Page 105 of All of Him
This girl continued to do the unthinkable, even after she had me.
“I’m so proud of you, Noah.”
I let myself go, let myself shutter from sobs. I pulled Manda tightly to my chest, unfazed by the sound that came out of my mouth. I was shaken by Garrett’s death. Beat down from the trauma of reliving it.
Proudof the strength I had to pull through.
“I don’t know if I believe in an afterlife,” I started once the tears slowed, my voice hoarse, “but if my brother has seen any of this unfold, he’s rooting for us.”
Manda turned her face so that I could see her, tears unexpectedly in her eyes. I leaned down, pressing my closed mouth to hers, just to feel her lips against mine. We had all the time in the world, but I needed to start by savoring every second.
“So…” I changed my tone.
She faced the sunrise again, leaning back against me.
“Before I ask you to marry me, do I need to talk to your dad?”
She shook with laughter and covered her eyes, embarrassed.
“You should. But in all honesty, just go grab a blade of grass and tie it on my finger right now. I promise to say yes.”
“Manda”—I chuckled, kissing her neck—“I’m gonna do that right. I just needed you to be aware that it’s part of the plan.”
“It’d better be,” she joked. “I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”
“Good.”
The line of light from the sunrise slowly crept onto the porch, hitting Amanda’s feet, then my own. It traveled up our legs, illuminating our tangled fingers, then heated our faces. The silence was natural, accentuating the profoundness of the moment as I reached into my pocket.
“You see though…this sunrise is the beginning of a lot of things.”
“Noah?” she asked, shifting in my arms.
“Shh,” I said, unable to keep from chuckling as she squirmed, trying to turn and see my face. “Amanda,” I whispered, grabbing her left hand and fanning out her fingers for us both to see, “I already talked to your dad.”
She sniffed, covering her mouth as the diamond caught the morning light above our hands.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she cried. “Put that on my finger right now. It’s perfect.”
We both chuckled, tears intermittently making their way into the dialogue as I slid the white gold band onto her finger. Once it was snug, I hugged her tightly, whispering in her ear, “I need you to admit that you’re scared of a future with me.”
She nodded slightly but kept most of her attention on the diamond. “I’m so very sorry for that.”
“Don’t be,” she whispered, making eye contact with me for the first time since agreeing to be my wife.
I leaned down, gently kissing her, then nodded for her to finish her sentence.
“I don’t want just the good, Noah. I wantallof you.”
