“Not a dime; I told you I know a guy.”
I stared up instead of at the aisle while I walked. When we came to the blanket, AJ took my hand and helped me down to sit on top of it. Stepping around the half-wall of the control booth, he came back with a black, cloth bag filled with something that smelled good enough to remind me how hungry I was. I blushed seeing all the trouble he’d gone through.
“I’m…I’m speechless.”
He smiled that beautiful smile of his and made me fall in love with him all over again, replying, “Mission accomplished.”
I took him into my arms and embraced him the second he sat beside me on the blanket. “This is perfect.”
He kissed the side of my neck, but our moment was interrupted when a young guy came into the planetarium with keys jingling in his hand.
“Place is all yours,” he said to AJ with a smile. “Just lock up when you leave.”
AJ nodded once and thanked the man before turning his attention back to me. “Hungry?” He asked.
I nodded, watching as he removed containers of food from the bag he’d retrieved. “I ordered from that place you love downtown; Dee and Karl picked it up and brought it here.
I smiled when he handed over my meal, feeling hungry, but a little too excited to eat as much as I typically would. I got through as much of it as I could before opting to set it aside for later. My eyes danced over the candles while the soft music consumed me. AJ cleared the food away and pulled me into his arms while I stared up I shook my head at him with a smile. “I can’t believe you did all this for me.” And that was the honest to God truth. How did I end up with someone as perfect as him?
While I stared up at the stars, the feel of AJ staring at me commanded my attention. “What is it?” I asked quietly, getting lost in his eyes for a moment.
“I was planning to wait until later to give you your gift, but…”
My eyes followed AJ’s hand to his pocket when he retrieved a small box. The breath hitched in my throat as I watched him pull it open, revealing what was inside – a solid, white-gold band with the inscription ‘Today. Tomorrow. Always.” engraved around the band. The expression on my face reflected my shock and confusion.
“It’s a promise ring,” he explained as he slid the cool metal down my finger, instantly solidifying our already unbreakable bond. He kissed the back of my hand and lifted my chin so that our eyes met. The love and adoration in his expression overwhelmed me to the point that a tear slipped down my cheek. “There’s not one person on this planet that I love more than you – not even myself. I want you to have this to show you that I have every intention to spend the rest of my life with you, Sam. No matter what happens. No matter what we have to face.” He smiled a little before adding, “We’ll say this is a placeholder for the real thing.”
I didn’t respond; words escaped me at the moment. My eyes danced over the inscription on the band as I digested their meaning. Images of our past, present, and the possibilities of the future, all danced inside my head. Our love was the forever kind and I’d known that from the beginning. AJ was so deep in my system that I was pretty sure that, without him, I’d cease to exist. We were soul-mates in every sense of the word, and now…I had the ring to prove that he felt the same way about me.
“I love you, too,” I finally forced out.