Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Dean put his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and leaned into the wind.
It was a brisk afternoon, and although it was sunny, there was a chill in the air.
He didn’t mind, since he found autumn invigorating, and the colder weather always heralded the coming of the best parts of fall, such as apple-picking, pumpkin carving, and corn mazes.
His heart was beating faster than usual, since he was on his way to Noelle’s apartment. He was trying not to let himself get too nervous about the visit, but he knew that he hoped to propose to his girlfriend at some point on their date that evening.
He sighed as he watched a leaf scuttle across the sidewalk. Even after the discussion that he’d had with his mother and sisters, he couldn’t help wanting to think of a romantic way to propose to Noelle. He wanted to ask her to marry him in a setting that she found beautiful and thoughtful.
I know she doesn’t need things to be fancy, he thought, but I want it all to be special.
He wondered what he could do to make their date a little extra romantic. He was determined not to act too overblown about it, but he didn’t want to arrive empty-handed if he was going to propose to her later on.
Flowers, he thought, smiling to himself. I’ll buy her some of those pink roses she loves, and then I’ll get her favorite raspberry croissant from Seaside Sweets Bakery.
He made his way to the grocery store, where they usually had a small but high-quality assortment of flower bouquets.
When he reached the floral department, however, he stopped and looked around in confusion.
There wasn’t a single bouquet in stock, and a small sign written on a whiteboard announced that the flower bouquets that usually came in to Harvest Market hadn’t arrived because of a shipment delay.
Dean’s heart sank with disappointment. He’d been hoping to get a bouquet of pink and yellow roses for Noelle, since those were her favorite colors. He’d never come across an empty floral department before—but then again, he hadn’t gone out to buy flowers all that often in his life.
He left Harvest Market and made his way to Seaside Sweets Bakery. When he arrived, he stared at the door in dismay. There was a sign on it stating that they had closed early due to an issue with their furnace.
Dean groaned. He’d wanted to arrive to Noelle’s with tokens of his affection, but it seemed he was going to have to show up empty handed.
It doesn’t matter, he told himself firmly. I’m still going to propose to her today. I’m determined to make the engagement happen this time.
He reached Noelle’s apartment building and rang her buzzer. By then, it was starting to get uncomfortably cold, and he was glad when the door buzzed and he could get inside the building.
He made his way up to her apartment door, feeling his heart thump in his chest. He felt nervous, but not so nervous that he was worried he wouldn’t be able to speak. Still, by the time she opened her door, there were beads of perspiration on his temples.
“Dean!” She looked delighted to see him. She was wearing sweatpants and a comfortable-looking pink sweatshirt. “What a wonderful surprise. I was just reading and drinking tea.”
“Sounds nice.” He smiled at her. She looked so beautiful that he was starting to feel at a loss for words again. He cleared his throat. “Um, Noelle, I—there’s…” His words trailed off.
“What is it, Dean?” she asked, starting to look a little concerned. “There’s something on your mind, isn’t there? You keep starting to tell me something and then you stop. Are we okay? Are you worried that things aren’t going to work out between us or something? Should I be worried?”
Dean’s jaw dropped. “Oh no,” he said. “Noelle, we’re—you’re—everything’s perfect. I mean, I hope so. I love you more than anything, and you have nothing to worry about. I just—I’ve been wanting to tell you?—”
All at once, he found the courage he’d been lacking. He couldn’t bear the thought of her thinking that he was pulling away from their relationship. He got down on one knee in the doorway of her apartment and took a deep breath.
“Noelle, will you marry me?”
She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. For one horrible moment, Dean wondered if she was going to say no. Then she burst into tears and threw her arms around him.
“Yes! Oh my gosh, Dean, yes!”
He held her tightly, joy flooding him. She was shaking, and he couldn’t tell if it was from laughter or happy crying. He rocked her back and forth a little, feeling intensely relieved. He’d done it. He’d finally managed it. And she’d said yes.
“Let me give you your ring,” he said, reaching in his pocket for the ring box. And then he froze. “Oh NO.”
“What?” Noelle started laughing, clearly giddy with happiness.
“I don’t have the ring.” Dean could hardly gasp the words out, he was so floored that he’d forgotten something so obvious. “I can’t believe I forgot the ring.”
“You got me a ring?” she squealed with delight.
“Yes, and I forgot it.”
“Well, let’s go get it!” She pulled him to his feet, laughing brightly. “It’s back at your house?”
He started laughing too. “Yeah, it’s at my house. Do you really?—”
She tugged him into the hallway and shut the door to her apartment. “Come on!”
Breathless with happy emotions, they left her apartment building and hurried toward Dean’s house. The distance had never seemed so long to Dean before, but at the same time he was completely distracted by his happiness.
She said yes! he kept thinking, over and over. We’re going to be married.
He imagined waking up next to her every morning and getting to eat dinner with her every night. He pictured having Christmas with her in their own home, and maybe having children one day, and creating their own family traditions?—
“We’re here!” Noelle exclaimed, tugging him up the sidewalk toward his house. He’d barely even processed the fact that they’d arrived, since he’d been so caught up in imagining their future together.
They raced inside together, and Dean grabbed the ring box off his kitchen table, where he’d left it resting next to a cup of coffee.
He got down on one knee again, and Noelle laughed.
“Noelle. Will you marry me?” He opened the ring box, and she gasped when she saw how beautiful the ring was.
“With all my heart,” she said, squeezing his hands tightly.
He took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her left ring finger. Noelle stared down at it, seeming to be at a loss for words. There were tears in her eyes, and Dean was grinning from ear to ear. The ring looked even more beautiful now that it was on her hand.
“We’re engaged!” she squealed, and he stood up and nearly tackled her in a bear hug.
“We need to tell everyone!” He felt giddy and exhausted at the same time. Part of him wanted to race around the block, he was so exuberant, and the rest of him wanted to curl up on the couch with her and go to sleep.
“Yes! Who should we call first?”
“Hazel.” He laughed. “She helped me set up the dinner, and she’s the one who pushed me the most to keep things simple so that I finally had the nerve to propose to you.”
She smiled and nuzzled her nose against his cheek. “I can’t believe you were nervous. It’s just me, Dean.”
“That’s exactly why I was nervous. I can’t believe a girl as amazing as you would want to go out with me at all, let alone marry me.”
She shook her head. “You’re a silly man. You should look at yourself in the mirror sometime. And even a mirror wouldn’t tell you right away what a sweet, considerate, fun guy you are.”
For a moment, he just smiled down at her, feeling sappy as he floated in a haze of joy.
“Call Hazel?” she prompted, her eyes twinkling.
“Yes.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed his twin’s number. It rang once before Hazel answered.
“Hey, Dean! Do you have news for me?” Hazel’s tone sounded sly and gleeful.
“I do. Noelle is here with me, and… we’re engaged!”
“You did it!” Hazel let out a whoop and squealed with happiness, and Noelle started giggling, and nobody said any words for a few moments. Dean stood there with a broad smile on his face, thinking to himself that it was one of the best days of his life.