Chapter 27

Bonnie

I heard Joe opening the front door and greeting Nash outside the living room, and I straightened on the couch. I’d nearly dozed off, reading and waiting for Nash to return. As his footsteps approached the living room, I could feel my heart racing. I couldn’t believe I was still so excited to see him after just a few hours apart. When was it going to sink in, that Nash was my boyfriend, that we were living together now?

He opened the door, and strode straight toward me. I had barely gotten a chance to sit up but Nash was at my side, pulling me into his arms. Our lips fused together in a kiss, like we were still long-lost lovers, meeting after decades of separation. His hands found my nape and he pinned me to him, propping me up like a doll against his body.

When I placed the palm of my hand on his chest, I could feel it throbbing.

“How was your day?” I asked, pulling away from him. When I looked into Nash’s eyes, they looked narrow and dark. He was anxious and nervous. I sighed, expecting a torrent of rage spurting out of him any moment now. The visit to his father couldn’t have gone well.

“It was eventful,” Nash said, releasing me so that I fell back down on the couch with a thump.

He looked handsome in his pinstriped suit, his tie loosened at his neck. His hair looked disheveled like he had been running his hands through it all day. His jaws were clenched, and they looked sharp and rugged. He was standing in front of me with his legs spread apart, concentrating on my face like he was trying to draw some energy from it.

I still didn’t want to broach the subject. “I met Nell for lunch today and she said that she’s bought us tickets to Ibiza for next month,” I said, changing the topic.

Nash’s eyes shot about the room nervously, I was expecting to him to burst into anger any moment now. God! What had his father said this time?

“Oh yeah?” he said, trying to force a tone of naturalness to his voice. I knew him too well by now to know to believe it. “Just the two of you? For how long?”

“Ten days. We haven’t gone away for so long, and now that I’m living at the other end of the city, I think she feels like we don’t see each other enough,” I replied.

“That’ll be nice. You need to get away, catch a break from all this,” he said, his voice finally softening.

Looking up at his face, I wrapped my arms adoringly around his slim chiseled waist. He felt warm to the touch, but now that I was close to him again, I could see that his cheeks were flushed.

“I don’t need a break from you, Nash. That’s not why I’m going away with her,” I said softly and our eyes met.

Nash nodded and remained silent, allowing his hands to rest on my shoulders for a while.

We were staring at each other, like really staring, just silently without a word. And it felt like we could keep doing that for ages.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, breaking the silence after what felt like at least ten minutes.

Nash drew in his breath and shook his head. “About my visit to Father? No, I don’t,” he said, pushing me slightly away from him.

My brows furrowed immediately, and I scrunched my face at him. “Nash, I think we should talk about it. You need to get it out of your system. You look wrecked,” I said, a hint of concern coloring my voice now.

Nash shook his head again and walked over to stand in front of the fireplace.

“I’m not wrecked because of him. I’m nervous about something else,” he said, pushing his hands into his pocket.

I crossed my arms over my breasts as I faced him, my brows still furrowed.

“You’re nervous? Nash Preston, nervous?” I said with a laugh, but only a soft smile graced the sides of his lips. He hadn’t found it funny. Shit, he was really nervous! Something terrible had happened.

“Yeah, I always get nervous when I do something for the first time, I’m only human,” he said, and I was shaking my head in confusion.

“What have you done, Nash?” I asked, my terror rising now. I tried to think of all the things I thought Nash was capable of doing. Had he abused his father? Smashed a flower vase? Destroyed one of his father’s prized family portraits? Nash’s calm level headedness dictated that one of those acts would be considered by him to be immensely violent.

“I haven’t done anything yet,” he said, interrupting my thoughts.

I noticed how the look in his eyes was changing now. He didn’t look as nervous anymore, instead he was extracting a hand out of his pocket. And then he was kneeling on one knee. And on one open palm lay a blue velvet box. Still unopened.

“Bonnie Veronica Calhoun,” he said and stupidly, the first thought in my head was; when did I tell him my middle name? I wasn’t thinking straight. My hands flew to my mouth, and not a word came out.

“Will you do me the honor of marrying me? I know I don’t deserve you, but you will make me the happiest man alive,” he continued.

Even before he had completed the sentence, I had hurled myself at him. I was bent forward kissing him, my hands weaving through his hair. I had never been happier.

“Yes, of course, I will! Yes, I will,” I gushed, red in the face and hot tears pricking the back of my eyelids.

Nash stood up, grabbing my chin and pulling it to him so we could kiss.

“How long have you been carrying this around in your pocket?” I asked when I pulled away from him, gasping for air.

Nash popped the box open to reveal a teardrop-shaped pink diamond ring, bigger than any stone I had ever seen. “Not long. I didn’t second guess this decision, Bonnie. The right time to ask you is when I thought of it. Which was right now,” he said, as he slipped the ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly, glittering in the dim light of the living room.

“You just bought the ring?” I asked, laughing uncontrollably. This was actually happening, the man who I always thought was out of reach, out of bounds, had just asked me to marry him. I had spent all my college years, and the years after, judging him and judging myself. I should have followed my heart from the start; I should have known that Nash Preston was always the man for me.

“No, it’s my mother’s. It’s been passed down in my family for four generations. I had it in my study, I picked it up before I came in here,” Nash was laughing. The nervousness in his gaze had gone now; he looked like he felt he was finally free.

I stared down at the ring, which sparkled as I moved my finger. When I looked up at his face, Nash was smiling again.

“Before she died, she told me to give it to a girl who Father disapproved of. She knew him better than anyone else,” he said, placing his hands on my waist. Nash kissed me again, tenderly on my lips and then my cheeks.

“So, when Father made it clear to me today that he disapproved of you, I knew it was a sign. I knew it was now or never, and I had finally found the woman I was supposed to spend my life with,” he continued after he was done kissing me. When our gazes locked again, we both knew what was going to happen next. Nash was already unbuttoning his shirt.