A/N: Short chapters are kind of like April showers… and so are big gaps of time between updates!
I knew something was up when Blake was trying to rush me out of the office. Sure I hadn't packed yet and we did have big plans in NYC from the moment we planned it… but Blake was the one who raised my eyebrows.
Then Henry's behavior tipped me off even more. Yes, I do drag my feet before I take time off, I always have and I don't really have a reason for it but it's a part of who I am. Maybe it's because I'm sometimes afraid to let go of control and taking time away from work or my kids, means doing just that. I'm sure they'll be fine, yes rules have been broken in recent memory and they lived but it's hard for me to let go of that control.
Usually he understands my need for control… but this time he approached it with a much shorter fuse than usual. I knew something was up and I was right.
I knew something was up when he suggested we go completely off the grid for the weekend. It made sense but he's also the one who's extremely understanding of my need for communication with my staff and with Ali and Jase so it was a little surprising that he seemed so adamant about it when I pushed back… but I agreed and off the grid we went.
At this point in our relationship, we're making our own traditions. I don't know if immediately ripping each other's clothes off when we get to our hotel room is a tradition yet… but it'll probably become one. We've always had a decently healthy sex life but recently it's like we're newlyweds. I'm not the slightest bit upset about that, in fact, I hope it never goes away.
Then it was the strawberries and champagne, two of my favorite things. It started, and ended, so perfectly. There might have been a hiccup or two in the middle, but it was still perfect.
We could have skipped the play though. I would have rather created our own raucous masterpiece at our hotel but I truly do appreciate the thought and planning that Henry put into it, even if he had to drop my name to do it.
The champagne on the roof deck could have been where he did it and I would have said yes. Random people around, cars honking below, but that wasn't a level of romance he wanted for the occasion, and I respect that.
He could have done it while I was on the phone with Blake getting updates about Jason's ankle and I would have said yes. He could have proposed with Jason's ankle brace… and I would have said yes.
He could have proposed as we tried to discuss Stevie's current feelings on me and how it's affecting her and I would have said yes. I would have paused… but I would have said yes. I'm glad he didn't do it then.
The French restaurant wasn't the same French restaurant I remembered… he still could have done it there. I wish he would have been able to visit the little French bistro that I remember, but I'm still happy that he got to experience it.
I could have dropped my bickering about Stevie… and I should have. I'm very thankful he didn't hold that against me, he probably should have. We're still working out this stepparenting thing… well… I'm working it out and he's excelling at it, but I expected the latter.
I should have dropped the thing about Stevie… it did lead to a couple other conversations that also could have been avoided but I needed to get it off my chest. I would take it back but I'm afraid if I didn't, it might have changed the way things went and I wouldn't change the ending for a thing.
I wasn't sure what I expected when he told me he had a surprise and then my motorcade pulled up at an entrance to Central Park. We walked hand in hand through the park, I was surprised by how quiet he was. I initially thought he just wanted to get out of the car because the tension about Stevie was still there… but I was wrong.
I've never seen Henry truly seem nervous and at the time he didn't… but knowing what I know now… he was so nervous. He was so nervous that it was cute. Did he really think I wouldn't be happy? That I would say no? I've thought about this moment since that first chai tea… I was all in, even back then.
It started to rain as we walked up the stairs near the Belvedere Castle. I didn't immediately notice a change in him but internally his heart was pounding even harder now… he had finally decided on the perfect spot to propose, the candles were lit, and then it started to rain.
It wasn't pouring down but it did make us walk a bit faster… or maybe it was my freezing toes that did that. If there was going to be a curveball thrown, it was going to be thrown now. As Henry worried about the rain putting the candles out and ruining the perfect image he had in his head, I worried if he would have to carry me back to the car with my freezing, wet feet.
He remained fairly silent as he took my hand and led me into the castle and quickly up a few narrow flights of stairs. About halfway up the stairs was when I realized what was likely going on. No security around, in fact, I hadn't even seen my detail the entire time we were in the park but specific routes, randomly unlocked buildings that no one stopped me from entering, and unbeknownst to me an anxious Henry… something was brewing.
As the flickering of the candles came into my view, Henry slowed his walk just slightly. When the entirety of the view he had created came fully into my view, he stopped to watch me take it all in. He kept it simple… but grand. What felt like thousands of little white candles filled the view of the lake from the top of the castle.
I walked to the end of the balcony, taking it all in in awe. I could tell he was watching me, taking me in like I was taking in the beautiful view. Before I knew it, he was standing next to me. It pulled my attention away from the view but onto what I had finally figured out what was happening.
As I turned to him, my attention shifted to his eyes, those beautiful brown eyes that I once again found myself lost in. He waited just a moment before dropping down to one knee and pulling the box out of his pants pocket.
The next thing I remember is nodding my head and saying "yes" over and over again. I vaguely remember him asking "will you marry me?" but I felt like I was having an out of body experience… how was this man really wanting to marry me? It felt so surreal.
He gently took my left hand and slipped the ring on my ring finger. It is so beautiful! I catch myself randomly staring at it. How did he know emerald cuts were my favorite? The two baguettes on the side make it feel so classic and timeless but still like it was only meant for me.
"I… I can't believe it!" I remember telling him shortly after he put the ring on.
"I love you so much!" He responded. I'll never forget the sound of his voice, how I could hear his smile when he said it.
I don't know how I responded, I was still in shock that all of this was happening. He walked back hand in hand out of the park and back to the car.
I couldn't keep my eyes off my hand and my hands off him for the rest of the night. I get to marry Henry McCord.
