The deafening rumble of the Harley’s engine shook the ground. Our neighbors were probably cursing us out.
“Hang on,” Roman shouted. He always warned me right before taking off.
“Eee!” I yelled as he slowly rolled the bike forward, then shifted and took off. The roar drowned out anything else. I squeezed my eyes shut and held on tight, remembering to move my body with the bike.
The angle of the bike shifted as if we were climbing a mountain. The air cooled. I opened my eyes. Bits of magenta and orange touched the sky, pushing the velvet darkness away.
We were headed to Fletcher Park.
Absolute delight tickled me. I squeezed Roman tighter. He pushed the bike faster.
The park wasn’t quite open this early but Roman rolled the bike to a stop outside the gate blocking off the main overlook.
I dismounted first. “What are we doing?” I asked in a loud whisper.
“Shhh.” He grinned as he took off his helmet and set it on the seat. He took mine, then grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the stone wall overlooking Empire valley below.
We weren’t alone. A few other people were walking along the sidewalk. Some had tripods and cameras set up to catch the sunrise. “Oh, Roman, we should’ve brought a camera.”
“Next time. Promise.” He stopped at a spot roughly in the middle of the stone wall, where we had a perfect view of the rising sun. Roman shrugged off his jacket and laid it on the chilly stone wall.
Arguing that he’d ruin his jacket would be pointless, so I carefully arranged myself on it, making sure not to smudge my damp boots against the leather. He sat next to me and I curled my hand around his. My breath caught in my throat as the sun made its appearance. It seemed to happen slowly but also all at once. I squinted but couldn’t look away from the colorful sky.
Next to me, Roman shifted off the wall, kneeling in the grass in front of me.
“What’re you doing?” I whispered. “You’ll get in trouble for being on the other side of the wall. Or fall off the cliff.”
He glanced behind him. “There’s plenty of room here. I’ll be fine.”
“That’s probably what everyone says right before they fall off the edge.”
“Juliet.” He squeezed my hand.
At the catch in his voice, I stopped breathing and took him in. Down on one knee, both hands wrapped around mine. He swallowed hard and bit his lip.
“Juliet,” he rasped.
My eyes widened. “Roman?”
“I fell in love with you the day you caught me breaking into your locker,” he said in a rush. “Once we struck a bargain to share the space, I knew I was going to marry you one day.” As he continued, he seemed to relax and ease into the words.
My heart pounded.
“We’ve lived and experienced more than most people our age. You make the hard things seem easy. Your courage inspires me. Your smile motivates me to work hard. Whenever we’re apart, I can’t wait to be home with you again.” He paused and squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “I love you so much. I want to build our life together. To take care of each other forever. Will you please be my wife?”
Tears spilled down my cheeks. “Yes! Roman, of course I want to marry you. I can’t wait to be your wife.” I ran my fingers through his hair. “You want to be my husband? Really?”
“Yes.” His voice shook and I realized he was as emotional as I was but trying to hold it together. “So much.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him. He scooped me up and awkwardly lifted and carried us over the low stone wall to the safety of the sidewalk. He sat again, holding me in his lap.
“Oh my God,” he groaned and released me for a second, shoving his hand in his pocket and producing a pretty velvet box. “I’m supposed to give you this. Sorry.”
“You got me a ring?” I whispered.
“Of course I did. I couldn’t propose without one.”
“Yes, you could have.”
“Pssh. Open it, please.”
I carefully popped the lid. The sunlight dazzled off the ring inside, blinding me for a moment. A ring set with a small round diamond, surrounded by petals of yellow gold and smaller sparkling diamonds, rested inside.
“Roman,” I gasped. “It’s beautiful. It looks like a daisy.”
“I know.” He grinned and gently tugged the ring from its holder. He took my left hand in his. “Will you marry me, Juliet?”
“Yes.”
He slid the ring on my finger and it fit perfectly.
“Wow.” I wiggled my fingers, unable to look away from the glittering stones. “It’s so perfect.”
“One day, I’d like to get you a bigger diamond—”
“Don’t you dare. I love this.” I held my hand to my chest, covering the ring with my other hand to shield it from his threat to replace it.