Chapter 49 - The choice they made
Olena froze at the question and stared blankly at Patrick, too dazed to think of a response. This was going too fast!
She had only just come to terms with letting a man in her life, she wasn't even thinking of the next stage yet.
Patrick read the panic in her eyes and held her hands tightly in his, willing her to calm down and not give in again to her fears.
"I know that this might be too soon for you, but please try to see it from my perspective... I went through hell and back just to get here - do you really think I'd be content with just being your boyfriend?"
Olena kept staring at him in silence and Patrick pushed forward.
"I don't want to lose you again, Lena. The first time I did, I almost lost my mind. I want to seal the deal, right now. Can you understand how I feel?"
As the shock started to wear off, Olena gathered herself and thought about Patrick's words and slowly nodded.
"I'm sorry to have put you through all that," she whispered.
"No, don't apologize. I did everything on my own - even when I didn't know where you were or if you'd come back, even when I tried to deny it to myself, I waited for you. Because you're worth it, love."
"Thank you. I... I don't know what to say. I've only just gotten to terms with this, I can't even get myself to think that far into the future."
"But you do love me, right?"
Olena nodded her head vigorously, determined not to let Patrick feel insecure about her feelings for him.
"Then marry me! Lena, I want to sleep and wake up beside you everyday, for the rest of my life. I know you've only started to fall for me, and I know you don't love me as much as I love you..."
Olena started to protest at that but Patrick held up his hand to stop her.
"...And that's really okay because after we're married, I swear I'll make you love me at least half as much as I love you."
Tears filled Olena's eyes as she realized the depth of his feelings for her. What had she done to deserve this man?
Nothing, her inner voice taunted. But you can do something about it now.
"Okay," she finally said after a long silence.
Patrick's head shot up at her words, a smile slowly spreading, lighting up his whole face.
"Okay? Okay, you'll marry me?"
At Olena's quick nod, Patrick suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Yes! She said yes everybody! Drinks are on me!"
The whole restaurant erupted in cheers and Olena felt her ears heating up again.
"Sit down, you oaf," she whispered while pulling at his arm.
Patrick sat down, still grinning, as the other guests shouted their congratulations.
"You've just made this the happiest day of my life," he told her, still beaming, and Olena had to laugh at the boyish expression on his face.
"I'm sorry I don't have a ring with me, though. Let's go buy it first thing tomorrow, okay?"
"Shouldn't you be surpising me with your choice of a ring? It kinda spoils the surprise if I go with you to the store, you know."
"Well, I heard that some girls cancel the wedding when they don't like the ring, so no, I'm not taking that chance," he replied, half seriously. "I'll just surprise you in other ways."
"I was just kidding! You don't have to get me a ring. It's not like I haven't done this before, anyway," she replied, suddenly feeling guilty.
"Nope," Patrick responded quickly. "We're going all the way on this, love. You deserve the best. And it is the first time for me - you're not going to deny me that pleasure, are you?"
"All right, let's go tomorrow," she agreed, smiling at his obvious excitement.
Patrick was still grinning foolishly at her when the shrill ringing of his phone broke their private bubble.
It was his sister calling.
He was about to cancel the call but Olena gestured for him to take it.
"Yes, Paula?"
"So? What happened?"
He knew this was why she was calling, which is why he wanted to ignore her in the first place. He wanted to have this night at least, just for him and Olena to enjoy each other before the world finds out about them and they lose their privacy.
"You're worse than the papparazzi, you know," he replied tightly, rolling his eyes at Olena.
"I know, and I don't care," she quickly shot back. "And you should know I will keep on snooping around until I get my answers..."
Patrick sighed then held the phone away from his face to ask Olena for her consent.
"I'm sorry but my sister is really curious about us," he quickly whispered. "Are you okay with letting my family know?"
Since she already agreed, Olena felt there was no reason to keep it a secret so she nodded in agreement.
"Paula, you still there?"
"Yup!" she quickly replied, emphasizing the p with a popping sound.
"Well, we're together now. And we're getting married. Bye."
Patrick heard a squeal at the other end before he could cut the call, and he imagined his sister rushing off to tell their parents the news right about now.
He shook his head slightly, half in annoyance and half in amusement. Sometimes it was not so fun having their family back together, especially for him. He had more privacy when they were all busy living their own lives and only saw each other during holidays.
Stealing a quick glance at Olena, Patrick kept his fingers crossed that it hadn't bothered her. He knew that it had taken a lot for her to give him this chance, and he didn't want her to start having doubts about her decision - now, or anytime in the future.
He was about to explain when his message alert buzzed and he saw it was from his sister.
"For someone who did nothing for five years, you do move pretty fast, brother. Finally! I almost disowned you."
Patrick showed the message to Olena, and he breathed a sigh of relief when she just found it amusing.
"Sorry about that. My sister has been on my case since she met you a couple of weeks ago... And to be totally honest with you, she had set up this dinner to get us to talk," Patrick admitted sheepishly.
"I figured as much," Olena replied, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.
"Does it bother you?"
"That your family is curious about us?"
Patrick quickly nodded, then reached out and held her hand in apology.
"I'm kind of used to that. Robert was from a big Italian family, and it used to bug me that they were always so involved in our lives. Even the decision of when to have another child was like a family affair," Olena explained.
A stab of jealousy flashed through Patrick at the mention of her ex-husband, catching him by surprise. He didn't consider himself to be a jealous type before.
Now he couldn't help wondering how much Olena had loved the guy. He knew it was unreasonable and illogical, but he suddenly wished he had been the only one she had ever loved, just as she was his.
Still, the past couldn't be helped, and Patrick resolved to deal with this jealousy before it got out of hand.
"Lena... You should know that I prefer to face problems directly and solve them right away, rather than letting it fester and get more complicated," Patrick paused, waiting for Olena to catch on to the shift in the conversation.
At her quick nod, he continued, "I'm not proud of this, and I'm going to deal with it on my own, but I'm telling you so you'd understand in case you notice my mood changing in the future... I just get jealous when you talk about your memories with your ex-husband, like I wish you had those memories with me and not someone else."
He squeezed her hand as she was about to reply, and continued to reassure her. "It's not your fault and I don't expect you to do anything. It's stupid and doesn't make sense at all. Like I said, I'm going to deal with this."
Olena leaned over and kissed him lightly before placing her index finger on his lips.
"Pax... Let me talk, okay? Like you said, we're partners now. If I'm not supposed to deal with my problems alone anymore, then so do you."
She watched as a smile slowly spread on Patrick's face, and lifted her finger to let him speak.
"I love you so much, Lena."
"I love you too... And I think you should know that you are my first. I've never really been in love before."
**********
Author's note : sorry for the late update! We've been traveling and I didn't get much free time to write until now.
Anyway, we're down to the last few chapters. Thank you for following this story :)