Just One Year(77)

Caleb wasted no time starting a fire in the fireplace, and the house was soon warm and intimate. It felt like a dream to stay in this oasis with him overnight. Aside from our night at that hotel in Boston, we’d never been totally alone.

We planted ourselves on the ground in front of the flames.

Resting my head against Caleb’s chest, I let out the thoughts that had been on my mind all day. “I’m so scared to leave you.”

I turned around to gauge his reaction.

He looked really…tense, like something was on his mind.

It took almost a full minute for him to respond. “I…think we should get married.”

“What?”

“I think we should get married—soon. Then we can start the paperwork to switch your status over to a spousal visa. It’s the only way to guarantee that it will be easy for us.” He wrapped his legs around me as he looked into my eyes. “But here’s the thing, I would want to marry you even if the distance weren’t separating us. Because there’s no one else I’d rather spend my life with. You’re everything to me. I don’t want to lose you because of stupid rules and regulations. Life is too short. Be with me. Marry me, Teagan.”

My heart pounded so hard. He had no clue that I’d prayed he would come to this conclusion. In my head, it seemed like an extreme possibility. But in my heart, I knew it was the only way we stood a chance at being together without complications. I just never thought he’d go for it so soon. But there was no part of me that didn’t feel ready to commit to him.

“I will absolutely marry you.”

He beamed. “Yeah?”

“I can tell you were nervous to ask me, but I’ve been hoping you would.”

He slipped his hand into his back pocket and took out a ring box. His proposal had seemed so impulsive, but apparently he’d planned this.

“I was afraid to take this out. I felt like I needed to feel you out first, to confirm you didn’t think my suggestion was too crazy. But now that I know we’re on the same page, this is me getting down on one knee.”

Technically, since we were lying on the ground, he stood up on one knee. I sat up and placed my hand over my heart.

“Teagan, you’ve made my life brighter from the moment you yelled at me through your keyboard. And it’s only been better from there. You’re the best friend and lover anyone could ask for.” He opened the box and looked down at the sparkly round diamond set in a gold band. “This ring was my nan’s. She gave it to my mother some years ago and asked her to give it to me only when Mum was certain I’d found the one. My mother didn’t hesitate to hand this over when she realized how worried I was about you leaving England. She helped me come to the conclusion that I should take the risk of asking you to marry me, that the worst that could happen was you’d say no.” He looked up at me. “Teagan, my love, once again, will you be my wife?”

“Yes!”

We fell into a long kiss, rolling around on the carpet in bliss.

“When is this happening?” I asked.

“The sooner the better. We can book an appointment at the Home Office tomorrow to see what we need to do. If all goes well, we can get everything sorted before your six months is up.”

Hope filled me. “And then I’ll never have to leave?”

“That’s the idea.”

My mind began to whirl. “We have a little wedding to plan!”

“It’ll be fun. Emma can be your flower girl—bridesmaid, whatever. We’ll keep it small. Someday we’ll have a real one in Boston with all of your family and friends. Maybe fly Mum over, too.”

My heart leaped for joy. “That sounds like a plan. I don’t need a big wedding. I’d rather use the money for our future house, wherever that may be. And I kind of want it to be here. I want to be here for Emma—living here.”

Caleb smiled wide. “That makes me incredibly happy. You know I don’t want to leave my mother. But I want to make something very clear. If you don’t want to stay here forever, you come first. I would go absolutely anywhere you wanted me to because I can’t live without you.”

***

The following morning over breakfast and tea in the adorable cottage kitchen, Caleb got a bright idea.

“I wonder if I could call Bo Cheng.”

I chuckled. “Why would you want to do that?”

“I want to thank him. If he hadn’t given up his room in your house, I wouldn’t be blissfully happy right now. God knows where I would be without you, Teagan.” Caleb hugged me and kissed behind my ear. “Do you still have access to the student directory at Northern?”

“Yeah, since my attendance is on hold, I’m still considered active.”

I logged into the student portal from my phone and searched for Bo Cheng’s name. It came right up, and I recited the number for Caleb as he entered it into his phone. He put the call on speaker.

Someone answered. “Hello?”

“Bo?”

“Yeah.”

“Bo Cheng?”

“Yes.” He sounded like we’d maybe woken him up from a nap.

“You don’t know me. My name is Caleb Yates, but I owe you a huge thank you for…well, for your allergies.”

Covering my mouth, I cracked up as he continued.