Chapter 19 #2
“For a short walk,” he said, putting his arm around her. “Are you warm enough?”
She nodded.
Crispy fallen leaves littered the sidewalk, and the smell of wood smoke wafted through the chilly autumn air.
Over his shoulder, Michael noticed two police officers following them at a respectful distance.
They walked along Lower Thames until Michael stopped in front of a three-story Victorian with paper covering the large street-level windows on either side of the front door.
“Where are we?”
He used a key to unlock the door. “My place.”
“Yours? I don’t get it.”
“Come on in, and I’ll tell you.”
Inside the door, he flipped on lights in a small hallway at the bottom of a stairwell. He led her into the rooms on the left side of the stairs. “When I was fifteen, my grandfather and I bought this place together.”
Stunned, Juliana stared at him. “You did not!”
“We did,” he said with a grin. “He and I used to take long walks through the neighborhood, and he’d tell me stories about the people who owned all the houses when he was a kid.
His father grew up on the third floor of this house, so when it came on the market, he and I hatched a plan to buy it.
I’d had a paper route and a lawn mowing business for years, and he knew I’d hung on to every dime I’d ever made. ”
“I can’t believe you bought a house when you were fifteen!”
He chuckled. “My grandfather used to say, ‘Michael, my boy, you can’t go wrong with real estate.’ So we each put down ten thousand dollars and bought the place for seventy-five thousand.
When he died about seven years ago, I found out that he’d paid off the mortgage and left his half to me.
Turns out he steered me right. It’s worth about three-quarters of a million now. ”
“That’s such an amazing story. What are you going to do with it?”
“Whenever I’m home, I chip away at all the work it needs.
I spent a whole weekend last spring refinishing the molding around one of the windows upstairs.
On the days when I get sick of dealing with Baltimore’s criminal element, I dream about opening a general law practice down here and living upstairs. ”
“I can see that. I can see you as the neighborhood attorney taking care of everyone’s problems.”
“Can you? Really?”
“Definitely. You should do it. You’d be great at it.”
“Thanks.” He shrugged. “Maybe someday. Let’s go upstairs.”
Back in the vestibule, Juliana asked what was on the other side of the stairwell.
“Another good-sized retail space that I’d lease out in my hypothetical scenario.”
The second floor had high ceilings, large windows, an outdated kitchen, two bathrooms, and two big bedrooms. “There’s another apartment upstairs.”
“Something smells good. Where’s it coming from?”
“Go on up and find out.” He pointed to the third-floor stairs and gestured for her to lead the way.
Juliana gasped when she walked into a candlelit room with a table set for two in the middle. There were roses on the table and soft music playing in the background. “Oh, is this what you were doing?”
“I can’t take all the credit. My mother and my sisters helped a little.”
“A little?” she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
He smiled. “Okay, a lot. My mother provided all the candles, and Maggie and Shannon did most of the setup.”
Juliana put her arms around him. “But it was your idea.”
“I wanted to show you this place, and since I wasn’t in the mood for a crowded restaurant tonight, I thought this might work.”
“It works,” she said, kissing him. “Thank you.”
“Are you hungry? We’ve got shrimp scampi from Sardella’s in the oven.”
“I’m starving.”
He held her chair, opened a bottle of wine, and poured them each a glass before he went to get their dinner.
“This place has great service,” Juliana said when he delivered her dinner. “Very sexy waiters.”
“No hitting on the help, please.”
“I’ll try to restrain myself.”
“Don’t try too hard.”
She laughed. “This is so good,” she said after the first bite of spicy shrimp.
“I’m glad you like it. Mary Frances said I couldn’t go wrong with Sardella’s scampi.”
“Your sister is very wise. When did you even have a chance to do all this? You’ve been with me the whole time we’ve been here.”
“Last night while you were playing hair salon with the little girls, I was plotting and scheming with the big girls.”
“I’ll have to keep a closer eye on you in the future.”
“Nothing would please me more.”
After dinner, he asked her to dance.
Juliana put her hand in his and followed him to the middle of the big room where the light from the candles flickered on the bare walls.
They danced for a long while as Michael held her close to him and breathed in the unique scent that had invaded his senses the day he met her and held him captive ever since.
“Who is this?” she asked of the music.
“Allison Krauss,” he said, whispering the words to the song. “It’s called ‘When You Say Nothing at All.’”
“I like it.”
“I like you.” He ran his lips along her bare shoulder and up to her neck. When he glanced over her ear with his tongue, she moaned. “In fact, I love you.”
Her arms tightened around him. “I love you, too.” She tipped her face up to his for a kiss so hot and so sensual that Michael almost forgot to breathe.
Lightheaded, he pulled back from her. “Come sit with me over here,” he said, leading her to a window seat that overlooked Thames Street and the harbor beyond. He sat down and drew her onto his lap. “There was another reason why I wanted to bring you here tonight.”
“Oh, really?”
“I have something I want to say to you and something I want to ask you, but you have to let me get through the whole thing before you say anything, okay?”
Her eyes widened, and she nodded.
He took her hand and brought it to his lips.
“The other night I said I don’t have the words to tell you how I feel about you.
I still don’t. I doubt I ever will. We haven’t known each other long, but it took me all of five minutes to know I could have everything I’ve ever dreamed of with you.
I might not be the last guy who asks, but I wanted to be the first. Will you marry me, Juliana? ”
“Michael,” she gasped.
“Wait. I’m not finished. I know you’re not able to answer me right now, but over the next few weeks when you’re going to have to make some big decisions, I wanted you to have no doubt about what I want from you and with you.”
He fished a ring out of his pocket. The antique setting seemed perfect for her, and the diamond, while large, was more tasteful than the one he had given Paige.
He knew the size of the stone would mean nothing to Juliana.
Sliding the ring onto her finger, he kissed her hand. “I just want to see how it looks.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, wiping tears off her face.
He kissed her hand. “A perfect fit, just like us.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
With great reluctance, Michael slid the ring off her finger and reached for the gold chain that held his St. Christopher medal.
He unhooked the chain, slid the ring on with the medal, clasped the chain shut, and dropped it under his shirt.
“I’ll hold on to it for now. It’ll be right here with me until you’re ready for it. ”
“I’m overwhelmed, Michael, and I don’t deserve you. You should be with someone who could say yes—without reservation—to such a lovely proposal.”
“I don’t want anyone but you, and I’ll take you any way I can get you.”
“I have some things I need to resolve, and it’s going to have to happen soon. I know I’m asking so much of you, but I need you to be patient with me. Can you do that?”
“I can do anything for you.”
“This was a wonderful evening. I’ll never forget it.”
“Just don’t forget who asked first.”
She kissed him. “I won’t forget that, either.”