They’re all speechless as they stare at him.
I wrap my arms around his, falling even deeper in love with him.
“You have nine minutes now,” he says in a deep authoritative voice. “I suggest you get your shit and get the fuck out before I have security toss your suitcases out the window.”
Mackenzie’s face drops as she turns to me. “Ella, do something!”
I just shrug with a vengeful smile on my face. “It’s his hotel. If he doesn’t want dumb cunts in it, then what am I supposed to do?”
Her mouth drops in shock. I love it. I’m not scared of these girls anymore. Not with this man by my side. I can conquer the world with Jackson’s love supporting me.
“Eight minutes,” he says when they refuse to move. He turns to the receptionist and calmly asks her to get security ready.
“Seven minutes.”
They run to the elevators with an angry huff and disappear into them. They know he’s not bluffing. If they don’t move fast, they’re going to have all of their clothes littered across the front lawn of the hotel.
That I would love to see, but this is a close second.
“I have to film this,” I say as I pull out my phone to record the girls angrily storming out of the hotel with their huge luggage.
They look so pissed as they walk down the bumpy sidewalk, yanking and jerking their luggage over the cracks.
“Bye bitches,” I whisper as I wave to them from Jackson’s front penthouse balcony.
He comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my body, chuckling as he watches Mackenzie’s huge bag fall over. She screams out in frustration.
“I’m going to have to ride back home with them on the same bus,” I say, feeling nauseous just thinking about it. They’re going to make me pay for this. I wonder what it’s going to be—drawing a mustache on my face with a Sharpie when I’m sleeping, locking me in the bathroom, or spreading rumors about me and getting everyone on the bus to hate me? Could be all three.
“You’re not going back with them,” Jackson says.
I turn and look up at him.
“I’ll charter us a jet,” he says. “You’ll be home before they hit their first gas station.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
I kiss the side of his jaw, just where I can reach, and then turn back to watch the girls as they go on their way, cursing and struggling to pull their luggage.
“Have you thought about what I asked?” he says. “About the plan?”
“The plan,” I whisper. “You really want to live with me in Boston?”
“It’s all I want. To live with you.”
I turn in his big arms until I’m facing him. I can feel his love for me radiating off him. It’s surrounding me in a warm glow.
I’d be crazy to walk away from this. To not seize it and hold on for dear life. I know I’d always regret it.
I already know what’s going to happen if I walk away and go home. If I write this off as a vacation fling…
I’ll be brokenhearted for sure. I’ll be thinking about him constantly. And then one day, far into the future I might be able to go on. I might even marry a nice man in a few years and have some kids.
But deep down, I’ll know that I married the wrong guy. I’ll know that I have the wrong life.
And it will break me. It’s something I’ll never get over.
I sigh as I run my hand along his bearded cheek.
There’s no point in thinking about it. I know I would never walk away from him in a million years. It feels too good to be held by him.
I know he’s my soul mate and there’s still so much good stuff to learn about each other. I’m sure there will be some bad too like in any relationship, but I can already tell that the good is going to outweigh the bad by a lot.
“I’m all in with the plan,” I say with a smile. “Follow me to Boston until I graduate and then I’ll follow you anywhere.”
“Really?” he says with his whole face lighting up. “You just made me the happiest man in the world.”
“Get used to it,” I say with a smile. “I plan on making you the happiest man in the world for the rest of your life.”
I’m about to drop down to my knees to start making him really happy when he drops to his knee first. My brain hitches for a second like a faulty computer when I wonder what he’s doing. It clicks back on when he pulls out a little purple box from his coat pocket.
My hands fly to my mouth as I gasp.
Is that—?
“Ella,” he says as he opens it and reveals the most gorgeous diamond ring I’ve ever seen shining in front of me. “I love you. I know we haven’t known each other for long, but when it comes to knowing what you want, time becomes irrelevant. I want you. I need you. I’m going to put a ring on your finger one day. I hope it’s today, but if not, I’ll wait. I’ll wait months, years, decades until you’re ready to marry me. So having said that, Ella, my love, will you please marry me?”