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"I'd hardly call me amazing." She giggled, slipping her feet into her boots.
I sat down beside her and removed my skates. Then I reached down into our bag and pulled out a thermos along with two travel cups and poured us each a hot chocolate.
"Here you go," I said, handing her one of the travel mugs. I capped the thermos and leaned back against the bench, placing my arm behind her.
I watched as her eyes light up as she took a sip. "Maddox, this isn't..."
"It is, right from that place in the mall. They opened up another location around the corner from work, so I stopped on my way home to get this." I smiled, leaning in to kiss her lips.
Over the past year, I learned so many things about Tess I hadn't known before. How much she could give when she felt appreciated. How feisty she could be when she got angry, how sexy she could be when she let her inhibitions go. There wasn't a part of this woman I didn't love. I learned that she loved the simple things in life—a homemade meal and an evening with popcorn and a movie, instead of dinner in a fancy restaurant, a foot rub and hot bath after a long day, instead of being pampered at the spa. The best thought was waking her with a tender kiss and a hot coffee in the morning after we'd spent the night making love. However, my favourite part of this past year had been watching her discover herself as our relationship developed. Watching her become a woman filled with confidence and one who never backed down from me when I got out of line. It had been a special gift that she had given to me. The Tess I had met a few years ago was not the same woman who sat beside me today. She was confident and loving, and she was all mine.
"When's my next lesson?" he asked, leaning her head against my shoulder and cuddling into my side.
I placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled. "Whenever you'd like."
"Tomorrow?" She laughed, biting her bottom lip as she looked up at me.
"Mmmm, I think we might be busy tomorrow." I chuckled, reaching into my pocket.
She frowned. I could see her mentally searching through her schedule trying to figure out what I was talking about.
I sat forward and pulled the box out of my pocket and turned to face her.
"Maddox, I don't know what you are talking about," she said, still trying to figure out what plans she had forgotten. "The only thing we have this week is dinner with Laura and John. I am sure of it."
I let out a breath as she sat there mumbling our schedule repeatedly to herself. I chuckled to myself, trying to ease my own nerves, then placed my hand over hers. "Tess, I just figured that you might want to go out and celebrate."
She looked at me, frowning. "Maddox, I don't know what you are talking about. Celebrate what? If you’re talking about me learning to skate, you’re just being silly." She laughed, placing her hand on my arm and giving me a gentle shove.
I flipped open the box and brought it around for her to see. "I thought we’d celebrate our engagement."
Her eyes went from mine down to the ring that sat in my hand, and then she brought her hand up to her mouth, tears filling her eyes. I smiled, tears filling my own. "Will you marry me, Tess?" I questioned, pulling the ring from the small box. She placed her hand in mine, and I slid the ring onto her finger.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and placed a kiss on my lips. "Yes," she murmured. “Oh my God, yes.”
Tess
We lay in bed together, wrapped securely in blankets as the morning sun peered through the blinds. I lay in his arms, my hand resting on his chest so I could look down at the ring on my finger. I must have looked at it a million times since he’d given it to me last night. I was still having a hard time believing that it had actually happened. That he had finally asked me to marry him. I softly smiled at the thought.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly, running his finger along my bare arm.
"Last night," I replied, as I enjoyed the warmth of his body as I lay beside him.
"What about it?" he asked, shifting himself so he was looking down on me.
I shrugged. "Just how perfect it was." I met his eyes and as he looked longingly down on me, my eyes beginning to water.
“Yeah, it’s a beautiful rink isn’t it. The lights in the trees and all…” He looked at me seriously.
“Stop it.” I laughed. “You know what I’m talking about.”
He nodded and lowered himself and took my mouth with his, kissing me deeply, his tongue washing through my mouth. "It was perfect," he whispered, gripping my waist with his hand.
He pulled his lips from mine and brushed my hair back out of my face. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair, studying him.
I loved this man with my entire soul, and no number of words would ever allow me to express that to him the way I wished I could. He had taught me so much about myself over the past year that it was hard to remember what I was like before. He had taught me all over again that it was okay to love, and to not be afraid to express my feelings. He'd also taught me what it felt like to be appreciated and valued. The amount of love we shared was above and beyond what I'd ever experienced.
He kissed me deeply, his hands running down my body as he pulled me close to him. We fit so perfectly together. I thought back to that trip to Paris. If it hadn't of been for that, who knows where I would be. Would I have been in his arms? Perhaps, but it may have taken us way longer to find one another. There hadn't been a day that had passed since we'd returned from Paris that I didn't silently thank myself for listening to Laura and my mom for actually making me take that trip. I also silently thanked Maddox for agreeing to go.
