Book 2: Back to You and I

Chapter 10: Ice Cream and Tears

The water slightly hits my feet giving a fresh feeling. It took a while, but Nathan finally convinced me to leave the house and I couldn't of been any happier. Despite everything that's happened, Nathan has been making sure I'm okay. As soon as he found out the baby was his he has tried to be by my side as much as possible, which I know mustn't be easy, considering he still has a business to run.

I do feel guilty taking up so much of his time, but he keeps telling me it's not an issue. On the other hand, he insists that I move into his house. We've had countless conversations about it. I guess this whole situation is a bit abnormal. We've finally decided to start a relationship again, except we also have a baby on the way. I was hoping we could take things slow because I want to make sure we don't ruin anything, but it's a bit too late to take things slow.

I would like to move into his house and see what happens next, but my fear of ruining things always gets in the way. I'm slowly learning to get over these fears but one step at a time. Right now I'm focusing on getting over my fear of the spotlight. After a few days of constant talks, Nathan has finally convinced me that I shouldn't care about the articles being written. He has promised to try to avoid all of the paparazzi, but I know that he can only do so much.

"Here's your strawberry sundae" Nathan says as he hands me my sundae. We sit off on a more secluded part of the beach and it feels peaceful. "The little girl in front of me at the ice cream shop had to sample every flavor they had in there."

I watch and laugh as Nathan begins to take scoop after scoop of ice cream. I know he was probably reminded of Ailee of when she was little. Back at home there was an ice cream parlor we often went to and although Ailee had been there many times before, she always insisted on sampling the ice cream flavors before deciding on one. The flavors almost never changed, but she had to do this every time she went there.

"If you keep looking at me your ice cream is going to start to melt" Nathan says without even turning to look at me.

Without waiting any longer I begin to eat my sundae and it's honestly so good. I use to like strawberry before, but recently my cravings for it have become stronger.

I go to scoop more ice cream, but when my spoon hits the bottom of the cup I realize I had already finished it. It saddens me a bit but I get over it quickly.

"Lark?"

"Yes?" I say as I stare off into the setting sun. For the first time in a very long time I feel at peace as I watch and hear the ocean move. Something about it always makes me feel better.

"I know we promised to take things slow and this doesn't mean we have to rush into it right away. I want you to know that we can wait another year or two before it happens. But I can't wait off any longer. I love you so much and I regret ever letting you go, but I guess it's what needed to happen for us to end up here. I love how you always try to put others first and how much love you have to give. Most people would see the pregnancy as a possible inconvenience, but when I found out I couldn't help but be happy. I was happy that it was you. I know you've been through a lot, but I want you to know that I'm hopelessly in love with you. I don't even want to imagine a life without you. I know it wasn't planned but will you marry me?"

I stare at Nathan in disbelief as he gets down on one knee and holds out a little box with a diamond ring inside. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes and the sun sets behind him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. But most of all I couldn't believe how perfect everything in this very moment is.

Nathan and I have a long history that I will never forget. After we broke up I felt heartbroken, almost as if I had ripped my own heart out. Getting over him was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. I thought I could force myself to forget about him, but the smallest reminder of him set off an avalanche of feelings. As more time went by the more my feelings came back. It took losing what I had to realize I never stopped loving Nathan. I did love William at some point, but I hadn't realized that it wasn't the same type of love.