Sweet Caroline

#71 Insanity never felt so good

I take a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. This is insane. I love him, but we only just agreed to move in together. He's got a daughter. I'm still walking on thin ice at work. I've only seen his mother once. There are just so many reasons why marriage shouldn't even be on our minds yet. This is crazy. He can't be serious.

"Don't freak out on me," Nathan says when I remain silent. "I'm not saying now, obviously. I just think it will be much more fun and much more us if we don't do this the traditional way. Keep the box in your nightstand and slip on the ring when you want to be engaged to me. Think of how much fun it'll be when I realize you're wearing it."

"Yes," I breathe. "Okay."

He nods, but his smile is still on the nervous side. "Okay. Hold onto it then."

"No," I say, shaking my head. "That's not what I mean." With trembling hands, I open the box again and take out the ring, slipping it onto my finger. "Yes."

"Yes?" Nathan asks, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turn white.

"Yes," I breathe. "Let's do it."

Without warning, Nathan veers the car off the road and parks it in the grass. The moment the car stops moving, he reaches over to kiss me. I moan as his tongue slips into my mouth, enjoying how hungry his lips are against mine.

"Gross!" Rose complains from the backseat. She must have woken up from Nathan's abrupt parking job. "Ew, daddy!"

We break apart, grinning like maniacs. I look down at the ring on my finger, still unable to believe that this is really happening.

"Sure?" Nathan asks, his eyes intent on my face.

"Never been so sure about anything," I reply, meeting his gaze. "You?"

He responds by moving his attention to Rose. "Sweety, we've got some news. Caroline and I are getting married."

Rose scrunches up her nose, looking at him with a frown. "Like... with a white dress? Like in the movies?" she asks.

"Yes," he confirms. "Just like the movies."

Rose's eyes gleam. "Will there be one of those really tall cakes?"

"You can even pick out the cake," he promises. "And it can be five stories tall for all I care."

"Okay." Rose nods. "That's pretty cool. Can I also help pick out the dress?"

Nathan looks at me for an answer. I'm still grinning from ear to ear. "Yes," I tell Rose. "You can definitely help me pick out a dress. And since you'll be our flower girl, you can pick out a dress for yourself as well."

"Can it be pink?" she asks, getting more excited the more we talk about this. "And orange?"

Nathan and I both laugh at that. "Sure," I say, knowing that Nathan will never be able to say no to his daughter when she wants something. "It can be any color you want. It can even have glitter on it."

"Sweet!" she exclaims. "When is the wedding?"

Nathan and I lock eyes, not sure about this part. I know for a fact that I'm not a very patient person. Now that I've said yes, I don't want to spend an entire year planning this thing.

"This summer?" Nathan asks.

I nod. "Backyard?"

He smiles, squeezing my hand. "Small ceremony, friends and family only."

"Yes," I agree. "That sounds perfect."

And like that, we planned our wedding.

***