It was around 7pm and while Lottie put the twins to sleep, everything that Harvey had been planning for so long could finally be put into motion. He collected the flowers, he hung up the lights and he grabbed the two bottles of champagne that had been waiting for that special moment.
The past year had been an absolute whirlwind but it had also been a huge learning curve for the both of them. Harvey and Lottie had taken a short break that they both needed to reflect and that break had only confirmed to them how much they really needed one another.
Their babies had been a sign, if not fate that they should be together. It had been the blessing that brought them back to where they belonged.
"Harvey?" Lottie called out as she searched the house for her boyfriend.
She could hear faint music playing yet was struggling to find the direction in which it was coming from. However, it was then she saw the glow from outside the kitchen window and began to head in that direction.
"Harvey?" Lottie called once again yet stopped as she placed one foot on the decking and took in the surroundings before her.
Strings of fairy lights delicately hung from the trees, causing a glow to surround the garden. Individual flowers of all colours left a trail along the floor of the decking, creating a beautiful display that lead to the main event.
Standing before her was Harvey, looking as breathtaking as ever dressed in a shirt without a cap of any kind covering his head.
The table beside him was set and finished with a bottle of champagne and a bouquet of red roses, just adding to the magic of this whole set up.
"H-harvey..." Lottie stuttered for the third time and watched as a huge smile spread across his lips.
"Lottie." He responded while holding out a hand towards her.
As she placed hers in his, Lottie felt a wash of butterflies erupt through her, feeling like the first time she had ever touched him. The nerves she was feeling brought her right back to high school when they first started dating yet she wasn't even sure why she was feeling this way.
"What is this?"
"It's..." Harvey began before pausing and taking her other hand. "I wanted to treat you and.... and tell you how much I love you."
Taking a deep breath, Harvey suddenly felt nervous too, causing an emotion only this girl was ever able to give him.
"I love you Lottie Sky, so much. You're the only girl I have ever loved and cared about this much."
"And I love you too Harvey, so so much." Lottie responded, giving his hands a tight squeeze before he continued.
"From the first time back in school that we spoke I knew that you were different. Even though we lived in completely different worlds there was always something about you that I was drawn to. You weren't like any other girl I knew and I always felt comfortable around you, like I could tell you anything. That's never changed and instead has just grown."
"I've always felt that way about you too. That popular heartbreaker never fooled me." Lottie grinned causing Harvey to laugh.
"No?"
"Not at all. I saw through it and I turned out to be right because that gorgeous exterior also comes along with a teddy bear interior too, which I love so much."
"God I love you more than I ever thought possible." Harvey breathed as he looked into the eyes of the woman who had his heart and always would. "...and even though we have been through some rough times, I never stopped loving you, ever."
"And I love you too Harvey, so so much." Lottie responded, giving his hands a tight squeeze before he continued.
"From the first time back in school that we spoke I knew that you were different. Even though we lived in completely different worlds there was always something about you that I was drawn to. You weren't like any other girl I knew and I always felt comfortable around you, like I could tell you anything. That's never changed and instead has just grown."
"I've always felt that way about you too. That popular heartbreaker never fooled me." Lottie grinned causing Harvey to laugh.
"No?"
"Not at all. I saw through it and I turned out to be right because that gorgeous exterior also comes along with a teddy bear interior too, which I love so much."
"God I love you more than I ever thought possible." Harvey breathed as he looked into the eyes of the woman who had his heart and always would. "...and even though we have been through some rough times, I never stopped loving you, ever."
"Harvey...." Lottie mumbled once again as she tried to compose the emotions threatening tears to fall.
"You've given me everything I could have ever asked for. I love you, as my girlfriend but also as a best friend and I wouldn't wish to spend the rest of my life with anyone else."
A gasp fell from Lottie's lips as Harvey began to kneel down onto the ground. She felt her own heart physically thumping against her chest, so could only imagine what Harvey was feeling too.
She knew what was coming and couldn't stop the tears from falling. Everything about this moment felt perfect and as cliche as it sounded, she felt on top of the world.
"Lottie Sky, I know I've done this once before but I wanted to do it again because I know I want it more than anything else..."
Nodding her head, Lottie could not physically speak as she just looked into her boyfriend's eyes with so much love in her own.
"I want to carry on making memories with you by my side, as a family... but not as my girlfriend...as my wife instead..." Harvey trailed off as his own voice began to break. "So Lottie... will you... um, will you marry me?"
There was silence for a moment as Harvey pulled out the ring from his pocket and Lottie's gaze moved from the shimmering diamond before back to Harvey. She already knew her answer, he already knew her answer... they both wanted the same thing and always had, it had just taken a bit of a journey to get back here.
Harvey had always looked at his parents relationship as the goal. Their love and dedication for one another was what he always wanted for himself and that was exactly what he had found in Lottie.
He had found his perfect girl who had brought out the real him back in high school and managed to make him happy every single day since.
"Yes I will marry you!" Lottie finally spoke up when she was snapped out of her daze. "Yes yes and yes Harvey Lawrence! Of course I will!"
A look of relief covered Harvey's face to finally hear her say those words and within seconds he was back onto his feet, swirling Lottie around in his arms. As she buried her head into his neck, he pressed his lips to the side of her hair. Even though they had been here before, back when they were travelling, this felt completely new. It felt like the right time and it felt like the only destiny this world had set out for them.
They had their home and families, they had their babies and they had one another. There was nothing more important and this felt like their own fairytale.
There was silence for a moment as Harvey pulled out the ring from his pocket and Lottie's gaze moved from the shimmering diamond before back to Harvey. She already knew her answer, he already knew her answer... they both wanted the same thing and always had, it had just taken a bit of a journey to get back here.
Harvey had always looked at his parents relationship as the goal. Their love and dedication for one another was what he always wanted for himself and that was exactly what he had found in Lottie.
He had found his perfect girl who had brought out the real him back in high school and managed to make him happy every single day since.
"Yes I will marry you!" Lottie finally spoke up when she was snapped out of her daze. "Yes yes and yes Harvey Lawrence! Of course I will!"
A look of relief covered Harvey's face to finally hear her say those words and within seconds he was back onto his feet, swirling Lottie around in his arms. As she buried her head into his neck, he pressed his lips to the side of her hair. Even though they had been here before, back when they were travelling, this felt completely new. It felt like the right time and it felt like the only destiny this world had set out for them.
They had their home and families, they had their babies and they had one another. There was nothing more important and this felt like their own fairytale.
...
