Page 33 of His Christmas Gift

“I love seeing you wear this,” he stated, running his finger along the edge of the necklace. “But I think you’re missing one thing.”

“What would that be?”

“This,” Jasper said, taking a velvet box out of his pocket.

Her heart slowed before racing wildly when he lifted the lid, showing off a gorgeous diamond ring nestled inside it. The middle stone was brilliantly clear, larger than she’d expected, an emerald cut with two halos, the outer, more white diamonds that matched the ones that slid down the infinity design on either side, but the inner halo were the same bluish purple of the necklace she wore. “Jasper, are you…”

She let out a soft gasp when he slid onto one knee, holding onto her hand.

“Melissa Angelina Carson Hannover, you ensnared me the second I saw you. It took a single night to know I wanted to spend a thousand more with you. A weekend to fall entirely in love with you, to never want to be without you. I love you beyond measure. Will you marry me? Be my wife, the mother of my children, the best part of me?”

“Yes,” she said, sliding her arms around his neck, giving herself over to his kiss until her father cleared his voice behind them.

“You might want to wear the ring instead of leaving it on the floor,” he mused making her laugh softly, as Jasper picked it up, sliding it onto her finger.

“It’s gorgeous,” she told him, unable to keep the smile off her lips as they headed to the car.

“That’s you, princess,” he stated, and for once, she didn’t complain when they were stopped as they headed into the event. She had Jasper to curl up against, hold onto as she dealt with the photographers.

The looks on Caroline and Ryan’s faces when they spotted the ring made her laugh softly before she accepted their hugs and assurances that they’d be on the guest list. Jasper didn’t seem to mind some of their grilling, and it kept her wrapped in a happy bubble as they headed back to New York.

Their first stop was at his office for him to check in and her steps slowed at the looks thrown her way as they moved onto their floor. Jasper caught her hand, lifting it to his lips, and a wave of warmth slid through her.

“Don’t worry if they say something stupid, princess. We know the truth, that’s all that matters,” he promised, and she finished the walk with him, ignoring the rest of the looks.

“Well now, if it isn’t the engaged couple,” Elaine said, surprising her that she knew and she glanced up to Jasper in question.

“I didn’t tell them,” he replied, and her jaw dropped when Elaine picked up a copy of the newspaper, showing off their photo from Seattle.

“Looks like you certainly know how to keep things quiet, Miss Hannover,” Elaine stated and if it wasn’t for the smile on her face, Melissa might have thought she was angry. “I simply didn’t know Mr. Thomas could keep such a secret so well.”

“He didn’t know until we were in Seattle,” Melissa told her, “no one did but Grace.”

“Grace knew?” Jasper said in surprise, and she gave him a little shrug, making him laugh. “I have no issues with the fact that you’re technically worth more than I am, princess.”

“I’d prefer everyone just forget about that entirely and treat me the way they did before they knew,” she stated and Elaine nodded, giving her a hug before lifting her hand to check out the ring.

“It’s beautiful,” Elaine said as a little squeak came from behind them.

“Let me see it,” Grace stated excitedly. “It’s more gorgeous in person than in photos.”

“Newspaper photos aren’t the best,” Elaine agreed.

“I texted her some photos of it,” Melissa said, letting them look over it while Jasper slid into his office for a few moments.

When the other ladies that’d helped her with the Christmas party came by to see it for themselves, slowly reverting back to normal, she relaxed again, simply enjoying that she could call Jasper her fiancée.

They stayed for a couple hours letting Jasper handle some necessary items, and she pulled him down to the café smiling when she saw Jenny hurrying around the counter her way. Melissa didn’t quite understand why she wouldn’t simply quit the place, her catering was her primary source of income now, and the woman hated her boss.

“I’m so mad at you!” Jenny huffed although her hug said something completely different, as did her smile. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were? My god, I was making us rice crispy treats for goodness’ sake.”

“I happen to like rice crispy treats,” she teased her friend.

“Still, what the heck were you doing hanging out with me to begin with?” Jenny questioned as her brow lifted. “I’m pretty sure there were people a lot closer to your income bracket you could have hung around.”

“And deal with them falsely clinging to me? No thanks, I much prefer people that don’t look at my bank account balance to be my friend. You’re the first one I’ve had in a long time that I knew I didn’t need to worry over your motives. Besides, you were in my income bracket when I was on the internship,” she added with a laugh as Jenny hugged her again.

“And now we’re both out of it,” Jenny mused.

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