Sabrina McAllister could not have been more excited... or nervous. Today was a special day... her three-year anniversary with her boyfriend, Jason. She was excited and nervous because today was the day she was going to propose marriage to him. They had always been an unorthodox couple, never leading traditional gender roles and Bree thought,
Why change now?
She had arranged everything down to the tiniest detail. She was going to get him out of the house for several hours, while her neighbor decorated the townhouse, complete with a personalized banner:
Marry Me M'Lord
. She and Jace had often gone to the Renaissance Festivals and enjoyed that era of history immensely. The theme of the evening was completely medieval. She would take him to their favorite dinner theatre: a jousting competition complete with good food from the era, knights on horseback and even a king and princess as hosts for the evening's entertainment.
The timing was perfect. Her parents had long been planning a vacation out east to see her and had flown in three days ago. Her daughters had just ended their spring semesters at college and had come home for a few weeks before beginning their summer jobs. Jason's family lived within an hour of them, so they were already in the area. Friends and family would gather to celebrate this event. She had no doubt that he would accept her proposal.
Having become pregnant at eighteen and married right after her high school graduation to her Senior Prom date, Sabrina had vowed after her divorce never to marry again. Until she met Jason Cain through a local dating website. They eerily had too much in common and when their eyes met on their first date, Sabrina knew this man was her soul mate. He was the man she had been waiting for all of her life. And tonight she would make sure the he and all their family and friends knew that they would be together until the end of time.
Her cell phone buzzed at her hip as she walked from her car towards the grocery store. "Hello?" She had not bothered to check the caller ID.
"Is everything set?" A conspiratorial voice whispered into her ear.
Bree grinned. "Yup. Going into the store to get the snack trays right now. I will be at your house in about half an hour."
Elizabeth giggled on the other end. She was just as excited as Bree was. She had never been involved in a surprise as big as this one. To Elizabeth, Jason and Sabrina had belonged together from the start. There were not two more romantic people in the entire world, in Elizabeth's humble opinion. True to her word, Bree showed up thirty minutes later and dropped off the snack trays that Elizabeth would take over to the townhouse and begin putting up decorations.
"What time are you leaving the house?"
"Around 4. Show starts at 5. We should be back here by 8:30 at the latest," Bree answered. "My excuse for Jason and I being late back to the house will be that I need batteries for the camera. After all, today is also my parent's wedding anniversary, so that is the reason for the celebration back at the house." She could not help but glow. Everything was planned perfectly down to the last detail. Everyone was in on the planning except, of course, the groom-to-be. Her family would meet his for the first time tonight at the arena. It was too bad his brother had to work tonight, but he would be at the townhouse that evening for the main celebration, just not at the jousting tournament.
Bree walked the short distance across the parking lot into her own townhouse and called out to Jason. "Honey? I'm home!"
There was no answer. She heard soft music playing upstairs and quietly crept up, and then walked over to their master bathroom to see the love of her life taking a shower. He was singing, "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx... their song. Perhaps he had a surprise for their anniversary too, but Bree knew nothing could beat the surprise she had planned for him. She grinned and threw back the shower curtain, exposing him.
"Dammit, Bree!" he yelled as he jumped. Then calmly smiled with the dimple in his right cheek. He turned off the water and got out of the shower as she held out the towel for him. "Are you ready for tonight M'Lady?" he asked in his best British accent.
"Indeed I am, M'Lord," she curtsied slightly, which looked ridiculous in her jeans.
"Good, because I have a surprise for you," he winked with his blue eyes twinkling.
"Oh really?" her left golden brown eyebrow rose. "Any hints?"
He gave her "the look":
You have got to be kidding,
and finished drying himself off. "What are you wearing tonight, Bree?"
"I thought my yellow sleeveless blouse and my white skirt. Will that do?"
Jason nodded. "I just don't want to clash with you," he teased as she punched him in the arm lightly. "I will just wear my jeans and that blue polo shirt you like so much."
"You mean the one you wore on our first date? Three years ago tonight?" she purred as she wrapped her arms around his naked waist and leaned up for a kiss.
"Yup," he said as he bent down and kissed her. "Where are the girls?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows and tossing his head towards the bed.
"At the mall already. They wanted to go shopping first and sorry dearest, we don't have time for play."
"Not even a quickie?" he flashed the grin she loved so much with perfect white teeth.
"Jason, with you, a quickie is an hour and a half." She teased him right back. "And I still have to shower and get ready." She pulled off her white tee shirt and slipped out of her red shorts to sport a matching white lace bra and thong panties. As she turned towards the shower to turn the spigot back on, he snapped her ass with his towel and scooted out of the room.
"Ow!" she yelled after him. "You're going to pay for that mister!"
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