I’d known that what had happened with Melissa had been weighing on me, but it wasn’t until Alden took care of it for me that I truly understood just how much it had been affecting me. Once it was gone, it was like my mind was free to move on, be in the moment and focus on rebuilding my life.
And with a man like Alden by my side, I was loving every second of it.
I met his parents, Ruth and Bobby. They were both delightful. Bobby was a real man’s man who loved to fish and smoke cigars that Alden bought for him, and Ruth had a garden at their home a few streets down that looked like it required a whole team to maintain but she did it all on her own.
I really felt like I was part of the family. It was all going so fast but it felt so natural.
I was just starting to coat the chicken in the egg wash when I heard the door and turned to see my beautiful man come inside.
“Oh, rats! I wanted to have this done by the time you got home!” I protested as he came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek and a butt squeeze to go along with it.
“What is it?” he asked. “Shrimp scampi?”
“Chicken parmesan,” I laughed. “I just got done beating these breasts like they owed me money.”
“I know there’s some kind of sexual innuendo joke to make here,” Alden chuckled. “I just can’t think of it right now. Here, put that down for a second and wash your hands, would you?”
“But I’m right in the middle of it,” I whined. “I wanted to make something nice for you.”
“And I appreciate that, and you will, but right now I need you to put that aside and wash your hands for me, okay?”
He had a serious look on his face that I knew meant he didn’t want me to argue with him, so I nodded and started washing my hands in the sink.
“Did everything at work go all right?” I asked.
“I don’t wanna talk about work right now,” he told me, taking me by the wrist and leading me from the kitchen. This wasn’t like him. He was always a man who liked to be in control, but he was never mysterious, and whatever was going on now was mysterious.
I grabbed a dish towel and dried my hands as he led me up the stairs to the second floor and brought me into the walk-in closet. He stopped, turned to face me and smiled.
“Okay, you’re being weird,” I said softly. “What’s going on?”
“Do you remember the day we first met, Belle?”
“What kind of a question is that?” I laughed. “How could I ever forget?”
“You came here for a job interview. I thought I was going to be seeing just another girl looking for an easy buck, but then you walked in and changed my life forever.”
His words wrapped around my heart and squeezed until I felt the tears begin to well up in my eyes.
“Awww,” I moaned, pouting my lower lip at my beautiful boyfriend as he took my hand in his.
“You took the job and then I brought you up here—”
“Where you said you had a job for me,” I teased. Alden smirked back and pulled me close to him. His eyes were fierce and intense, possessive and filled with love and I felt all squishy inside.
“And then we made love,” he said. “I claimed you and made you mine forever.”
I couldn’t speak. Something inside me wanted to scream with happiness, but I was afraid that if I did anything, I’d ruin the moment and what I thought was about to happen.
“And now, Belle,” he smiled. “I want to make it official.”
I gasped and clamped a hand over my mouth as Alden got down on one knee in front of me, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the most unbelievable ring I’d ever seen.
“Belle Blanche,” he said. “Will you make me the happiest, luckiest boss in the world and be my wife?”
That was it. Tears streamed from my eyes as I choked back a sob and nodded effusively.
It couldn’t be more perfect. I watched, hypnotized as he slid the beautiful ring onto my finger and smiled. I threw myself into his arms and he held me as we rocked back and forth like a couple of high schoolers slow dancing to the last dance of the night.