Page 146 of Ask Me Something

“No problem. Are you ready?”

I patted the box in my pants pocket and smiled. “I am. Oh, your wife’s text came through. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good and Brian? Congratulations.”

“Thanks, and give my goddaughter a kiss from me.” Josh had been my best friend since we were five years old. It felt only right that he would be the first one to congratulate us.

* * *

“I thoughtwe’d never get here,” Sasha said, taking my hand in the elevator. A hum reverberated through my entire body in anticipation of what I was about to ask her.

Opening the door to the hotel suite, I let her go first and followed, pleased with what her friends had managed to do. Rose petals covered the king-sized bed, candles adorned every surface, and champagne on ice was by the small bar.

She faced me, smiling. “Wow, you went all out. This is very romantic.”

Funny how she didn’t assume this was a proposal at all. I leaned down and kissed her breathless, taking my time with her delectable lips.

“I’m ready to ask you something now, but only if you promise not to answer me for thirty minutes. Do you think you can be patient?”

She gave me the little “mm-hmm” that made me smile.

I dropped to one knee and watched her eyes register surprise.

“Sasha Jayne Brooks. You’re my best friend and I fall in love with you more every day. You challenge me in all the right ways and make me incredibly happy. Would you do the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Oh, my God,” was her response.

I took the box from my pants pocket and opened it. I hoped she liked the vintage solitaire diamond that her girlfriends had helped me pick out.

“Wait, I don’t get to answer you for how long?” Her eyes were wide and her beautiful face confused.

“Thirty minutes, starting now,” I said, putting the ring on the nightstand and pointing toward the alarm clock. I tugged her hand and pulled her toward the bed, kissing her neck. I took immense enjoyment from the fact that her eyes kept flicking back to the ring.

“Why are you making me wait?” The frustration was evident in her voice.

“Because I’ve received a hundred percent yes rate thus far when I talk you into things using sex.”

She shook her head, trying not to laugh while looking annoyed. “Can I ask questions, though?”

The motivation behind delaying her answer to my question was for this reason. I knew her mind was processing the negative before the positive. That she’d need to voice her doubts and work through her anxiety before coming to what was in her heart. “Of course, but only if you get naked.”

She rolled her eyes playfully at my bargaining methods but complied. “What about kids?”

The sight of her beautiful body on display had me almost distracted from her question. But it was an important one, so I made sure I locked my eyes on hers. “I could take them or leave them. Honestly. We could even adopt if you wanted to.”

Her face softened at the thought. “And my last name?”

“Keep it, change it, hyphenate the crap out of it. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Okay. But living together is a huge step,” she barely got out, moaning when my fingers parted the lips of her pussy. She was hot, wet, and ready for me.

“Agreed, and we can have a long engagement if you’d like.” I trailed kisses down the column of her throat. I had to use every ounce of willpower not to rush this. She did this to me. Made me feel like I could never get enough of her incredible body, her sassy mouth, and an inner strength that had attracted me to her in the first place. As if I’d ever been the one actually in control of this relationship.

I made love to her slowly, the way I’d always wanted to from the beginning but was afraid to, lest she see the way I’d actually felt about her for so many years. Now there were no more pretenses, no more walls.

We lay there after amongst the rose petals, catching our breath. I tried not to smile at her glance toward the clock.

She propped up on my chest. “What about the rules?”

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