Chapter 17
seventeen
. . .
Hannah
"I have a surprise for you."
Bennett says it casually, like he's suggesting we order takeout instead of cook. But there's something in his voice, something underneath the easy tone, that makes my stomach flip.
I look up from my laptop where I've been pretending to work for the last hour. Really I've just been watching him move around the kitchen, making coffee, checking his phone, existing in our space like he's always belonged here. "A surprise?"
"Yeah." He crosses to the couch and holds out his hand. "Come on. We're going out."
"Now?" I glance at the clock. It's almost five. "Where?"
"You'll see." His eyes are warm, that soft look he gets when he's planning something. "Trust me."
I take his hand and let him pull me up. "Should I change?"
He looks me over, jeans, one of his Yale t-shirts I've stolen, bare feet. "You're perfect. Just grab shoes."
Twenty minutes later we're in his car, driving through town toward the lake. The late afternoon sun slants through the trees, turning everything golden. I watch the familiar streets pass, my hand in his on the center console, his thumb tracing slow circles over my knuckles.
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I ask.
"Nope."
"Bennett."
He glances at me, smiling. "Patience, Hannah."
I huff but settle back in my seat. The truth is I don't care where we're going. I'd follow him anywhere.
We pull into the parking lot by the lake and my chest tightens with recognition. This is where we had our first date. The food truck is still there, parked in the same spot, the smell of grilled food drifting on the breeze.
Bennett parks and cuts the engine. "Hungry?"
I stare at him. "You brought me to the food truck."
"I did." He's watching me carefully, like he's gauging my reaction. "Is that okay?"
"It's perfect." My voice comes out softer than I intended. "I can't believe you remembered."
"I remember everything about that day." He leans over and kisses me, slow and sweet. "Come on."
We order the same thing we had on our first date, burgers and fries, lemonade for me, iced tea for him. The guy working the truck recognizes Bennett and grins. "Back again, huh?"
"Best food in town," Bennett says easily, paying before I can even reach for my wallet.
We take our food to the bench overlooking the water. The lake is calm, reflecting the sky like glass. A few ducks paddle near the shore. The air smells like pine and summer and something indefinably Bennett.
I take a bite of my burger and close my eyes. "God, this is still so good."
"Right?" He's watching me instead of eating, that soft look on his face again.
"What?" I ask, suddenly self-conscious.
"Nothing." He shakes his head. "I'm just happy."
"Me too." I lean into his shoulder. "This was a really good surprise."
We eat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the water. A family walks past with a dog. A couple jogs by holding hands. Everything feels peaceful. Right.
"Do you remember what happened before our first date?" Bennett asks suddenly.
I blink at the shift. "What do you mean?"
"The coffee spill." His mouth quirks. "You dumped an entire latte on my suit."
Heat floods my cheeks. "Oh God. I was so mortified. I thought you were going to yell at me."
"I should've been furious." He's smiling now, that full genuine smile that makes my heart stutter. "That suit cost more than most people's rent. I had a meeting in an hour. I was already running late."
"But you weren't mad."
"No." He sets his food down and takes my hands in his. "I wasn't mad. Because when you looked up at me with those wide eyes, apologizing and trying to clean me up with those tiny napkins, I knew."
"Knew what?"
"That you were going to change everything." His voice drops lower. "I knew it right then, Hannah. Standing in that coffee shop with latte all over my shirt, watching you panic and be so completely yourself. That's when I fell in love with you."
Tears prick my eyes. "You didn't even know me."
"I knew enough." He brushes his thumb over my knuckles. "I knew you were kind. I knew you were real. I knew you made me feel something I hadn't felt in years."
"Bennett." My voice breaks on his name.
He stands suddenly, pulling me up with him. "Come here."
He leads me closer to the water's edge, to the exact spot where we stood on our first date. Where he kissed me for the first time. The sun is lower now, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold.
"Hannah." He turns to face me, still holding my hands.
Then he drops to one knee.
The world stops and I can barely breathe.
He pulls a small velvet box from his pocket and opens it. Inside is a simple, perfect ring, a round diamond on a delicate gold band.
"Hannah Reed." His voice is steady, certain.
"I'm not promising you a perfect life. I'm not promising we won't fight or struggle or have hard days.
But I will choose you every single day. I will build a life with you, a real one, with all the messy, beautiful parts.
You're my partner, my best friend, the person I want beside me through everything.
And I will remind you every day that you are enough. More than enough. You are everything."
I'm sobbing now, ugly crying, my hands covering my mouth.
"Will you marry me?" His voice cracks slightly. "Will you let me spend the rest of my life choosing you?"
"Yes." The word bursts out of me. "Yes, yes, oh my God, yes."
He stands and slides the ring onto my finger with shaking hands. It fits perfectly. Of course it does. Then his arms are around me and he's lifting me off the ground, spinning me, both of us laughing and crying at the same time.
When he sets me down, he cups my face in his hands and kisses me. Deep and slow and full of promise. I taste salt from my tears, feel the way his hands tremble slightly against my skin.
"I can't believe you just did that," I whisper against his mouth.
He grins, that boyish smile that makes him look years younger. "My fiancée."
I laugh, the word sending a thrill through me. "Your fiancée. That sounds so weird."
"Get used to it." He kisses me again, softer this time. "Because I'm going to say it a lot."
We stand there for a long time, wrapped around each other, watching the sun sink lower. Other people pass by but I barely notice them. All I can focus on is Bennett, the ring on my finger, the way my heart feels too big for my chest.
"We should celebrate," he says eventually, his eyes darkening slightly.
"What did you have in mind?"
He takes my hand. "Come on."
We drive for twenty minutes, winding up into the hills above town. The road gets narrower, more secluded, until Bennett pulls off onto a dirt path that opens into a small clearing. Below us, the lake stretches out like a mirror, reflecting the first stars beginning to appear.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"A spot I found years ago." He cuts the engine. "I used to come up here when I needed to think. No one else knows about it."
The sky is deepening to purple, stars scattered across it like diamonds. The air is cool and crisp, carrying the scent of pine and earth.
Bennett gets out and walks around to the truck bed. I follow, watching as he pulls out a thick blanket and spreads it in the back. "Come here."
I climb up, settling onto the blanket beside him. He wraps his arms around me from behind, pulling me against his chest. We lie back together, staring up at the sky.
"It's beautiful," I whisper.
"Not as beautiful as you." His lips brush my temple. "My fiancée."
I turn in his arms to face him. "Say it again."
"My fiancée." He smiles, his hand coming up to cup my face. "The woman I'm going to marry. The woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with."
I kiss him, pouring everything I feel into it. Gratitude and love and overwhelming joy. His hands slide into my hair, angling my head to deepen the kiss. When I shift closer, pressing against him, he groans low in his throat.
"Hannah." My name is a warning and a plea.
"I want you." I pull back just enough to meet his eyes. "Here. Now. Under the stars."
His pupils dilate. "Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything."
He kisses me again, harder this time, his hands moving to the hem of my shirt. I help him pull it over my head, then reach for his. The cool night air raises goosebumps on my skin but Bennett's hands are warm, sliding over my ribs, my back, everywhere.
We undress each other slowly, laughing when my jeans get stuck on my ankle, gasping when his mouth finds my breast. The blanket is soft beneath me as he lays me back, his body covering mine.
"I love you," he murmurs against my neck. "I love you so much."
"I love you too." I arch into him as his hand slides between my thighs. "Bennett, oh my god.”
"I know." He kisses me again, swallowing my moan. "I've got you."
He takes his time, building me up slowly, his fingers and mouth working in tandem until I'm trembling beneath him. When he finally slides inside me, we both go still for a moment, just breathing, just feeling.
"Okay?" he asks, his voice strained.
"Perfect." I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him deeper. "You're perfect."
He moves slowly at first, each thrust deliberate and deep. I cling to his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin. Above us, the stars wheel across the sky. The night air is cool but we're generating our own heat, our bodies moving together in a rhythm we've perfected over months.
"Look at me," Bennett commands softly.
I do. His eyes are dark, intense, full of love and possession and promise. "You're mine," he says, his hips snapping harder. "Say it."
"I'm yours." The words come out breathless. "I'm yours, Bennett. Always."
"Always," he echoes, and then he's kissing me again, swallowing my cries as I come apart beneath him.
He follows moments later, my name on his lips, his body shuddering against mine. We stay like that for a long time, tangled together, hearts racing, the blanket wrapped around us against the cooling air.
"That was..." I trail off, unable to find words.
"Yeah." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "It really was."
I look down at my hand resting on his chest, the ring glinting in the starlight. "I can't believe we're engaged."
"Believe it." He catches my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing my ring finger. "You're stuck with me now."
"Good." I snuggle closer, resting my head on his shoulder. "I don't want to be anywhere else."
We lie there under the stars, wrapped in each other and the blanket, talking about everything and nothing. About the wedding we'll plan. About the life we'll build. About how a spilled cup of coffee changed everything.
"I'm so glad I'm clumsy," I say eventually.
He laughs, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Me too. Best accident of my life."
"I'm going to tell our kids that story someday," I say without thinking. Then I freeze. "I mean, if we have kids. We haven't really talked about that yet.”
"Hannah." He tilts my chin up to look at him. "I want everything with you. Kids, a dog, a messy house full of life. All of it."
Tears prick my eyes again. "Really?"
"Really." He kisses me softly. "But first, let's get married. One thing at a time."
I smile against his mouth. "Deal."
We stay up there for hours, making love again under the stars, talking and laughing and planning our future. By the time we finally drive home, it's past midnight and I'm exhausted and happier than I've ever been in my life.
When we pull into the driveway, Bennett comes around to open my door. He lifts me out and carries me to the front door despite my protests.
"I can walk," I say, laughing.
"I know." He kisses my nose. "But I want to carry my fiancée over the threshold. Practice for the real thing."
He carries me inside and straight to our bedroom, laying me gently on the bed. We undress slowly, tiredly, and climb under the covers together.
"Best day of my life," I whisper as he pulls me against his chest.
"Mine too." His arms tighten around me. "And it's just the beginning."
I fall asleep with the ring on my finger, Bennett's heartbeat steady beneath my ear, and the absolute certainty that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.