Jonathan
Today’s the big day. I’m going to propose to AJ. No one knows it but me. Though soon, everyone will know. Most importantly, AJ will know.
I’ve been carrying this secret like a live wire buzzing in my chest, barely able to sit still.
But from the moment she hijacked the airport PA system and belted out that tragically off-tune version of “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” I knew I was going to marry this woman.
I would have married her right then and there, in front of TSA agents, a stunned crowd of travelers and one emotionally shaken FBI agent.
I would’ve dropped to one knee if I’d had a ring in my pocket and a plan that didn’t involve potential arrest.
But I waited. A whole year. Not because I had doubts.
Not because she needed convincing. Just because I wanted it to feel right.
I wanted the date to mean something. Technically, today marks one year since we stood in front of the entire company and pretended to be madly in love.
The fake dating weekend at Cedar Lakes. The retreat that started it all.
The moment our enemies-to-lovers pipeline launched itself off a cliff, caught fire and crash-landed directly into my heart.
So, maybe we weren’t together-together that day but it’s when everything changed and hell yes, it counts.
I’ve got everything laid out seamlessly. Like chef’s kiss levels of thought-through.
First, dinner at her favorite French restaurant, the one with the candlelit windows and the raspberry crème br?lée she dreams about.
Then, I’m taking her to a Broadway show.
Not just any show; Just In Time starring her all-time favorite, Jonathan Groff.
Front-row seats. Nearly close enough for her to see the sweat on his forehead and cry about it for the next week.
The woman clearly has a thing for Jonathans.
She doesn’t know about the show yet. She thinks we’re just doing dinner and heading home.
She’ll probably assume that’s the end of the night.
But it won’t even be halftime. Because after that, I’m taking her to The Plaza.
I booked one of their best suites, which I may or may not have bribed someone to get on short notice.
Then, my masterpiece, the rooftop. I managed to rent out a private terrace with the skyline glittering behind it, candles everywhere, all fire-code approved and one lone violinist waiting in the corner to play the song that ignited it all: “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
Right there, surrounded by everything that makes this life with her feel surreal, I’ll drop to one knee and ask the funniest, kindest, most stunning woman I’ve ever met to marry me.
I’ll probably cry. No, let’s be honest, I’ll sob like a baby.
But it’ll be worth it. Because if she says yes…
then I get to be the luckiest man alive, forever.
AJ has changed so many things about me I didn’t even realize were changeable.
I’m softer now. Braver. Willing to be a little ridiculous if it means making her laugh.
I used to roll my eyes at grand romantic gestures and now I’m the guy who replays our chaotic airport reunion on YouTube like it’s the season finale of my favorite show.
Tonight, when I pop open that ring box, she’ll see it, the custom three-carat oval diamond with a pavé diamond-encrusted gold band.
Classic but bold. Sparkly but elegant. Very her.
I sleuthed my way into her Pinterest board, purely for research purposes.
I also may have measured her finger while she was sleeping using a piece of string and an app.
Creepy? Maybe a little. Worth it? Absolutely.
Because this night will be perfect. It has to be.
Me? Jonathan Slack; once her nemesis, then her fake boyfriend and now the idiot who’s head over heels, is about to propose to Abigail Jean Madison. When she says yes, because she will say yes, we’ll get our happily ever after. Just like we both always wanted.
And if she starts serenading me again? God help us all.