Nathaniel reached for the ring, but she stayed his hand.
“Don’t touch it yet. How’s your back?”
Nathaniel stretched and nodded. “Good. There’s no aching now, only twitching of the muscles. My shoulder blades and ribs feel like they’re rattling at times, which startles me, but it doesn’t hurt. Well, it doesn’t hurt much,” he amended with a sheepish smile.
Honest and true. Just what one would expect from an angel, she thought. “In a little while, you’re going to remember why you became an archangel and those memories are going to be awful. They should have come back first, but someone wanted to give us a chance to . . . a chance to fall in love, I guess,” she said, hesitating. Her finely honed skepticism made having faith in anything, especially a whirlwind romance, difficult to embrace.
“I am in love,” Nathaniel said.
Honest and true. Always, Kate thought.
“But I don’t know that these few hours caused it. I think I always loved you. Everything I remember from my life before seems to revolve around trying to be near you.”
“My supernatural stalker,” she said with a small smile.
“What about you, Kate? What of your feelings for me?” The light around him glowed, reaching out to her, soaking into her skin, the warmth curling deep.
“Oh, I’m definitely in danger of falling in love with you.” She stared at him. “It may already be too late.”
“Is that such a terrible thing?” he asked, stepping close and inclining his head so their breath mingled. “Must you try to resist it?”
She closed her eyes, so she wouldn’t have to look at him. That was too hard. “I have to be cautious, yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you might not choose me.”
“Of course I will. There’s no one else.”
“Not what I meant.” Drawing in a breath as if it were courage, she paused, then exhaled audibly. “According to the chief angels, you can be an archangel or you can be a married man. You can’t be both.”
She felt the warmth fade, and when she opened her eyes, she found he’d taken a step back.
“Is that a law of Heaven?”
“Apparently so.”
He nodded thoughtfully, then lowered himself to one knee, taking her hand. “Kate, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Her throat tightened, and she swallowed. “Don’t you think you should wait until your memory is fully restored to make this choice? It’s a big decision.”
“I’m accustomed to taking things on faith, Kate. If Heaven didn’t want me to act upon this love, it wouldn’t have laid me in your backyard for you to find. It wouldn’t have shown me memories of you, while suppressing memories that could have drawn me away from you. If a choice must be made, I choose a mortal life with you.” His low voice was smooth and without hesitation. “Will you choose me as well?”
A matched set of tears rolled down her cheeks, and she swallowed hard. “I never make big decisions on a whim or take things on faith. Investigating, gathering information, making long lists of the pros and cons is really more my style,” she murmured, feeling as though she stood at the edge of a cliff.
Don’t hesitate, the golden angel from the Clarity roof had warned.
She brushed the moisture from her cheeks. “But sometimes, when I’ve had to make spur-of-the-moment decisions, I’ve followed hunches that changed my life. This feels like one of those moments.” She swallowed against the emotion burning her throat. “Yes, Nathaniel,” she whispered. “I will marry you.”
He exhaled and smiled, devastating her with that unbelievable beauty. Rising, he gathered her to him and kissed her. Long moments passed during the kiss, and his grip became so tight, she couldn’t catch her breath.
She pulled back, laughing and gasping. “You are so strong.”
“Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head, sucking in a breath. “I’m just . . .” She laughed. “A little giddy, I guess.”
He nodded, the corner of his mouth curving up. “Excitement seems natural under the circumstances.” He studied her, his gaze moving over her body. Then he looked at her face through his long lashes. “If we were handfasted, we could have our wedding night tonight.” He took a slow breath. “Unless you would prefer to wait.”