A Billionaire BWWM Romance 4: The Proposal (8 page)

Julie
shrieked and Steven moaned as he held her tightly. She was shivering
in his arms and their bodies were covered in their perspiration. He
raised his head and looked down at her.

“
I
never ever want to lose you,” he said in a soft voice. She
smiled and held his face in her hands.

“
What
would make me leave you?” she asked before she kissed him
softly. “I love you too much,” she said in a low voice.
She moaned softly as she felt him slipping out of her.

“
I
love you too, Juelz,” he said as he rolled over to lay by her
side. “With all that I am.”

“
By
the way, we really need to review our sexual programs. We cannot
always do this,” she said.

“
Do
what?” he asked.

“
Have
sex right in the middle of dinner,” she laughed.

Steven
looked at the table for the fiftieth time. He had decided with the
romantic grand gesture that Dana and Meg suggested. But so far, the
evening was turning out to be a scene from ‘What’s The
Worst That Could Happen’. At first, he had a private table at
Amelia’s reserved and the way he had planned it was simply
epic. Since Amelia’s was where they first dined, he thought
that it would be a good place to pop the question. And by five in the
evening, everything was set. He had the most perfect plan. They would
have dinner and then he would serenade her with some sweet John
Legend cover of ‘All Of Me’. And then the dessert would
be served, a chocolate soufflé that had the ring inside. It
was the perfect plan. But everything came crashing down when Julie
called him that evening.

“
Hey,
babe. I’m sorry. I know you really worked on this dinner, but I
can’t make it today,” she said.

“
Wait,
what’s going on?” he asked.

“
It’s
Meg…I don’t know….something about her ex,”
she said.

“
Wait,
what are you talking about?” he asked.

“
Her
ex has been giving her a hard time and I think today was really bad
because she is in the emergency room. I just want to make sure she
will be fine before I leave,” she said. Steven suddenly felt
bad.

“
Is
there anything can do?” he asked.

“
No,
everyone is already here and by the time you get here, she will
already be discharged. How about I just come over when I am done?”
she asked.

“
Sounds
perfect. I’ll make us something,” he said.

“
You’re
the best babe,” she said before she hung up. Steven looked
around the restaurant and then stood up. He made his way to the
restaurant kitchen and dug the ring out of the soufflé.

“
Monsieur
Davenport,” the sous chef said when he saw him fishing the ring
out. “She say no?” he asked. Steven smiled and shook his
head.

“
I
didn’t even ask. She can’t make it,” he said. The
chef frowned as he looked at him.

“
Ce
la vie, Monsieur Davenport. So what you do now?” he asked.

“
I
have to ask her tonight. I can’t go another day without knowing
that I will spend the rest of my life with her,” Steven said, a
faraway look in his eyes.

“
So
you ask in the home?” the chef asked.

“
Actually,
I’ll go and get started right now,” he said as he wiped
the ring down on a paper towel. He looked at the chef and shrugged.
“Any pointers?” he asked. The chef smiled.

“
Depends.
You good in kitchen?” he asked. Steven smiled and nodded. “Then
make chicken. The women, they love the chicken. Or I can give you
some duck?” he asked in a heavy French accent. Steven smiled
and nodded.

“
I
would need a good recipe. I have never made duck before,” he
said.

“
I
give you my best,” the chef said as he walked to one of the
working stations and pulled a recipe from the rack. He then took a
couple of duck breasts from the freezer and walked back to where
Steven was.

“
I’ll
make sure I cover this on my way out,” Steven said as he put
the ring back in the velvet case he had in his pocket.

“
Actually,
it's my gift to you, Monsieur Davenport,” the chef said. Steven
smiled at him and walked out. He had exactly three hours to make a
great five star dinner using a recipe he had never tried. He had no
idea if it would actually work or turn out to be disastrous. Luckily
for him, the chef gave him a simple recipe, one that only took fifty
minutes, which gave him enough time to make the dessert. After he had
made the Panasonic roasted duck breasts with raspberry sauce, he got
the leftover black forest cake from the fridge and cut out two
slices. He then put on a pair of gloves before he began making
vanilla ice cream from scratch. He remembered that Julie had always
said fresh ice cream always tasted better. By the time he was done,
he had literally recreated the restaurant’s setting. He had
just put on some smooth music when he saw car lights flashing on his
window. He touched his pocket and took a long, deep breath when he
felt the bulge in his pocket where the ring was. He never thought the
day would come when he got nervous.

“
Hey
you,” he said when Julie walked into the kitchen.

“
Hey.
I’m sorry about dinner,” she apologized as they hugged.
“I know work has been really crazy for the last few weeks and
that…” her words trailed off when Steven pulled away and
kissed her.

“
Your
best friend needed you. I’m not angry,” he said. She
looked at him and forced a tired smile.

“
Something
smells good,” she said.

“
A
new recipe. Pan fried duck breasts with raspberry sauce,”
Steven said proudly.

“
I
am already salivating. That sounds so delicious,” she said.

“
Come
right this way, my love,” Steven said as he slipped an arm
around her waist and led her to the dining room where he had set the
table for two. Julie looked at him.

“
I
thought we were dining at Amelia’s,” she said. Steven
shrugged and nodded.

“
We
were,” he said.

“
And
then what’s all this? And when did you even get time to do
this? I only called to cancel a few hours ago. This looks like it
took quite a lot of time out of your day,” she said as he
pulled the seat for her. Steven laughed.

“
Contrary
to what you think, I can set any table in ten minutes flat. I can
turn a piece of wood into something a restaurant in Florence would
want to use for Will and Kate,” he bragged. Julie looked at
him.

“
Really?”
she asked.

“
True
story,” he said. “We used to get a lot of walk in guests
and setting the table in a short time was one of the things my mother
demanded you master. You know, just in case we were in a situation
where all the house helps were out or something.” Julie’s
eyes were now wide.

“
Did
I ever tell you just how bourgeoisie you sound sometimes?” she
asked.

“
What
is that supposed to mean?” he asked as he poured her a glass of
red wine.

“
Well,
it simply means that you sometimes come off as an entitled person,”
she said. He looked at her and frowned.

“
You
don’t really believe that, do you?” he asked. She smiled
and shrugged.

“
Not
really. No. But that’s just because I know you,” she said
as Steven put a plate in front of her. “This looks really good
babe,” she said after she inhaled the rich spicy aroma.

“
Well,
I hope you like it,” he said as he sat down on the other side
of the table.

“
Holy
shit,” Julie said and Steven put his fork down.

“
Why
would you talk of defecation when we’re right in the middle of
enjoying dinner?” he asked.

“
I’m
sorry. It’s just that…I never thought duck was this
good. I would have had it a long time ago,” she said. Steven
frowned.

“
So
the only word you could use was shit?” he asked. Julie looked
up and smiled.

“
If
you ain’t got it right now, you just ain’t getting it,”
she said as she pinched her nose.

“
What
is that? Is that a song?” he asked.

“
Yeah
actually. Chris Brown and T-Pain,” Julie said excitedly. Steven
laughed and took a bite. “What’s so funny?” she
asked.

“
Well,
the way you Americans name your artists,” he said.

“
Wait,
we do not name our artists. They name themselves. And don’t sit
there all high and mighty. You guys have some pretty weird names for
your musicians too,” Julie said as she took another bite.

“
Oh
really? Like who?” Steven asked. Julie looked at him and felt
her mind go blank.

“
Okay,
I can’t think of anyone right now. But there are a number of
them. I’ll let you know when I come up with a name,” she
said before she took a sip of her wine. She looked at him and smiled.
“By the way, you haven’t won this argument.”

“
I
never said I have,” he said as he took a sip of his own wine.
“How’s Meg?” he asked. The smile on Julie’s
lips slowly faded.

“
She’s
okay now. She has just been under a lot of stress lately,” she
said.

“
What
do you mean? And what is this stuff about her ex?” Steven
asked.

“
Byron
Sadler, top of the range ass hole,” she said. “They have
a son together and he made it clear that he never wanted anything to
do with being a parent. So, since that boy was born, it has always
been Meg doing whatever she can making sure that he has everything he
needs. When he finally decided he wanted to be a father again, she
made plans for Charlie, her boy, to spend time with his father. But
now that the ass hole finally has a steady job he suddenly decides
that he wants full custody,” Julie explained. She took another
bite. “I think the pressure was just too much. I mean there was
nothing wrong with her. She was just fatigued and a bit iron
deficient,” she added.

“
So,
where is she now? The hospital?” he asked. Julie shook her
head.

“
Home.
The doctor wanted her to stay the night for observation, but she
wouldn’t hear of it. She just wanted to go home. Her aunt went
with her and she has some sedatives and supplements. So everything
should be just fine by tomorrow,” she said before she took
another bite. She looked at him and took a long, deep breath.

“
What?”
Steven asked.

“
Sometimes
I think I just want us to remain like this. Simply happy for the rest
of our lives. No complications or anything,” she said. Steven
smiled and nodded.

“
I
want the same thing,” he said. He suddenly felt his heart
beating harder and faster. Was this it? Was this the chance he had
been waiting for? Had it just presented itself to him?

“
You
know it’s shit like this that makes me rethink marriage,”
Julie said as she took a bite. Her words were like a double edged
sword, piercing through his organs. He looked at her and raised an
eyebrow.

“
What?”
he asked.

“
Byron
and Meg were the happiest couple I had ever seen. And then after that
trip to Vegas everything changed. Sure they were happy for the first
few months, but everything came crashing down pretty fast,” she
said. Steven’s heart was breaking with every word she said.

“
But
babe, we are not them. We could make it work,” Steven said.
Julie took the last bite and looked at him and then smiled.

“
I
know, but there have been so many stories that make me think twice
about the whole idea of marriage. Meg isn’t the only person.
There are two of my cousins and some friends from college…it’s
just an ugly story that one,” she said. Steven took a long sip
of his wine and then poured himself some more. “Whoa babe. Why
don’t you pace yourself there?” she asked as she looked
at him.

“
I
don’t think I have a reason to,” he said as he stood up.

“
Really?
Because the way I know you I am quite sure you have dessert,”
she said. Steven took his plate and then took hers.

“
You’re
right,” he said as he walked the dirty plates to the sink. Now
he had to propose to a woman who clearly hated everything about
marriage. There was no way this was going to work. This was doomed
before it even began. He was distraught.

“
So,
what’s for dessert?” Julie called out from the dining
room.

“
Cake
and ice cream,” he said loud enough for her to hear. He heard
her gasp.

“
Did
you make the ice cream yourself?” she asked as Steven walked
back with two side plates.

“
Right
down to the liquid nitrogen,” he replied, forcing a smile.
Julie looked at him and smiled.

“
You
spoil me too much babe,” she said. He looked at her and smiled.

“
Is
that a bad thing?” he asked. She leaned forward and kissed him.
“What was that for?”

“
Thanking
you for spoiling me,” she said smiling.