Laid Bare - Lauren Dane [90]
“Best Wednesday night ever,” she said, falling back onto the pillows.
27
The heat of summer had eased into fall, and things had become stable, regular, strong between her and Todd and also Ben. She saw Todd daily and Ben at least four days a week. Her life was good.
She inspected her plants on the balcony as she watered them. It wouldn’t be much longer before she’d need to put up her makeshift greenhouse out there to protect them from the weather. She heard the sound of her front door locks opening one by one and turned to catch Todd coming in.
“Hey there, I wasn’t expecting to see you for a while. It’s not even two.” She put the watering can down and came inside, wiping her hands off on a nearby towel.
“I was just a few blocks away at a client’s place and I thought I’d stop by for a kiss.”
“Who am I to refuse such a request?” She tiptoed up and kissed him. “I’m glad to see you.”
He smiled, hugging her. “Good. I like that. Here.” He dropped a little gift bag in her palm.
“Wheee! Presents. I love presents.”
He laughed. “I noticed.”
Pleased, she dug into the bag and saw the box. Drawing it out of the bag carefully, she untied the bow and pulled out a square, velvet jeweler’s box. Holy Eddie Vedder.
It cracked open with that sound only a ring box makes and there it sat. It wasn’t huge. It wasn’t showy. It was perfect. A square-cut diamond sat in the center, offset by a sapphire on each side.
“My mom says it’s a princess cut. And since you’re a princess, I think that’s a sign. Erin.” He got to his knees and took her hands in his. He slid the ring on her very shaky finger. “Will you marry me? You know I love you. I wasted ten years and I want to spend every moment from now until forever making up for being gone so long. I want to make you happy every day for the rest of our lives.”
“I . . .” Her heart thundered in her chest. “Are you sure?”
He laughed. “So romantic. Yes, I’m sure. I was married before for all the wrong reasons. You are all the right reasons, Erin. I love you. I want a life with you. I want a future with you. I want to have a family—when you’re ready of course. I just want us to be together. No more sleeping over, no more trying to organize dates, because we’ll live in the same place and be together every night. Not that I’m gonna phone it in or anything. You’re made for me, Erin, and I was born to make you happy. Be my wife. Please.”
She nodded as she fell to her knees. “Yes.” They toppled when she threw her arms around him, but neither let go and Erin thought that was a very good sign.
She sat next to him on the plane just two hours later, slugging back a glass of champagne. “You know when I said yes, I didn’t think you meant right now.”
He just smiled and held her hand. The same serene smile he’d had on since he’d sprung the tickets on her five minutes after she’d accepted his proposal.
“I know, honey. But you’re here and your suitcase is filled with tiny scraps of cloth you call clothing. Me, you, lingerie, some rope. The recipe for the best vacation ever.”
She burst out laughing.
“Okay. But I told you I don’t do any of that Cirque du Soleil stuff. It freaks me out. I don’t care that they’re suspended over fire hoops and doing the cha-cha backward while walking a dog on a giant rubber ball. In a diaper. It’s fucking creepy.”
He snickered. “Whatever you say. It’s Las Vegas; there are plenty of things to do. I have some stuff planned, but after that, we have lots of time.”
“Like what? What do you have planned?”
“I told you, it’s a surprise. Erin, you do understand the word surprise, right?”
“You suck.”
“Don’t pout.” He leaned in very close. “Or I’ll whip your ass when we get there.”
She shivered. “That’s supposed to be a deterrent?”
“I’ll whip your ass and I won’t let you come.”
“Oh. I guess I can wait.”
She tried not to fret about the café. Brody and Ella, who’d returned to work on a very part-time basis, had assured her it was all taken care of.