“See, I told you!”
“Rory, that’s amazing.” I got down on my knees and placed my lips against her stomach. “Can you do that again for Daddy?”
I waited and waited, and nothing happened. “Well, at least we both felt it,” I said as I looked up at her.
Our flight was long, but we slept a good portion of it. As soon as we landed, we took a limo to the hotel. Rory looked exhausted and I was worried about her, between the pregnancy and jet lag.
“You look tired,” I said to her as I took off her shoes and gently rubbed her feet.
“I’m fine. Are you saying that I look like shit?”
“Rory, of course not. You just look a little tired, that’s all. You could never look like shit, sweetheart.”
“Just making sure because I was ready to fight with you.” She smiled.
“Fight with me? Well, in that case, yes, you do look like shit and you really need to do something about yourself.” I smiled.
Whenever Rory and I fought, there was always the best makeup sex. I was pretty sure that was what she wanted.
“Is that so, Mr. Braxton? Okay, seriously, I’m tired. In fact, too tired to fight with you and then have makeup sex. I’m sorry, baby.”
I brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face and smiled. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I need you to get some rest because we’re hitting the town tonight. So, I want you to climb on this comfortable bed and go to sleep. I have something I need to go pick up. I’ll be back in a while.”
“Okay,” she sleepily said as she lay down.
A couple of hours later, I returned to the room and Rory had just woken up. I hung the garment bag in the closet and walked over to the bed.
“Did you have a nice nap?” I asked as I softly kissed her lips.
“I did, thank you. What did you just put in the closet?”
“Something for you to wear tonight.”
She smiled and wrapped her arms around me, kissing me and thanking me for the dress she hadn’t even seen yet. She got up from the bed, walked over to the closet, and pulled down the zipper of the garment bag.
“Ian, it’s beautiful. Are you sure it’s going to fit?”
“It should. Try it on.”
“What’s the occasion? What are we doing tonight?” she asked in excitement.
“You’ll see.” I winked.
She took off her top and pants. Her belly was getting so big and she was so incredibly beautiful. “Come here first before you put on that dress,” I said.
She walked over and stood in front of me. I placed my hands on her belly and gave my babies tiny kisses. “You’re so damn beautiful, Rory. I love you so much.”
She ran her fingers through my hair as I laid my cheek against her. “I love you more, Braxton.” I looked up at her and smiled. She was my perfect girl.
“Go try your dress on,” I said.
She stepped into her dress and pulled it up over her expanding belly. She had to tug at it and I couldn’t help but laugh. She turned around and asked me to zip her up.
“Perfect. It fits perfect. I love it, Ian. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I’m going to jump in the shower and get ready myself. We have dinner reservations at six o’clock.”
****
She looked beautiful. Stunning and radiant, to be exact. We arrived at the restaurant promptly at six and had a wonderful dinner. When we were finished, we climbed into the limo and I had the driver take us to the Eiffel tower.
“Where are we going?” Rory asked.
“You’ll see, sweetheart.” I smiled as I kissed her hand.
As soon as we pulled up, Rory looked at me and smiled. “Oh, Ian, the Eiffel Tower. I was so hoping we could see it again.”
I helped her out of the limo and we walked hand in hand until we reached a few feet in front of the tower. We stood there and looked up and, when I looked at Rory, she had the most incredible smile on her face.
“I’ll never get tired of seeing this,” she said.
I took both of her hands and turned her towards me. I gently ran the back of my hand down her cheek and smiled. “I love you, Rory, and I never want to lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me, Ian.”
“You’re my everything, sweetheart. You’re the reason I get up in the morning and you’re the reason I strive so hard to be a perfect man. You make me laugh. You make me smile, but most importantly, you make me happy. Happiness was something I thought I had until the night you laid across my lap in my limo and you looked at me. I’ll never forget that night, Rory. I instantly wanted to protect you and I didn’t know why. Something inside me needed you, and as hard as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t. The need was stronger than I was. You have made me so happy from the beginning. I know we’ve had our rough patches, and I know I was a complete dick about sharing my feelings with you. Then I screwed up again when you told me you were pregnant. I’m sorry for hurting you so badly because of my fears. I’ve come to realize that I don’t fear anything anymore when we’re together. You’ve given me unconditional love. You’ve given me courage and strength, but most of all, you’ve given me two beautiful daughters and I can’t wait until they arrive so I can tell them how much I love them, just like I’m telling you now.”
Tears sprung to her eyes. “Ian,” she whispered.
“Let me finish, sweetheart.”
I got down on one knee and pulled a small red velvet box from my pocket. “You’re the reason I breathe every day and I love you more than anything in the entire world, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and taking care of you and our children. I need you by my side. Will you do me the honor, Miss Sinclair, and marry me?”
Chapter 39
Rory
My heart was beating at the speed of light and tears started streaming down my face. Ian lifted the top of the box, and inside sat the most beautiful princess-cut diamond I’d ever seen in my life. The way it sparkled was incredible. I let go of his hand and placed mine over my mouth. I was shocked because I didn’t expect it at all.
“YES! Of course I’ll marry you!” I smiled and cried at the same time.
Ian pulled the ring from the box and placed it on my finger. He then brought my hand to his lips and softly kissed my ring.
“You’ve made me the happiest man alive, Rory.” He smiled as he hugged me.
“And you’ve made me the happiest woman alive, Ian. Oh my God, I can’t believe this.”