AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fuck, Olivia, I’m coming,” Jace growls.
“Me too,” I cry.
Our bodies shudder as if being blasted by bombs of pleasure. For a few seconds, the world becomes a kaleidoscope of colors before the final orgasm ebbs away.
“Oh crap,” I cry minutes later when we’re lying in each other’s arms, recovering from that sex marathon.
“What?” Jace says.
“Our lunch. The chicken is probably dry.” I disentangle myself from his arms and jump out of bed. I pull on my top and shorts. “Come on, let’s go and eat.” I hurry to the kitchen, rinse my hands under the sink then turn off the oven.
I say a silent prayer as I pull the chicken from the oven. It looks good from the outside. Relief floods me. I spent a lot of time preparing a nice meal and I’d hate to have it ruined. I set the table, then serve the chicken and salad on two plates.
Jace comes in dressed casually in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He keeps some clothes in my apartment for days when he sleeps over. Will he demand his clothes back when everything about me is out in the open?
“Smells good,” he says. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, we’re set.” I serve us two glasses of water as well, then Jace and I sit down. We stare at each other and grin. I’m sure, like me, he’s remembering how hot that last session was. “How was the trip?”
“It was fine. Boring but many of these industry conferences usually are. You just never know when one will be beneficial to you.” He cuts off a slice of chicken, forks some salad, and brings it to his mouth. Jace is beautiful even when he’s eating.
He asks me about my writing and I make up some story about what I was working on and quickly change the topic. Talking about writing saddens me. It’s brought me nothing but joy but now, my career will be the cause of me losing the love of my life.
“This is delicious, thank you,” Jace says, his plate almost empty.
“I can tell,” I tease, staring pointedly at his plate, then at mine, which still has a whole breast and most of my salad. "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to do something special for us tonight."
Jace reaches across the table and takes my hand. "Thank you. Being with you is special enough.”
We spend the next few minutes savoring our meal and chatting about the previous day. When we finished, Jace excuses himself from the table. When he returns, he’s carrying a bottle of wine. He fetches two wine glasses but instead of uncorking the bottle, he sets the glasses on the table and hands me the wine.
Then he goes down on one knee.
I’m confused. I don’t know what Jace wants me to do with the wine, and why the hell is he on his knee?
He turns the wine bottle around so that I can see the words etched into the bottle.
"Will you marry me, Olivia?" I read out loud, my eyes widening in shock. Jace pulls out a velvet box, opening it to reveal a diamond engagement ring.
"Olivia, you are the love of my life," he says, his voice shaking with emotion. "I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Tears well up in my eyes as I look down at Jace, holding the ring out to me. "Jace, I..." I started, but I can't finish the sentence. I want to say yes so badly. I need to say no but it’s too soon and I can’t bring myself to say either.
Jace’s face falls and he looks at me with confusion and hurt in his eyes. I can’t bear to see his pain. I look at the ring. A token of his love for me. It’s beautiful and obviously expensive but it could be cheap and I’d love it.
I shift my gaze to Jace’s face. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
A look of wonder comes over his features and I’m glad that I said yes even though a wedding will never happen. It’s worth it just to see the joy in his face.
“You will?” Jace says.
I nod and he takes my hand and slips the ring into my finger. “How did you know what size would fit?”
Jace laughs. “An educated guess. I’ve held and studied your hands for a long time with this in mind.” He stands and sits down in the chair, his eyes not leaving my face. “I love you, Ivy. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. I can’t wait to tell my family that you said yes.”
Fear courses through me. “Can we hold off for a while? Keep it to ourselves.” I tense as I wait for his reaction.
He smiles and I’m floored with relief.
