I set my food down, then carefully brushed my palms against each other, wiping away crumbs. My heart was pounding, a thundering against my ribs, and if this was how I felt just telling Elio what my plans were, I wasn't sure how I would ever managed to go through with them.

That was silly. Of course I would go through with it. It was just entirely possible my heart might explode first.

"I think I'm going to ask Eddie to marry me," I blurted out suddenly. "On Christmas Eve."