The Plan | l.r.h

thirty

Luke's POV

"I'm falling in love with you."

When I heard Ryan say those words, my heart skipped a beat. She finally took that first step that she was so scared to take. She's finally starting to admit to herself that she loves me back. I couldn't help but connect my lips to hers and pull her closer to me.

☆

I woke up the next morning feeling amazing. I decided last minute to call in sick because there was a lot to do. Yesterday was perfect. The love of my life moved in with me, into this beautiful house, and said she was falling in love with me. That was all I needed to hear to know it was finally the right time.

I first texted my parents and then I called Ryan's parents. They were all over the moon. I decided I would tell Calum, Michael, Ashton, and Amelia after because I knew one of them would spill and ruin the surprise.

I decided I wanted to set up the house with candles to make it as special as possible and I wanted to buy champagne too. I wanted this to be a dream and I knew everything had to be perfect.

☆

It was finally five-thirty o'clock and I knew she would be leaving work now. After what felt like hours, but was only 10 minutes, I heard her keys in the lock and the front door open up. I heard her foot steps approach the kitchen and then I saw her beautiful face.

"What's going on? Are we celebrating something?" She asked, setting her keys and bag down on the island.

"Come here, baby." I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dining room table to show her the candles I laid out. "Last night, you told me you were falling in love with me." I paused, waiting for her reaction. She nodded, a confused look on her face.

"In that moment, I knew that being your boyfriend wasn't enough. I knew that I was going to love you the moment I first laid my eyes on you. And I was right. I am head over heels in love with you, Ryan, and I can't spend another second only being your boyfriend." I finished my little speech and I reached into my pocket, pulling out the box. I bent down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a diamond ring. "Ryan, will you marry me?"

My hands were shaking and the ring was threatening to fall out of the box. I stayed down with one knee on the ground, continuing to look up at her. "Ryan, please say something." I spoke up to break her from her thoughts.

"Luke, please stand up." She gripped her hands on my forearms and pulled me from the ground. She then placed a hand on the box and slowly closed it, looking up to meet my eyes. "I'm not ready yet, Luke..." she said looking sad and frustrated. "I mean, I just said I'm falling. I know I can get there someday, but I don't want to do this until I'm there."

"Ryan, I've said this to you before and I'll say it again. I love you, I'm in love with you. I want to marry you, I want you to be my wife." I replied, tears coming to my eyes because of her words. I knew she loved me but I don't know why she couldn't admit it. "I almost let you go once, at Jack's wedding, and I'm never going to make that mistake again."

"Luke..." She started but trailed off, looking to the ground. I lifted her head up and made her listen to what I would say.

"You know I love you. And I think that you love me, too. Why won't you admit that to yourself?" I asked her, seeing her eyes gloss over.

"God, Luke. You don't get it." She whispered, not breaking eye contact. "You make me feel... you make me feel," she said quietly, "but I don't know how to handle it. I don't know what to do with this... feeling. I'm scared hurting you." She paused and I let her collect her thoughts.

"Every time I see you, my stomach does backflips. I get lost in your eyes because I feel like they see deep in my soul, and I adore looking into them. Your warm, plump lips look so inviting and I just want to kiss them. The way you are so kind to everyone, you are so generous and amazing and caring and, fuck, you're perfect. And you've helped me more than you'll ever know." She paused, collecting her thoughts.

She carried on, "When you're happy or you laugh, I feel this warmness in my chest. When you're sad, my chest aches and tears come to my eyes. I feel everything that you feel because our hearts are connected, they're sewed together." These words made my heart melt. Whether she realized it or not, she just admitted she loved me back.

"Baby, I think you just admitted it to yourself." I replied, a huge smile growing on my face.

She nodded her head, looking at her hands. She then looked up at me, a small smile spread across her lips. Without saying anything, I knelt back down on one knee and opened the ring box, looking into her beautiful eyes.

"Ryan Charlotte Clifford, will you marry me?" I looked into her eyes and noticed it was different this time than before. This time Ryan actually looked happy, not scared. Her brown eyes glimmered and her whole face was lit up.

"Yes." She smiled as I slipped the ring on her finger. I stood up and connected our lips, both of us smiling into the kiss. "I love you," she mumbled against my lips.

"It's about time you said that." I responded, causing us to laugh with our bodies clung tight together. This was how it was supposed to be, and how it will be for the rest of our lives.