Love Me Until My Heart Stops

Stretching her hand out ahead of her, Esmé smiled, her dark eyes admiring the ring which sat on her finger. She didn’t wear it often, in the week since Gerard had given it to her, she hadn’t worn it out of the house, but she couldn’t stop herself from admiring it from time to time. They didn’t want to make a fuss, although they were engaged, any wedding wasn’t going to be for at least another year, and both of them had opted to keep it under wraps for a little while, even if they did want to yell it from the rooftops, they just wanted to enjoy the moment.

“I can’t believe that you’ve not seen that before” Gerard smiled as he sat down on the couch beside her, placing the small snack he’d prepared down onto the coffee table “It belonged to your madre” he added, offering the ring a small smile. It was a strange sensation, the notion that Esmé was more than just his live-in girlfriend, but it was one that he was steadily growing used to. It wasn’t going to happen quickly, both of them had reached the conclusion that they needed at least another year before they made it up the aisle, but the idea that she had agreed to do it with him made him smile. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around how well things had panned out for them since she and Cesc had split up.

Esmé shrugged. “I was only about a year old when my padre left” she reasoned gently “By the time I’d reached my second birthday, my parents were divorced and I hadn’t seen my padre for months. The rumor was that he’d run away with another woman, but we never asked questions and we never will” she mused.

“You’re not slightly curious?” Gerard asked, swallowing a bite of the sandwich he’d made.

“I was when I was younger” Esmé noted “All of the other children at school got to go home and a mum and dad, but I never did and I used to ask my mother all the time why I didn’t have a papa like everyone else. But, as I got older, I began to realize the things my madre gave up for us. She didn’t start dating again until last year and I am nearly 27 years old. I realized that my papa obviously didn’t care enough about me or the others to make the effort so I resolved not to make the effort for him” she explained softly. It was a familiar thought, she had thought about her father for years, but in the end, she had decided not to bother with him. Roberto had obviously not cared for her, her sisters, or her mother, and Esmé didn’t want to care about him.

Gerard nodded his head. “For what it is worth, your madre did a wonderful job with all 3 of you. Your sisters are wonderful women and you? I cannot imagine a better person” he enthused, squeezing her hand gently.

Esmé smiled at him gently before she turned her eyes back down to the ring on her hand. “My madre really gave this to you?” she mused, gently twisting it around her finger.

“She cornered me after dinner when Isaac and Martin left me to finish clearing up. She insisted that I took it and gave to you when the moment seemed right” he explained gently, his fingers lacing with hers.

“And last week seemed right to you?” Esmé posed, a little curious about his train of thought. She was thrilled that he had asked, as soon as he had knelt down ahead of her, she had known there was only one answer she could have given to him, but she was still a little curious. It was very spur of the moment, like he’d done it on a whim, and the small, nervous part of her wanted to ensure that it was what he wanted and not something he’d done just to satisfy her.

Gerard looked down at their hands for a moment before he looked back up at her face, offering her a gentle smile. “If I could have had it my way, I would have given it to you the second your madre gave it to me. I know what I want, Esmé” he mused softly, his hand squeezing hers “It wasn’t the ideal time, I’d upset you and that meant it was more spur of the moment and less planned than I would have liked it to be, but I think I did a good job of it. You seemed to be smiling pretty widely when I finished” he enthused.

“You started by calling yourself an idiot” Esmé noted “It’s hard to not be a little bowled over by a proposal that started like that” she enthused.

Gerard chuckled and ducked his head, pressing a light kiss to her temple. “I wanted to do a better job of it” he mumbled, holding his lips to her skin.

Esmé shook her head. “The way you did it was just right” she noted “It was sweet, yet in a way, still bumbling and awkward. It was us all over” she enthused.

Gerard smiled. “Bumbling and awkward or not, we make a pretty decent pair” he commented softly.

Esmé nodded her head gently and rested back a little, allowing him to hold her close to him for a moment. “Summer 2017” she mused, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled around them.

“What about it?” Gerard mused.

“What do you think about it for a wedding date?” she posed gently, turning to look up at him “It’s a while away, allowing us to be sure that this is the way we want to go, and it would be a nice way to mark our second anniversary. I know we said we’d hold out on the planning but…”

“It sounds like the right time” Gerard interrupted with a grin.

“You think so?” Esmé posed.

“It’s a while away” he enthused gently “It would give you a lot of time to get it right, and it would mean that we could be sure about us. It sounds like the right time to me” he quipped.

Esmé smiled gently and leant up, kissing his lips lightly. “Summer 2017” she mused.

Gerard smiled back at her. “I’m already counting down the days” he teased.