"It is."
"Are you alright?"
"What?" I asked, clearing my throat. She looked up at me, tilting her head to the side a little.
"Was it too much in there? Did you need a minute?"
"O-oh," I stammered. "No, nothing like that." Fuck, I thought. I had walked myself through this a million times already, thought about what I was going to tell her. Now was the perfect time. If I choked, no, fuck that. I wanted this. I wanted to ask her. I was going to.
Epilogue
Natalie
"You look amazing tonight, baby," he said.
"Thank you, Cameron; so do you," I said. He was in a tux, officially my favorite thing that I had ever seen him in. He wore it like he had been born to. Looked every bit the CEO and owner of Porter Holdings that he was. My arm was linked in his, and we were walking across the lawn towards the pier. He checked the time on his watch.
"We should probably head back," he muttered to himself.
"Are you sure you’re alright, Cameron?" I asked him for the second time since we had come out of the hall.
"Fine," he said, in a tone that people used when they weren't actually fine, just wanted you to think they were. He checked his watch again and jammed his hand in his pocket, then promptly took it out again. I let it go. He'd tell me when he was ready. He was like that: needed time with his issues alone before he ever looked for help. I couldn't imagine what it was though. Tonight was amazing. We were outside, and it was beautiful. He was being honored for his good work, and I was two flutes of champagne deep on an empty stomach, so everything was great. We stepped onto the pier and started walking its length. Lanterns hung on both sides, making it a moody, romantic walk. I understood why people had their weddings here.
"Natalie," he said abruptly, snapping me out of my reverie.
"What is it?"
"My mother used to ride me hard as hell about never really bringing anyone home to meet them. I hadn't really thought it was that serious since I hadn't been in a hurry. The morning they died, we had all been having breakfast together. She had been teasing my dad about how he needed to become a grandfather since he already looked like one." I squeezed his arm. The anniversary of their deaths had just passed. I hoped that wasn't what was bothering him.
"I know you miss them."
"It's all these things they'll never see, you know?" he said, stopping. We had gotten to the edge of the pier. Beyond was the inky black, still water. "Like this. They'll never get to meet you."
"I know. I wish it were different too," I said. He turned to face me, taking my hands.
"I know they would have loved you."
I nodded, smiling at the compliment. I had always admired Grayson Porter. Knowing him in the capacity of being his son's girlfriend would have been nice.
"I always used to wonder looking at them whether I would ever... shit, whether it was even possible anymore to find a person who I could love as much as they loved each other. I hadn't thought it ever would be for me, but I was wrong." He paused and looked down. "When my dad met my mother, he said he fell in love with her at first sight. He tried to ask her out, but she turned him down. He said he had been ready to propose after their first date but waited a year to be polite." He opened his jacket and reached inside. My breath caught in my throat when I saw the navy-blue velvet-covered box. I felt my heart pounding in my ears as he lowered himself on one knee to the ground.
"I love you, Natalie. I thought I had lost my family, but I hadn't. I had you, and I don't want to go back to a time that I didn't. We could go back in there and have dinner then go home, or you could agree to marry me first." He opened up the box and a princess-cut, white-diamond engagement ring looked up at me. "Natalie?" I looked at him, struggling to make him out through the tears in my eyes. "Will you marry me?"
"Oh my god," I said.
"What was that?"
"Yes, Cameron, I will," I said, laughing through my tears. He stood and slid the ring onto my hand. It was blinding. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I threw my arms around him, almost delirious from my own joy. He kissed me, and we could have been anywhere in the world; it didn't matter. All I felt was him.
"I think we need to go back," he said, wiping my tear-streaked cheek for me. My makeup was probably in ruins. I looked up at the building then down at our clasped hands, my new ring twinkling up at us.
"Not yet," I said, kissing him again. He was mine now; it was official. They could have him back, just not yet.
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