I grinned. That hair. It was all messy this morning, as usual, and it needed a trim—a real trim, at a salon. But every time I looked at it, I remembered how wrong I’d been about so many things, and how good life’s surprises could be. I ran my hands through it. “No, you’re not what I had in mind. You’re so much better.”
He kissed me softly, sending a shiver through my body. “Good.” His brow dipped slightly. “I didn’t get you a ring. But I will.”
“That’s OK. You can surprise me with it another time.” I grinned up at him, tugging on his ear. “You made me like surprises.”
“You made me like forever.”
“You’re not scared of it anymore?”
He shook his head. “You know what? Lately I’ve been thinking that the only scary thing about forever is imagining one without you in it.”
“I’m in it,” I told him. “I promise.” His handsome face hovered above mine, and it made my stomach turn cartwheels. I’ll get to wake up next to him every morning for the rest of my life! It was enough to bring tears to my eyes. “I still can’t believe it, Lucas. I thought you never wanted to get married.”
“I’ve learned not to say never where you’re concerned.”
“About… anything?” I searched his eyes, hoping he would realize what I meant. They were clear and bright and full of understanding.
“About anything.”
Happiness flooded me, making my toes wiggle. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He lowered his head to kiss me again but pulled back abruptly. “Hey. Do we have to have one of those big weddings? With elephants and a marching band and a Papal blessing?” When I burst out laughing, he sat back. “I’m serious. We don’t, do we?”
I propped myself onto my elbows and thought for a second. “You know what? No. We don’t. I don’t care if we just elope and there’s no one there but you and me and someone remotely official.”
“Really?”
“Really. Last year, when I planned that huge fiasco wedding to Tucker, it was all about what things looked like—the dress, the flowers, the venue. I was so distracted by all of it that I was blind to the fact that we didn’t love each other the way we should. It was a show. A beautiful show, granted, but still a show. It was for other people.” Sitting up all the way, I gestured between us. “This is real. Our wedding will be for us. That’s all I care about.”
“You say that now, but won’t you want your friends there? Your parents?”
I chewed my lip. “Hmm. Maybe you’re right. I think Coco and Erin would murder me if I married you in secret. After all, they’re the ones who insisted I go to Paris.”
Lucas smiled. “When I close my eyes, I can still see you storming into that bar in Paris, mad as hell, but more beautiful than anyone I’d ever seen.”
“I was mad. And you were so annoying.”
He smiled, reaching for me and hauling me across his lap. “But you stayed.”
I looped my arms around his neck. “I did. Good thing.” He kissed me again, Paris on both our minds, and suddenly I had an idea. “Lucas,” I said, my lips still on his, “I just thought of something.”
“Me too. What a coincidence.” His hand stole to one breast and kneaded it gently.
“No, not that. I mean, yes that, but just a minute. Can we get married in Provence? At the villa?”
He looked surprised. “You want to get married in France?”
“When we were there, I had this vision in my head…I saw it all so clearly. We’d get married outside near the gardens or maybe the orchard, and have a big fun party afterward, dinner on the patio or even by the pool. It would be so beautiful.”
Lucas scratched his head. “I’m sure the Count and Henry would love that. But do you really want to plan a wedding thousands of miles away? Might be hard, and there may be some legal stuff to get around. Plus getting everyone there, organizing it all from here…seems like a lot of shit to deal with. And we have the bar opening up.”
“I’m a wedding planner! I get off on this shit!” I kissed him hard. “Please. Say we can. A small wedding, I promise.”
“Just promise me I won’t have to do anything but show up, and you’ll be there wanting to marry me.”
“I will.” With my heart racing madly, I tightened my hold on his neck and buried my face in his neck. “Thank you.” A million happy thoughts raced through my head. We’re engaged. We’re getting married in Provence. I have to tell the girls. I have to make plans. Dear God, the lists I would need to make—the glorious f**king lists!
Clinging to him, I pressed my lips to his and thanked my lucky stars that I hadn’t been granted every wish I’d made in the past. How wrong any other life but this would have been for me. Lucas was everything I hadn’t dreamed I needed—he wasn’t the guy who planned everything out, envisioning the house and kids and dog before he was ready for it. But he knew what those things meant to me, and still he’d asked me to spend forever with him.
We’d know when the time was right. I wouldn’t set any deadlines, Lucas would never say never, and somewhere in the middle was our perfect life.
The kiss grew deeper and Lucas slid me onto my back, lowering his body over mine, and I cleared my mind of everything but him, here and now.