Page 36 of What If We Break?
Then finally, I realized a whole other part of his little speech. “You already have a ring?”
Reece’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink while his eyes displayed some form of shock. Guess he didn’t realize he said it either.
He tried to chuckle his way out of the situation, or at least make it a little less awkward or weird. Eventually, he cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah, I got it a few months ago. It’s been burning a hole in my pocket ever since.”
My eyes widened in surprise, my breath getting caught in my lungs with my next sharp inhale.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered, my voice barely reaching him over the noise of the city around us.
Reece’s gaze softened, his hand reaching up to brush away a tear from my cheek. “I wanted it to be special. Iwanted the moment to be perfect when I asked you to spend the rest of your life with me.”
Though half of my heart swelled with happiness, the other half was overcome with guilt and confusion.
I never expected Reece to already have a ring, let alone be planning to propose. All these months, we’d been at each other’s throats and he still wanted to marry me… he still went out and got a ring.
A shaky breath drew from my lungs as I processed everything Reece had just said. A mixture of emotions swirled inside me, leaving me feeling too many things at once. Happiness, for one, but I was also really terrified at the same time.
Suddenly, his hands cupped my face, and his thumbs gently wiped away the tears that continued to fall.
“Things have been pretty difficult between us,” Reece began, his voice soft yet unwavering. “But despite everything, my feelings for you have never changed. You’re my rock, Brooke. And I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life by your side. I want nothing more than to be your husband and love you so endlessly much until our dying days. Cupid would start to think he gave us ten times the normal dose of love.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and tried to ignore all those strangers who stopped in their tracks to stare at us. This was something we should’ve talked about in private, not on a busy street in the middle of Manhattan.
“You know, I even asked your dad for your hand in marriage months ago,” he added, speaking quietly so those nosy strangers couldn’t hear it.
“You did?”
Reece nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Yeah, I did. Your dad was… well, being your dad. He didn’t want to give me his blessing right away just to fuck with me, but eventually, he said he couldn’t think of a better person for you to be with.”
That sure sounded like my father.
I let out a little laugh, feeling a mix of relief and so much love for Reece. Despite our recent struggles, he’d always been there for me. Reece had always been my biggest supporter, no matter what. The fact that he planned to propose and even asked my dad for his blessing while our relationship was going through heavy ups and downs was just another reason for me to love him.
Reece was everything and so much more than I deserved.
Wrapping my arms around Reece, I buried my face in his chest, taking in the familiar scent of his cologne.
As we stood there on the sidewalk of this super busy street, surrounded by curious strangers, and the most annoying city sounds, I felt a sense of peace wash over me.
I turned my gaze up to meet Reece’s eyes, seeing the depth of emotion reflected in them. Bits of fear lingered in his blue eyes, probably because he was scared of the moment I’d finally answer his unspoken question. It was already out in the open, so there was no use saying it again.
“I love you,” I whispered, smiling at him. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too.”
“Oh, thank God,” he said, relief flooding his features as he let out a deep breath. The tension in his body seemed to lift off his shoulders almost immediately.
Without warning or hesitation, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. He held the kiss for a moment, his lips moving softly against mine before slowly pulling away, leaving me breathless and wanting more.
As I looked at him, my heart was doing a million backflips at once.
We were going to get through this, I knew it. Things that felt this good and this right couldn’t have been wrong.
“I don’t have the ring on me right now,” Reece told me. “Otherwise, it’d already be on your finger.” Nonetheless, he took my left hand and spread my fingers apart to catch a glimpse of the heart tattooed on the inside of my ring finger. “This will have to do until we’re back at your place.”
“Reece?” I said softly, feeling the urge to come clean to him. “I’m transferring to St. Trewery. So… if you still want to, we could look for an apartment forustogether?”
Twenty different stages of emotions crossed Reece’s face within three seconds when he realized what I just said. “You’re dropping out of Juilliard?”
I nodded. “I’m starting at St. Trewery next Monday.”
