When she glided over to me, I took her outstretched hands in mine. “Okay, come, but don’t mess the ice up too much.” The excited look on her face quieted any butterflies left in my stomach.
I more than happily let her guide me.
My eyes looked down at the dozen or so long stem roses on the ice that spelled out the word, ‘YES’ in big, block letters.
And my heart exploded with joy.
I cupped her beautiful, pink from the cold, smiling cheeks. “I love you, Geneviève,” I told her right before I touched my lips to hers. She hugged me tight, kissing me back with equal enthusiasm.
“I love you, too, Beauregard.”
After I gave her one more quick kiss, I let her go and dropped to my knee. “Geneviève Angelique Martin, you are the first and the last woman I’ll ever love. We fit together perfectly in every way. I swear to the heavens that you were made for me. Will you be my wife?”
I handed her the box I had in my pocket.
She quirked her head. “Beau, but you already gave me a ring?”
“Open it, Geneviève.”
It didn’t take her long to rip her mittens off and take the box. The lid creaked slightly when she opened it.
Then she gasped, her free hand covering her open mouth.
“I’m not trying to rush you, Geneviève. But if it’s going to take you days to answer again, my knee’s going to be frozen to the ice.”
She laughed, her eyes teary as she bent her head to mine. “Yes, Beauregard Marcel Moreau. I would love to be your wife. You’re the first and the last man I’ll ever love,” she repeated my words back to me.
Her lips touched mine briefly for a quick kiss as I stood up. Then I held her close while my tongue explored her mouth. She tasted like the many, delicious sugar cookies she’d undoubtably eaten today.
“Put them in your ears for me? Please?” I asked in between kisses.
She pushed back and nodded, handing the box to me. I watched intently as she fastened my diamond earrings to her earlobes. Her breath hitched as she said, “How do they look?”
“Like they’ve finally found their home.”
A few tears fell down her cheeks and I kissed them away. Then I pulled a small remote out of my pocket and aimed it in the approximate direction.
Jewel’s, “You Were Meant For Me” started up out of the speakers. “Dance with me?”
“Umm, in a second?” she said, her eyes gazing around the ice. “Stay here. Just for a minute.”
Then she took off, skating and spinning, doing a few of the tricks she’d done at my rink in Montreal. Watching her move was like watching a bird soar gracefully in the sky. Her turns were smooth and her execution, perfect.
Just like her.
When the song ended, she came back to me, her cheeks even rosier now. Out of breath she said, “Okay, ready.”
I laughed and grasped her hands in mine. “Did you skate all over the fresh ice?”
“Yeah.” The corners of her mouth couldn’t tip up any further. “It’s one of my favorite things to do.”
She took the remote from me and restarted the song.
Then we skated.
Together.