Lizzie’s wedding was beautiful. It went off without a hitch. No bitch slaps, no darting looks of jealousy, no cutting words. Just a celebration of love, life, and family.
It’s the day after the wedding—Mark’s one day off before he has to audition guitarists tomorrow, and I’m lying across his couch with a glass of wine watching some romantic comedy. He said he had some work to do and that he’d join me for the second half of the movie, but it’s almost over and I have no idea where he is.
My phone buzzes on the table in front of me, so I pick it up. I have a new Snapchat from Mark Ashton. I smile down at my phone as I unlock it and pull open the app.
It’s a picture of Mark. He’s not smiling—instead, he’s smoldering. The word destiny is written in large letters just under his face.
I know what that means, and I don’t even care that the rom com on TV only has about four minutes left in it. I run to the bedroom to grab my shoes then race toward the stairs and head up to the roof.
When I get up there, I’m amazed by what’s before me.
Landscape lights hang across the top of the roof, lighting the space with a romantic glow. I don’t see Mark, but I do see a canvas print propped on an easel right in front of me. It’s a huge picture of the two of us, and I recognize it as the first picture we ever took together. It’s a Snapchat picture with a filter where the two of us have flowers on our heads. I smile at the image, and then I notice an envelope taped to the easel that says Reese on the front of it.
I pull it off and open it, and I find a card inside with Mark’s neat handwriting.
The night we met felt a little like destiny, and every day since then has proven that we were inevitable.
I set the card back down and glance around for Mark, but I don’t see him. I do, however, see another canvas print of our faces propped on another easel to my right, so I head in that direction. The image on this print was taken just yesterday. It’s a candid one the photographer took while we were dancing. I remember Mark had just told me a story about how Ethan once fell out of the top bunk on the bus in the middle of a hookup. I started laughing hysterically at his story, and Mark’s laughing, too. He looks happy and light—lighter than I’ve ever seen him. Even I’m glowing in this one. I open the envelope attached to this easel and read the card.
It’s only ever you. From the moment we met, that was the truth.
A big partition that I’ve never seen before separates me from the other half of the roof. Maybe Mark rented out the space for an upcoming party. I turn around and find another canvas print. It stands as a silhouette against the backdrop of the buildings Mark once used as inspiration for lyrics. I set the card back on the easel then walk toward it. I study the image of us as tears prick behind my eyes.
It’s the picture of us right after we got out of the Yukon in Chicago the morning Mark was released from the hospital. I get why he chose this one—it’s a pivotal image from an important piece of our history. It was the cause of my “leave of absence” from work, but indirectly it’s also the reason why I’m able to travel the country as Penny’s assistant. This moment marked a huge turning point in our relationship. There’s another card filled with Mark’s words.
You allowed me the clean break I didn’t know I needed, and now I can look toward the future with you we both deserve.
When I look up from the card, Mark steps out from behind the tall couch. The moment I see him, butterflies dance in my belly. I’m struck with the notion that whatever’s about to happen will change my life once again.
I set the card down, and we step toward each other until we meet in the middle. He presses a brief kiss to my lips, and then he takes both my hands in his.
He draws in a deep breath then says, “The other day, my sister said that you fixed me. I didn’t know I’d spent my life broken until I met you. I didn’t know I needed fixing until I had to live without you. But she’s right—you fixed me.” The tears that pricked behind my eyes as I looked at the last picture of us spill over onto my cheeks at his words. “I’ll never want for anything as long as you’re by my side, never need anything except your love, never crave anything except your kiss. And that’s why I want you by my side for the rest of my life.”
He gets down on his knee, and everything inside me tingles as nerves tighten my chest. He pulls a small, velvet box out of his pocket.
He shakes his head as his green eyes focus on mine. “Life with me won’t always be easy, but life isn’t easy.” His voice shakes with nerves. I’ve never seen him this riddled with anxiety, and I want to pull him up into my arms to comfort him. “You’re the only person in the world I want to face this life with.” He flips open the box with shaking hands, and I gasp at the ring inside. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I say, nodding as tears freefall down my face. “Of course I will.”
As if the nerves fly out of him, he grins with all the boyish charm and charisma I’m used to seeing from him as he slides the ring on my finger. My hand feels heavy as he stands and I fling my arms around him. His mouth crashes down to mine, and that’s when I hear a loud crack in the sky.
Fireworks light up the Chicago skyline just as the instrumental music I recognize as the intro to “A Little Like Destiny” starts playing. I pull away from his mouth to see the fireworks, and that’s when I also realize that the music I hear isn’t coming from speakers. Ethan, Steve, and James are all standing on the roof and the partition that separated us from them is gone. They’re playing our song as the fireworks boom and burst into millions of twinkling sparkles and cascades of glittering showers above us. Mark sings the words to me softly as he holds me and we dance on the rooftop toward our future.