Memories II

|24| • Balcony with a View •

He really didn't stop me, he did the opposite. He encouraged me, he held me close and he made the kiss irresistible. When he pulled away, I let out a soft sigh of disappointment. I loved kissing him so much. And now... now I would get to do that for the rest of my life, and that thought made me smile widely because I couldn't imagine anything better than that.

"Everything okay?" I asked him, because he did look at me a little odd.

"Yes," he confirmed, putting the ring box aside before he moved around again. "It was just getting uncomfortable kneeling," he explained when he was snuggled up to me under the blanket again, his arm wrapped around my waist as he rested his head on my shoulder. "But now I'm comfortable again," he added."

"That's good," I said, snuggling close to him. "So for how long have you been planning this?" I asked him, looking at the ring that was now on my left hand. I loved it.

"Mh, I asked Mum for her opinion at Christmas... and she said - after she told me how happy she was for me - that I could do it somewhere special and I thought about it for a while and then I thought... Miami, Valentine's Day... a little cliché but pretty special," he explained his thoughts to me, gently moving his hand over my body.

"Special like you," I told him with a smile. He really was very special. "You know, I would have said yes anywhere, at any time, but it makes me so happy that you put in so much effort."

"You deserve it all, my love," Brian said softly before he kissed my cheek. "So... do you like the ring? Have you even really looked at it yet?"

"No," I admitted, "No, I haven't." I leaned against him and looked at the ring on my finger. It was beautiful. It was golden, with an intricate pattern along the sides, with many small diamonds placed in it. The main stone at the top was clearly the eyecatcher though, it was embedded in the ring and it all fit together so nicely. I really loved it. "It's so beautiful, Brian. Thank you. I love it. And I love you. And I'm so happy right now."

"Not just you," he said with a big smile. "I can't wait to marry you. I can't believe you actually want to put up with me for the rest of your life."

The way he phrased that made me laugh softly. "There's no one else I'd rather have around me for the rest of my life."

"I am so lucky," he sighed happily.

"So am I," I told him and looked at him with a big smile. "I love you so much, Brian. There are no words for how you make me feel, love doesn't do it justice.."

"I know what you mean," he agreed. "But maybe this is love, and when we thought we were in love before it just wasn't the case."

"Maybe, yeah," I mumbled, nodding a little. "In any case, we are lucky."

"So lucky," Brian agreed, smiling widely at me. "You are so beautiful, Henrie. Sometimes I look at you and I'm at a loss for words because I don't know how one woman can be so gorgeous. I just don't get it, it should be impossible, but here I am, holding you in my arms and you prove it to me each day that it is possible to be as incredibly gorgeous as you. Sometimes it physically hurts, you know? You're just so bloody gorgeous, Henrie," he said softly, gently caressing my cheek with the back of his fingers. "You're so beautiful, and I love you more than I could ever find words for."

"I love you too," I replied quietly before I kissed him, very softly, and slowly. "I think exactly the same about you. I just want to look at you all day but not even that would be enough because you are impossibly handsome. You are so attractive. Honestly, sometimes I really have to hold myself back or else I'd just kiss you there and then... maybe you know the feeling, it's just this urge to kiss you, to feel you.."