I gulped in response, hoping he hadn’t seen my nervousness.
The restaurant he’d chosen for the night was new and hip. It was all anyone could talk about in the city. A well-known celebrity chef had moved in, taken over a run-down building right on the banks of the James River, and transformed it into one of the finest places to eat on the East Coast.
I should have been excited.
I should have felt flattered.
Instead, I was nauseous as I looked over the menu and saw nothing but meat and fish.
“Do you think they could make something special?” he asked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask about vegetarian options when I made the reservation over a month ago.”
“I’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it.” I smiled lamely.
The waiter was extremely accommodating, and the chef was indeed able to whip up a vegetable risotto that was to die for. I just hoped it didn’t come with a killer price tag to match.
“Isn’t this nice? Just the two of us, all dressed up for a night on the town,” Jackson said, smiling from ear to ear.
“Yes, it’s lovely, really. Thank you, Jackson.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart.”
A table next to us erupted into shrieks of joy and clapping. I looked over to see a young man on one knee, holding a ring box above his heart.
“Yes! Yes!” the young girl answered with enthusiasm.
The entire restaurant melted into oohs and aahs for the happy couple.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“I hope you don’t mind, but before we arrived, I took the liberty of ordering dessert for us. I wanted to have them make something special.”
Of course he did.
“And I also ordered some champagne,” he added with a wicked grin.
“Are you going to make a toast?” I asked, feeling my anxiety rising higher and higher.
“I guess you will just have to wait and see.” He winked.
Oh, please, someone make him stop.
Our luscious chocolate torte was served, and I noticed Jackson watching me intensely.
“Something wrong?” I asked, dipping my fork into my dessert once again.
“Nope. Happy as a clam.”
The champagne was served, and as Jackson held his glass up in the air, his eyes drifted down to my glass.
“Here’s to our happy life,” he said.
I lifted my flute and touched his. Our eyes locked as we tilted the glasses to our lips, and I felt a spark of heat zing down to my core. My eyes looked down at the table as I set my glass on the tabletop.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No, absolutely not. You?”
“Still happy.”
I covered my laugh with a fake cough, bringing my hand up to my mouth as a diversion.
He thought he’d won this round, but what he didn’t know was that I had been winning all along.
~Jackson~
Every last detail of my plan had been orchestrated flawlessly.
From the bouquet of flowers I knew she’d hate to the overly fancy restaurant, Liv was having the worst night ever.
And the best part was, she was biting her tongue to stay quiet about it.
When I’d announced the special dessert and champagne, I’d thought her eyes might explode out of her head as she waited for the horribly cheesy moment to come.
The added bonus of the couple next to us getting engaged had been like icing on the cake.
When the ring hadn’t been on the torte or in the champagne, I’d seen her growing restless, waiting for the big flashy moment to come.
She was exactly where I wanted her to be.
“Are you ready to head home?” I asked cheerfully.
“Home?”
“Yep, it is getting late. I figured you’d want to get home and maybe watch a movie.”
“Oh, um…sure,” she answered, a hint of surprise in her voice.
I held out my arm as she rose from her chair, and I took a moment to admire the way the fabric of her dress clung to her breasts. That dress was definitely an extra perk to my plan.
She was quiet as we waited for the car to be pulled around. I could almost see the thoughts swirling around in her head as she wondered what the hell had just happened.
In that one second when Declan had spilled the beans about Liv knowing my intentions to propose, everything had come together for me.
It wasn’t the moment or the place—it was about who would be there to celebrate it with us.
But how could I orchestrate that many people and keep Liv out of it?
Give her the worst almost proposal of her life.
Everything I knew she’d hate, I’d given her tonight. Liv was simple, earthy, and one of the most carefree people I knew. Stuffy restaurants and grand gestures were great and romantic for some, but Liv needed something less grandiose.
That was where our family and friends came into play.
As Liv and I had been away, having dinner and not getting engaged, the gang had been busy setting up a backyard proposal that would blow Liz away.
There would be candlelight, flowers, and not a bit of baby’s breath for miles.
I was the master of proposals. After tonight, even Declan would have to acknowledge it.
Liz and I held hands on our way back to the house, and I brushed my thumb over the spot where her ring would sit in just a few short minutes. I couldn’t wait to place it there and see it exactly where I knew it belonged since the moment I’d seen it.
From the outside of our houses, everything appeared normal and just as boring as any other Saturday night. As I took her hand and pulled her down the path to the fence separating the two houses, she began to see the first flicker of candlelight.
“What is that?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
We walked farther, and as we rounded the corner to the backyard, it was me who gasped in surprise.
Pink flamingos encompassed nearly every inch of the border of the fence, creating a vibrant pink outline. Big boldly colored balloons were tied to everything, and potted plants were everywhere.
“What the hell?” I said, seeing the faces of our friends and family smiling back at us.
We entered the backyard, and Liv turned to me.
“See, your first mistake was trusting that the blabbermouth over there would keep your secret.” She grinned, pointing at Declan.
He had his arms wrapped around Leah. He gave me an apologetic look and then laughed.
“You mean, you knew that I wasn’t going to propose the entire night?”
“Yep.”
“Damn,” I said. “I’ve been duped.”
“You know how much I like to win.” Her hands rested in mine as she dropped to one knee. “And there is no greater prize than you, Jackson. I never expected that I’d be here, in a moment like this, ready to share my heart and soul with another. You showed me that love isn’t about giving up any part of yourself. It’s about sharing the best and worst of yourself and trusting that the person will love you through it all. Will you share your life with me?”