Chapter 9 - The Proposal at the Table Where It All Began
One year after that New Year's Eve, I returned to Bellweather Grill.
This time, I had a reservation.
Table for four.
Maya.
Lily.
Me.
And Nathan.
The same window table was available.
Maya looked at it.
“Why here?”
“Because this is where everything started.”
Lily climbed into her chair.
“I invited you.”
“You did.”
“I saved your life.”
Maya laughed.
“You invited him to dinner.”
“Same thing.”
Nathan smiled.
Dinner arrived.
Turkey sandwich.
Cheeseburger.
Chicken tenders.
Exactly as before.
Only now, I knew what it meant.
Maya reached across the table.
“Do you remember what you told me you did?”
“Technology.”
She laughed.
“You were terrible at lying.”
“I was trying to be anonymous.”
“You failed.”
Lily leaned forward.
“Are you going to tell us your wish?”
“What wish?”
“Last year's.”
I looked at Maya.
She knew.
At midnight, I had wished for one more night exactly like that one.
Only with less loneliness.
The countdown began.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Maya squeezed my hand.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
I stood.
Four.
Lily's eyes widened.
Three.
Maya looked confused.
Two.
I took a ring from my pocket.
One.
The restaurant erupted.
I knelt.
“Maya Collins, I came here last year wanting to be nobody.”
She covered her mouth.
“You and Lily gave me a reason to become someone better.”
People around us began noticing.
I continued.
“You taught me that being rich isn't the same as having a family. You showed me that home isn't a building. It's a table where somebody saves you a chair.”
She was crying.
“I don't know what the future looks like.”
Then I smiled.
“But I know who I want standing beside me.”
“Maya, will you marry me?”
She laughed through her tears.
“Yes.”
Lily screamed.
“I knew it!”
The restaurant applauded.
I slipped the ring onto Maya's finger.
She leaned down and whispered,
“You planned this.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“A year.”
She kissed me.
At the table behind us, someone shouted,
“Happy New Year!”
We laughed.
And as the celebration continued around us, Lily climbed into Maya's lap.
“Does this mean we're a family?”
Maya looked at me.
I nodded.
“We already were.”
A month later, we married in a small ceremony by the lake.
No cameras.
No executives.
No headlines.
Just family.
Nathan stood beside me.
Lily carried flowers.
Maya walked toward me in a simple ivory dress.
When she reached the altar, she whispered,
“You're still just Ethan tonight.”
May you like
I smiled.
“That’s all I wanted.”
