by Lana Xavier
Halfway to the plane, Caleb came to an abrupt halt, pulling my arm to stop me with him.
“I have a confession to make.”
Uh-oh.
“W-What?” I asked, dread beginning to curl in my stomach.
“Your sister didn’t pick out that dress. I did.”
If there was one thing I didn’t expect to hear come out of his mouth—that was it. Confusion replaced the dread and I glanced down at the dress, wondering what vital piece I seemed to be missing of this puzzle.
“I don’t follow,” I said after a long moment of thick silence.
“I saw it two weeks ago and thought of you. So I spoke to your sister to get your size and I bought it. I didn’t give it to you myself because you’re smart as hell and I knew you’d figure it out.”
“Figure what out? Caleb, this doesn’t make any—”
I paused and my spine went ramrod straight as an earlier thought popped into my head.
Oh my god.
Caleb gave me a nervous half-smile. “See? You’re smart as hell.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but my words and thoughts all died as I watched him slowly lower himself to one knee.
Surely this couldn’t be real. I was imagining it.
Then he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small box that could only be holding one thing and I knew that wasn’t the case. This was real.
“Sabrina, I can honestly say I never thought I’d be in this position. Not once did I think I would find a woman I’d be willing to share my entire life with. But... Well, I was fucking wrong.”
I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle my watery laugh, trying my best to fight the tears of happiness that were already forming in the corners of my eyes. When he saw my reaction, he gave me another bashful smile and cleared his throat before continuing.
“I knew there was something special about you from the start. From the way you reacted after I snapped at you in the airport. I tried to convince myself that you were just another girl I wanted to fuck, so I invited you over and left you there alone. I thought it would get you out of my system. Again, I was wrong.”
“Caleb—”
He held up and hand and looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Let me finish, please.”
After my nod, he shifted his weight on his knee and took a deep breath.
“When I realized I couldn’t get you out of my head, I went back for more. I loved your script so it wasn’t a hardship for me to do the movie. I wanted to. But it was more so I could see you again. Marlena... she nearly fucking ruined it for me and I’m sorry for not being honest with you from the start. But I didn’t understand why I felt a connection to you yet, so I didn’t see the point of trying to explain it.”
Caleb stopped and looked down and I could practically see it as his carefully rehearsed plans all shot out the window. He was deviating from whatever script he had written for this and I held my breath as I waited.
“I’m so sorry for everything that happened with Annabelle and Marlena. If I had just been honest with myself from the start, I might have been able to keep your name out of the fallout. But in some ways, I’m kind of glad it went down the way it did.”
“It made us stronger,” I cut in, hoping he would realize that I understood and felt the exact same way.
Even though it sucked at the time, I wouldn’t have changed the progression of our relationship if I was given the choice. I would be too afraid of ruining the bond we had formed.
Caleb smiled. “I love you, Sabrina. And I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. Not this long distance bullshit. When I’m on set, I want you in my trailer. When I’m not filming, I want to be with you in New York. I want to be together all the time.”
He held up the box and cracked it open, revealing what had to have been the most beautiful diamond I had ever seen. The gasp that escaped my lips couldn’t have been stopped even if I tried.
“Sabrina... Be my wife.”
As I was about to shout ‘yes’, I stopped myself and raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t that supposed to be a question?”
He smirked and shrugged. “No. More like a plea.”
“Well, in that case... Yes!”
Caleb traded his smirk for a huge grin as he took the ring out of the box and reached for my left hand. I was shocked by his obvious desire to do things right and nearly overwhelmed by the urge to just jump into his arms and hug him.
After the ring was on my finger, Caleb stood up and lifted me from the ground, spinning me in a circle as he tightly clutched me against his chest.
“I love you so much,” I whispered as I felt my happy tears beginning to fall.
“I love you, too. Let’s get married.”
“Today?” I asked as he gently put me back on my feet.
Caleb shook his head. “Candace, Nate, and your mom will be flying in tomorrow. If you’re ready, we can do it then. If you’d rather wait, then it’ll just serve as an engagement party.”
My eyebrows raised in surprise. They all knew? And no one blabbed to me?
“What if I had said no?”
His smile faltered and he sadly said, “I honestly don’t know what I would have done.”
I felt guilty for making him sad, so I smiled and shook my head. “It doesn’t even matter, because I said yes. And let’s do it!”
The smile returned, but it was cautious. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes, tomorrow.”
Caleb grinned and lifted me up bridal style before he began walking us towards the jet.
“Where are we going?”
“Hawaii.”
“I knew it!” I hissed. This dress was something a bride would wear at a beach wedding in Hawaii.
“I’m not even going to ask,” Caleb said with a chuckle. “Sadly, I can’t carry you up the ramp like this.”
He sat me down and I started up the steps on the plane, Caleb following right behind me. I took each step carefully, quickly realizing that these heels and these steep stairs did not mix well.
Luckily, Caleb was right behind me to catch me if I fell.
As I glanced back and took in his handsome face staring up at me like I was the only woman in the entire world, I somehow knew that he would always be there.
Right behind me, for better or worse. Regardless of what was on the line or what people thought about us.
Just me and him. Forever.
* * *
A week after our wedding in Hawaii, the Caleb and I were exploring the airport while we waited for the jet to be prepared to fly us home. Caleb had run to the bathroom while I wandered into a small store.
As I passed by the magazine rack, I had to do a double take.
On the cover of what was probably the only respectable tabloid magazine was a photo of Caleb and I at the premiere, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. The headline read—
‘Romance of the Year’
* * *
THE END
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