We decide to eat first and then drive to the beach, which has us arriving right at sunset.

It’s all too new for us to be annoyed by the tourists or the traffic and chaos of trying to find a place to park. I take her hand and we walk along the water’s edge and watch the sun start to descend. Chloe takes off her shoes and smiles as her feet squish in the sand.

“I’m glad we ended up so close to an ocean,” she says.

She pauses and closes her eyes like she’s trying to capture the moment. The salt air kissing her lips, the breeze off the water whipping blonde hair around her face, sand and waves and love. So much love. I never thought it was possible to feel this way.

I couldn’t have planned a better moment, but I definitely imagined it just like this. I drop to one knee with my heart racing like hurricane winds. It’s only part nerves; mostly I’m just so anxious for everything that comes next.

When her eyes open and she finds me kneeling in front of her, she looks confused until I take the ring box from my pocket. Her eyes sparkle and her mouth opens to speak but she just closes it and pulls it back into a big smile instead.

“It had to be on the beach,” I tell her.

Tears fill her eyes, and she nods.

Emotion deepens my voice and makes it hard to remember all the things I want to say to her. The things I want to promise. The life I want to build with her. It’s all clear and yet so hard to describe. The words aren’t enough. It’s moments and glances and every second in between all the important ones. Days counting down the seconds until I can see her when I get home and nights tangled up together. It’s just life, and I want to spend mine with her.

“Chloe, I… fuck.” I grimace. “Shit, I mean…” I groan low in my throat. I’m bungling this spectacularly. I flash a sheepish smile. “Of all times to be at a loss for words.”

“I don’t need the words. I just need you.”

The confirmation of her love and devotion gives me new purpose to tell her just how important she is to me.

“The first time I saw you, you were wearing a red dress and standing alone in a crowd of people. You looked so gorgeous. Part surfer girl part princess. I don’t think I ever would have had the balls to approach you if I hadn’t recognized something in you. You were hiding away just like me and that made me feel less alone. I was trying to escape my life that night and instead, I stumbled into it. You changed my life and then became it. I love you. Marry me?”