“Now, Peter,” the interviewer asks. “What was your reaction when you saw Amber again for the first time?”
His arm tightens around my waist. “I was…shocked,” he says. “I never thought I was going to see her again, didn’t even know she was in Los Angeles. And when I saw her, I knew it was my chance. I knew I was going to make her fall in love with me again.”
“That’s really sweet.”
The interviewer the entertainment show sent is really good. She bounces back and forth between us, working her way through the story that we briefed her on. We even have the chance to set the record straight about Clay Markham, who despite the legal gag orders he’s signed, has been consistently trying to slander us. It hasn’t worked.
Finally, we get to where we are now. “So you two are working on season two of Undercover, together. How’s it going so far? Has it changed your dynamic on the set?”
“Absolutely not,” Peter answers. We agreed that he’d answer this type of question. “Amber is the head of the show, and just because we’re dating doesn’t change that. She values the opinions of everyone on set, including mine. She’s running a really collaborative show here. And the fact that we’re in a relationship and can be open about it has made the atmosphere even better.”
“That’s fantastic. So what’s on the horizon for you both?”
“Well,” I say, “We’re greenlit through season three of Undercover, so we’ll be doing this together for at least one more year. After that, we’ll see, though we both agree that we want to keep working together on projects when possible, because it’s been an amazing experience so far.”
The interviewer beams. “And personally?”
I blush, we thought this question might come up, but honestly, I hadn’t thought of a good way to answer it. I’m in it for the long haul, and Peter is too. We’ve talked about it. But it’s different when you’re saying it on television. But it’s probably already clear that I’ve gone beet red. So I decide to look at Peter, and let him handle it.
And he has been handling it. Our system just didn’t last the week, it’s still going, because that’s what works for us. He doesn’t mind that I’m the boss at work, and I like that he’s—mostly—the boss at home. We’re a good balance for each other, and the last months have been great as we are starting to learn each other again just as well as we did in high school.
Peter smiles down at me, and kisses me on the forehead. “We’re doing really well, personally, and I think we’ll continue to do well, though I think how well depends on the next few minutes.”
“What are you talking about?”
Peter pulls away from me, off of the couch that we’re sitting on together, and a hush falls over the room, the entire filming crew suddenly going still. I realize what’s happening. This is happening now. “Oh, my God.”
Peter gets down on one knee in front of me, and suddenly I’m crying. The tears are welling up and over my eyes and I can barely see him through the blur. The interviewer has her hands over her mouth. She didn’t know this was happening either, and now it’s being captured by three different cameras.
“Amber,” Peter says, taking my hands in his. “I’ve been in love with you since eleventh grade when you dragged me out of the snow and into drama club. I was in love with you when we talked about forever, even though we were young, and forever is a long time. I was in love with you when we were apart, even if I pretended that I wasn’t. And I’ve fallen in love with you all over again in the last nine months.
“I’ve told you more than once that you’re it for me, and I still know that it’s true. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I don’t want to waste any more time telling the world about it. I love you, more than anything.”
Then he pulls out a ring, pale gold with a dainty diamonds and more diamonds swirling off it. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. “Will you marry me?”
I lunge forward and kiss him, wrapping my arms around his neck and I hear the cheering of the film crew around me. I don’t want to let him go, so I keep kissing him. So long that it’s comical, before he pulls back and asks. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” I say, even though my voice is watery. There’s cheering all over again as he puts the ring on my finger and pulls me to him on the couch, holding me closer than before. He presses a kiss to my temple, and I can’t stop smiling or stop the tears from flowing.
“Okay, wow,” the interviewer says, “I did not expect that.”
“I was keeping it a surprise,” Peter says.
I shake my head. “A damn good one, I had no idea.” Peter laughs and kisses my cheek. I love when he gets like this, because the way he’s constantly kissing me chastely means that he’s dying to get me alone. To do more. It’s his way of telling me. “I always knew we would get married,” I tell her, “I just didn’t know when.”
“You always knew?”
“After all we’ve been through?” I look up at Peter. “Yeah. Once he was back in my life, I knew it was for good.”
The interviewer thinks that’s a good spot to end it, so she turns to camera and performs her outro, and I look down at my ring, blazing like a galaxy of stars under the brilliant lights.
She says congratulations to us, as does most of the crew she brought with her, and it’s another half an hour before we get out of there and to Peter’s car, where he jumps in and starts to drive, my hand in his.
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“I’m glad you were surprised.”
I shake my head. “Did you do that because you didn’t think I would say yes if it was just us?”
“Of course not,” he says softly. “I’m just very arrogant, and want everyone to know how much I fucking love you.”
I laugh. “Or you wanted the ratings.”
“Honestly, it wasn’t that, though I fully expect that interview to be amazing and for people to be knocking down our door with projects. The truth is I was so nervous that it was the only place I could surprise you, because I was acting, and you weren’t expecting it. Any other place you would have noticed my nerves, and it wouldn’t have worked.”
“Oh.”
Peter turns the car off in the driveway and is around to my door faster than I can blink. He lifts me out of the car and carries me into the house and up into our bedroom. We gave up pretending that we lived in separate houses a few months ago, and so far, it’s been amazing.
“I really like my ring,” I tell him as we’re on the stairs.
“Good,” he says, “because it’s going to be the only thing that you’re wearing in a couple of minutes.”
I shiver, not knowing what’s coming next, but not caring. I’m with Peter and we’re getting married. Happiness bubbles up through my chest and I can’t believe it. I feel like I swallowed a star and that the light is going to come leaking out of me because I’m shining.
“I need to call my parents before that interview goes live,” I say as Peter puts me down. “They’re still mad that they found out we were together on the internet first. If I let them find out you proposed on TV they’ll—” he shuts me up with a kiss.