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He had a point, and I hadn’t even though about her painting in it. “I’ll just get her two.” I’d grab a smaller one for her to exchange when she wanted so she could still wear the huge one to formal occasions, besides, it was valued at five million, so I wanted to be sure she always had security if the worst ever happened. In our crazy world, one couldn’t be too careful. Even a billionaire’s wife.
I left his house after a few more minutes and went home to pick her up for our date. I had a lovely evening of dinner and wine planned and a walk around the gallery.
When I arrived, I found her on all fours in her dressing room off the huge wardrobe room, which was just a large walk-in closet.
“That’s a nice position, did you know I was here?”
She looked up at me and winked but then continued looking. “I lost the back to my earring.”
I stopped in my tracks and looked down to the plush, white carpet to see if I could help. I spotted it against her jewelry counter. “Here it is.” I reached down to get it and then helped her to her feet. Once she righted, I pulled her up to her feet and kissed her deeply.
“Mm. I’ve wanted to do that all day.” And I had. I’d spent the day out getting things in order to make the day perfect.
I’d wanted to make sure my proposal would be epic and memorable and had even asked Nate for advice which was a bad idea. After turning down his flash mob idea, which I thought was completely lame and much too flashy for my Carrie, I decided to keep it low key and went with a classier approach.
“We have reservations in an hour.” I trailed my gaze down her body, seeing through the sheer robe she wore.
“I’m hurrying. I won’t be late, I promise. What’s so special, anyway? Where are you taking me?” She had tried to get answers from me all day, and I’d been biting my tongue to keep from giving it all away.
“I just want to take you to a nice dinner to celebrate it being a year since you moved here.”
“But we just celebrated our anniversary of when we met.” She walked to the rack which held her formal dresses and took one of my favorites from its hanger.
“We won’t ever have too many anniversaries. Besides, every day with you is w
orth celebrating.” She stopped and lay the dress over a chair and then walked up, taking my hand as she stepped into my embrace.
“You say the sweetest things, and you treat me like a princess, Chance. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
I gave her a peck on the lips and nudged her away, nodding to the dress. “Get dressed. The sooner we go, the sooner we get to come back here and make love.”
She made a sound of approval and then slipped off her robe and went to the drawer of her lingerie case. “We could skip it and start now.”
“Greedy girl.” I normally would have agreed and taken her right then, but all I could think about was the huge ring in my pocket and how much I wanted to give it to her.
It was nearly two hours into the date when I realized I hadn’t planned the exact moment of my proposal. I had figured that the opportunity would arise and I’d know it was the right moment. So, I waited, all through dinner and on the way to the private gallery viewing.
I’d rented out the gallery and had even arranged a special viewing. “I love this place.” She walked a few steps away from me and turned a circle to see it all. “Remember when you brought me here when I first moved in. We spent hours here, and I never wanted to leave.”
“I do, and it’s the main reason I wanted to bring you back.”
“You must not be in a hurry to get me back to our bed, after all.” She giggled softly and went to the far wall across the room. “Come here; I want to see if my favorite one is still here.” I hung back knowing what she’d find, and by the time I reached her, she stood staring, slack-jawed with awe and her hand over her heart. “It’s my painting!”
She’d painted the piece for my office shortly after moving to New York, and I wanted her to know how good I thought it was and how truly I loved it. I’d had the gallery hang it beside her favorite, knowing he’d return to see it.
“Your talent should be displayed with the greats, so I’ve arranged for it to be here this month so that others can enjoy it too.”
Her face was red with blush, and she turned to take my hand. “It’s such a sweet gesture. Thank you.” She turned back to see the painting and then stepped over to her favorite. “You even remembered where to put it. You knew I’d want to see this again.” She tilted her head and stared at the painting she loved so much. It was a woman who was lounging in a huge chair, her hair was gathered around her, and she was curled in on herself in a casual way as if sleeping. She looked so peaceful, and the colors were soft and happy.
I reached into my pocket and took out the small box. And before she turned to see what I was doing, I dropped to one knee. “What are you—Oh, Chance!” She put her hand to her heart and tears pooled in her eyes as they grew red.
“I love you, Carrie. Will you be my wife?” She was on her knees with me before I could finish, her arms wrapping around my shoulders and her mouth moving on mine.
She paused her kiss but did not pull away as she blurted her yes against my lips. We kissed for what seemed like minutes and then she pulled away, wiping her eyes and finally saw the ring.
“Oh, it’s gorgeous!” She held out her hand as I slipped the heavy ring on her slender finger.
“If it’s too much, I’ll get you a smaller one that you can wear daily.”
