I stepped around the corner and made my way into the kitchen. Nolan looked up and paused as I walked over to him. Reaching up onto my toes, I brushed my mouth against his for a light kiss. “Hey,” I whispered.
His arm snaked around my waist and he brought my body flush against his. “Hey, back at you.”
Smiling up at him, I asked, “What are you making?”
“Breakfast.”
I laughed. “What time is it?”
“Seven-thirty.”
With a frown, I looked outside to see that it was sunny out. I gasped. “Did I sleep all afternoon and evening?”
Nolan nodded. “You did. You must have really needed the sleep. I woke up around eleven last night, took both dogs out and then went for a run.”
“A run! At night?”
“On the treadmill in the workout room. Then I showered and laid back down with you and didn’t wake up until Belle climbed onto my chest around six and gave me my very own wake-up kiss to go potty.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and giggled. “Thank you for taking her out. She is a bit of an early riser.”
Nolan raised a brow as I sat on one of the kitchen island stools.
“What are you making?” I asked.
“Bacon, eggs, pancakes, and there’s fresh-squeezed orange juice in the fridge.”
I felt my eyes widen. “Why are you making so much food?”
“I was starving. I haven’t really eaten much the last few days.”
I frowned. “Me neither. I’m sorry about running like I did.”
Nolan looked up at me. “Don’t apologize. I wish you didn’t find out that way. I planned on telling you that night.”
“I figured that out after I got to thinking about things.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m honestly tired of thinking about it all. What I do want to know is how you’re here. I was planning on flying out to California to see you.”
Nolan looked back down at the pancakes he had just flipped and then turned his focus onto the eggs.
“Nolan? What’s wrong?”
He looked over his shoulder at me and replied, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Then tell me how you got your leave extended.”
Clearing his throat, he removed the pancakes as he spoke. “I didn’t get my leave extended.”
I watched him put two pancakes on each plate, then turn and get the eggs. He put one on his plate and one on mine.
“Okay,” I said. “Nolan, are you AWOL?!”
He laughed and shook his head. “I resigned my commission. I’m no longer active duty, but I am reserve and did tell my command that I would continue on as a consultant. Both for the Air Force and for NASA’s test pilot program.”
I was positive my mouth was hanging open. “You left the Air Force? Can you even do that?”
He laughed. “Yes. I’ve fulfilled my obligations from pilot training school, and since I’m an officer, I can resign at any time.”
Words escaped me; I had no idea what to say. I was stunned, not even sure I was hearing him correctly. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
His eyes met mine, and the way he smiled at me made me feel dizzy. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life, Linz. I want to be here with you.”
“Yes, but I could have moved there. I already told my parents I was going to move out there to be with you. Nolan, all I want is for us to be together. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
A pained look crossed his face, and I slid off the chair and made my way over to him. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if I’m in California or you’re here in Texas. All I care about is that I finally have you back. I have my life back. As much as I hate some of the memories we share, I simply adore the rest of them. I cannot wait to start a new adventure with you, Nolan.”
Before I could say another word, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the box that held our wedding bands. He kept the two bands in the box and took out the one-carat princess-cut diamond and dropped down on one knee.
Tears filled my eyes as I whispered his name. “Nolan.”
“Linnzi Marie Cunningham, will you elope with me this weekend and finally be my wife?”
I reached down and pulled him up so that I could throw myself against him. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” I cried out as he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the floor.
“Finally,” he softly said, squeezing me to him.
“I want to go somewhere, Nolan. Just the two of us. I want to make up for the lost time we’ve had.”
He shook his head in a confused manner. “What about the job you wanted?”
“I called her and told her I needed some time, that something personal had come up.”