I woke up the next morning feeling a lot better than I had the day before. My headache was gone and my back no longer hurt. The scrapes I had were small and the slight redness was the only thing left. My neck looked bad, the bruising something that I would have to face for days before it faded away, but at least I could move without pain.
True to my word, when we woke up this morning, I had my dad contact a realtor. He didn’t question my decision, and I had a feeling that he was proud of the choice I had made.
I look down at the huge diamond on my hand and smile. Leave it to Nate to not even ask, but to slide the ring on and not mention it. He’s crazy, but I love him for it.
“Hey, Nate,” I call over to him. He turns, looking at me from the kitchen as I stay sitting on the couch, curled in the softest blanket I’ve ever felt. “Just in case our kids ask one day, I said yes.”
He tips his head to the side and looks at me as if I’m the crazy one. I hold my hand up and enjoy the hell out of seeing his face get soft when he looks at the engagement ring on my hand.
“But just out of curiosity, were you even going to ask me?”
He pauses in his dinner preparations and leans both hands down on the island. “There was no doubt in my mind, Ember, so I figured asking was just a formality. I’m sure I could have thought of something romantic, spent an hour after trying to dry your tears when you were overcome with happiness, and then taken you home and fucked you until you passed out with nothing but bliss in your eyes. But I didn’t want to see you cry any kind of tears, so I went with my gut and just took what’s mine.”
I laugh, the sound making him smile. “I love you, you crazy man.”
“I know; I’m easy to love.”
“I wouldn’t have cried for an hour,” I add a few minutes later.
He looks up from his chopping with a face that tells me he knows I’m lying through my teeth, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “You’re right, baby. It would have probably been more like two.”
I open my mouth to respond but stop when the doorbell sounds, waving him off and standing from the couch.
My parents come in and greet me with a hug, followed by Nate’s.
“How are you, honey?” Izzy asks after we move to sit around the kitchen table.
“I really am okay. It happened and it sucked, but I have to move on.”
Nate gives me a hard look
“Have the police found that man yet?” I look over at my mom and shrug.
“They won’t be bringing him in.”
Everyone looks over at Axel after his comment, and I feel a little spark of worry.
“And why the hell not?” His wife gasps.
I look over at Nate, terrified for what this might mean, and wait for him to take the lead, but he isn’t looking at me.
“He died last night. Lost control of his car and hit a tree head-on,” Axel answers.
“Good riddance,” my mom mumbles.
“I hope he suffered,” Izzy adds, nodding at her.
“Oh, I’m sure he did since his engine caught fire. From what the ME says, he didn’t die until after that.” Axel finishes talking, and I can see from his face that he’s happy that Levi didn’t die instantly.
I move my attention to Nate. He’s stopped his hands completely, hovering over the cutting board. I would have missed it had I not been looking at him, but he struggles slightly to keep his face blank before lifting one brow slowly. I follow his eyes and see my father looking at him with the same intensity. And then, to my utter confusion, he winks, causing Nate to let out a rushed breath. I snap my eyes back and see him nod with a small grin on his lips.
“Accidents happen,” my dad grumbles under his breath, still looking at Nate. He turns his head and looks over at me. “He can rot six feet under now instead of in prison. Ember’s safe from him, and that’s all that matters.”
What the hell was that? I look back at Nate, but he’s not looking up. He’s also not moving, just focusing on the vegetables he had been chopping with his chest moving with harsh deep breaths.
“Ember?”
Nate looks up when my mom calls my name, carefully masking his expression before giving me a look of pure adoration. Whatever just passed between him and my father is gone, and all I see now is that love he has for me shining brightly.
I shake off whatever I just witnessed. If he wants me to know, he’ll tell me, but all I care about in this instant is that we really can move on from this moment and put it behind us. Move on and spend the rest of our lives with this being a tiny little black dot in our past.
“You know what? I’m starved.” I stand from the table and walk over to him. He lifts one arm and I curl into his side. “What can I do to help, Nate?”