Say You're Mine - Layla Hagen Page 0,98

greet her at the door because I didn’t want to spoil the wow-effect.

She sauntered into the room, immediately stopping.

“Oooh, we’re having a romantic dinner,” she whispered. The table was covered in a white cloth, and on the side were several chafing dishes that still had the covers on.

“That’s what I call a welcome home dinner.” She peeked inside one chafing dish. “Wow, this is Tony’s beef Wellington. And mash potatoes with mixed vegetables. My favorites!”

“Exactly.”

“I didn’t know they did catering.”

“They don’t. I pulled some strings.”

“Did you now? Why?”

“I knew it would make you happy.”

She sighed, looking up from the dish. “You can’t make me swoon on an empty stomach. I’m even more susceptible.”

Good. I wanted all cards in my favor.

I pulled out the chair for her. She sat down and I pushed it up to the table, also stealing a kiss on the side of the neck.

She giggled, turning her head. “Oh, I see. This is a romantic dinner with an extra side of kisses? I’ll take it.”

I kissed her again, this time even biting her neck a little, before going to my seat. The chafing dishes had an extra plate where we put the covers while we served ourselves food.

“How are your siblings?” I asked, but I only registered part of the answer. Honestly, the entire time we ate, I was half listening, mentally planning every second of the big moment.

Fucking hell, how can I be this nervous?

I only realized I spaced out completely when Isabelle nudged me with her leg under the table.

“Babe? Dessert?”

“It’s in the fridge. I’ll bring it!”

“Need help?”

“No, no. I’m fine.” I got up, covering the chafing dishes again and taking our empty plates to the kitchen. I took out the dessert from the fridge. The setup looked innocent enough: three small jars painted white with a cover on top. The team had even given me a special serving plate to put them on.

I brought it to the table, setting it right in front of Isabelle.

“Want to do the honors?” I asked, standing next to her.

“Uuuh, I’m trying to guess which of Tony’s desserts could be in jars. The cheesecake, the rice pudding... and ice cream? You had it in the fridge though, not the freezer. Hmmm...”

I grinned. “You’ve got two out of three right.”

Rubbing her palms together, she removed the lid from the first jar.

“Cheesecake. Yes!” She moved on to the next one, which was indeed rice pudding. She ate a teaspoon of it, cracking me up that she couldn’t even wait to unveil all of them.

Glancing at me sideways, she rubbed her palms again.

“Let’s see...” She took off the lid and gasped. “That’s a ring.”

I took it out of the jar before dropping down to one knee, holding it out for her. She turned around so she was facing me. Her smile was huge.

I drew in a deep breath, mentally reviewing the notes I made... and couldn’t remember even one damn word.

Me, the songwriter. I know a million songs, and I can’t remember a word!

“Isabelle, I love you. I had this whole speech planned, but my mind is completely blank.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.

“You’re the woman of my dreams. I knew you’d change my life since the day we met.”

She cocked a brow. “I don’t think so.”

Feisty even during my proposal. I loved this woman so fucking much.

“Fine, not the first day, but soon enough, all I wanted was you. You’re everything I need. Being with you brings me a happiness I didn’t even think existed. And having you as my wife, that’s... I can’t put in words what it would mean to me.”

Isabelle’s smile was even wider than before. She touched the hand that was holding the ring, swallowing hard. “To me, it would mean everything.” Her voice was just a whisper.

I threaded my fingers in her hair, pulling her down to me, needing to kiss her right now. She tasted like pudding, and I couldn’t get enough of her. With my other hand, I put the ring on, then buried both hands in her hair. I got up carefully, pulling her up with me. When we were both standing, I felt her hands press hard on my shoulders before she jumped in my arms.

I jerked my head back in surprise.

She was grinning. “I bet you weren’t expecting this.”

“No, but it’s very welcome.” I positioned us so her ass was on the edge of the table. She still had her legs wrapped around my upper thighs.

“Good, because I wasn’t planning on letting