Chapter Thirty
Vanessa
“This is beautiful,” I said breathily as I stepped out onto the terrace outside the east wing of Jacob’s house. Our house, really, now that I’d been living here for over three and a half years.
Tommy was out at a friend’s birthday party tonight, so we had the house to ourselves at the moment. Jacob had decorated a table outside with flowers and candles, and he’d strewn little white and yellow fairy lights all through the terrace railing. The terrace itself overlooked the pool, which he’d filled with floating candles.
“I’m glad you like it,” Jacob said, slipping an arm around me. “I’ve even made your favorite dinner.”
I smiled at him. “What’s the occasion?” I asked. “God, I didn’t forget my own birthday again, did I? Like I did last year.”
He chuckled. “No, you didn’t. Come, sit down.”
I noticed that he’d avoided fully answering my question, and my pulse picked up a little. Could this mean….no, I needed to calm down and stop jumping to conclusions.
We began to eat—a red wine and beef stew that I discovered I loved a few years ago—and we talked about everything that was happening in our lives at the moment. My job, my friends, my plans for the future. A future that would always include Jacob. I was excited to have begun my career at the tutoring center, and I knew I had many years of fulfilling work to look forward to. I knew I didn’t need to work (Jacob had more than enough money to support us ten times over) but I wanted to. I loved what I did, and I knew Jacob loved that I loved it.
My career wasn’t the only important thing in my life, though. Of course not. My family was the most important thing to me. Jacob and Tommy. I couldn’t wait to make that family a little bigger by giving Jacob a baby one day.
Maybe even more than one baby.
We didn’t do our daddy play stuff as much as we used to—we both enjoyed vanilla sex just as much as the kinkier stuff—but we definitely had enough moments in the bedroom to ensure a pregnancy if that’s what we decided we both wanted. I wasn’t sure we’d ever get tired of exploring each other’s bodies and our sexuality.
Jacob popped open a bottle of champagne, and I giggled as he poured some into a glass for me. “Seriously, what are we celebrating?” I asked.
“Us,” he said simply, passing me a champagne flute. I took a sip, and he went on. “You’re incredible, Vanessa. I hope you know how much I love you.”
I gave him a shy smile. “Of course I do. And you know I love you too.”
He nodded. “I know we had a hard start," he said. "Everything that happened with your father, and all the media stuff that surrounded us when we first met...we can’t change the past, unfortunately. But I hope I'm helping you move on from it.”
“You are,” I said with a nod. It still stung to think about how my mother had died, but knowing that we got her some justice helped me let go of the pain just a little. My father would never get out of prison for what he’d done to her. “And I hope I do the same for you. I know it was hard when Greg screwed you over.”
He smiled gently. “Just having you in my life is enough to help me let go of any issues.”
He suddenly stood up, and then he kneeled next to me on the tiled terrace floor.
"What...what are you doing?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"Vanessa," he began, pulling out a crimson ring box from his pocket.
"Wait," I gasped, unable to believe this was really happening. "What are you...”
He grinned and held up a hand. “Let me talk, baby girl.”
I held my hand over my mouth, completely dumbfounded.
"Vanessa," he said. "I want to make you mine. Officially. I want the whole world to know you belong to me. I want to marry you. I want you to have my children. I want to be with you forever.”
"Jacob…” I whispered.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, his wonderful voice deep and confident.
"Oh my god!” I cried, tears of joy springing to my eyes. "Yes, yes. Of course I will!"
He opened the box and slid the ring onto my finger, the beautiful diamond sparkling on my hand as it drew the light from the candles around us. Jacob grinned and stood up, lifting me off my chair and into his arms.
"I love you," he murmured against the shell of my ear as he twirled me across the terrace.”
“I love you too,” I promised. “More than anything.”
Then we kissed, and it seemed like an eternity went by with us lost in each other’s lips; lost in our embrace. When Jacob finally drew back, he stared down at me with pure love and lust radiating from his gaze, and I grinned from ear to ear. My cheeks felt like they were on fire with excitement.
“You’re all pink,” Jacob said, gently touching my face with one finger. “And you’re grinning like the Cheshire Cat.”
“Hmm, I wonder why?” I said jokingly.
He chuckled. “Yes, I wonder too. What’s made my girl so happy?” he replied, playing along with the little joke.
I gave him a quick peck on the lips again, and then I drew back and flashed him a smile. “Let’s just say,” I began in a teasing tone. “I got it from my daddy…”
THE END