He took a step toward me. “Kid or no kid… this is us forever, and you’re right, we should make that official.” Another step closer. “Marry me.”

The panic retreated along with my breath. “Is that a request or a demand?” I asked breathlessly, laughter in the words.

Marco’s lips curled up at the corners. “A little of both.”

I cocked my head to the side, contemplating him with mischief in my eyes. That he could make me feel this way when I also felt so worried about the future was one of the reasons I loved him. “If you’d asked me when I was seventeen I would have given my parents both a heart attack by saying yes.”

“And now?”

I shrugged and began to turn away. “I’ll think about it.”

Two seconds later I was hauled into his arms, laughing as he growled, “I’ll think about it?” against my mouth.

I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck to hold on to him.

“Think fast.” He nipped at my lip.

“Okay, okay…”

“Hannah,” Marco warned.

Standing on my tiptoes, I brushed my lips against his ear and whispered, “I’ll say yes. I promise.”

“Then say it now,” he whispered back.

“You’re my best friend.”

“Hannah.”

“Always have been. Always will be.” I pulled back to hold his handsome face in my hands.

“I’ll take that as your yes,” he replied, his voice hoarse with emotion.

Letting all my feelings of tender affection and love shine out of my eyes, I grinned. “You always were good at reading me.”

He kissed me, pulling back only to look me deep in the eyes. Understanding passed silently between us. We could do this.

It hadn’t been an easy journey to here. We’d tried to fly numerous times since meeting each other, and we’d fallen more times than we liked to count. That was life.

Flying and falling.

Next week, for all we knew, we could very well fall, but in that moment, we were happy because we knew with certainty that if we fell… together, we’d get back up to try again.