Page 55 of Great Pretender
She has nothing on my girl.
I would have loved to get my hands around that bastard’s neck and wring the life out of him for what he did to Piper, but I think what I’m about to do is so much better.
Already I can see the violinists making their way over. As they start playing the theme tune to Piper’s favorite movie,The Scent of a Woman, everyone turns to watch them.
Piper gasps when they stop in front of us, and she realizes they’re here for us. For her.
Open-mouthed, she looks from me to them as they continue to play, and everybody enjoys the melodious violin music. Even me, the football jock who didn’t think he had a romantic bone in his body.
I wanted tonight to be special because she is, and she deserves the kind of proposal only someone who truly knows her can give her. So, this is it.
A string quartet, and lastly, a waiter who’s making his way over with a tray. In the center of which sits a little box containing her ring.
When she sees that, her gaze turns to me, and I don’t want to look away from her emerald stare.
“Oh my God, Chad, I can’t believe you did all this,” she breathes.
“Is it good?”
“The best.”
The violinists stop playing, and all eyes are on me when the waiter hands me the box.
The flashes of cameras go off the moment I take it and lower before Piper on one knee. Then there’s an audible chorus of gasps rushing across the restaurant as people realize what I’m doing. Whoever is here from the press is just one step ahead.
I don’t really care for that tonight, though. This next part isn’t for show.
It’s the real me.
I take Piper’s dainty hand in mine, and when I flick the box open, her eyes go so wide I fear they may pop out of her head. She stares down at the eighteen-carat gold oval-cut diamond ring, and when tears of happiness stream down her cheeks, that’s the moment of victory for me.
I’ve watched this woman cry for so many terrible things over the last few weeks; The asshole Heath and then her father’s illness. It’s good to see her cry because she’s happy and maybe a bit shocked. It’s so much the better that I’m the one creating the happiness in her.
“Piper Elizabeth St. Claire, we’ve been friends forever,” I begin. “There is no one like you for me. I’m lucky to have you and so glad I came to my senses and saw what was before me all this time. I would be honored if you would marry me.”
“Yes,” she breathes with the brightest smile. “I will.”
The strangest thing happens to me as I slide that ring onto her finger. She suddenly feels like she belongs to me.
Like I should keep her just like my father said and never let her go.
We both stand and fall into a kiss. Our kisses for show are usually brief, but this one… I think it signifies that the act is over. This kiss isn’t the one shared by two people who started out the night as an act.
It’s real.
It feels like I should have always been kissing her.
* * *
Sorry, ladies, Chad Holdsworth is now taken. We lost him to his Angel.
That’s the headline for today’s paper.
It’s similar to many others that have featured us today, and Piper and I are on the front cover.
Murray smiles back at me from across my desk, nodding with approval.
These days, we manage a quick lunch before old Georgiou demands his assistance.
