While I stay busy at the shop creating floral arrangements, Alek has written several new musical arrangements of his own. It’s those new arrangements that we're celebrating tonight. Alek recently finished recording a new album and insisted that the first stop on his new tour be here, in Charleston, where we met.
He often tells me that I’m his muse, and without me he’d just be a washed up has been. I don’t believe him, but it’s sweet of him to say.
I catch a glimpse of the gift basket in the rearview mirror and smile. It’s an exact replica of the one I delivered to Alek the night we met.
I pull into the parking lot of the performing arts center and drive around to the back entrance. I park my car and exit the vehicle. I open the back door to retrieve the basket and my purse, and tuck one final item into the basket. Closing the door, I click the lock and head for the performer’s entrance.
I ring the bell and a moment later I’m greeted by Ben.
“Evening Rose,” he says as he opens the door wider for me to step through. “I wondered what time you’d be showing up.”
I smile as I turn to him, “I’m earlier than usual, had to give myself plenty of time to get dolled up before the show.”
Ben laughs, he and Lola have been married for years so he understands. “Well I better not keep you then.”
“Thanks. Dressing room number one?”
Ben nods his head and chuckles, “Yes, ma’am.”
I make my way down the hall, each step bringing me closer to the music I hear drifting on the air. I stand outside the door and just listen for a moment. It’s the same piece I first heard him play the night we met. I quietly open the door and place the basket on the table while I listen to him play. When he’s finished, he places his violin in its case and turns to me.
In two long strides Alek is standing in front of me, hands resting on my hips, “Hello beautiful.”
I roll my eyes at him as I wind my arms around his neck and look down at my work clothes, “Please, I’m a mess.”
He smiles as he draws me closer, “But you’re my beautiful mess.”
“That I am,” I whisper before his mouth captures mine.
When the kiss ends, I smile up at him dreamily, “Mmm, that’s the first time I’ve been kissed in a performer’s dressing room.”
“I’m very happy to hear that,” he says before dropping another quick kiss on my lips.
He takes a step back before taking my hands in his, and I miss the closeness immediately. His thumbs gently caress my hands as he begins to speak.
“Rose, meeting you here, in this dressing room last year, changed my life. You don’t know this, but before I met you, I was contemplating retirement. I felt as though all my creativity and passion for music had been used up. And then, last year, after I finished playing, I opened my eyes and saw you standing right here, in this dressing room looking just as beautiful as you do right now.”
I return his smile and shake my head as tears begin to fill my eyes, not wanting to interrupt him.
“You were radiant and when I took your hand that night, I felt life flow back into me again. There was so much beauty surrounding you, that I knew words would never be able to express it properly. It would be up to me to share that beauty with the world through my music. You saved me that night Rose. You rejuvenated my career and in the past year, you’ve shown me what it truly means to love and be loved. And there’s no one I’d rather spend my life with than you.”
Alek let’s go of my hands and reaches into his pocket before dropping down on one knee. Tears of joy flow freely down my face and cloud my vision as he presents me with the most beautiful ring I’ve ever laid eyes on.
“Rose McDaniels, would you do me the greatest honor, and become my wife? Will you marry me?”
My heart is bursting with happiness as my head begins to nod, before I can get the words out. “Yes! I would love to be your wife.”
Alek slides the ring on my hand, wrapping me in his arms as he gets to his feet and kisses me as if his life depends on it.
When the kiss ends, Alek whispers against my lips, “I love you Rose, thank you for bringing me back to life.”
I lean my forehead against his and smile, “I love you too. I better get ready or you’ll be late for your performance.”
He tightens his arms around me bringing me flush against him as he nuzzles my neck. “Let them wait, they can’t start without me.”
I giggle and try to wiggle my way out of his arms, “True as that may be, the sooner the show begins, the sooner it ends and we can go home and celebrate.”
He growls in my ear before kissing my neck again. “I like the way you think.”
I walk toward the closet and pull my dress from the rack and grab the bag with my toiletries, before stepping into the bathroom. I stick my head back out the door, “You should check out your basket while I get ready.”
“All my favorites,” I hear him say before I hear a crackling noise from one of the bags.
I slip into my dress and heels, touch up my makeup and brush out my hair and step back into the room just as Alek removes a small box from the basket.
His brow furrows as he looks at the long narrow box. “I don’t remember a box like this in the first basket.”
He glances up at me and I bite my lip to hide my nervousness, “Open it.”
He lifts the lid and stares into the box for a minute before realization dawns.
