My Kind of Love (Finding Love #1) - Nikki Ash Page 0,3

of me.” I reach for the button of his jeans, but he grabs my hand and stops me.

“Your dad is right downstairs.”

“So, we’ve snuck it plenty of times, and in case you forgot, I’m eighteen years old.” I roll him onto his back, and when I straddle his hips, something hard pushes against my leg. “Are you happy to see me?” I joke, getting off to see what it is.

Ian laughs and sits up. “I am, but that’s not what you felt.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small red box.

“Is that… what I think it is?” My heart picks up speed at the thought of Ian proposing.

“Maybe.” He smirks playfully. “First, tell me again about our five-year plan.”

I want to snatch the box out of his hand and open it, but instead go along with his little game. “Fine.” I huff, making him laugh. “Our five-year plan ends with us married. The end.”

Ian chuckles. “Nope, tell me all about it.”

“You already know it,” I whine. “Let me see what’s in the box.”

“Once you explain the plan.”

I cross my arms over my chest and pout, but he just smiles. “You graduate from high school and spend the next couple years becoming a Navy SEAL. During that time, I finish my senior year of high school and start college at the University of Las Vegas. Once you become a SEAL and are assigned to one of the locations, we’ll get engaged and I’ll transfer to the college near the base so we can live together. We’re hoping it will be in San Diego so I can apply for the internship with Scripps, so I can study marine biology while I finish up my degree. Once I’ve graduated we’ll get married.”

Ian’s lips, which were curled in a wide grin, turn down. “There’s just one problem with that plan.”

“What?” I ask, the organ in my chest tightening. We’ve had this plan since before he graduated from high school. Ian knows how important my plans are to me. Whether it’s making a plan for a project or a plan for my future, I need them. Without them, I feel like I’m spiraling out of control. “What’s the problem?” I ask, my hands beginning to shake.

Ian opens the box, and nestled inside is a beautiful diamond ring. “The problem is that I don’t want to wait until you move to San Diego to get married.” He climbs off the bed and gets down on one knee. “Micaela Lizbeth Michaels, will you marry me?”

“But… what about our plan?” I ask stupidly.

Ian laughs. “We can write up a new one. Everything else can stay the same. The only change will be your marital status and last name.” He winks, and my belly does a flip-flop.

“Yes!” I squeal. “Yes.” I jump from the bed and into his arms, tackling him to the floor. “Yes, I will marry you.”

“You’re not getting married,” my dad says. “You’re too young. You had a five-year plan. What the hell happened to the five-year plan?” He looks at my mom with wide eyes. “She had a goddamn five-year plan.”

“We tweaked it,” I tell him calmly. “The plan is still the same, only we’ll be married a little sooner. You and Mom got married when she was only a few years older than me.” I glance from my dad to my mom, silently begging her to help me out here. She had me when she was only twenty-one, and shortly after, they got married. At least I’m doing things the right way.

“Marco,” Mom says to my dad, and his shoulders slump. “We can’t stop them from getting married if that’s what they want to do.”

“No, but I want you to be on board.” Technically I don’t need either of their permission to get married, but I want their blessing. Their approval means a lot to me. I’m one of the few kids who has a good relationship with my parents. My mom is my best friend, and I’m close with my dad.

“And you can’t make it a long engagement?” Dad asks.

“We could,” Ian says, “but I love your daughter and would like for her to be my wife. And with her being my wife, she’ll be able to visit me on the base.”

“And you’re still going to stay here and go to college?” Dad confirms.

“Yes, Ian still has to go through SQT, and once he’s a SEAL, he’ll most likely be shipped out on his first deployment. I already have a