So instead, focusing on the positives, on the now, we settled on the couch and Sam let me lean into him.
“Oh, I have exciting news!” Sam turned to me, raising one eyebrow. We usually shared things with each other right away; it was unusual for me to have kept something to tell him in person. But this wasn’t about us, not directly. “Kate’s getting married!”
My sister had been seeing her boyfriend for nearly as long as Sam had been my boyfriend. “I’m a little jealous,” I admitted. Our relationship had lasted longer - but, unlike Kate and Brian, Sam and I had yet to live together. We didn’t even live in the same province right now.
“Congratulations to Kate,” Sam hummed. He did well at putting up with my family but it wasn’t a great secret that Sam didn’t love them. It was fair enough, since they were the ones who had started with their distaste of Sam. Never once had it been something Sam did, so all things considered, he did well to at least try.
Instead of continuing discussing Kate and Brian’s relationship, Sam turned to me, pulling my legs into his lap. “So, you’re jealous,” he commented. “I didn’t know you liked Brian like that,” he teased.
Rolling my eyes, I brought a hand up to shove lightly at Sam’s shoulder. “I don’t.” He hardly needed me to tell him that. Ever since Sam had asked me if I was his girlfriend, no other guy had caught my eye. Sam was perfect, or at least perfect for me.
“It’s just -” My shoulders lifted in a shrug. “We’ve been together longer. But we don’t get to have a party to show everyone how much we love each other.” And my parents fawned over Brian, who wanted to be a teacher, in a way they’d never fawned over Sam. That couldn’t be helped, but maybe if Sam were to marry into the family one day, my mom and dad might finally understand that we were serious about each other.
I could tell from the small frown line that appeared between Sam’s brows that he was thinking about what I’d said. One day, that frown line would become a wrinkle. While that was a strange thought now, it was also kind of thrilling to know I’d see it get there. Because in my head, there was absolutely no doubt that Sam and I would still be together.
“We can have a party,” he said finally, shrugging. “If you want, I’ll organize a party for you every weekend,” he added with a small grin, before reaching to take my hand. “Or do you mean that you’re jealous your sister is now engaged? I have thought about it, you know, about us getting married.”
“You have?” A million butterflies swirled through me, making my head spin. Sam’s warm arm around my waist helped me keep both feet on the ground - at least, metaphorically. “I have, too.” Even before Kate had announced her engagement, the thought of marrying Sam had crossed my mind.
My smile was so wide it made my cheeks ache. “I know we can’t now.” Living apart, there was no way it was sensible for us to get married. “But maybe when I finish university? Or… after law school.” That seemed a million years away. It was my turn to frown.
Letting go of my hand, Sam cupped my face, rubbing his thumb over my cheek gently. “Maybe we can’t be very good married people right now,” he agreed. “But we can be okay engaged people.” That wasn’t what I had expected him to say! It must have shown, because Sam laughed.
“I want to marry you and it sounds like you want to marry me, too,” he pointed out. That was a fair assessment based on what I had just said. “So how about it Helena Worth, will you one day be my wife?”
“Yes!” Launching myself forward, my lips caught Sam’s, noses smushed together while Sam’s fingers tangled in my hair. It might not have been the most perfect kiss in the world, but there was no doubt that both of us would remember it forever.
As Sam pulled back, my hands still on his chest, we shared the sweetest smile. “Your wife! That sounds so grown up.” It would be perfect. So perfect that I didn’t know how we were going to wait. “And you’ll be my husband.”
“Yes,” he laughed. “And we’ll be grown-ups together,” he joked. Despite this big house and our career plans, it didn’t quite feel like we were adults just yet. But if we were going to become adults, it was something we could do together. We’d done all the other things together, so thinking that this was something we’d learn together, too, was pretty exciting.
Sam pressed another kiss against my lips. When he pulled back, there was a small frown between his eyebrows, just like there had been before. “I need to give you... a thing. A ring? But I don’t have a ring,” he hummed. And sure, maybe an engagement usually included a ring but I didn’t need one. Not when I had Sam’s promise!
I told him as much and Sam’s eyes widened. “I can do better than that!” he announced, pushing my legs off his lap so he could get up. “Wait here.” The instruction made me chuckle; I had no intention of going anywhere.
Watching Sam dash off, my curiosity spiked. It wasn’t likely that he’d return with a ring when he’d just told me he didn’t have one, but that didn’t stop me from picturing what he might bring back. When he did return, Sam jumped over the back of the couch, landing next to me with a wide smile.
In his hands, he held a hockey
