[ it's a good thing that raleigh was actually in town when greg called. otherwise he might not have gotten here in time. as it is, he's a little winded from sprinting from the car to her dressing room. the sight of her in a wedding dress really doesn't help with the breathlessness any. she looks so damn beautiful. ]
Greg called me. [ and boy wasn't raleigh surprised to get that call. thrilled and a little sad too. it's hard not to be thrilled when you hear that the woman you're madly in love with is still in love with you too. and sad because she should be happy. she shouldn't be in tears on what should be the best day of her life.
carefully shutting the door behind him, raleigh takes in the way naomi looks. gorgeous dress, flowers in her hair, red cheeks and teary eyes. he reaches out as he steps forward, his thumb brushing wetness away from her cheek. even when she's a hot mess, she's still the most amazing thing he's ever laid eyes on. ]
I love you, [ he says quietly, cupping her face in his hands. ] I never stopped. And I can't tell you how many times I've wished I hadn't walked away from you when I did.
[ he doesn't say greg's stopping the wedding. figures that's pretty apparent by the way her fiance called her ex-boyfriend to come talk to her. he also doesn't say if you ask, i'll get us a helicopter and we'll go to vegas so the dress doesn't go to waste even though he kind of wants to. even if she does still love him back, he's changed a lot since they were dating and they need to see if they still fit before he can say anything like that. but god does he want to. he wants to sweep her up and take her away from here and be stupidly in love with her for the rest of his life.
instead, he takes her hands and squeezes them gently. ] I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you that. [ he kisses the knuckles of her right hand. ]
[ she turns her palm up against his cheek, feels the faintest hint of stubble there and she should smile, because he's here, and it's pretty much all she can do not to fling her arms around him to hold him tight. but naomi just stands for a minute, processing what's just happened. because isn't this just like greg to know her best, to twig that she wasn't over raleigh at the press conference, when she could have done something other than hug him for all the news crews to see.
she lifts his right hand up, holds it right underneath her cheek as she hiccups, a pathetic little mess because she feels terrible for greg, but also utterly, utterly relieved, because he'd proposed and she'd accepted just as word of pitfall hit the news. it had been the end of the world, and raleigh had once more gone where she couldn't follow.
she steps into his space then, draws his arms around her the way she used to when they were kids, him pretending to sneak out of the icebox when she obviously knew he was on the ranger equivalent of "shore leave." she's sniffling still but she presses her face to his chest, her fingers curling tight on the edge of his sweater. ]
Don't leave. [ it's the only thing she can say, because she knows six years is a long time and they've both clearly changed, but there's never really been anyone one else who could hold a candle to raleigh. ]
[ he wraps his arms around her and rests his cheek on the top of her head. it feels familiar. it feels right and he kind of wishes he had done this at the press conference instead of bolting like a scared rabbit. he's missed this more than he thinks he can probably say. ]
Never. [ now that he's got her back, someone's going to have to pry him away with a crowbar to get him to leave. in fact, the only person that could make him leave her side is naomi herself. if she told him to leave, he probably would. but he highly doubts that's going to happen anytime soon, if ever.
a kiss gets dropped on the top of her head before raleigh pulls back from her just enough to lean down and pick her up. it's a short walk over to the couch. which is a good thing because both his arms are a little weak these days and getting them both over there is about all he can manage. he sits and settles her in his lap before wrapping his arms around her again. ]
We should probably stay here for a little while. 'Til everyone else clears out. [ both he and greg want to spare her the embarrassment of having to tell the people who've come that she's not actually getting married. so greg gets to take care of that while raleigh gets to take care of naomi and make sure she's going to be okay. all in all, raleigh's pretty sure he got the better end of this deal. ]
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Greg called me. [ and boy wasn't raleigh surprised to get that call. thrilled and a little sad too. it's hard not to be thrilled when you hear that the woman you're madly in love with is still in love with you too. and sad because she should be happy. she shouldn't be in tears on what should be the best day of her life.
carefully shutting the door behind him, raleigh takes in the way naomi looks. gorgeous dress, flowers in her hair, red cheeks and teary eyes. he reaches out as he steps forward, his thumb brushing wetness away from her cheek. even when she's a hot mess, she's still the most amazing thing he's ever laid eyes on. ]
I love you, [ he says quietly, cupping her face in his hands. ] I never stopped. And I can't tell you how many times I've wished I hadn't walked away from you when I did.
[ he doesn't say greg's stopping the wedding. figures that's pretty apparent by the way her fiance called her ex-boyfriend to come talk to her. he also doesn't say if you ask, i'll get us a helicopter and we'll go to vegas so the dress doesn't go to waste even though he kind of wants to. even if she does still love him back, he's changed a lot since they were dating and they need to see if they still fit before he can say anything like that. but god does he want to. he wants to sweep her up and take her away from here and be stupidly in love with her for the rest of his life.
instead, he takes her hands and squeezes them gently. ] I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you that. [ he kisses the knuckles of her right hand. ]
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she lifts his right hand up, holds it right underneath her cheek as she hiccups, a pathetic little mess because she feels terrible for greg, but also utterly, utterly relieved, because he'd proposed and she'd accepted just as word of pitfall hit the news. it had been the end of the world, and raleigh had once more gone where she couldn't follow.
she steps into his space then, draws his arms around her the way she used to when they were kids, him pretending to sneak out of the icebox when she obviously knew he was on the ranger equivalent of "shore leave." she's sniffling still but she presses her face to his chest, her fingers curling tight on the edge of his sweater. ]
Don't leave. [ it's the only thing she can say, because she knows six years is a long time and they've both clearly changed, but there's never really been anyone one else who could hold a candle to raleigh. ]
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Never. [ now that he's got her back, someone's going to have to pry him away with a crowbar to get him to leave. in fact, the only person that could make him leave her side is naomi herself. if she told him to leave, he probably would. but he highly doubts that's going to happen anytime soon, if ever.
a kiss gets dropped on the top of her head before raleigh pulls back from her just enough to lean down and pick her up. it's a short walk over to the couch. which is a good thing because both his arms are a little weak these days and getting them both over there is about all he can manage. he sits and settles her in his lap before wrapping his arms around her again. ]
We should probably stay here for a little while. 'Til everyone else clears out. [ both he and greg want to spare her the embarrassment of having to tell the people who've come that she's not actually getting married. so greg gets to take care of that while raleigh gets to take care of naomi and make sure she's going to be okay. all in all, raleigh's pretty sure he got the better end of this deal. ]