Protecting Her: A Romance Bundle

Again, I beam. “I know, I’m so excited. I’ve wanted to marry her for ages. I just didn’t ask before…”

“Oh, well let’s make this perfect then.” She claps her hands together gleefully. “This has to be the most romantic proposal of all time. The soldier and the damsel in distress. Now that is a romance story that anyone can get behind. I’m pretty sure we can even do a cheeky little discount for you…”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I don’t need any special treatment. I just want a nice…”

“No, we will. And we’ll get the best ring as well. Since this isn’t a very well thought out proposal, it’s more spur of the moment – which is super exciting, by the way, I absolutely love it – then the ring needs to be everything. I’ve seen her on the television, so I think her colouring will suit a platinum band, and I also think you might want to look at an emerald stone. A nice little green one which will match your eyes, remind her of you every single time that she looks at it. What do you think? Did you come in here with any thoughts?”

“No, not really, I just assumed the right one would jump out at me as I see it.”

“Oh, well that’s very possible. Let’s get some out, shall we, and take a look through?”

I let the excitable sales girl sell me anything that she wants, with Veronica’s face in my mind the entire time. Now that she’s back at home and our life is slowly returning, I want to make her my wife. Like we’ve said to on

e another, if we can get through that, we can survive anything. We’ll be just fine. Our future is golden.

It doesn’t take long, with just a little bit of guidance I soon see a ring which I just know is perfect. It’s the one, it screams out at me from the moment I lay eyes on it. It’s the ring to make Veronica give me the ‘yes’.

“That’s it,” I exclaim excitedly. “I want that one. It’s absolutely perfect.”

As the sales girl rings it up I grow even more excited. This is really happening now, soon Veronica won’t just be my girlfriend but my fiancée too. We’ll plan a wedding and get married. Everything will be wonderful.

***

I pace the kitchen, constantly adjusting my shirt while I wait for Veronica to come back. She has been at the office all day long, catching up with some of her old work friends, but she should be back by now. I would have gone with her if she let me but she was dead against it. She wanted to face work alone, I suppose she’s trying to get to a place where life is normal again which I can understand, but now I want her back. Every moment that she isn’t by my side makes me anxious. I keep thinking of all the things that could happen to her, even here.

I grab my cell phone again, just about to call her, when the front door swings open.

“Veronica!” I call out, my heart pounding desperately while I wait for her to answer. “That you?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Hold on a moment I’m coming.” She sounds happy. I like that.

While I wait for her to come into the room, I drop to one knee and wait for her there with the ring box open for her to see the moment she comes in. It’s going to be a simple proposal, no romantic gimmicks or ridiculous over the top statements worthy of ten pictures posted online, but I think we’ve been through so many complications. Simplicity is what we need. Our love is so pure, it’s gone back to basics.

“So, work was crazy today,” Veronica calls out. “I have so much to tell you.”

I smile to myself, knowing that she’s about to get the shock of her life. I almost want to warn her, to let her know that she has something to look forward to, but of course that would ruin it. I want this to be perfect.

Be patient, my jittery brain tells me. Just be patient for a few seconds longer. Any minute now…

“Oh my God!” The look on Veronica’s face as she claps her hands over her mouth. “What are you doing?”

“Veronica Best, I want to ask you something that I should have asked you a long time ago.” I can already tell that she loves the ring, it’s written all over her face. I make a mental note to go back to the store and thank the sales girl at some point. She was a real help! “I love you, I’ve loved you for years now, ever since we reconnected at college. You have always been my shining light, the sunshine in the darkness, the person who makes me happy. Yes, we got a little lost somewhere along the way, but fate brought us back together. That proves to me that we’re meant to be. This love is supposed to last forever. I want to make our love official, I want us to have our happy ever after. I want you to be mine, my wife.” I suck in a couple of deep breaths as emotion gets the better of me. “So, what do you say? Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

Veronica doesn’t answer me at first, I think she’s in shock. But as her eyes fill with tears and one splashes down her cheek, her vocal chords loosen enough to put me out of my misery.

“Yes,” she gushes out, her voice thick with emotion. “Of course, I will! Oh, Jordan, I love you so much, I can’t believe this is really happening. You honestly want to get married to me?”

“Yes, you fool!” I chuckle. “Of course, I want to. I wouldn’t ask otherwise, would I?”

I grab her trembling hand and slide the ring onto her finger, marvelling at the perfect fit. Once it’s in place I leap to my feet and I wrap my arms tightly around her, lifting her from the ground to spin her around. I love the way that I can no longer feel her rib cage, she’s finally getting full well, and she’s going to be my wife.

“When do you want to get married?” I ask her with a giggle. “I would marry you right now if it were up to me. I would take you down to the court house and make you my wife now.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I haven’t exactly thought of it.” I pull back to give her a look. “Okay, so maybe I’ve thought of it a little bit.” She smirks brightly. “But that doesn’t mean I want a big wedding. I want it to be small and intimate, just for us and the people who really care about us, you know? I want it to be about our love.”

My heart swells with joy, her words make me feel amazing. “That’s what I want too. So, you just let me know what you need me to do to make it happen and I will. I’m going to make you the happiest bride ever. The happiest wife ever too. I get to live the rest of my life just taking care of you.”

I kiss her all over, licking up the wetness of her tears, and I hold her tightly to me. As the kiss deepens, I lift her up and wrap her legs around me, before taking her to the room where I love to be the most. In our bedroom, we can explore one another, reconnect, and really get back to just being us with no outside distractions. I honestly would stay there just me and her given half the chance, but I suppose we do need to face everyday life. Even if I don’t much like it.