Chapter 28

Melany

OPERATION GRAND GESTURE was underway… and I felt like I might throw up at any moment. Constance, Devon, Tomas, and I had spent all of Friday night and well into Saturday morning drinking and coming up with a plan of action. There were terrible ideas, such as hiring a skywriter or a singing telegram, which Frank—who’d come in sometime around cosmo number four—had suggested. Some not so bad, but still unrealistic ideas like having I LOVE YOU, CHANCE, written on the jumbotron during a baseball game (that idea came from Devon. It wasn’t terrible, but seeing as it wasn’t even baseball season, I didn’t see how we could pull that off). Then there was the godawful idea of me proposing (this one—unsurprisingly—came from Tomas. With Constance’s backing, I might add).

In the end, none of the ideas we came up with that night worked. As the weekend wore on, I began to worry that I wouldn’t come up with a grand enough gesture to make Chance forgive me for—as Constance so lovingly put it after cosmo number six—having my head up my ass and not seeing what was standing right in front of me.

Then I had my light bulb moment. It came late Sunday evening. I called the troops to fill them in, and the second I finished detailing my plan, all three of them agreed with enthusiastic glee. This was followed by Tomas insisting I make him a bridesmaid if or when Chance proposed.

Of course, I readily agreed. I didn’t think he’d agree to do my hair on the big day if I didn’t.

Anyway, the time for Operation Grand Gesture was upon us, and I was a complete and utter mess.

I was silently kicking my own ass as I stood in the lobby of Chance’s firm, fidgeting uncontrollably as I waited for him to appear. I couldn’t just tell him I loved him. I had to show him. After all, words didn’t mean anything if there weren’t actions to back them up. That was why, when I’d arrived ten minutes earlier with Devon, I’d sent her to gather as many people in the office as possible, so they could all gather to watch me make my extremely public declaration. I was doing the one thing I hated most, voluntarily making myself the center of attention. I ventured a glance at the smiling, friendly receptionist who’d just called Chance to alert him to a visitor in the lobby. She smiled and gave me an excited thumbs up. As soon as we filled her in on the plan, she was all for helping out.

Constance and Tomas stood among the growing group of spectators, not wanting to miss out, and with every second that ticked by, I became more and more sure that I was going to pass out.

“He’s coming! He’s coming!” Devon whisper-yelled as she scuttled through the crowd and took her place next to my other friends. Anxiety twisted my stomach into knots as I shifted from foot to foot.

Then I heard his voice, and everything but him faded away.

“What’s going on? Why’s everybody gathered around Reception? Did someone bring cake?”

The crowd parted to let him through, and the instant I laid eyes on him, that knot untangled and all my nerves disappeared. Because it was him. He was it for me, in every single way. His gaze landed on me before sliding down to the large bouquet of bright red roses in my hand.

Confusion twisted his gorgeous features as he stepped closer and asked, “Melany? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“No… well, yes… I mean, something’s wrong, but I’m here to fix it.” Okay, so I wasn’t off to that great a start, but I soldiered on. “Here,” I said, thrusting the roses at him. “These are for you.”

The quizzical expression on his face was almost laughable. “Uh… thanks?”

“You’re welcome.”

He looked from the flowers to me, his eyebrows lifting toward his hairline. “Is that all, or did you have something to say?”

Shit. “Right! Sorry. I’m a little nervous.” It took everything I had not to lower my head and allow my hair to block out the people standing around us. I wasn’t going to hide. I was done hiding. Chance had helped me realize I was stronger than that.

He moved closer and lowered his voice, concern laced through his words. “Do you want to go in my office? We’ll have more privacy.”

“No… actually, I asked all of them to be here. Or, Devon asked… whatever, the fact is I had Devon ask them all to be here.”

“But why? You hate being the center of attention.”

“Exactly!” I smiled brightly. “I hate it. Like, really hate it. There’s still a possibility I might throw up, but that doesn’t matter. I needed them all here so I could show you how serious I am. I needed to make a grand gesture, and this was the only thing I could come up with to show you I mean it.”

His mouth curled up in a slow, sinful smile as he closed another foot of space between us. “Mean what?”

“Just hold on a second,” I reprimanded. “I have a whole speech ready, and I’m not going to let you derail me.”

His chuckle washed over me, blanketing me in its warmth. “Then have at it. Please, don’t let me stop you. You know I love it when you ramble.”

I smiled brightly, because I knew he meant it. My word vomit never deterred him. And I had the absolute perfect ramble in store. I cleared my throat and straightened my shoulders as I recalled all the words I’d memorized the night before. “Did you know that love is technically a variety of different feelings, attitudes, and states of mind? For instance, it can encompass a multitude of different things from pleasure, like how you’d say you love the New York Yankees—”

“I’m actually a Mets fan,” he interrupted, causing my face to scrunch up in a glare.

“Anyway,” I continued, “It can stand for that feeling of pleasure to interpersonal connections such as a parent or a sibling. But the most important thing I learned about love is that it can also be considered a virtue that represents things like affection or human compassion. That’s the kind of love you showed me. You were compassionate and affectionate. You care about me. You care for me in a way I’ve never experienced before. Love is just one of your many, many virtues, along with kindness, your compassion, and your integrity… just to name a few. It’s because of how virtuous you are that I fell in love with you, Chance.”

His eyes heated instantly, and that last foot of space between us disappeared. “Melany…” His voice was rough and gravelly as he placed the roses down on one of the decorative tables that filled the reception area. His hands came up, his fingers ready to tangle in my hair, but I stepped back before he could make contact.

“I’m not finished,” I insisted.

“Then hurry,” he growled. “I need to touch you.”

My entire body heated at that declaration, and I was suddenly curious just how sturdy the desk in his office was. Focus, Mel!

“I love you. And it’s not the kind of romanticized, fairy tale love I have a tendency to make up in my head. It’s real, and it’s limitless, and it’s all-consuming. It makes me want to take risks, to step out of my comfort zone, and do everything in my power to make you happy. I spent a long time living in my head, but now that I’ve met you, I never want to go back there, because you’ve shown me how incredible real life is. And I’ll gladly spend every single day here in the real world if it means I get to spend it with you.”

Once my speech was finished, I pulled in a deep, much needed breath. We stood in silence for what felt like an eternity before he finally spoke.

“Are you done?”

I bit my lower lip and gave it some thought. “Yeah, I’m done.”

“Good.” The next second, I was in his arms and Chance was kissing me like he’d never be able to get his fill. I melted into his body, wrapping my arms around his neck and returning the kiss with just as much enthusiasm. I was so wrapped up in him, I didn’t even register the people around us cheering and cat-calling our public display of affection. I doubted I’d have cared even if I did. All that mattered was the fact that I was back in Chance’s arms, exactly where I belonged.

“I love you too,” he whispered once we broke apart, his forehead resting against mine as he looked deep into my eyes.

“Good. Because that whole thing would have been really embarrassing if you didn’t.”

He let out a bark of laughter and squeezed me tighter before asking, “Now can we please go to my office where we can have some privacy?”

I pulled away and took his hand in mine, smiling up at the man I loved more than anything. “Yeah. But I was wondering…”

“What?”

My cheeks flushed pink as I leaned in and whispered, “Just how strong is your desk?”