Chapter 15 Come Home #3
"If there had never been a photograph, I would still have wanted you."
"If the world had never found out about us, I would still have wanted you."
He paused.
"If your father had supported us from the beginning, I would still have wanted you."
Evan looked down at the ring.
Nathaniel reached for his hand.
"The baby is part of our future."
His thumb moved across Evan's knuckles.
"But the baby is not the reason I want that future."
Evan looked up.
"You are."
The tears finally fell.
Nathaniel wiped one from his cheek.
"I want to marry the man who argues with me about everything."
Evan laughed through his tears.
"Everything?"
"Almost everything."
"Good."
"I want to marry the man who refuses to let me control his life."
"Definitely good."
"I want to marry the man who challenges me when I'm being impossible."
"That happens often."
Nathaniel smiled.
"Very often."
Evan laughed.
Nathaniel's expression became serious again.
"I want to marry the man who makes me want to come home."
Evan's chest tightened.
"I want your life to remain yours."
Nathaniel held his gaze.
"I don't want a dependent."
"I know."
"I don't want someone who follows me because I'm older."
"I know."
"I don't want someone who stays because he thinks he owes me."
Evan shook his head.
"You'll never have that."
"I know."
Nathaniel took a breath.
"I want my husband."
The word made Evan's heart race.
"Husband?"
Nathaniel smiled.
"Yes."
Evan looked at the ring.
Then at Nathaniel.
"And what about your wife joke?"
Nathaniel laughed softly.
"You know what I mean."
"I do."
"You make my house feel like home."
Evan's hand moved to his stomach.
"And you make me feel safe without making me feel owned."
Nathaniel's expression softened.
"That's all I've ever wanted for you."
Evan was quiet.
Then he asked, "What happens after I say yes?"
Nathaniel answered honestly.
"Life."
Evan blinked.
"That's it?"
"That's everything."
Nathaniel smiled.
"There will be difficult days."
"Probably."
"Arguments."
"Definitely."
"Your father may still be angry."
"Yes."
"People may still talk."
"Yes."
"My business won't suddenly become simple."
Evan smiled.
"And I won't suddenly become easy."
"I don't want easy."
Nathaniel closed the ring box.
"I want real."
Evan looked at him for a long moment.
He remembered the first time they had kissed.
The fear.
The pregnancy test.
The first ultrasound.
The arguments.
The photograph.
His father's ultimatum.
Leaving.
Nathaniel finding him.
And now this.
A ring.
A choice.
Not a rescue.
Not a solution.
Not an attempt to make their complicated circumstances respectable.
A marriage.
A promise between two men who had chosen each other before they knew how difficult that choice would become.
Evan took a shaky breath.
"I have one more question."
"Ask."
"If I say yes, are you asking because you want me?"
Nathaniel answered without hesitation.
"I am."
"Not because I'm carrying your child?"
"No."
"Not because you think you owe me?"
"No."
"Not because you're afraid I'll leave?"
Nathaniel shook his head.
"No."
"Then why?"
Nathaniel's eyes softened.
"Because I can't imagine building the rest of my life with anyone else."
Evan closed his eyes.
The answer was everything.
He opened them again.
"I'll marry you."
Nathaniel's breath caught.
"You will?"
Evan smiled.
"Yes."
Nathaniel stared at him as though he needed another second to believe it.
Evan laughed softly.
"You're supposed to put the ring on me."
Nathaniel smiled.
"Right."
He took the ring from the box.
His hands were steadier than Evan expected.
He held Evan's hand carefully and slipped the ring onto his finger.
It fit.
Evan stared at it.
For a moment, the world disappeared.
No father.
No headlines.
No company.
No strangers.
No questions.
Only Nathaniel.
Only Evan.
Only the choice they had made.
Nathaniel lifted Evan's hand and kissed the ring.
"I love you."
Evan smiled.
"I love you too."
Nathaniel leaned forward.
Their foreheads touched.
"Are you sure?"
Evan nodded.
"Completely."
"Then welcome home."
Evan laughed softly.
"That's all?"
Nathaniel smiled.
"Would you like a formal ceremony?"
"Maybe."
"A speech?"
"Definitely not."
"Champagne?"
Evan raised an eyebrow.
"I'm pregnant."
Nathaniel laughed.
"Right."
Evan smiled.
"Take me home."
Nathaniel's expression softened.
"Home?"
"Our home."
Those two words changed everything.
Nathaniel stood and helped him to his feet.
Evan looked down at the ring once more.
It wasn't a symbol that the pregnancy had forced their lives together.
It wasn't a public-relations solution.
It wasn't an apology to Richard.
It wasn't a shield against gossip.
It was a promise.
Nathaniel was choosing Evan.
Not the pregnancy.
Not the circumstances.
Not the image of a respectable family.
Evan was the choice.
And for the first time, Evan understood that he wasn't returning to Nathaniel's house because he had nowhere else to go.
He was going home because Nathaniel was where he wanted to be.
They walked out together.
Whatever happened next, they would face it as partners.
Not because they had to.
Because they chose to.
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