Epilogue
October 26, 2014
"What's the matter?" Haley asked her boyfriend, taking note of his unusual behavior. He was all fidgety which wasn't like him at all.
"Nothing," Nathan lied, something he hadn't done since the day he'd come clean to her about his past. Even though the lie wasn't a bad one, it still left a sour taste in his mouth.
"Uh huh. You wanna know how I know you're lying?"
"Shoot," he said, smirking.
"Your lips are moving," she quipped.
"Very funny."
"C'mon, sweetie," she said, laughing at the adorable way he scrunched up his nose at the endearment, "I know something's wrong. You've been kind of antsy for days and it's starting to worry me. If anything's bothering you you know you can talk to me."
"I know. You're the one person I know I can tell anything to," he told her, leaning over slightly to take her hand in his.
"So, what's up?"
Nathan looked around, taking in the familiar view. This was their spot in Central Park; the venue of their first official date and somewhere they often revisited whenever they felt the need to relax and breathe in some fresh air. It was a great place to just sit and let the world go by. "Do you remember the first time we came here together?"
"Of course I do," Haley replied, smiling. "As if I'd forget our very first date."
"I spent forever trying to come up with something original and even though I was sure you'd enjoy a picnic in the park, I was worried it was too simple."
She shook her head. "It was perfect and I loved it." Intertwining their fingers, she gave them a gentle squeeze.
"I'm glad to hear that..." They were sitting side by side on the large blanket they had brought with them. Without removing his hand from hers, Nathan maneuvered himself so that he was now positioned on one knee and even though his heart was thumping like crazy and he could feel beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead, he couldn't help smiling at the shocked look she now wore. He was hoping to take her completely by surprise and it appeared that he'd been successful.
"Oh my God," Haley mumbled as the realization of what he was about to do sunk in. Her eyes widened when she saw him remove a small, black velvet box from the pocket of his pants. "Nathan?"
"I love you so much, Haley," Nathan told her, his eyes locked on hers. "You make me happier than I thought I could ever be." Pausing, he swallowed past the lump which had formed in his throat. "Bumping into you that day in the coffee shop was when I really started living life and you made me want to be a better person."
Haley was too choked to speak and she brushed away the tears that had already started to fall.
"You made me want to be good enough to be seen with you."
"You are good enough," she stated, cupping the side of his face and rubbing her thumb along his cheekbone.
Resting his forehead against hers for a moment, Nathan closed his eyes before opening them again a few moments later. Popping open the jewelry box he was holding, he smiled at her reaction to the ring he had chosen especially for her several months ago. The urge to propose had been getting stronger by the day and when the idea to do it on their four year anniversary had entered into his head, everything seemed to fall into place after that; from the location of where to do it, to finding the perfect engagement ring.
"Haley James, will you marry me?"
There was no hesitation at all as Haley automatically nodded her head and said, "Yes... yes, I'll marry you."
Their lips met in an achingly tender kiss and when they drew apart they were both smiling while their eyes were glassy with unshed tears.
Taking Haley's left hand in his, Nathan removed the vintage Tiffany style, platinum and diamond solitaire ring from it's plush velvet bed and slowly slid it onto her ring finger. Bringing her hand up to his lips, his eyes stayed on hers as he pressed a kiss onto the back of it before leaning in and capturing her mouth again.
"I love you so much," she whispered as she got up onto her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
"I love you, too and I can't wait to marry you." His own arms were banded around Haley's waist.
"Me either."
Her giggle was like music to his ears and that tiny remaining weight he still sometimes felt he carried on his shoulders seemed to finally dissipate and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Please tell me you don't want to have a long engagement," he said, releasing her and leaning back so he could look at his fiancée's beaming face.
"Hmm, it takes a long time to plan a wedding," she teased.
"We could always elope?" Nathan suggested.
"Okay, sure. But only if you're the one who tells that to both sets of parents plus my siblings."
His eyes widened as he imagined doing just that and he knew she had him. "I was thinking more along the lines of us telling everyone after we'd gotten married."
"Yeah, I know," Haley said, laughing. Kissing the corner of his mouth, she continued, "I don't want a long engagement and since I was thinking we'd keep the wedding to just our close family and friends... it shouldn't take too much time to plan everything."
"You don't want a big wedding?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
Haley shook her head. "No. I've always wanted something intimate and fairly simple... nothing too flashy. But if you do, then—"
"No," Nathan quickly interrupted. "What you've described sounds perfect and exactly the kind of wedding I'd prefer us to have, too. I was thinking we could have it in Tree Hill though."
She smiled. "It's like you read my mind. I know New York holds special memories for us but ever since I was a little girl I've wanted my wedding to take place in the grounds of the church where my parents got married. The gardens are so beautiful and the smell from all the flowers in the spring and summer months is just gorgeous. We can hold it somewhere else though if you've got another venue in mind."
"The church gardens sound great," he told her. "I was just going to suggest the beach but I think we should look into your idea first and see what happens."
"Okay," she agreed. Sliding her left hand down his chest, Haley admired the ring adorning her finger. "Thank you for my ring. I love it."
"Yeah?"
"Uh huh."
"I wasn't sure if you'd want to pick something yourself but I kind of wanted the proposal to be traditional."
"I'm glad. You have amazing taste," she told him, playfully nipping his chin. A thought suddenly occurred to her and she asked, "When you say you wanted the proposal to be traditional... does that mean you talked to my dad beforehand?"
Nathan nodded shyly. "Yeah. I thought about talking to both him and your mom but knowing that Lydia doesn't always do well with secrets," he quipped, "I figured it was better not to include her."
Haley laughed at that. "I'm pretty sure she would've been straight on the phone to me dropping hints."
"That's what your dad said," he said, laughing along with her.
"So, my dad gave you his blessing, huh?"
"He did." Recalling the phone conversation he'd had with Jimmy, Nathan felt himself breaking out in a sweat at the memory. He'd debated going back home to Tree Hill to do it face to face but he knew he'd have had trouble getting away without Haley finding out and he was sure someone would've let the cat out of the bag upon his arrival there. Thankfully, his future father-in-law had understood his reasons for doing it over the phone and after giving the obligatory warning about never hurting his baby girl and receiving Nathan's assurances that he wouldn't, Jimmy had given his blessing.
"Well, just for the record, I would've still said yes even if he'd said no," Haley told him.
"Good," he replied, punctuating the statement with a firm kiss. "I wouldn't have taken no for an answer anyway."
"I know." She took the lead this time and kissed him, slipping her tongue between his parted lips to tangle with his own. When they eventually drew back from one another long minutes later, she breathlessly asked, "So, have you got anything else planned for us this afternoon?"
"No. Why, what do you have in mind?" Having a fairly good idea of how she was going to answer, the corner of his mouth quirked upwards.
Keeping her gaze locked on his, Haley slowly and deliberately licked her lips before saying, "I just thought we could go home and you know... celebrate in private."
Nathan knew that if he'd been wearing a collared shirt he'd be tugging on it right about now. His skin suddenly felt hot despite the cool breeze blowing around them. "I definitely like the sound of that."
She moaned when he leaned in and nuzzled his lips against hers before slanting his head and fusing their mouths together. One arm twined around his neck while her other hand cradled his cheek. "We can't do this here," she said, laughing softly and quickly glancing around to see if anyone was watching them.
"You sure?" he teased.
"C'mon, let's go home and start celebrating."
"God, I love it when you say that," Nathan told her.
"Well, considering we're living together it is my home."
Just over a year after Nathan's heartfelt confession to her about his past Haley had moved into his apartment with him. If she'd had her way it would have happened sooner but he had been adamant that he wanted them to date for a while longer first; wanting her to be absolutely sure being in a relationship with him was what she wanted because, he'd said, once she was living with him he wasn't going to let her go. She had been about to remind him that they were practically living together already but she decided not to, knowing he wouldn't give in. As great as things were between them, she knew he still bore some of the scars from his past and that he still needed time to fully heal. In the end though, the matter had been taken out of their hands when Lindsey announced she was going to be moving in with Josh.
At first, Haley was worried that Nathan would feel like he was being forced to let her move in with him but when one morning he'd seen her looking through the property section in the local newspaper he had quickly grabbed it from her and tossed it into the trash, telling her he wanted nothing more than for her to move in with him. That he felt completely ready for them to take that next step in their relationship.
In less than a week she'd packed up all of her stuff and had moved into his place. She blushed at the memory of them "officially" christening every room in the apartment, despite the fact they'd pretty much already done that over the course of the past year.
"Yeah, I know. It's just... there's something about hearing you say it that really turns me on."
Haley's cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "Wanna know a secret?" she asked him.
"Always," he replied, kissing the sensitive spot just behind her ear.
She felt a delicious shiver travel though her and she closed her eyes for a moment to savor the feeling.
"What's the secret?" Nathan prompted when she still hadn't answered.
Opening her eyes, she smiled sexily at him. Closing the tiny gap between them, she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth before releasing it with an audible pop. "It really turns me on, too," she whispered.
His eyes darkened to a shade of midnight blue. "Okay, we need to go home... now," he said, his voice thick with lust.
"Yes," she agreed, quickly gathering their belongings.
Scrambling to his feet, Nathan offered Haley his hands which she took and he gently pulled her up. Grabbing the blanket, he didn't bother folding it and he felt his face heat up when he heard her laugh. "Yeah, yeah," he murmured, unable to keep himself from smiling.
Making sure they had everything, Haley slipped her hand into his and laced their fingers together. She was practically having to run to keep up with him as he hurried through the park. Knowing him as she did, she was surprised he hadn't just tossed her over his shoulder so he could make their exit that little bit quicker.
Glancing at his handsome face, Haley then looked down at her ring. Her smile felt so wide that she was sure her face was going to split into two. She couldn't believe she was engaged. If someone had told her that Nathan Scott would wind up being the love of her life... well, she wasn't sure she would've believed them.
Back when they had first met, she the quiet, unassuming tutor and him the overly-confident king of the Tree Hill Ravens, they hadn't anything in common and had come from totally different backgrounds, but somehow their two worlds had collided. Meeting up with him in New York all these years later had been so unexpected and she said a silent prayer of thanks to whomever or whatever had orchestrated their reunion.
As Nathan led her to where they had parked the car, she smiled at him as he turned and looked at her from over his shoulder. The sexy grin he flashed her made her stomach flip-flop and the urge to jump his bones made her wonder whether they would actually make it home. Right now, the backseat of his SUV was sounding pretty damn appealing.
Finally arriving at the vehicle and unlocking it, Nathan practically bundled her into the passenger seat which made her giggle. "Someone's in a hurry," she remarked.
"Hell yeah," he answered. Ducking his head, he leaned into the car so he could seal his mouth over hers. The kiss was in danger of spiraling out of control and he had to force himself to break it. Quickly shutting her door, he raced around to the driver's side and climbed in. After starting the engine, he looked over at his fiancée and smiled at the dreamy expression on her face as she stared at her engagement ring. "Happy?"
"Happy doesn't even come close to how I'm feeling," Haley told him, reaching out to lay her hand just above his knee. "Now, let's go home and get our private party started."
"Yes, Ma'am." He couldn't resist teasing her by asking, "You don't want to give your parents a call first and tell them the happy news?"
"No, I don't but we can do that if you prefer," she quipped.
He shook his head. "We can do that later... much later."
"Uh huh," she said knowingly, giving his thigh a gentle squeeze. The truth was, she was excited to tell all of their family and friends the happy news but, as Nathan said, that could wait until later 'cause right now their private celebration was all she could think about.
Fin
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