"'Love at first sight' is corny and overused, but that's what it was. You were all I could think about," Worth said. "And then that party—I drank too much and came on so strong and you said 'Eric'." Worth shook his head. "I almost left town. Decided we'd sell the magazine. Run away all over again." He looked at Jessica with adoration. "The thought of seeing you every day, but never—"
"Shh," Jessica said as she put a finger on his lips. "Not never. Always. I will always love you."
Worth shifted in bed, removing his arm from beneath her neck, where it had cushioned her as they talked. "Jessica, I know we haven't been together all that long, and it's only been recently that we actually became an 'us', as you put it. But I firmly believe that when it's right, it's right. And that's why…" His voice trailed off as he opened the drawer in the nightstand next to him and took something out that he'd put in while she was changing. "And that is why I bought something for you. I had planned to give it to you last weekend, but with everything else going on, I just didn't. If you aren't ready, I understand, and I will wait for you however long it takes but…"
He held out a tiny velvet covered box and opened it to reveal a simple but elegant two-carat solitaire diamond in a shining platinum setting. "Jessica Daniels, will you marry me?"
Is this really happening? Jessica was totally caught off guard, never expecting an engagement ring from him this soon. She looked from his face, to the box, back to him.
"Jessica?" he asked.
"I-I, uh, I, are-are you sure?" she stammered.
Worth laughed softly as he took the ring out of the box and took her hand in his. "Let's try this again, shall we? Ms. Jessica Daniels, love of my life, one day mother of my children, center of my universe, will you be my wife?"
"Yes! Worth, yes, yes, of course, I will!"
"That's more like it," Worth said as he slid the dazzling ring on her finger.
"It's beautiful!"
"Well, I did get some advice from Molly. I guessed at the size, though, so if it needs adjustment—"
Jessica held out her hand to admire the ring. "You guessed perfectly. But I thought you said you had it last weekend? When—"
Worth nodded. "I did. I called Molly weeks ago. I knew I was going to ask you. I had to ask you. But I also knew the timing wasn't right. Molly gave me the name of a good jeweler but only after I fed her some details."
Jessica lay back against the pillow, holding her hand out, letting the facets catch the light this way and that. "Molly, Molly, Molly. She knew before she even met me! Before the fire and everything got resolved. What a week this has been!"
Suddenly hungry, Jessica found her robe and slipped it on. Worth got out of bed and tied her sash as he planted a kiss on her forehead before putting his pajama pants on again. He pulled the room service menu from the nightstand and handed it to her. "You pick."
While they waited for a light dinner to arrive, they stepped onto the balcony to admire Boston's night view, with its twinkling stars above and lights below. Worth pointed out the general direction of the area Fred had recommended. They made plans to sleep obscenely late before exploring it.
As they enjoyed baked brie with nuts and fruit, washing it down with a second bottle of champagne, Jessica remembered the upcoming family dinner with Chet and her mom. "It completely slipped my mind as soon as I hung up the phone with her this afternoon."
"I've been looking forward to meeting her. It really shouldn't have taken this long," Worth said then looked up at Jessica with a smile. "Won't she be surprised when we spring this on her at dinner? Or should you call her now?"
"It will keep," Jessica said, spreading more of the delicious melted brie on a cracker. "I want to see her face when we tell her."
"I hope it will be a good surprise for her."
"It will be; I'm sure of it." Jessica sank back in the chair and nodded. "Absolutely sure. She was never a fan of Eric. She liked him as a man just fine, but she said she never saw the two of us as a couple. She and my dad were happy at a whole different level. An 'us' level, I think." She grinned then opened her mouth wide with understanding. "Soooo, when Molly said we'd have an announcement to make when we got back to the office, she wasn't talking about just telling the staff we're dating, was she?"
Worth chuckled sexily. "No, she was hoping for this, the official announcement of our engagement and upcoming wedding." He continued dryly, "She's probably got the whole thing planned already. I'm warning you now. There were many, many years she thought she'd never have a daughter-in-law. Believe me, she will be over the moon."
"Should we call her? Have they already left for Paris?" Jessica grabbed the last strawberry on the china plate and popped it into her mouth.
"And ruin her plans for us to make love the whole weekend without interruption?" Worth poured the rest of the bubbly between their two flutes, chuckled and took another sip. "I guess it can wait until we get back Sunday evening. They don't leave for Paris until Monday, so we'll call as soon as we get home,
