AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is such a nice gesture,” she says. Is it my imagination or does she sound a little unsure? “But it’s a lot, Wes...what’s going on?”
I force my best smile for her. “You’ll see very soon. Why don’t you head to the dining room...I’ll bring your dinner through in a moment.”
She smiles, but she looks a little uncertain. Has she guessed what I’m about to do? Is she thinking through a million ways to tell me no? I feel close to a heart attack as she heads through to the dining room. This is all too much. I’ve gone overboard and it’s going to backfire on me. But I’m not the kind of man to back down, or only complete half a job. I’m going through with this, even if my offer has me landing right on my face.
In the kitchen, I serve up the dishes and pour the cocktails I made earlier. I know this night wouldn’t be complete without a few glasses of Troublemaker...the cocktail she inspired me to make. I head through to the dining room with the two glasses, and find her standing by the elm cabinet I keep in the room. The surface is covered in photographs, and she is staring pensively at a photo of me and her from our first trip away to Paris. She looks up as I enter the room with a nervous smile.
“Is that what I think it is?” she says, brightening up a little as she notices the cocktails. I grin at her, feeling a little more relaxed.
“It sure is. And there’s plenty more where this came from.”
I set the glasses down on the table and lift my chin up, walking more confidently back to the kitchen. I have no reason to doubt my relationship with Zooey. She’s mine, for now and forever. I can’t believe I’m letting myself think otherwise. She’s going to love what comes next, I know she will. After all, this whole evening was tailored for her. What reason would she have to dislike anything I’m doing? I know her well enough to know that this is going to be her dream come true.
I take the steaks through to the dining room and Zooey smiles, rubbing her hands together.
“It smells amazing,” she comments. “You know how much I love steak...this is really sweet of you, Wes.”
“I’m glad you think so,” I say. As usual, she’s sitting at the head of the table and I take a seat right next to her. This room is made for twenty guests at a time, and I never want to be too far from her. Being at her side always feels right, and she deserves the seat of honor. She is my queen, after all.
My nerves have mostly gone now. This is the part I can control. Now that she’s here beside me, all I have to do is prove to her how much I love her. That’s the point of this evening, after all. And if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s loving her more than anything else on earth. We tuck into our meals and talk about work for a little while. I’m building up to what I want to say when she finishes her food. I finish before her and then she puts down her cutlery a few minutes later, wiping her mouth delicately on her napkin.
“So,” she says with a small smile. “Are you going to tell me what this whole thing is about?”
I smile back at her. I feel ready to do this. I reach for her hand and hold it close to me, looking deeply into her beautiful eyes.
“Zooey...I wanted this night to be special for a reason. These past four months we’ve shared together have been the best of my life. I honestly don’t know how I lived without you before. It was like someone had put my life on pause until you arrived. I was just going through the motions, letting life pass me by. But now, everything feels so...right.”
She smiles, but doesn’t say anything. I can’t tell if it’s because she doesn’t know how to respond, or whether she’s just waiting for me to continue. I start to feel the familiar knot of nerves in my stomach again, so I carry on before I can change my mind, or before she can stop me entirely.
“I’ve never wanted anything more than I want this relationship. I want everything to carry on like this forever. I want more from me and you...I want the family that I’ve always dreamed of. I want to make love to you every single night. I want to watch you grow in your career, and for you to continue supporting mine. That’s the whole point of this partnership...the way I see it, we’re a team. The perfect team, in fact. Everything we have shared together has been so good, and I’m excited to see what else we can bring to the world as a pair.”
