Ezra glanced up and met his tender gaze. “Roman, did you do all of this… for me?”
“Yes,” Roman said with fondness. He grabbed Ezra’s hand and squeezed. Now the tears started flowing freely as Ezra glanced around again, overwhelmed.
“Roman, what am I going to do?” he bleated loud enough to scare away their server.
“What do you mean, babe?”
“I mean, graduation is eight weeks away, and I don’t want to leave. My mind loves you, my heart loves you, and my bodyreallyloves you. I love being your housekeeper and your boyfriend, and my mom is advising me to keep my options open, but I think that’s really terrible advice when all I ever want is you.”
Roman smiled, gratified to hear that his own feelings were reciprocated. “I have something else for you.”
“No more gifts.” Ezra shook his head. “I can’t handle any more surprises tonight.”
“One more,” Roman insisted, still holding his hand. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the black velvet box, and set it on the table between them. Inside of it was a gold ring that looked a lot like the one fromLord of the Ringsbut without the sinister curse or Black Speech engraving.
“What’s that?” Ezra asked, peering at the closed box with apprehension.
Roman squeezed his hand. “I know you have a lot of decisions to make and you’re feeling very overwhelmed right now, so I wanted to tell you that while I love having you as my housekeeper and my boyfriend, what Ireallywant is for you to be my husband. To be with me always.”
Ezra swallowed and blinked slowly as if trying to comprehend it. “That arrangement is much longer-term.”
Roman laughed. Ezra and his timelines. “If you get a job somewhere else, then I’d still like to try and make it work between us. I can visit you and you can visit me, and if you decide to stay where you’re working, then I’ll move to where you are eventually.”
“What about your restaurants?”
“I’ll sell them and buy new ones.”
“Roman,” Ezra said, getting the panicky look about him.
“You don’t have to make any decisions tonight. I just want you to put this in your pocket and think about it. We can stay being boyfriends or we can get married, but whatever we do, the most important thing to me is that we do it together.”
Ezra opened his mouth and closed it again.
“What is it, babe?”
“I have some clarifying questions.”
Roman nodded. He would have expected nothing less. “Why don’t you make a list, and when you’re ready, we can go over it together, and I’ll answer all of your questions.”
Ezra nodded. “Okay. Yes, that is a good plan. A solid plan.”
Their server returned then and they ordered their drinks. Darian came out soon after to welcome them and tell them the night’s specials which, along with the standing menu, included all of Ezra’s favorite foods. This brought on a fresh outpouring of emotion.
“Roman, not everyone is going to like what I like,” Ezra said, a little desperately. “I don’t want your restaurant to go bankrupt.”
“We did some market research and you’d be surprised by what people actually want when they go out, how more people would order off the children’s menu if they knew they wouldn’t be judged for it. Plus, all of these dishes are made with delicious and fresh ingredients and are a bit healthier than your favorite frozen foods.”
“This is too much,” Ezra said but he was smiling now. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“I love you, Ezra, and I wanted you to have a place of your own where you’d feel comfortable. You can come in here whenever you want, order whatever you want, and you never have to pay for anything, except, of course, tipping your server. It’ll be like your own personal kitchen, except you don’t have to cook or wash dishes, which means no more excuses for skipping meals.”
Ezra smiled. “I love it. And I love you. And I love whatever’s in the box.”
“How do you know what’s in the box?” Roman teased.
“I have a hypothesis as to what it is,” Ezra said with a shy smile, “based on the evidence you’ve presented.”
“No decisions tonight,” Roman reminded him.
