I hold it up to her. “Open it.”
She’s speechless, looking at me and then at the box. “How? When did you...”
“I timed it perfectly. The jeweler came when you went upstairs to get ready for tonight.”
She gawks at me. “You had a jeweler come here? JD, that’s so expensive, you didn’t have to do that... I don’t…”
I lean in and press my lips to hers. When she stops talking, I pull back and look meaningfully into her eyes. “I wanted to. Now open it.”
She takes it from me, opens the lid, and gasps. She pulls it out of the box and holds it up, staring at me instead of the necklace. “JD, it’s so beautiful.”
She’s so overcome a tear escapes and rolls down her cheek. I kiss it away. “Not as beautiful as you.”
She looks at the necklace. “You make me feel beautiful.”
I pull her chin up to look at me. “You are beautiful.” I hold her until she looks as if she believes me. I swear I’m going to spend the rest of my life telling her every day how beautiful she is.
“Will you put it on me?” she asks.
I take the necklace from her. “With pleasure.”
She turns, and I put the necklace on her, clasping it securely. She turns and looks at me. “I love it.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I love her. I do. I have for a long time, but I bide my time. The night is just starting, but I’m hoping by the end of it, we have all the cards on the table.
The whole way to the restaurant she keeps patting her necklace, and I’m happy that she’s smiling. She seemed nervous earlier when I asked her out for dinner, but she seems good now. I hope so. I don’t ever want her to worry about a thing.
When we arrive at the restaurant, we get seated immediately. We have one glass of wine. She orders the filet with the lobster macaroni and cheese, and I order the filet and potatoes. I’m staring at her, wishing dinner was already over and we were back home, just the two of us when my teammate and his date come over to the table.
“Dylan, hey, man! How’s it going? This is Willa—"
Dylan turns to Willa excitedly. “Wait... the Willa?” He turns back to me. “This is her?”
I smile broadly at him. “Yes, this is her.”
Dylan is excited and even leans over the table to hug Willa. “Wow. You have no idea how nice it is to meet you. I’m so glad to see you here... finally put him out of his misery, huh?”
“Har, har,” I say, taking in Willa’s red face. She’s surprised by Dylan’s reaction. I point to the woman next to him. “You going to introduce her to Willa?”
I recognize the woman from being at the games and with Dylan a few times. She’d approached me once, but I wasn’t interested. But for the life of me, I can’t remember her name.
Dylan turns to her with a smile. “Yes. Michelle, this is Willa, and you probably know JD.”
Michelle smiles at me and Willa. “Yes, hello, nice to see you both. I think our table is ready, Dylan. You ready to go?”
Dylan nods and lets her pull him away but not before he smiles at the both of us happily. He knows what it means to me to have Willa with me. It’s nice having a teammate and a friend appreciate when good things happen to you. There’s so much jealousy and ego in this game, but Dylan’s the real deal.
When our food arrives, we both dig in. I let her try my au gratin potatoes, and I try her lobster mac and cheese. Neither one of us drinks any more wine. I don’t because I want to keep a clear head. I’m coming clean tonight with her. I’m telling her all of it, and I need to do it sober.
“Would you like to see our dessert tray?” the waitress asks.
Willa shakes her head. “I couldn’t eat another bite. Everything was sooo good.”
The waitress beams at her. She’s been a great server, and I plan on tipping her accordingly. “I think we’re good. Thank you. If we can have the check…”
She sets the bill on the table, and Willa reaches for her purse. “Don’t even think about it,” I tell her.
“JD, you already got me this necklace and roses...”
“You don’t pay when you’re with me, Willa.”
She huffs. “Well, if that isn’t the most chauvinistic...”
I look up at her, and I see by the light in her eyes that she’s joking with me. “I’m not a chauvinist. You know that. I just want to take care of my girl.”
She sits up straighter when I call her my girl. “Your girl, huh?”
I nod, searching her face. “That okay?”