Page 445 of The Doctors Will See You Now

I reached up and ran my fingers along the supple line of Charlotte’s jaw to turn her face back to me.

“Listen, Char.”

She huffed, knocking my hand off her jaw as she crossed her arms over her chest and lifted an eyebrow. “Fine.”

I bit my lip to stop from smiling, a reaction I didn’t think would go over very well, and moved on with my point.

“I made what I thought were rational choices. Black and white. But I didn’t consider the sickness I’d feel over the loss of you, or the absolute shitty troll of an ornery doctor I’d leave for my patients, or the depressed father I’d have left to offer my daughter.”

She shook her head as tears threatened. I moved in closer, but she shifted back, so I stopped. “We barely even knew each other,” she whispered, and my whole body revolted.

“I knew you. I know you. I know your hideous laugh and the best ways to get it, and the smell of your shampoo on my pillow. I know your playful spirit and professional shit-talking, and I know I’ll never be as good as you at trivia—and you’re awful. And I know you selflessly take the weight of your mistakes on your shoulders, keeping all the blame for yourself even if it isn’t deserved.”

Her jaw turned rigid as she fought the shake of her lips.

“And I know Winnie Winslow still misses you, after twelve years of silence and a bad break that should have ended it all. I know she doesn’t blame you for your history, and I know she couldn’t have handpicked someone better to add to our daughter’s life if she’d tried.”

“Nick…”

“And I know I love you.”

Digging into the depths of my chest pocket, my whole body tightened as my fingers met the velveteen fabric of the box.

I took only one solid breath, just long enough to see Charlotte’s body melt at my words, before taking it out and resting it on the table in front of me.

Several flashes lit the darkened ambiance of La Porro as the general public documented our very private moment. I only hoped the answer would save me at least the second half of the night’s embarrassment.

“Tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

“It’s not a tiny version of Trivial Pursuit, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I teased with the levity of a bucket of lead. My comedic timing was severely compromised by my position on the precipice of the rest of my life, it seemed.

Charlotte shook her head slowly, and as the possibility of her saying no burned through me, I took the moment to memorize her face. Mysterious and teasing, her eyes were unlike any I’d ever encountered. I didn’t understand how they could feel so dark but hold all the light in the world at the same time. Her lips so perfect and peachy, right now in the tiniest of scowls, were normally the gateway for a loving and open smile that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

I wanted to swim in her laugh and touch my tongue to her one minutely imperfect tooth, and I wanted to do it forever.

I watched intently as she closed her mouth and flattened the intense wrinkle in between her eyes. One shaky hand touched the top of the table lightly, skimming the surface of the white tablecloth in a zigzag pattern for what felt like an eternity until it finally skimmed the surface of the ring box.

She opened it so quickly, I was caught off guard. After the snail’s pace she’d taken before, I’d expected to be there for another thirty minutes before she worked up the nerve.

Her eyes glossed over, and I couldn’t help but explain.

It was crazy. Me. Taciturn and concise on an everyday basis, tonight, I couldn’t seem to shut up.

“It was my grandmother’s. I always thought it was a battle—head versus heart.”

I moved forward, scooting the chair out of the way and getting down on one knee, and gently brushed her hand to the side to pluck the ring from its spot. Her sea-blue eyes followed me the whole way. “But it’s not. Life’s about both. You use your head to protect the ones in your heart. Nothing else matters.”

“I’m sorry,” Charlotte started.

My stomach dropped.

“But that’s the sappiest fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” Her voice was dry with teasing and hearty with love, and I just about fell over as she took the ring from my fingers and slid it on her own.

“Answer this trivia for me,” she said. “What’s a three-letter word for I’d like to spend the rest of my life with you?”

“In this case?” I smiled. “I think you mean yes.”

Life was strange. Over a week ago, I’d been single, and if I was being honest, a complete sad sack. I hadn’t been able to get past my breakup with Nick. Every cell inside of my body had been screaming it was the most wrong thing that had ever happened.