Page 103 of All of Him
“That’s all I ask,” I responded.
Noah nodded and pulled a silver band out of his pocket. He grabbed my right hand and slid the band on my ring finger, then held my hand up for me to see what it was.
“It’s a claddagh,” he explained. “The heart is pointed toward your heart to show you’re taken. And it’s a promise that I’m going to do everything that I can. I’m all yours, Amanda.”
I wiped the tear that had fallen from my cheek, hoping the waterproof liner was doing its job. Noah leaned down and kissed me again, that time letting his lips linger longer. I smiled against them, only pulling away to look at the ring again.
“And,” he continued, “I hear you need a date. So, here I am.”
I laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder, then pulled him into a quick hug.
“I love it,” I said.
Noah smiled wide, his eyes lacking all of the darkness they’d held for so long. He wasn’t better—he never would be—but we had each other. And that was really all we needed.
“I also heard that you need a roommate,” he said, biting his lip. “And that your lease is up next month.”
“Ugh,” I groaned, annoyed he’d brought it up.
I’d been stressing every now and then about the roommate issue, but the wedding had been a good distraction. His words instilled panic, but only for a second.
“I have a roommate for you, but you’ll have to move.”
I cocked my head at him, confused. A smirk spread across his face, though he tried to hold it back.
“You’ll have to move into the country. It’s a great house with a porch swing, newly renovated. There are some demons in there, but also me.”
“Noah Murphy,”—I laughed—“are you asking me to move in with you?”
“I am,” he answered. “I’ve given ita lotof thought. You can have your own room for now, if you’d feel better about it, but we could also move into the master bedroom if…”
“Master bedroom!” I exclaimed, feeling slightly silly as I jumped into his arms. “Oh my God!” I pulled back, looking into his eyes for any kind of doubt. There wasn’t any. “Noah, are you sure?”
He nodded.
“I want nothing more than to dive into this. You’ve given me a future, and I want to be part of yours. Are you ready to start that?”
I pulled back, looking at the claddagh again, then back at Noah. With every word he’d spoken, my soul lifted a little higher.
“You have to come in and actually dance with me first, but yes,” I responded, putting my palms flat against his chest. “Yes to everything. We can do this.”
“Together, wewilldo this,” he corrected me. “But first…” He stepped forward, his eyes aimed at mine. One side of his lips turned up into a barely there, palpitation-inducing smile. “I need to hear you say it.”
Oh?Oh.
I smiled back, looking around teasingly, then back at him. “You’re kinda cute.” I shrugged.
Noah narrowed his eyes and tipped his head forward, biting his lip to keep from laughing.
“You’re also pretty great in general.”
“Amanda. Bette,” he threatened, leaning his forehead against mine.
I took a deep breath, letting his presence comfort me in a way I hadn’t yet. It was only then that I realized we were actually going to be together. Living together. Starting a future together.
And I felt no hesitation.
“Noah Murphy,” I whispered, making sure those green eyes zeroed in on mine through every word. “I do believe that I am whole-heartedly, irreversibly, overwhelmingly,stupendously…”
