Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Wes
After the long flight, a couple’s massage was just what we needed. It was what I needed to try to calm the nerves flaring up inside me. Tonight was the night. The night I’d propose to Anna and ask her to be my wife. What if she said no? Would she? I didn’t think she would, but with her, you never knew. If she said no, it wouldn’t be because she didn’t love me. I knew she did. It would be because she wasn’t ready.
It wasn’t all that long ago that she planned a wedding and ran from it as fast as she could. She was also still in the midst of putting everything that happened back in California behind her. I believe that was one of the reasons why she took on Francine’s business: to keep herself busy to drown out the hurt she’d felt from the betrayal of her family. She hadn’t spoken to her father since that day. Not because he hadn’t tried to reach out to her but because Anna said she could never forgive him. Both Nina and Matthew were indicted on embezzlement charges and received prison time.
“That was amazing.” She smiled as she hooked her arm in mine, and we went back up to the suite. “I’m starving. Can we go somewhere for dinner?” she asked.
“Of course.” I kissed the side of her head with a smile.
We entered the suite, and Anna and I went to the bedroom. Hanging on the closet door was the dress I ordered for her to wear tonight, along with the tuxedo I ordered.
“What are these?” she asked. “They weren’t here earlier.”
“I had them delivered while we were down at the spa.”
I took the white garment bag from the door, unzipped it, and revealed the long strapless black dress.
“This is for you to wear tonight for dinner.”
“Wes, it’s beautiful. Are we going somewhere super fancy?”
“Yeah.” I grinned. “We are.”
“How exciting! What’s in this bag?” she asked.
“That’s my tuxedo. We better start getting ready. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you in that dress since I bought it.”
“Thank you. I can’t wait to put it on.” A bright smile crossed her face as she pressed her lips against mine.
I was standing in the living area, looking out the large window with my hands tucked into my pants pockets, when I heard Anna’s voice.
“Well?” she spoke.
I turned around and gasped when I saw her standing in her dress, her hair swept up in a beautiful updo.
“You look gorgeous.” I smiled as I walked over to her.
“And you look handsome.” She straightened my bowtie.
“I want to show you something?” I held out my hand.
She placed her hand in mine, and I led her up the stairs and to the rooftop, where I had an elegant table with rose petals and candles lit.
“Wes, this is beautiful. You did all this?”
“I did. I wanted our first night here to be as special as possible. It’s a beautiful night, and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect than a romantic dinner up on the rooftop overlooking Paris.”
“You are truly a dream come true.” She smiled as she kissed me.
I pulled out her chair, and she took a seat. Pulling out my phone, I sent a message to the chef that we were ready for dinner. Within moments, a waiter came up, filled our glasses with champagne, and brought an appetizer to start.
“This is truly amazing, Wes. Look at that view.”
“As beautiful as it is, I’d rather look at you.”
I nervously placed my hand in my pocket, pulled out the ring box, and held it under the table while I took in a deep breath.
“Anna, I love you.”
“I love you too.” She smiled.
“It wasn’t that long ago that we were here, in this room together, sharing a beautiful night of passion. I never told you this, but I considered staying because something about you pulled me in. The more I thought about it, I couldn’t because I knew once we had our time here, I’d never see you again, and it would be too hard. Then you showed up at my office, and once again, you were in my life. I can’t even explain to you the happiness that consumed me when I saw you standing in the doorway of my conference room.”
“I felt the same way,” she softly spoke as tears infiltrated her eyes.
I got up from my seat, walked over to her chair, and got down on one knee while I opened the lid of the box and held it up in front of her. Immediately, she placed her hand over her mouth.
“I love you, Anna Young, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me and do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She placed her hand on my cheek as a tear fell from her eye.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. I will marry you, Wes Carter. I can’t believe this.”
I removed the ring from the box, took her left hand, and slid it on her finger.
“It’s a perfect fit.” She smiled as she stared at it. “Wes, it’s stunning.”
“You’re stunning, Anna.”
I helped her up from her chair and wrapped my arms around her waist while hers wrapped around my neck. We stared into each other’s eyes before our lips met with desire. I was happy that she said yes, but I had another worry.