Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
THREE MONTHS LATER
Caden
The past three months had been nothing short of incredible. I had never been in love with anyone like I was with Brielle. She was my very existence. The bond between Stella and me grew stronger every day. I loved that tiny human as if she were my own. She taught me things through the eyes of a child. Things I never really saw before. She was an incredible little girl who dreamed of becoming a classical pianist/composer when she grew up. But, to me and a lot of others, she already was. She loved to play, and she practiced for three hours every day. She belonged at Juilliard. I had a contact there and invited her over to my penthouse to hear Stella play with Brielle’s permission. Needless to say, she was blown away and offered Stella an audition. Shortly after that audition, she was accepted to study in their pre-college division, where the youngest child was eight.
Brielle was out to dinner with Sasha, and I stayed with Stella at her apartment. I was growing tired of the back and forth between homes, and I wanted both of them to move into the penthouse with me. But there was something I needed to do first. I pulled a small box from my pocket as I sat next to Stella and listened while she played Bach.
“Stella, can you stop for a moment? I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.” She smiled as she removed her fingers from the keys.
“I bought this for your mom. What do you think?”
“Is that a wedding ring?! It’s so beautiful, Caden.”
“It’s an engagement ring, and I’m going to ask her to marry me. Do you think she’ll say yes?” I tickled her.
“She’ll say yes.” She giggled. “If you get married, we can be a family.”
“We sure will be. But this has to be our secret. I have a plan, and I need your help.”
“Okay. I would love to help.” She grinned.
I told her my plan, and she loved the idea. I told her to get ready for bed, and I pulled out my phone and called Kyle to set the plan in motion.
“Can we play something together before I go to bed?” Stella asked as she came running over to me in her pajamas.
“Of course, we can.”
When Brielle got home from dinner, I took her into the bedroom and made love to her. As her head lay on my chest, I softly stroked her hair.
“I was thinking we could go out tomorrow night. Maybe have dinner at Kyle’s restaurant.”
“I’ll have to get someone to babysit Stella,” she spoke.
“It’s already taken care of.”
“What?” She lifted her head.
“Ben’s going to watch her. I asked him, and he’s very excited about it.”
“Wow. Look at you.” She smiled as she kissed my lips. “I’m looking forward to our date night.”
“Me too, darling. Me too.”
The next day, I could barely work. I was way too nervous about tonight. I knew I had nothing to worry about, but we hadn’t discussed marriage or moving in together. My phone rang as I was sitting at my desk, trying to concentrate.
“Hello, gorgeous.” I smiled as I answered it.
“Caden, I just got a delivery at the door, and when I opened the box, there was a stunning dress inside it.”
“Oh good, it came already. That’s for you to wear tonight.”
“It’s kind of fancy. Don’t you think?”
“Nah. I think it’s perfect. Do you like it?”
“Are you kidding? I love it. It’s beautiful.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to seeing you in and out of it tonight.”
“You’re bad. What time are you picking me up?”
“Seven. Be ready.”
“I will be. Thank you for the dress. I love you.”
“I love you too. I’ll see you later.”
After changing into my tux, I picked Brielle up precisely at seven. As promised, she was ready and waiting.
“Damn, woman. You look gorgeous.” I kissed her lips.
“So do you. Are we going to some black-tie affair you didn’t tell me about?”
“No.” I chuckled. “I just thought it would be fun to get all dressed up for the hell of it.”
When we arrived at the restaurant, Brielle looked around and noticed we were the only customers in the whole place.
“Why are we the only people here?” she asked.
“Kyle was kind enough to let me rent out the place so it could just be the two of us.”
“That’s sweet, but why?”
“Why not? I thought having a quiet romantic dinner for two would be nice.”
“Good evening.” Kyle smiled as he stepped over to our table. “I brought a bottle of my finest and most expensive champagne for you both,” he spoke as he poured some into our glasses.
“Thank you, Kyle,” I said.
“I can’t believe you let him rent out your restaurant.” Brielle smirked.
“Everyone has a price.” He gave her a wink. “Your dinner will be out shortly.”
I held her hand from across the table as we talked about her day. Her marketing business was getting off the ground, and I had a helping hand in it. But the only thing I did was send one company her way to get her started, and things took off from there. I had never been prouder of her.
Kyle walked over and set our plates with the stainless-steel dome lids in front of us.
“Since when do you serve your dinners like this?” Brielle asked.
“I do on occasion for our special VIP guests.” He smiled. “Enjoy.”
I signaled him to get Stella set up at the piano. Brielle went to remove the lid from her plate, and I stopped her.
“Wait!”
“What?” She laughed.
“I want to make a toast to us first.” I picked up my champagne glass. “Here’s to your rising business and our amazing relationship together.”
“Cheers.” She grinned as she tipped her glass to mine.
“Let’s eat,” I spoke.
I carefully watched as Brielle removed the lid and stared down at the diamond ring sitting on the plate.
“Oh my God!” she spoke.
Just then, the music started to play, and Brielle looked around, taking notice of Stella at the piano.
“Caden.” Tears started to fill her eyes.
I reached over, took the ring from the plate, got up from my chair, and knelt next to her.
“Brielle, I love you so damn much, and I love that little girl over there. The two of you have brought so much light and happiness into my world that I never thought I would ever experience. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to love you, care for you, and help you raise Stella. You are every breath I take and every beat of my heart beats for you. Will you marry me and do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Caden Chamberlain?”
“Yes! I will marry you.”
I slipped the ring on her finger and helped her out of her chair, kissing and hugging her tight.
“You have made me so happy,” I spoke.
There was clapping, and when we looked over, Kyle stood there with a wide grin. The music stopped, and Stella came running over.
“Did she say yes?!”
“She said yes!” I smiled as I picked her up and swung her around.
“Wait a minute. You knew about this, Stella?”
“Yes, Mommy, and I told him you’d say yes. Yay! We’re going to be a family.”