“It’s just a French tomato soup,” he explains. “But it is beyond delicious.”
I trust him. Shane curated the menu with the chef, and he knows what I like and don’t like.
Turns out, the soup is freaking superb. It’s so creamy and rich, and bursting with fresh tomato flavor.
Next up is a simple mixed greens salad with a light vinaigrette.
Then out comes the main course.
“It’s filet and lobster!” I exclaim, delighted.
Smiling at me, Shane says, “I know it’s your favorite meal.”
“It really is.” I cover his hand that’s on the table with mine. “Thank you, Shane. I really am having an amazing time. It’s already a night I’ll never forget.”
With a twinkle in his emerald eyes, he says, “You just wait, sweetheart.”
Wonder what that could mean?
We work on our meals then, and every bite is so good. The steak is tender, and the lobster is sweet.
For dessert, the chef brings us mango sorbet, which is the perfect light finish to an outstanding meal. He also returns with a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne that he swaps out with the wine in the ice bucket.
The cutest thing is there’s a sparkly little charm tied to the neck of the bottle with a white ribbon.
When the chef walks away, Shane lifts the bottle from the bucket and turns it so that I can’t see the charm.
That prompts me to say, “Ooh, can I see the champagne?” I hold out my hand. “I want to get a closer look at that pretty little trinket on it.”
Shane, smiling, hands the bottle over to me. “Yeah, I think you should take a look. I actually picked it out as well. I’d like your opinion on it.”
This is interesting.
I take the bottle and turn it so I can see the trinket.
“Holy crap!” I blurt out. “Shane, it’s a ring. And a very beautiful one at that.”
No sooner are the words out of my mouth than Shane is before me on bended knee.
I scoot out my chair some, and he takes my hand. “Willa Avery, you complete my life, and there’s no one else in the world I’d rather spend the rest of it with. Will you marry me?”
Happy tears flow from my eyes as I place my hands on either side of his face and tell him, “Yes, yes, yes.”
I lower my hands, and, carefully, he unties the silky ribbon, slips off what is absolutely my dream ring, and places it on my finger.
I admire it for a few seconds, then lean in and kiss Shane.
I kiss him and kiss him, and he kisses me back.
Then he lifts me up in his arms and spins me around. “I love you, Willa. I can’t wait to make you my wife.”
“I love you, too, Shane, so very, very much. The day I can call you my husband will be the best day of my life. Until then, this one is.”
Willa said yes! She’s going to marry me.
I guess all those years of bad luck with women were for a reason. Those days got me to this point, and I’ve never been happier.
We announce our engagement, and our families and friends are ecstatic. Prior to that, we took a trip up to Boston to tell my folks the news in person. They were thrilled.
