On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,105

the second time I brought you out here?” he asks with a smirk.

I laugh even harder. “That coast guardsman was so confused.”

Drew chuckles as he gives me another slow spin around. I fit right back into his arms and we enjoy another few minutes of silent sway.

“Come with me,” he whispers.

We walk together hand-in-hand back to the shelter of the helm. Drew lets go of me to look beneath the console and pulls out a medium-sized rectangular box wrapped in white paper and fitted with a golden ribbon.

“Is that for me?” I ask, biting my lip.

“Wouldn’t be your birthday without a gift,” he says, holding it out.

I reach for it. He jerks it out of reach with a teasing smirk before finally letting me have it. I chuckle as I bring it to my ear and give it a light shake, but I hear little beyond the light shuffle of tissue paper inside. I slide the ribbon free, gaze at Drew to extend the moment even longer, then peel the lid off the box.

A small letter-sized canvas sits inside. It’s decorated with paint and pictures ripped from magazines. The Chicago skyline. A golden watch. A couple in love.

“Five Goals for a Perfect Year,” I read the line of text at the top.

There are five bullet points beneath it, each one obscured by a piece of colorful washi tape.

“What’s this?” I ask Drew.

“That is my vision board,” he answers.

“You made a vision board?” I gasp as I look it over again. “How cute!”

He nods. “I’ve been thinking a lot about next year. There’s a lot I want to accomplish, but I narrowed it down to five goals. And one sub goal.”

“How very organized of you. I’m so proud.”

“I learned from the best.” He bobs his head. “Go ahead.”

I pinch the first piece of tape and slowly peel it back. “Learn a new life skill!” I read with a laugh.

“It’s a classic for a reason.”

“Number two...” I pull the second piece back. “Buy a home.” I blink in surprise. “Really?”

“Remember how my dad was telling us about those condos he was trying to unload?” he asks.

I squint. “Vaguely...”

“I’m thinking I might buy one.”

“Wow,” I say. “You think you’re ready?”

“I think so,” he answers with a nod. “I love Chicago. I grew up here. I don’t really see myself leaving. And you seem pretty set up here, too, right?”

I nod. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Just seems like the thing to do.”

“Have you told Seth yet that he needs to find a new roommate?”

“No.”

I wince. “Well, good luck with that.”

He chuckles as I yank the third piece of tape off the canvas.

“Open the bar,” I read with a nod. “Oh, that’s an obvious one.”

“Seth and I are more than ready,” he says. “We have a plan. We have the support. We just have to do it.”

“Have you talked to Nora about it yet?”

“Yes,” he says. “She knows it’s coming. Her only request is that we wait to pull the trigger until she’s back from leave and that I fully train a new executive assistant before I go.”

“That’s a lot of risk.”

“That’s a lot of risk worth taking.”

“But what if you fail?”

“Ah, but what if we succeed?” he counters, smiling.

I perk up. “Good answer! I like the positivity.”

“But, in all seriousness, if we fail, we try again. No big deal.”

“The perks of being filthy rich,” I joke.

Drew shrugs, proudly guilty.

I yank off the fourth piece... and arch a brow. “Take my best friend to Las Vegas for his birthday?”

He points at the canvas. “Sub goal.”

I peel it off and laugh. “Convince Heidi to let me take Seth to Vegas. Ha-ha.”

“I feel like that one will take me some time,” he says. “But I’m confident.”

I pivot away. “Yeah, I guess we’ll see about that...” I pinch the final piece of tape and rip it off. “Ask my real best friend to... marry me.”

I turn to face him again.

Drew takes a knee in front of me.

I gasp. “No way...”

He holds up a small, black velvet box. This one isn’t a small rectangle like the boxes from my last three birthdays. This one is square-shaped.

And square-shaped means...

He opens it. A diamond ring sits inside. A bright rock on a band of gold cradled by two small pieces of orange topaz.

“I thought these were goals for next year,” I say, still in shock.

“Why wait?” Drew smiles. “Heidi, will you marry me?”

I swallow hard as I look at his vision board again. New skills. New home. New job. A perfect year to