Chapter Eleven
A couple days later
“How was your dinner with your dad?” Sophia asked, sipping at her water.
“It was horrible. He just wanted to use me again to make himself look good.” Freya glanced down at her menu after seeing her friend’s nose twitch.
“I’m sorry you had a bad time with him,” Lucy said.
All three of them had agreed to do lunch, and Freya wanted to talk to them about something.
“How was your date with Stefan?” Sophia asked.
Lucy smiled. “It was amazing. We have so much in common, and we talked all night. He didn’t talk about himself either, and at the end of the night, he kissed my cheek. It was perfect.”
Freya smiled, reaching out and giving Lucy a comforting squeeze.
“I’m sorry. I must sound so silly.”
“You don’t. You really don’t,” Freya said. “We all know what you’re going through. Sophia’s married with the love of her life, and I’m blissfully happy with Jared.”
“Did your dad find out about you two?”
She shook her head. “Not yet, but he’s going to. I’m going to tell them, and I don’t care what they think. I love Jared. He’s everything to me.” She decided now was as good a time as any. “I’m going to ask him to marry me.”
There, she’d told them.
Sophia’s mouth was open, and Lucy looked a little shocked as well.
“You’re going to ask Jared to marry you.”
Freya nodded. “I even got him a ring. I’m going to do it over dinner. Don’t worry, I’m not going to cook. I’ve organized for a delivery, and I just have to make sure he gets home on time.”
“When are you asking him?” Sophia asked.
“Tonight.” Freya didn’t want to go another day without asking him. Her parents could judge all they wanted, but she had made the decision a few days ago, which was when she’d gotten the ring.
She’d been standing at one of her drawings in the art studio he’d given her. It was a portrait from her memory of the night before. He’d been lying on the bed, the blanket covering his cock, and he’d been smiling down at her. She’d been lying close to his waist, completely naked, and the look on his face would stay with her forever. It was the look of a man in love. She’d recognized that look, memorized it, drawn it, and known in that moment there was no one else.
Jared had been the love of her life for so long. She didn’t want the insecurities that her mother had tried to instill into her to ruin what love she had found.
After she’d gotten dressed that day, and her mind made up, she’d found herself watching couples. People just walking the street, not really paying attention to anyone or anything. They were just going about their lives.
She realized that not everyone got the chance to fall in love or to be in love.
Love was a gift, and so many people didn’t see it that way. To others it was a burden. Freya wanted love. She craved it, and Jared gave her that.
He was the one for her, the soul mate she’d been yearning for.
“It’s very modern of you. Proposing to him,” Lucy said.
Freya chuckled. “I’ve always liked to do things differently.”
Sophia reached out. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m going to ask him to marry me, and if he says yes, then it’ll be facing my parents. If they can’t deal with that, then I don’t see a reason to keep on prolonging the inevitable.” If they couldn’t love her and Jared and be happy, then she no longer wanted them in her life.
It was harsh, but she didn’t need that kind of negativity anymore. The time had come for her to move on with her life, and to not keep looking back. She was tired of hating what she saw, and the only person that mattered to her was Jared.
After lunch, she went back to work. On the way there, she listened to Lucy talk nonstop about Stefan and how great he was. Freya was more than happy for her friend. Once at work, they went their separate ways. Freya had the finishing touches to make for a presentation next Friday.
During the rest of the day, she found herself watching Jared most of the time. She was nervous about tonight but also relieved. This was something she wanted to do. No one else was guiding her or trying to take the decision from her.
Biting her lip, she forced herself to complete her work so that she could finish early. When the time came to leave, she made the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well, but that she’d worked through the artwork he needed from her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jared asked. He went to put a hand to her temple, and she pulled away.
“Yes, of course I am. There’s nothing wrong at all.” She went onto her tiptoes, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you when you get home.”
She was more nervous than ever before.
****
Jared tended to stay behind after work, and to finish up a few contracts along with any problems he found during the day. It was his way of signing off on the day, but he couldn’t concentrate. With Freya feeling ill, he gathered all of his extra work into his briefcase, and headed home.
In his pocket was an engagement ring that he’d had every intention of using tonight. He wanted the setting to be perfect as he proposed.
Now that Freya wasn’t feeling well, he didn’t like the thought of asking her right now. When he got home, he saw most of the lights were on, which gave him instant cause for concern. Climbing out of his parked car, he made his way to the steps, and paused. There was a trail of roses on the steps. An abundance of them. Holding his briefcase close to him, he couldn’t help but frown.
Making his way up those steps, he opened the door, and found that the roses led down the hall and turned left.
This wasn’t what he was expecting. Closing the door behind him, he slowly followed the trail. His heart was racing, and for the first time in his life, he was nervous. What the hell was he going to find? Rounding the corner, he saw it took him toward the dining room. Entering the room, he saw Freya there by the dining room table.
“I may have told a little lie to get home,” Freya said.
“You arranged all this?”
She nodded. “I got as many people at work to give you as much work as possible.” She was smiling. “Everything was delivered by the time I got home, and I wanted this to be perfect.”
He saw the table was laid for two. “You have a romantic dinner planned?”
“I have a lot more planned actually. Would you close your eyes?”
“Close my eyes?”
“Yes.”
Jared took one last look at her, and then closed his eyes. His curiosity was piqued though.
He couldn’t hear anything happening, and waited.
“You can open your eyes now.”
He did, and found Freya on one knee with a velvet box in her hand.
“I wanted to do something special for you. You’ve done so much for me over the years, and now I wanted to make this special for you. I love you, Jared. I’ve loved you for a long time, and for a long time I tried to pretend that it was just a silly crush. I love you. I want to be with you, and so I’m asking you, if you’d want to marry me.”
“But I wanted to be the one to ask you,” he said, feeling like a child as he even said it.
She giggled. “I figured you had something up your sleeve.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the band that he’d been saving for a special occasion. “You already had one in your pocket.”
“I’ve wanted to marry you for a long time now, Freya.”
Tears were glistening in her eyes. “You’ve still not answered my question.”
“Yes, of course yes.” He helped her to her feet, and slammed his lips down on hers. “There’s no one else in this world that I could ever want. I only want you. I love you.”
“You always know the right things to say.” She kissed him again. “Please, put your ring on.”
She took the ring from the box, and he felt a little girly holding his hand out as she slid it onto his finger. “A perfect fit.”
This time, he caught her hand, and slid the ring on hers. “What about your parents?”
“I’ve made a decision that I’m going to tell them. If they don’t like it, they can lump it. I’m done being worried about what they’d think. All that matters is you and me.” She held his hands, and Jared saw the fire in her eyes, the passion. “I love you.”
He pushed a strand of hair off her face, and smiled. “I love you more than anything else in this world.”
“I bet you’ve never been proposed to before?” she asked.
“No. I will take this memory with me for the rest of my life.” He kissed her again. “I am worried though.”
“What about?” she asked.
“Did you cook? I love you so much, and I know you’re an awful cook.”
She threw her head back, laughing. “I know my limitations, Jared. I ordered us dinner. I wanted a fiancé. I didn’t want to kill him before he could get me down the aisle, and I want that.”
“What?”
“To be your wife in everything.”
This was going to be a proposal that he would remember for the rest of his life. Pushing back a curl, he stared into her eyes, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was the love of his life. Every second that he’d waited, it had been worth it. Even the time he’d spent doubting his feelings for her, watching her from afar. All of it had been worth it because in the end, he finally had her, and she loved him back, which to him was way more important.
“We’re going to have a happy life together,” he said.
The smile he knew and adored appeared on her face. It was the smile he’d do anything for.
“I can’t wait.”