“It’s a bit different,” he says quietly at my side. “The place was bought a while ago. I asked the management to make it look like it did our first night.”
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper.
“Now… where were we? Here, right?” Carter walks us toward the bar counter. He leans against it, eyes serious on mine. There’s something vulnerable in them. He’s nervous, I realize.
Sweet Jesus.
“Yes,” I say. “I think this is where we were. I was… standing like this.”
“Asking the bartender for water.”
I nod and look around. “Are we really alone in here?”
“Yes,” he says. “Though I can’t tell you the staff room is empty.”
I give a hoarse chuckle. “Wow.”
“You were nervous back then,” he says quietly. “Are you nervous now?”
“Yes. A little. There are no peanuts.”
His lips curve into a small smile. The flickering candlelight sets off the auburn notes in his hair. “No, I forgot that detail.”
I shake my head. “Not necessary.”
“I’ll tell you a secret. I’m nervous too.”
“Oh.”
“Audrey,” he says.
I take a deep breath. “Yes?”
“Meeting you here was the greatest happenstance in my life. I can’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t gone to this bar that night, over two years ago.”
“Me neither,” I whisper.
He smiles, a brief tug of his lips. “When we came here the second time, it was on our first proper date. Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“You’d said yes to me. I was ecstatic, and oddly… grateful. That you’d take the risk you did. We worked together and you didn’t entirely trust me. I wanted to prove your courage right.”
“You did, and you have. These two years have been the best in my life,” I say. He doesn’t seem to mind me interrupting his speech. Nerves make it hard to talk, but this is important. Important that he knows.
Carter reaches for my hand. His skin is warm. “You are the greatest thing in my life, kid. I can’t imagine living without you. So here, in the place where we first met…”
He drops down to one knee. Time slows down. I watch his open expression, the hand reaching into his pocket. The glittering stone on a platinum band. “Audrey Ford,” he says. “I love you more than I ever thought possible. Will you marry me?”
Tears make it hard to see, but I nod. “Yes. Yes, Carter, of course. Oh my God.”
He laughs and wraps his arms around me. I hold on tight as he spins me around, the bar becoming blurry. The others had known. He’d planned this, coordinated with the staff, but kept it small and intimate. Just the two of us.
And now it always will be.
