Page 121 of Oliver

"Overwhelmed," he admitted, his voice strained. "Like I don't deserve this."

"You do," I said firmly, certainty ringing in every syllable. "You always did."

Oliver turned to look at me, his eyes suspiciously bright behind his glasses. "You know what's funny? For years, Ihad this certainty that I was meant to be alone. That I was fundamentally incapable of the kind of connection other people seemed to find so easily. I built my entire life around that belief—keep moving, keep working, take care of the people that matter, but keep everyone at a distance."

I moved to sit beside him, our shoulders touching. "And now?"

"Now I have this," he said, gesturing vaguely toward the living room, where laughter and conversation continued. "People who care. People who..." He swallowed hard. "I have a family. And I have no idea what I did to deserve any of it."

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "You existed, Oliver Beck. That's all you ever had to do."

He let out a shaky breath, turning to press a kiss to the top of my head. "There's only one thing that could make this day even more perfect," he said quietly.

I tilted my head, curious. "Oh?"

"If you say yes."

And then he was reaching into his bedside drawer, pulling out a small velvet box. My breath caught as he opened it, revealing a ring nestled inside.

The emerald centerpiece caught the sunlight pouring from the window, and the diamond cluster on both sides twinkled like little stars, all set in a gold band made from two strips of gold welded to intertwine like the Milky Way.

"I had this whole elaborate speech prepared," he said, a nervous laugh escaping him. "About cosmic improbabilities and gravitational constants and how you realigned my entire universe. I was going to quote E. E. Cumming.” He paused to think for a moment. “Yours is the light by which my spirit's born: you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars."

“That’s really good,” I whispered, pulse racing, heart about to explode with anticipation and joy.

“Tobias thought so as well.” Oliver looked down at the ring in his hand. “He also liked the part where I said that when the emerald caught the sun, it was like looking at the fire in your eyes.”

"You practiced on Tobias?" I asked, unable to keep the laughter from my voice.

Oliver's cheeks flushed. "I needed feedback."

“What did he say?”

“Less science, more romance.” Oliver smiled ruefully. “I thought he was oversimplifying something that should be special, but sitting here, with you, with all those people who love us in the next room..." He swallowed hard. "I just want to be yours, Zahra. Completely, permanently, cosmically yours."

Tears blurred my vision as he slid off the bed, kneeling before me, still holding the box up toward me.

"Zahra, will you marry me?"

The world narrowed down to this moment—this man, this love, this life we had built from nothing but trust and hope. A thousand memories flashed through my mind—his reluctance when I'd first booked him, our kiss under the rose arch, the way he'd looked at me that first time we made love, all the doubt and fear and joy that had led us here.

I smiled, lifting my left hand.

"Oliver Nazarian," I said in a wistful voice. "I like the sound of that."

His face broke into the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes," I laughed, pulling him to his feet. "A thousand times, yes."

He slid the ring onto my finger, then lifted me off my feet, spinning me around as joy bubbled up from somewhere deep inside me. And when he set me down, his lips found mine in a kiss that tasted of forever.