Page 98 of The Restoration Program

Her stomach twisted. She loathed the Facility and its overly-pristine furnishings, but she didn’t want to wait another two weeks to see a face her own size.

“Carlos, you should come back with us. Stay for dinner,” she said, taking his hand and pulling him towards the edge with her.

“I don’t wanna intrude.”

“You’re not,” Nicole insisted. “We’re way overdue to have you visit.”

Ryan balked, much to her surprise, stumbling over his words. “Oh, that’d be great, but I don’t think tonight works. We don’t have much more than popcorn and wine to offer at the moment. We need to go shopping.”

“We could order in,” Nicole said.

Why?She wanted to demand.Why are you fighting me on this?

Ryan crouched and took her hand. The movement jostled Carlos to sidestep out of the way. “Our place is a mess, babe, you know that.” He shot Carlos an apologetic smile.

“But—”

“Another time,” Carlos said. “I think Becca wanted us to meet up with some friends, so…” He shrugged lamely.

Nicole nodded and didn’t push any further. Ryan’s fingers released her, and he tipped his hand palm-up so she could sit. Before she was fully comfortable, his ring finger and pinky nestled onto her lap securely.

“See you,” she told Carlos. She waved at Rebecca further away. Holly was too busy playing with her hoodie strings to notice she was leaving.

As Ryan carried Nicole out of the meeting room, she braced herself once again for the hopeful crowd in the lobby. At least the attention was more diluted with others leaving the support group meeting as well. That was a stroke of good timing, considering Ryan seemed distracted and quieter than usual.

Ryan came to a stop in front of a table before he could reach the doors. “You wanna see what they have today?”

Nicole looked at the spread half-heartedly. There were NüPrint items for the taking, as always. Extra clothes, kitchen tools, and furniture were laid out like a very condensed department store.

“It looks the same as last time,” she said.

“Come on—you said you were thinking about getting another chair for the windowsill, right? Why don’t you have a look?”

Nicole could see perfectly well from her perch that she wasn’t interested in the selection, but it seemed that every other time she or Ryan opened their mouths lately was to disagree with each other. So she put on a smile and nodded for him to put her down.

As she strolled among the selection of armchairs and chaise loungers, she pretended to show interest in one or two. Maybe she would even pretend to like one enough to take home. But before she could decide which she disliked the least, a hush fell over the lobby.

Nicole glanced to see what was happening—had one of the hopefuls finally snapped and grabbed a NüPrint? She worried for Carlos—Rebecca could be so thoughtless sometimes.

She spotted members from the meeting first, not far past the reception desk. They were staring ather. Carlos was safe. It was hard to make out his expression from so far, but Rebecca’s was exuberant. She gave a small squeal and covered her mouth.

“Nicki.”

Jumping a little, Nicole turned all the way and found that Ryan wasn’t looming. He was on one knee beside the table.

The intensity swirling in his eyes made her heart skip a beat.

“Oh, Ry…” She’d been aching for this moment for so long, it felt like spectating more than participating in it. His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. He reached for his coat pocket and clutched something in his fist.

“I’ve been waiting every day since we moved here for the right moment. And I know now… there is no perfect time.” He spoke loudly enough for the onlookers to hear, yet she still felt like she was the only one he could see. He gave a little, self-deprecating laugh. She loved the way it made the little crinkles form at the edges of his eyes. “And all I know is that I can’t imagine my life without you, Nicole Zhou.”

She swallowed hard. “Even…”

“Even now,” he finished gently.

Ryan lifted a small ring box to her: it was a classic red velvet with elegant letters—Mystify—emblazoning the top. Nicole’s eyebrows nearly lifted off her face as he opened it. A stunning NüPrint-sized necklace laid inside. The diamond fastened was as large as a strawberry to her, winking brilliantly at her. Though the chain was delicate and new, there were obvious signs of age on the gemstone’s setting.

Nicole met his gaze, her eyes wet.