I unlock my phone and Google the restaurant before relief washes over me. At least the place is only five minutes away.
I do my makeup as well as I can with only a couple of minutes to spare. Leaning away from the mirror to examine myself, I nod in satisfaction.
I wonder why Keenan decided to do this? Is it because I forgot about lunch with him? I ponder while giving my hair one last look. I see one spot I have to fix, so I do so quickly. The long strands trail down my back, but they stay in place. Guilt crawls up my throat. The last few days have sucked so bad. I hope he doesn’t think I’d intentionally ignore him.
We haven’t talked at all the past couple days, but it’s only because I’ve been holed up in here trying to make sense of the numbers.
Maybe what I need is exactly what Keenan is offering: a beautiful night out, feeling beautiful, with a hot man on my arm. I lick my lips nervously. Unless he’s doing all this to tell me he wants to break up. After all, this could be like that scene fromLegally Blondewhere Warner crushes Elle’s dreams.
We’re going through so much, so I hope it’s not like in the movie. I grab my purse, leave my office, and lock the door behind me.
A wry smile twists my lips on the way out of the building, and I shake my head the moment the elevator opens immediately. I finished getting everything I needed, Keenan’s surprised me with a date night, and now I don’t have to wait a couple minutes for a trip downstairs. Things are really looking up.
I look good, so I feel good. Isn’t that how the saying goes? Now, when I look around my office, I’m satisfied with my secret locked away in my desk. No matter how much I may not want to use it, I have the ability to engulf my father’s entire world in flames.
Cold, hard evidence. The very things he and that wretched accountant of his were trying to keep hidden, but I found it.
But tonight, I’m not going to think about my father’s vile acts. I throw back my shoulders and remind myself that what my dad does isn’t my problem anymore. I covered my ass, and I did it quite well, if I do have to say so myself. I leave the building, and the smell of rain instantly wafts up my nostrils. Looking up, I worry. It’s been raining on and off for days now, but that’s nothing new.
I wander down the street, shouldering my purse and staring down at my phone to follow the directions. I’ve passed by this restaurant several times, but it’s opposite my route to work. When I look up, I’m in front of the restaurant, and the golden glow and soft music create a breathtaking ambiance. No one sits out on the second-floor balcony, and I step inside only to pause in surprise.
There’s no one inside, either. I look around at the entirely empty restaurant. Only a few, smartly dressed waitresses hang around the hostess section by the door, and I look around, worried that something isn’t right. I glance at my phone, the sign on the wall, and back again. Did I get the wrong place?
“Excuse me,” I call, and the waitress nearest to me perks up, her eyes bright with excitement. “I’m meeting my boyfriend here tonight, Keenan Gallagher.”
“Right this way,” she says cheerfully. Leading me through the empty restaurant toward the table right in the center, the waitress pulls out the chair for me. Surprise twitches my cheek and ripples down my neck. I take a seat while my nervousness begins to eat away at me. I’m sitting quite stiffly, and look around, wondering where the hell Keenan is. Did he rent the entire place?
That doesn’t even mean anything. I’m going crazy with not knowing the answers right now. Is he late to a dinner he invited me to? He spent all this money, and the staff is obviously happy to have an hour or two with no customers. My nerves tingle the bridge of my nose as I struggle to understand what’s happening right now. Honestly, I want to throw up.
“Delilah.” His voice comes from behind me, so I stand up and turn to face Keenan, and he gasps at the sight of me. He wears a suit, his hair slicked back and jaw freshly shaved. Staring openly as he struts toward me, I hold my breath. My heart leaps into my throat because this feels like a movie. He grumbles something under his breath that I can’t hear as he scans me top to bottom hotly. “You look . . . wow. It’s hard to find the words . . . you look bloody amazing.”
“You too. Did you rent out the whole restaurant? How? Why?” I fling questions at him, and he smirks mischievously. “What’s going on?”
“I had this whole idea in my head, but shite, Delilah,” Keenan mumbles breathlessly, the redness in his cheeks intensifying. His eyes shine brilliantly, and I tense when he grabs my hands to hold them to his chin. “You blow all my expectations away.”
His hands are clammy, trembling, and I gulp harshly. Kissing the backs of my fingers, his eyes don’t leave mine as his hot, short breath tickles my wrists. Out of nowhere, Keenan drops down to one knee, and I feel as though I’m watching it happen in slow motion. “Delilah . . . will you marry me?”
My eyes boggle in shock, and I almost choke on the dense lump in my throat. Blood drums in my ears as Keenan stares at me intently. His eyes increasingly narrow as the silence stretches on. I open my mouth only to wheeze faintly, uncertain if this is a dream, or if it’s reality.
“W-what?” I stammer a whisper. “You want . . . me to . . . marry you?”
“I imagined we’d eat, and I’d ask after, but after seeing you, I couldn’t wait.” He stumbles over his words slightly, but his voice is as dominant as ever. “I will do anything, Delilah. Anything. Anything you want, I’ll do my damnedest to get you. Anything you ask of me, I’ll do without hesitation. I want you to be my wife. If the past weeks have shown me nothing else, it’s that I need you in my life. I need you in all of my life, every aspect of it, until the day I die. And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re happy. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“O-of course, I’ll marry you, Keenan,” I whisper through trembling lips as my eyes fill with tears. He jerks back as if he wasn’t expecting me to actually answer him. Nodding furiously, I grab his face and smile as tears stream down my face.
“Thank goodness. Otherwise, I would’ve had to lock you in my basement, and that could be weird to explain to my siblings.” Keenan’s joke causes us both to burst out into laughter. Keenan rises from his kneeling position and pulls out the most beautiful rose gold ring I’ve ever seen. He slides it onto my wedding ring finger, and I can’t stop smiling. It’s absolutely breathtaking in a vintage setting with diamonds down the side, and I believe this is a halo cut. It glistens in the light, and I’m stuck staring at the beauty of it.
Music floats down from the overhead speakers. Wrapping an arm around me, he twirls me around with a joyous laugh. Excitement blossoms in my chest, pushing my lungs and heart out of place, and I realize just how much this man means to me. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in this world.
He captures my lips with all the passion he can muster, and my surprised laugh catches along our tangling tongues. I sling my arms around Keenan’s neck and moan into our kiss. He leans closer against me, and we stand here lost in the love we have for one another.
“I love you, Keenan,” I murmur, caressing his trembling lower lip with my fingertips. He shakes, his heart hammering against my chest as he hugs me tightly. Closing my eyes, I savor the smell of him. A scent I will never grow tired of.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
KEENAN
Stroking Delilah’s hair, her naked body wrapped around mine, I sigh in bliss. I can’t sleep. Last night feels like a dream, and I’m worried if I do drift off, I’ll wake up, and this will all be nothing but a dream. Delilah is a literal angel, so close to me that I can touch her, smell her vanilla lotion and bask in her warmth. Her soft eyelashes rest on pink-tinged cheeks, and I press my forehead against her temple to inhale deeply. The air is thick, clinging to my lungs and throat, but this is it. She’s what I’ve always wanted.
