Chapter 60
Sixty
Lexi
Six Months Later
Security in the Rome airport, same as everywhere else, is strict and slow, but I know the drill.
Behind me, Mark lifts my carry-on to the conveyor belt and joins me in line.
He stands with his hands on my shoulders, dropping a quick kiss on the top of my head before I walk through the scanner.
We’re flying into Boston early for Katie and Noah’s wedding, since I’m the wedding planner.
All of his family in Rome will make the trip in a few weeks, taking up half the plane.
I’ve loved every minute of living in Rome. I moved into Mariella’s second bedroom, Gia handled my work visa, Mark’s large, accepting family filled a gaping hole in my heart, and the collaboration with Julie long-distance has been smooth and fun with us taking turns visiting.
And then there’s Mark. I peek at him seated next to me in the gate area.
He’s wearing his glasses for the flight, irresistible in his jeans and gray sweater, reading his latest sci-fi paperback.
I have a pencil in my bag waiting for whenever he falls asleep, and a list of cheesy rom-com movie quotes to sprinkle in his margins because I owe him payback for his first prank on me.
He reaches over and rubs my back absently, pausing only to turn a page. Those margins look nice and wide. He glances up at me, and for a second, something suspicious passes over his face. There’s nothing I love more than when he tries to tamp down that playful mischievousness.
“Didn’t you bring anything to read?”
I smile. “Don’t worry about my entertainment. I’m all set.”
He side-eyes me. “That sounds ominous. Should I be worried?” Then he tilts his head. “Or maybe excited?”
I giggle, and with a hand on the back of my neck, he pulls me in for a kiss. (I get a lot of those.)
These past several months in Rome, he has let me in fully, and we’re perfect for each other.
Old Lexi would be chomping at the bit, leaving hints, wondering what the plan for our future is.
The New Lexi, who doesn’t have to control everything—okay, honestly?
New Lexi is also chomping at the bit and wondering what the plan is.
I want a life with Mark. I mean, think of all the prank possibilities if I were married to him. It blows my mind.
The flight crew opens the gate. We scan our passports and walk down the sky bridge toward the plane. I slip my passport and ticket into my back pocket and reach for the lira at my neck.
It’s not there. I gasp and step out of line.
“Mark. I forgot my necklace. We have to go back to security.” Unlike most silver or gold jewelry, the lira is a copper-nickel alloy.
I know from multiple embarrassing experiences that it sets off some metal detectors at airports, so I always remove it before the scanner.
“I must have left it in one of the bins. Mark, please, I can’t leave it. ”
“I grabbed it. Don’t worry. It’s down in my bag. I’ll get it for you when we get settled on the plane.”
“You’re sure? The necklace with the old lira from my mom?” He nods, squeezing my shoulder, and I rest my head against his chest with a long exhale. “Thank you.”
Still, my heart is pounding all the way down the plane aisle to my seat. Mark and I get separated in the boarding chaos, but soon I glimpse his tall form working back to our seats, aisle and middle, with a woman already settled at the window seat. Déjà vu.
We boarded nearly last, and before Mark can dig in his bag for my necklace, the flight attendant is already checking that our bags are safely stowed under the seats, aisles and feet space clear of luggage.
Mark settles his hand on my bouncing knee.
“It’s there. Don’t stress about it. I’ll get it as soon as we’re allowed. ”
We take off, and Mark distracts me with light conversation. “Tell me again what Luca said.”
I win the prying award in Mark’s family for finally unearthing Luca’s reasons for leaving architecture and opening his restaurant.
“At first he kept joking that there weren’t enough knives, but he eventually admitted architecture was never his passion.
He had to give it a try because it was the family business, but he was miserable.
It was too predictable. New restaurants are hard to keep afloat, and I think he loves that do-or-die kind of pressure. ”
“Why couldn’t he have just told us that?”
“That he hated the work everyone else loves? It’s a bit rude to tell you he thinks your lives are boring.” One thing I know about Luca—he doesn’t confront if he can avoid it.
The seat-belt sign dings off, and Mark reaches for his bag. He unzips it, digs to the bottom, and pulls out my necklace. “Here, lean forward, and I’ll put it on you.”
I lift my hair off the back of my neck and feel the thin, cold metal chain, the brush of Mark’s fingers as he closes the clasp. I drop my hair and smile up at him. “Thanks. You saved my lira twice now.”
Instead of smiling, he presses his lips together. “I love you, Lexington.”
“I know,” I say, a sly smile breaking across my face. The Star Wars quote slipped out before I could stop it.
He laughs so hard he has to drop his head into his hands.
Out of habit, I run my hand down the chain, feeling for the coin. My fingers reach the lira, but there’s something else with it, hanging from the chain. I look down, heart beating wildly. Did he grab the wrong necklace? This has to be mine. I can’t lose Mom’s lira a second time.
Mark’s eyes are trained on me, following every movement, that mischievous look on his face I can never get enough of.
The familiar coin is there, but nestled against it is a sparkling diamond ring. I gasp, then feel Mark’s hand reaching for mine. He’s proposing on the plane between our worlds.
He leans close, looking into my eyes, all playfulness gone.
This is the focused Mark who takes my breath away, who sees deep into my soul, who makes everything else dim into nothingness.
“Lexington Walker, you are my present and my future. There’s nowhere in this world I want to be except by your side.
You are my dream, my goal, and my home.” His voice is rough and low, and I’ve never heard him so earnest and vulnerable. “Will you marry me, Lexington?”
My eyes are blurry with tears, but my smile is so wide it hurts my cheeks. “Yes, a thousand times yes. With fifty-point Impact font.”
I take the ring off the necklace and Mark slides it onto my fourth finger. Perfect fit.
He kisses my newly adorned hand. “I can’t believe you interrupted my proposal with a movie quote.”
“I can’t believe you stole my necklace and proposed on the plane.” But I can believe it. It’s so us.
I rest my head against Mark’s shoulder with a sigh of contentment at the crazy twist my life has taken, all because of my mother’s love.
Plans versus love?
My bet is on love. Every time.