CHAPTER 27
A va still couldn’t believe Samuel and Justin had talked her into having dinner while they waited for the storm to pass.
She was so stressed about the dog still being missing that she couldn’t even think about eating.
The only thing keeping her going was knowing that when she’d talked to Lydia and told her they had a new lead, Edgar had agreed to give her a few more hours to get home so she could tell her mother herself.
She knew Edgar wasn’t happy about it, but she figured at this point, he knew he was going to be in hot water no matter what he did for not telling her mother earlier.
Like Justin and Samuel, she was never a fan of lying either, but she told herself it wasn’t a complete lie. She did have a lead, sort of. She figured if the other family who lost their border collie was also looking, they might have stumbled upon someone who saw Stormy.
She figured it was worth a try to contact them. She was grateful when Samuel volunteered to call them and find out what he could.
As she followed Samuel into the restaurant’s special private dining room, she stopped short when she saw the room was filled with red roses and lit up with dozens of candles, illuminating a single table for two. It was one of the most romantic settings she’d ever seen.
“Samuel, we don’t need all…this,” Ava said.
“Right,” Justin agreed. “We can eat anywhere.”
“Actually, you can’t,” Samuel corrected him. “I don’t think Ava wants to be in the main dining room with everyone else who will recognize her.”
Ava took a deep breath. “You’re right. I can’t do that.”
“The safest place for you is our private dining room,” Samuel said. “Do you remember this room? You used to always use it with your mother when you came here as a child.”
“Yes, I remember, but it never looked like this,” Ava said.
Samuel smiled. “We transform this room for many occasions. Right now, it’s been set up like this for a marriage proposal, but the couple can’t make it tonight because of the storm, so someone should enjoy it. It’s all yours.” Samuel said as he pulled out a chair at the table for her.
Ava hesitated. “I don’t know—”
“We can’t go anywhere else,” Justin said. “This is our only option.”
Ava reluctantly sat down.
“And Samuel, I think the room looks amazing,” Justin said.
Samuel beamed back at him. “Thank you very much. We pride ourselves on creating magical moments.”
Ava picked up her white cloth napkin and put it on her lap, then folded it back up and put it on the table. She stood up. “This doesn’t feel right, being here.”
“Because of the decorations?” Samuel asked.
“No, because I feel like we should be looking for the dog—Lydia’s dog. I know she’s very worried about him, especially knowing he’s out in this storm. Right, Justin?”
“Yes, we’re all very worried about him,” Justin agreed. “But you heard Samuel. We can’t go anywhere right now.”
Samuel gave Ava a sympathetic look. “I promise. As soon as it’s safe, you’ll be on the first sleigh.”
Ava sighed with resignation as she walked over and studied a wall that displayed a collection of black-and-white photographs. It included pictures of her as a child with her mother.
As she looked closer, it surprised her how carefree and joyful they looked.
“I can’t believe you still have these pictures of us,” Ava said. Her gaze lingered on a photo of her sitting on Santa’s lap. Her mother stood next to her, beaming.
Samuel joined her. “Of course. You were some of my favorite customers. It was always my greatest honor to be part of your mother’s birthday tradition. We originally built this private dining room for her and your mother-daughter dates.”
Ava nodded wistfully…remembering. “I feel like that was a lifetime ago.”
Justin joined her and checked out the Santa photo. He blinked several times. “Wait, is that you with Santa? I don’t believe it.”
“Oh, she loved seeing Santa,” Samuel chimed in. “It was a tradition for them to come here to get their Santa Christmas pictures together.”
“That was one of our special mother-daughter dates,” Ava added. “She also loved coming here, just the two of us, for her birthday. She always had to have Samuel’s famous Chocolate Fountain Cake. Another tradition.”
“You remember,” Samuel said, looking touched.
“Of course,” Ava said. “It was my favorite cake, too.”
“What exactly is a Chocolate Fountain Cake ?” Justin asked.
“It’s a multi-tiered Belgian dark chocolate fudge cake with a built-in dark chocolate fountain, surrounded by fruit skewers for dipping into the chocolate,” Samuel said proudly.
Justin looked impressed. “Wow. That sounds amazing!”
Ava smiled, remembering, “It is spectacular.”
“Thank you,” Samuel said proudly. “We loved making it for you every year, until you stopped coming.” A flicker of sadness crossed Samuel’s face.
“Why would anyone pass that up?” Justin asked.
Samuel looked at Ava.
“My father started having a big, formal birthday ball for my mother,” Ava explained. “So that became our new tradition.”
“I couldn’t compete with a ball and all the royal trappings,” Samuel said. “But you’re here now. We can celebrate that. What can I get you? Anything you like?”
“I’d love a glass of Bordeaux, please,” Ava said.
Justin shook his head. “I don’t think the doctor would recommend wine .”
Ava gave him a look. “She said I needed to take it easy. So, wine will be perfect.”
Samuel chuckled as he left the room.
When Justin walked back to the table and held out the chair for her, she sat down and immediately started brushing off all the red rose petals that were sprinkled across the table. She also blew out the candles in front of her.
Justin’s eyebrow arched as he sat down. “You’re not a fan of candles or roses?”
“Not right now, I’m not,” she said. The last thing she needed was to be in a romantic setting with the one guy who had ever made her feel sparks. She felt like fate was laughing at her, trapping them in a scene straight out of a romantic movie.
Justin surveyed the room. “I bet the girl that was getting proposed to loves roses and candles and that’s why her boyfriend had the room set up like this.”
“Do you really think he went to all that trouble?” Ava asked, skeptical.
Justin looked surprised. “Yes. Getting engaged is one of the most important days of your life. You want it to be perfect, something romantic and personal that means something to your love story, something you’ll remember forever and tell your kids about, right?”
Their eyes met.
Ava had never thought about a proposal in that way before. When she thought about her and Henry’s engagement, she saw it as more of a means to an end. Romance wasn’t factored into the equation. “Maybe for some people,” Ava finally said.
Justin looked surprised. “You’re not a romantic?”
“You are?”
“Yes,” Justin said proudly. “I’d like to think so, but it surprises me you’re not.”
“Why?” Ava asked as she flicked another rose petal off the table.
“Because I thought as a princess you would be all about the romance. I mean, isn’t that a princess thing?”
“A princess thing? Why would you say that?” Ava asked.
“Because there are literally hundreds of royal-themed romance love stories about a princess meeting their prince charming,” Justin said.
“I thought every little girl grew up wishing they could live in a castle, get all dressed up, go to beautiful balls, meet their prince, and live happily ever after.”
Ava shook her head. “That’s not real life for a real-life princess, at least not for me.”
“Really?” Justin asked, intrigued. “Okay, then tell me about your proposal. What did your duke do to declare his love for you and win you over?”
“Nothing,” Ava said.
Justin stared at her. “Nothing? What do you mean, nothing ?”
“Just what I said,” Ava continued. “Henry didn’t do anything, because he didn’t have to.”
Justin waited for her to continue.
“He didn’t have to propose or do any grand gesture because our parents matched us up when we were children. We always knew we were going to get married,” Ava said.
Justin looked surprised as he leaned closer to her. “So, you’re telling me he never proposed.”
Their eyes met.
“No.” Ava said. “Henry has never proposed.”
“Interesting,” Justin said as he leaned back in his chair.
“What?” Ava asked.
“Nothing,” Justin replied.
She gave him a look. “You clearly want to say something, so go ahead and say it.”
“There’s just no way I wouldn’t propose to a person I loved, to make sure they knew how much they meant to me and how much I wanted to spend the rest of my life with them,” Justin said.
“Even if it’s a given, like you and Henry, I think words matter, and I don’t think a proposal should be taken for granted. ”
“That’s because you’re American,” Ava said. “You don’t understand.”
“No, I understand perfectly well. Love is love, no matter where you are in the world. A proposal is a chance to tell someone how much you love them. Why wouldn’t you want to say that and celebrate that?”
Ava shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“I think if you’re going to marry someone, there needs to be a proposal,” Justin said. “It doesn’t have to be as fancy as all this, with candles and roses, but it should still happen and not just be assumed.”
“Maybe in your world that’s how it works, but that’s not how it works in mine,” Ava said.
“That’s really too bad,” Justin said.
“Don’t feel bad for me,” Ava insisted. “I’m perfectly happy with the way things are.”
“Okay,” Justin said. “If you say so.”
Ava nodded, but as she stared down at the table, she couldn’t help but wonder. Was she happy? Or did she want the kind of romance Justin was talking about? She had never thought about a proposal that way before, but now she knew she would never see it the same way again.