The text came as she was leaving her last class of the day:

Marcus: Come to City Core. I’ll meet you at Ferragamo.

Renee: You’d better not make me Christmas shop.

Marcus: Just get your cute ass over there. See you in thirty.

Renee chuckled to herself as she hurried to the metro station to meet her boyfriend. It had been a year since they officially started seeing each other, and she’d loved every minute of it, even the rough patches. Because every rough patch they made it through proved again that they were okay, she was okay, her life was okay.

And really, things were so much better than okay. Her mom was in remission and back to teaching school. She’d even started dating, something she’d put aside while she was raising Renee and David. She looked beautiful, and was living her life to the fullest. David had made a complete recovery from his head injury and was halfway through his freshman year of college. He’d managed a respectable 3.5 grade point average and even had a girlfriend. He lived in the dorms and Renee couldn’t be more proud of him.

She stepped off the metro train and made her way up the escalator, thinking about how much she loved running into David on campus. She’d returned to school the fall semester as well, and at the end of the school year she’d graduate with her Bachelor’s degree. Marcus had asked her to move in with him on Valentine’s Day after they got together. She’d waited until the summer to make sure her mom was really in good health, but they’d been living together for six months now and it was the best decision she’d ever made.

She dodged around the masses of people shopping and enjoying the holiday spirit. Washington was cold this winter and a few patches of dirty snow could be seen in the street gutters. When she reached the fountain in front of the Ferragamo store she spun in a circle looking for Marcus.

A holiday chorus was performing on a small stage nearby and as she walked around the fountain, the music abruptly cut off.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?” the choral director said into his microphone. The crowd gradually quieted, people turning to look at the stage in curiosity.

“We’re going to take a short break here, but we’ve got a special guest with us. I think most of you will recognize him, he’s made a big splash on the national news with his exposés into the behind-the-scenes negotiations that go on in our capital building.”

Renee moved toward the stage as quickly as the crowd would allow her. She reached the front as Marcus stepped up to the microphone. He hadn’t told her he had a publicity event to do today, but she always enjoyed the things WNN set up for him. He’d spoken at rallies and concerts all over DC, his good looks and charm winning over thousands of new viewers for the station.

“Hi there, I’m Marcus Ambrose from WNN.” Everyone clapped and a few women yelled, “We love you, Marcus!”

Renee smiled and shook her head. She’d had to learn to share her boyfriend with his adoring fans—at least in public.

“Thanks,” Marcus told the crowd, smiling. “I won’t take too much of your time, but I have something special to do today.” He paused and looked around at the crowd, eyes finally landing on Renee. “There you are,” he said, looking directly at her. “Baby, can you come up here for a minute?”

Renee felt her face turn hot and she looked around as if he could possibly have been talking to someone else.

Marcus laughed up on the stage. “Yes, honey, you.”

She put a hand over her mouth, giggling in embarrassment. She walked to the stage and Marcus leaned down with his hand out to help her up. Once she was on stage she stood and watched him, afraid to look out at the sea of people examining her every move and expression.

Marcus took the microphone in one hand and held her hands with his other. “This is my girlfriend, Renee,” he told the crowd. They cheered and wolf whistled. “Exactly a year ago, right here, she agreed to be my girlfriend, and it was the best day of my life. But I’m hoping that it becomes the second best now because I’ve got a special present for our one year anniversary.”

Marcus dropped to one knee and Renee gasped as the crowd cheered. He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and looked up at her. His eyes showed every bit of love and hope and promise that she’d ever wished for, and she knew already that this was the beginning of the best part of her life.

“Baby, I love you with everything I’ve got, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving it to you. Will you marry me?”

Renee grabbed the box out of his hand and fell to her knees facing him. “Yes, yes, yes,” she cried as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him over and over. The crowd went wild, Marcus dropped the mic, and the Christmas chorus started up again.

As Marcus pulled away from Renee’s kisses he smiled at her, running a fingertip under her eyes to catch the errant tears. “Are you sure?” he asked gently.

“Completely,” she whispered, smiling.

He opened the box and revealed a beautiful vintage diamond and emerald ring.

“It’s perfect,” she said reverentially.

“Not even half as perfect as you,” he answered as he slid it onto her finger.

They kissed to the strains of White Christmas and Renee knew without a doubt that they were so much more than okay. They were perfect.

THE END

Thank you so much for reading Prince of the Press! Turn the page to read a preview of Derek’s story, THE KINGMAKER.