Chapter 5 - Rose Petals and a Velvet Box
It was a completely normal Tuesday. I came home tired, kicked off my shoes, and stopped.
There were rose petals scattered down the hallway.
I followed them into the living room and forgot how to speak. The whole room was full of roses — on the shelves, the windowsill, the coffee table — and a huge heart made of red petals covered the floor.
In the center of it stood Wes.
Not the Wes I knew in jeans and a faded T-shirt. He was in a sharp black tuxedo that looked like it cost more than my monthly rent, and in his hand was a small velvet box.
"Wes?" I could barely get the word out. "What is this?"
He smiled, and my heart did something it had no business doing.
"Nora, I need to thank you for taking a chance on me. You've made me happier than I've been in years. And I'd be happier still if you'd be my wife for real — not a favor, not an arrangement. I fell for you the second you crouched down on that sidewalk. This past month has been the best of my life. So I'm asking. Will you marry me? For real this time?"
I stood there with my mouth open. A hundred questions fought their way forward, and one won.
May you like
"Wes." My voice came out flat and careful. "Where did you get the money for all of this? The tux. The flowers. That ring."
He let out a long breath. "Okay. It's time you knew the whole thing."
