Chapter 24: Seattle

For Valentine's Day, Alice treated Paul and me to a weekend in Seattle. She'd booked us the same hotel that she had for prom weekend and despite knowing it was far too expensive for us, it made my heart swell in my chest to be reminded of that time. I could clearly remember Paul and I taking trips back to Seattle over the course of that first summer that we were together, making some of the best memories of our entire relationship.

If only we'd had any idea what was to come.

I thought back to prom weekend, the memories assaulting my brain. Slowly dancing with Paul on the balcony of our hotel room, sitting out on the pier together, going to the aquarium and marvelling at the aquatic life, and the many romantic dinners that Alice had booked for us.

For a long time, I'd longed to go back to those easier times between Paul and I, but returning to the same place with him at this point in our lives made me realize that we'd had to overcome those obstacles so that we could be stronger than ever. Deep down, I believed that if we hadn't worked through the obstacles we had, we wouldn't be as strong together as we were currently.

As he drove to Seattle, he held my hand firmly and rubbed circles on the back of it. A light dusting of snow had fallen, making downtown Seattle look like a winter wonderland. I'd never really been able to appreciate the snow—it was disgusting in Forks and more of a nuisance—but the way it had settled on the city streets had an almost romantic air to it.

"Alice knows that she didn't have to do this for us, right?" he asked.

I snorted. "Yeah, try convincing her that. She'll jump at the chance to spend money."

We arrived at the hotel and checked in to our room. Even though we'd stayed here before, I couldn't help but be astounded at how fancy it was; from the intricate crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to the shiny marble floor to the rich mahogany furniture throughout the entire building. Every time we arrived I felt the need to send Alice multiple texts of gratitude.

Once we'd settled in our room, Paul pulled me into the bed with him and I snuggled close to him.

"What do you want to do tonight?" he asked, stroking my hair.

"Well, Alice made us a reservation for dinner."

"Maybe after that we could go to the pier again?" he suggested.

I smiled at the memory. "That's one of my favourite photos of us."

"Mine too," he said.

"Is that why you took it with you when you left?"

He chuckled. "You noticed that, did you?"

"Of course I did."

He entwined his fingers with mine. "Something deep down told me to take it with me. It felt like I had a little piece of you with me while I was gone."

"I was actually really angry when I realized that you'd taken it," I admitted.

"Really?"

I nodded. "When I got back to the apartment from the Cullens' place and saw that it was gone, I couldn't help but get mad about it. I think deep down, I was just confused—I didn't understand why you'd take it with you if you wanted to sever all ties with me."

His hold tightened on me slightly. "I still don't know what I was thinking."

"Neither do I," I said.

"I know I've said this before, but it's never going to happen again," he promised.

"I won't let it happen again," I said. "You're not getting rid of me at this point."

"I'll never want to," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

That night, we went for dinner at the far too fancy restaurant that Alice had booked for us. She'd insisted that we treat ourselves, saying that we deserved a bit of downtime after the stressful couple of months that we'd had.

Considering it was Valentine's Day, I'd expected the restaurant to be packed with happy couples, but it was a relatively quiet evening for them. It was nice to be in such a calm environment, Paul and my quiet conversations flowing easily between the two of us. Our waiter even treated us to a complimentary dessert as a token of appreciation.

When we left the restaurant, instead of going straight to the pier, we decided to ride the Great Wheel. We were able to get a cabin all to ourselves and Paul kept his arm steady around my waist as our cabin climbed higher and higher—my fear of heights hadn't improved after being turned into a vampire. I felt my hands shaking slightly and tried to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

Paul chuckled. "After all you've been through, being high up is still what gets you scared."

"Shut up," I muttered, clutching his arm. "I don't know why I agreed to this."

He laughed. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Yeah and last time you said that, I fell off a cliff."

He barked out another laugh. "Very funny."

However, once we were at the top, the beauty of the city distracted me from my fear. Lights twinkled in the air and the fluorescent city signs popped in the dark sky. The Space Needle had turned its' lights pink and red to celebrate the holiday and for a few moments, I was able to forget about how high up we were.

I felt Paul's eyes on me and I turned to look at him, question in my eyes. He didn't say anything—he just kissed me deeply and held me tighter against him. No words were needed to be shared between us as we looked out at the Seattle skyline—it was a moment of quiet serenity between us and it was all I could ever want.

When we left the Great Wheel, we sat on a bench on the pier together, gazing out at the ocean. I'd expected it to be freezing cold, but Paul had his arm wrapped securely around my shoulders and his fingers entwined with mine, his body heat keeping me warm. Because it was the middle of winter, the pier was nearly deserted and I preferred it that way. I wanted to be able to enjoy this moment with him without interruption.

"So I've been thinking," he began. "We're about to be parents and we're planning on raising this baby together."

I chuckled and put my free hand on my stomach. "Yeah, kind of wild to think about, isn't it? We're all grown up now."

"We've been through so much together," he murmured. "Which is why I've been thinking that we should probably make it official."

"Official?" I repeated.

I felt him slide something onto my ring finger on my left hand and felt my stomach lurch, realizing too late what he'd meant by making things official. I looked over at my hand, seeing a glittering diamond ring on my finger and I met his eyes, bewildered.

"Are you serious?" I whispered, blinking away tears.

"I am," he said, smile lifting his lips. "Is that a yes?"

"Of course it is," I said, throwing my arms around him and kissing him. There were no words to describe the joy I felt as I kissed him and held him tight against me.

"A while ago, you told me that I'm the person you love most in this world," he said once we'd broken apart. "And you're the only person that I'll ever feel this way about. I love you more than anything and I'm never going to let you go."

Tears flowed freely down my cheeks. "I love you so much."

We sat on the pier together for a while longer, hands clasped together and looking out at the ocean. I would never grow tired of this—he was my soulmate and he was who I destined to be with.

The love we shared went beyond anything I'd ever experienced before. He was my rock—he kept me grounded and made me feel like everything would be okay. I was more in love with him than I'd ever been before and he was all I would ever want or need.

As long as we were together, we could conquer anything.