| Isabella |

In the weeks following Nathan and I officially getting together, my entire life felt as if it had been turned on its head. Sure, I had been in a some-what serious relationship in college, but that had been nothing like this. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I expected, especially knowing how hot and cold Nathan could be. And I kept waiting for him to get sick of this whole dating thing, but he didn't. He took me out regularly, was constantly texting or calling me, and seemed to have made a habit of sending little gifts to my apartment all the time.

The time that a box of assorted chocolates from a little bakery in Manhattan showed up on my doorstep, Rachael completely forgave him. She and I ate them immediately, and she kept going on and on about how he was definitely a keeper. I made sure to tell him later, of course, because he was no longer going to be in any danger if he came over. (She had been acting murderous towards him up towards this point.) But she was just being protective.

I was getting to know him a little better everyday, and the more I knew, I discovered there was also a whole lot about his past I didn't know. I understood that he didn't want to talk about it. According to Jackson, Nathan's time in foster care before he was adopted hadn't been too pleasant. I respected that this wasn't a part of his life he wanted to share, but I couldn't deny how curious the whole thing made me. Maybe, someday, he would want to talk about it. For now though, I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so happy. And it was all the time too. It was weird, but definitely not unwelcome.

Tonight, however, I was alone. Nathan had to go out of town on a business trip and Rachael was out with Hunter for the millionth time. We'd both been so absorbed in our relationships, we'd barely spent any time together lately.

So, here I was, finishing off my dinner and watching TV before I had to go to bed. My phone went off then, and I reached for it, smiling when I saw the message.

It was messages like these I'd never expected to get from him before, but now, it was normal. And that felt good.

Me too baby.

I write back. He reads it instantly and I see the bubble pop up, showing that he's responding.

I write back with a sad face, and then a purple devil. It was my favorite emoji by far.

Well, I wish you were home with me. Then you could watch The Office with me again.

He takes a bit to respond, and I think it's because some of the 'old people' are talking to him. I guess that was a downside of being successful at a young age.

I grin at the screen, he was right. I was. It was at that moment that Rachael burst through the front door of the apartment shrieking. I jumped so bad that my phone went flying across the room and landed smack on our wood floors. I winced, the screen was probably cracked.

"Rachael!" I shout over her wild, excited shrieks. "Rachael, calm down, Jesus!" And she laughs, sprinting over to the couch. I had no idea what was going on, I'd never been more confused in my life. I scream now too, bracing myself as she tackles me into the couch cushions. I wince again, I was probably bruised somewhere now.

"What is going on?" I shout and she sits up, grinning like a mad woman, as she finally quiets down. "What?" I ask, waiting for her to tell me what the hell had her acting this insane.

"Just guess." she says, bouncing up and down on the couch. I stare at her. I had no idea, she just sat there. Hair and eyes wild, still grinning, like whatever had happened should be obvious, but I couldn't figure it out.

"I don't know." I say slowly. "Come on, tell me."

If it was even possible, her smile gets wider. She flashes her left hand at me, wiggling her ring finger around and that's when I saw the giant diamond. It was gorgeous, and huge and exactly something Rachael would want. A rush of excitement hits me as I put two and two together.

"Oh my god!" I scream. "He proposed?!"

"Yes, he fucking proposed!" she screams back, and I grab her. We both squeal, hugging like crazy and shouting about how amazing this was. I pull back, grabbing her hand to get a good look at this thing. It was probably one of the biggest diamonds I'd ever seen.

"Wow!" I gasp, sighing. "I cannot believe this, at all. That's why he's been so nice lately." Referring to how, for once, Hunter was actually being genuine with me. Rachael thought her magic had finally worked on him, and in a way, it had.

"Probably." She shrieks giggling and I laugh too. "This is amazing!"

"Oh my god, the wedding planning is going to be so much fun." I gush and she nods. "Have you picked a date?"

"No not yet, but we were thinking sometime in June because we both want a summer wedding on the beach." She says and my eyes widen. It was September now.

"Oh my god, that's not even that far away!" I say and she nods smiling brightly. "I mean, I guess it is, but it doesn't feel like it!"

"It's going to be insane to plan, but I am so excited, it's going to be all I want to do anyway." And I giggle, it was true. Rachael had been planning her wedding since she was a little girl, dreaming up every possible detail to make it the most sparkly and spectacular wedding that had ever been seen on planet earth.

"This is so exciting." I sigh, grinning. "Girl, you know I'm going to be helping you plan."

"I would kill you if you didn't." She says suddenly serious and I make a face. Then she goes back to giggling and smiling. "Just kidding of course, but still, I am going to need your help and design taste."

"Ooooh! I can't wait!" I say, clapping my hands together and she screams out of joy again. I brace myself as she tackles me for the millionth time, unable to contain her happiness.

We ended up finishing the episode of The Office that I was watching before but Rachael could barely sit still and eventually got up to call Hunter because she "needed to hear his voice again". She couldn't bare to be away from him so I eventually kicked her out, sending him to his apartment because I knew she wanted to go. She'd been sticking around because she didn't want to leave me alone but I insisted I'd be fine and I was.

I was finally climbing into bed around 11:30 pm when my phone rang. I smiled when I saw the caller ID.

"Hey baby." He says, his voice rocky and tired. He was in Philadelphia right now at some kind of business conference and wouldn't be back for another week so he called me every night without fail, no matter how late it was.

"How was your day?" I ask.

"Good, really boring. I wish you were here, it would be more fun." He chuckles. "I think of finally begun to see why you don't like work as much as I do."

"Ah, welcome to the dark side, we've been waiting for you." I say mischievously and then giggle. He laughs on his end, the sound of it becoming something I went from never hearing to now hearing it all the time.

"God, I can't wait to get back." He sighs.

We spent the rest of the call talking about the conference and the fancy hotel he was staying in. It wasn't until later that I mentioned Rachael getting engaged, which he was happy to hear about. Then, it was getting late and I knew he was tired by his voice, so I made him go to bed.

Once I finally hung up and went to bed myself all I could think about was how I couldn't wait for him to come home. It was only a week more, but it felt like an eternity.

Hey Everyone!

I know it's been a while since I updated, especially since I updated Mr Elitist. Honestly, I kind of lost inspiration for the story and I didn't know where I wanted it to go. But now I know and I have a plan to end it. (and possibly write a sequel!!!!!) I think there will be about 10 - 15 chapters left depending on how it all plays out. SO, this is all to say I will be updating more regularly now! I have some extra time and motivation and I hope to finish this book soon! So stay tuned for another couple updates coming soon!

XX,

- Keara Rose 🌹

P. S.

How's school going for everyone? I just started senior year and I am SO EXCITED!!! Also let me know what you think of the chapter/story so far in the comments below!

Okay...

That's all folks!