could do the same.
We could support each other.
The car sped along, taking me further and further away from my home, but also toward a new adventure. I still adored everything I had really, even if I did moan about it a little. I would be an idiot not to. I got to make music, to play to loud, excitable crowds, to see the world, and to even make a difference to people. There weren’t many people who could say that! And now I had it even better, because I could return home to the real life I’d always wanted. The loneliness didn’t feel quite so dramatic when I had someone so incredible waiting for me at home.
Now, I finally had it all.
‘Okay, I admit it. It’s me that can’t keep away from you for five minutes! Xxx’
I smirked to myself as I fired off the text, imagining how loudly Nathan would laugh as he read it.
‘I hate to tell you this, but Michelle has already spent ten million on the wedding xxx’
At least now with all the technology available to us, we could keep this thing alive no matter what, and now that we were getting married that would only solidify the incredible bond we already had. Sure, it might have been a spur of the moment comment but I was sticking to it.
Nathan Riggs would be my husband and I couldn’t wait for it.
‘Oh, go on then, tell her to spend what she wants. As long as I get you out of it I don’t mind xx’
‘I love you, forever and always xx’
How could life get any more perfect than that? Now my life was where I needed it to be.
*fin*
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