Eden's Pleasure (Pulse Book 1) (48 page)

“Mik?” Chase asked.

“Mik, who else?” Eden confirmed.

Chase sat cross-legged beside her on the floor, watching her rip into the pretty red metallic paper of the last of many presents he had bought for her. Spoiling her pleased him because she placed no demands on him and truly appreciated who he was and what he gave her.

She opened the box and peered inside. It was filled with red, green, and gold scrunched tissue paper. She started pulling it out, discarding it, digging deeper and deeper until she reached the bottom where a lone gold envelope sat. Her eyes grew large, and her mouth gaped open when she saw the travel agent’s name written on the card stapled to two tickets, so familiar from her many times spent in the window, dreaming.

“Oh my god! How did you do this?” She stared at the tickets in awe. “I only told you last night.”

“Last night was just to make sure I got it right. I already got the scoop from Mikala. She told me it was the one place that you talked about wanting to see one day.”

“Gotta love Mik. You got the hots for her, Mr. Dean?” She giggled and looked at the tickets, studying them closer. “Amalfi, Italy. We’re really going?” She threw her arms around his neck, melting kisses over his face, knocking him onto his back. He roared with laughter, a sound that truly lit up her heart.

“We leave the twenty-eighth. We’ll be there for New Year’s,” he told her as she sat up, holding the tickets to her chest.

“New Year’s in Italy, how romantic is that? I’ll have to buy a new dress for the occasion,” she said, placing the tickets on the table beside her coffee.

“I thought it would be the perfect romantic spot for us. You in a beautiful white gown and me in my Armani tux. Flowers and all our friends and family.”

“What are you talking about, Chase?” she asked suspiciously, swallowing hard with anticipation.
Is he saying what I think he’s saying?
she asked herself.

He reached into the Christmas tree, pulling a crystal, heart-shaped ornament from one of the branches. Lifting away the top, he revealed a two-karat, emerald-cut diamond engagement ring. Her heart started to race, and her face paled. She put her hand over her mouth, holding back a scream, and looked at him wide-eyed, trying desperately to say something, but words couldn’t form.

Standing, he pulled her to her feet, then knelt before her, taking her hand in his, and kissed her knuckles with a nervous smile. “Will you marry me, Eden Elizabeth Fox?” he asked her nervously, on one knee, holding out the ring, his hand visibly shaking.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Chase?” she asked.

He was adorable, and Eden could practically feel her heart dripping as it melted. All her dreams and all her fantasies could never top this moment. As much as she fought the idea of being tied to a man and spending the rest of her life with just one person, this was what she wanted. She wanted the white picket fence, the undying love, the trust and devotion, and she knew without the shadow of a doubt, it was Chase she dreamt of sharing it with.

“More than anything.” Chase looked into her face and smiled his melt-her-into-a-puddle smile as tears rolled down her cheeks. “When I said I love you, I meant that I love you forever. I want you today, tomorrow, and every single day after that. You and only you. You are mine, and I am yours, and I intend to keep it that way, now and always. Say you’ll marry me, baby. Make me the happiest man on earth.”

“Yes, of course I’ll marry you. I love you, you’re my man, my one and only.” He slipped the ring on her finger, and she crushed his face into her belly, holding her hand out and admiring its sparkling beauty. “It’s so beautiful.”

“I had it designed just for you. Our initials are engraved in the band.” She slipped off the ring, and read it out.

“
EEF&CAD
. Perfect. You were very sure I’d say yes.” She grinned, putting the ring back on her finger, and got down onto her knees, melting her lips over his. She touched his cheek with the back of her hand and smiled. “I love you.”

“And I love you, baby!” he whispered over her lips.

“I arranged everything. We leave on the twenty-eighth. We’ll have a few days to ourselves, and everyone will fly over on the thirtieth for the New Year’s Eve ceremony.”

Eden looked into his sparkling emerald eyes and smiled. “I love you,
my
wonderful control freak!”

La Fine

Book #2 in the
Pulse
series ‘Mikala’s Passion’ coming soon!

Jennifer Rose lives the glamorous life in Canada working as a part-time office clerk/manager. A mother of three grown boys, she decided to give up cleaning, cooking and day to day household chores in favor of sitting with a favorite beverage, be it coffee or wine and her trusty laptop, after a friend and author convinced her that she had what it took to write romance novels, so she took a creative writing coarse and finally started writing.