“Okay.”
Grabbing her by the hand, I led her out the pool and back into the room. I dug around in my suitcase until I had what Ineeded. Right there, I did what I felt was right. Dropping to one knee, I held Celeste’s hand in mine and continued to speak from the heart. Right now, I was winging it, but I’d never felt so sure about anything.
“Celeste, baby…I swear I didn’t bring you here to do this. I’ve been carrying this ring around for a few weeks now. I’ve been waiting for the perfect time, but the way you make me feel is unexplainable. When I saw myself getting down on one knee, I imagined us on the beach in front of your mother and friends. Countless flowers and rose petals surrounding us. I can still do that if you want. Right now, I just wanna let you know how much you mean to me.
“Every day, I watch you give so much of yourself without complaining. I know all the transitions have been mentally taxing, but you get up every day and do what you need to do. You inspire me to go harder. You’re naturally nurturing, so I know you’ll be a good mother when the time comes. Whenever you laugh, I feel it in my soul. My biggest goal when it comes to you is to see you smile every day. That lets me know I did my job as your man. Your creativity is unmatched and I know Luxe Addiction will have opportunities you never even imagined.
“The way you throw down in the kitchen and cook for me, even after a long day of work. I appreciate it all, baby. I want that for the rest of my life. I want you for the rest of my life. So, I’m asking you, right here, right now, Celeste Lashay Peterson, will you marry me?”
By now, silent tears rushed down her pretty face, partially because she was in shock. Hell, I was just as surprised as her, but knew this day would come sooner or later. The day I’d gotten the ring, I thought I was pushing it. Celeste and I hadn’t been together a full year yet, but it only took a few months for me to realize I wanted to marry her. My hands became sweaty and my anxiety kicked in with each passing moment of silence.The large, two carat, radiant and emerald diamond ring still sat in my hand. It wasn’t until this moment that I took into consideration that Celeste didn’t feel as deeply about me.
“Yes…of course I’ll marry you,” she finally answered between sniffles.
I let out a breath of relief before pulling the ring from the box and sliding it onto her finger. I was a firm believer in the ring a woman had was a direct reflection of how her man felt about her. I had truly outdone myself when I got this ring made. That rock couldn’t be missed and that was what I wanted. I needed everyone to know how I was stepping when it came to my woman. Once the ring was on, I kissed her finger and stood.
“This is crazy, Shane. I can’t believe this shit just happened. It feels like a dream,” she said as she stared down at the ring.
“It’s real life, my love.”
“Every time I think I’m sinking, you find a way to pull me back in. Most days, I operate on autopilot. There’s been so many times I thought you’d break up with me because of everything I have going on. Since we’ve met, I’ve been so consumed in my own shit that I haven’t been able to fully focus on us. I promise I’ll do better,” Celeste expressed as she wrapped her arms around me.
“Don’t apologize for taking care of business. Luxe Addiction keeps food on the table and you only get one mother. If anything, I’d be lookin’ at your ass sideways if you put a man over the important shit. Being here and helping you carry the load is something I’ll never get tired of. I know exactly who I’m marrying and what comes with that. If it was too much for me, there would be no us. I want you to keep doing exactly what you’re doing.”
After a while, Celeste and I decided to get back in the pool. Only this time my Bluetooth speaker played slow jams to fill the silence. Now that I’d asked her to marry me, everything aboutus felt different. Our connection already felt stronger and our lovemaking once we were out of the pool felt more meaningful.
CHAPTER 18
Celeste
All the stress and worries of my life had temporarily been put on pause. I was now an engaged woman to the man of my dreams. Dealing with Allen made me feel like men needed years to figure out if they wanted to get married and Shane debunked that theory. The last thing I expected to come from this weekend was an engagement. I wanted to live in the moment as long as I could, so I hadn’t told my mom or Jade the good news yet. The way Shane had taken care of my body last night had me still in a haze this morning. From the second I woke up, I felt like I’d hit the purest weed planet earth had to offer.
Right now, we were in the truck, but Shane wouldn’t tell me our destination. Honestly, I didn’t care as long as we were together. I felt more clingy than normal, but Shane didn’t seem to mind. He wouldn’t be able to get rid of me when we got home, so I hoped he was prepared for the person he’d turned me into.
From what I’d seen so far, Pleasant Springs was beautiful. With light snow littering the ground and the holiday spirit in the air, the city felt like something from a Hallmark movie. Unlike Gwendal, traffic here was nonexistent. No one seemed to be ina rush to get anywhere and the people we’d encountered thus far had been welcoming. For a moment, I had to remind myself that I was still in Illinois and not somewhere down south. Shane pulling up to a sign that directed us to the drive-in theater dragged me from my thoughts. Anytime I thought this man couldn’t get any better, he showed me that he paid attention.
“A drive-in, baby? You’re really pulling out all the stops.”
“Anything for you, love. I’ve never been to one, so I thought it’d be a nice experience for us.”
There was a line to get through the gate, but it moved fairly quickly. After scanning our tickets, Shane drove to an open spot in the third row of cars.
“Wow. This is crazy. I feel like I’m in a movie or something. We have to come back here more often. I would love to experience the town for a good week. We can try more restaurants and do more activities outside of the hotel,” I vented.
“My mom said the same thing. She comes out here to the festivals and shit. Pleasant Springs is like her home away from home. She’s joked more than once about packing up and moving out here. I got a feeling if my dad doesn’t get out soon, she’ll fuck around and do it for real.”
“I don’t blame her. It’s so quiet here. Last night I looked out the window and saw stars. I haven’t seen stars since I was on a camping trip as a child. Gwendal will always be home, but I’m not opposed to relocating. If I have a solid team running my store, I’m okay with flying in once or twice a month to check in. I’ll still make sure the backend is taken care of, but that doesn’t require me to be in the office every day,” I explained.
“I feel the same way. I’m not against moving away from home. Hell, it may be more beneficial for my career to relocate.”
“Where do you have in mind? Atlanta?”
“I don’t think I wanna live in Atlanta. It’s a nice place to visit, but living there never crossed my mind. LA would be where Iwanna go. Outside of Atlanta, LA is where a lot of artists migrate. It’s expensive as shit, but worth it in my case.”
“That makes sense. I’ve only been to LA a couple of times and both times were for business. I never got to experience the city for fun,” I said as I unfastened my seatbelt.
“That’s our next trip then. I’ll be out there next month for a few studio sessions anyway. We can leave a couple days early to hang out and shit.”
Shane and I got out of the truck and headed to the concession stand as we continued to talk about going to LA. By the time we ordered and received our food, the previews were rolling. I took my boots off and pulled the throw blanket over my lap before focusing on the big screen. Shane adjusted his seat, so he was now leaned back a little more. When he started rubbing my neck and back, my shoulders deflated and I started on my nachos. This was such a nice experience that I knew we’d have to return when the weather was warmer.
