Last night was possibly the best night of my life. Chad gave me something I never thought I’d have again—trust. Over the past couple of months, Chad had proven to me that he wasn’t Billy. Was he perfect? No. But he was Chad… and that was close enough to perfect for me.

I had been afraid to cross that friendship/boyfriend line with him, but last night I not only crossed it, I hurdled over it and sprinted towards the finish line. I was going to win this race and Chad was my prize.

Eric startled me as he grabbed me by my shoulders and gave me a slight shake. “She bangs!”

I smacked him as I pulled away and finished folding towels. “Hush,” I scolded. “We’ve got clients here.” I still wasn’t up to doing clients, yet, but my hand was getting better every day.

“You reek of sex,” he teased.

“I do not.” I laughed. But then I got self-conscious, wondering how he knew.

“So, how was it? It’s been so long, I’m sure you had him bent over backward screaming for mercy.”

“Hush, Eric,” I choked out through my laughter. “You’ve got a client waiting.”

He stood there looking at me like I was going to tell him every erotic and pleasurable move Chad made. Just thinking about it made me smile, which was saying something, considering I only got about an hour of sleep.

“Oh, that face right there tells me all I need to know,” Eric said as he grabbed two towels and headed back to the salon floor. “I’m getting details over dinner, Miss Ja—I finally got laid—cynda.”

***

Chad and I had been dating for several months and I never tired of looking into his green eyes, which often had hints of blue floating through them like they were reflecting the sky. He had become my sky, allowing my heart to float high into the clouds; become my gravity, anchoring my soul, grounding me. Chad not only mended what Billy had broken, but he made me even better than I was before.

The only thing that Chad had no control over was my fear. He tried to calm it, banish it completely, but his efforts were futile; fear is immortal.

On our half-year anniversary, Chad took me to my favorite restaurant for dinner. He had somehow managed to reserve us a romantic booth in a corner, fully equipped with two candles and a small bouquet of dark red roses that bathed our table with its alluring aroma.

Dinner went as usual, with us laughing and talking about nothing in particular. After dinner, we ordered dessert, which was what I had been looking forward to the most. Who knew it would be the best, most life-changing dessert I had ever had?

When the waiter sat our plates down, they were both covered, making me anticipate the unveiling of what was sure to be a sweet little slice of Heaven. Chad uncovered his, first, licking his lips at how delicious it looked, obviously teasing me. When I pouted, he pushed his to the side and slid mine towards me.

“Jacynda, from the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted to look at you forever. And when you officially marked my couch as your own, scaring me half to death, I knew I wanted to protect you forever. And when you slept at my place, I knew I’d want you to sleep there forever.” I thought his sentimental speech was a little much for my dessert unveiling, but his words were so sweet and delicious on their own, I forgot there was even any dessert on our table… until he lifted the lid.

The first thing I noticed were the words ‘Will you marry me?’ written in chocolate around the edge of my plate. Then, a twinkling caught my eye as the candlelight danced through the diamond that was nestled in the center of my whipped cream.

My hands flew to my mouth, which was hanging wide open, as I realized what my dessert actually was—a lifetime of being Mrs. Chad Bales.

“Jacynda Noel Johnson, you’ll make me more than ecstatic if you’ll say yes.”

Needless to say, I made Chad more than ecstatic that night… and when possible, every night since then.