A week later, Felicity arrived home to find me in a seemingly precarious place—the kitchen.
“What’s going on, Leo?”
“Don’t be alarmed,” I said as I sliced some lemon. “But I’m cooking.”
She laughed. “Has hell frozen over?”
“I’m determined to learn so you don’t have to prepare every meal. You’ve been busier than ever with studying lately, and with the bar exam coming up, I want to ease some of the burden. We’ve had takeaway every other night.”
Felicity still seemed skeptical as she looked over at the laptop on the counter. “Okay, so tell me what you’re doing here.”
“Remember how I used to watch those Bob Ross painting tutorials?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, this is my new friend, Micheline, on YouTube. She’s teaching me how to steam clams without overdoing them. We’re having pasta and clams tonight in a lemon butter sauce. I figured boiling water and steaming clams sounded easy enough.”
“Did you tell Sig you’re cooking for me?”
“Yes. He suggested you have 911 on standby.”
She chuckled. “Well, I don’t know what to do with myself now. I was all prepared to spend the next hour cooking dinner.”
I put my knife down. “I have an idea. Why don’t you go take a bath instead, love?”
“That sounds like an amazing plan.”
“Let me show you to the bathroom.”
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion as we made our way up the stairs.
When we arrived, her mouth dropped. “What did you do?”
“Today is the three-month anniversary of the day I came back to you.”
“It is? I didn’t realize.”
“Yep. I’ve been keeping track.”
She took a closer look at the yellow flowers and candles strewn about the bathroom. “Are those…”
“Peeping Toms. Yeah. Just like my beauty.”
She covered her mouth. “I can’t believe you…”
“I figured they were more fitting than roses.”
Felicity picked one up and smelled it. “This is amazing.”
“You’ve worked so freaking hard lately. I just want you to have a nice evening. Relax, and I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”
“Thank you, Leo.”
The look of joy on her face made me so happy.
Back downstairs, I got to work following my video tutorial. First, I had to soak the clams to push the sand and salt water out of their shells. Then I melted the butter and threw in the garlic and herbs before adding wine and lemon juice. After it all came to a boil, I added the clams and leftover butter. I covered the pot and let the clams steam in the fragrant sauce. After I turned on a timer, I got to work on a special side dish just for Felicity. I told her not to come down until I texted.
Once everything was ready, I placed the skillet of clams on the table, along with a dish of linguini cooked al dente. At least, I hoped it wasn’t undercooked. As I looked over my work, I wondered if maybe hell would freeze over after all, because I thought I’d managed not to fuck up this dinner. Turned out all I’d needed were step-by-step instructions.
When I finally called her down, Felicity emerged looking adorable in one of her signature Hello Kitty shirts over leggings. Her long, red hair was damp, and there were a couple of wet spots at the front of her shirt, allowing me a peek at her nipples through the material.
She sniffed the air. “I could practically taste the garlic all the way upstairs. Everything smells so good.”
“I’m glad you think so. This is my supper,” I teased. “I’ve made you your own plate of something else.” I gestured to her seat. “Sit.”
As she squinted in confusion, my heart raced. I lifted the metal cover off the special plate I’d prepared and placed it in front of her.
She broke out into laughter. While I’d cooked a feast of clams and linguini allegedly just for me, Felicity’s plate contained SpaghettiOs with a single clam in the center. Of course, it was garnished with basil.
“Why, thank you. This is mine?”
“I figured you’d like this more, no?”
“Well, maybe if you had burned dinner. But this was so not necessary.”
“Okay, I’ll spare you. You don’t have to eat the SpaghettiOs. But have a taste of the clam on top. Let me know what you think.”
Felicity cracked the clamshell open, and I waited for the moment of realization. The second her eyes bugged out, the two-carat, yellow diamond ring I’d slipped inside the shell fell in the middle of the SpaghettiOs.
Her mouth was agape as she stared at the plate. That was my cue to come around to her side of the table and get down on my knee. I reached over and grabbed the ring, wiping the sauce off of it first.
Here goes. “Felicity, you told me you would walk through fire for me. I want you to know, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, either. I love you more than anything in this world. I used to think I was born to continue my family name. But I wasn’t. I know now that I was born to be your husband. And the only heir I ever want is one that comes from you. You’re the only woman I want to share that experience with. You once told me everyone who’s ever mattered in your life left you. Those days are over. You will always have me. I want to live out the rest of my life with you. It doesn’t matter where we are or whether I have a shred of clothing on my back—which is ironic considering how you met me.” I winked. “Anyway, what I mean is, I don’t need anything but you.”
I wiped a tear from her eye. “Felicity Dunleavy, you are the love of my life. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
My gorgeous redhead’s eyes were still filled with tears as she nodded, seemingly unable to speak. She wrapped her arms around me as I squeezed her tightly.
Her voice trembled as she moved back to look me in the eyes. “Yes. Of course, I’ll be your wife! I love you so much, Leo.”
I slipped the ring on her finger and lifted her up out of her seat, into my arms.
After endless kisses and many tears, we finally sat back down. The clams were a bit cold by now, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered aside from the fact that I loved this woman, and she was going to be legally mine forever.
My phone rang in the middle of our celebratory dinner. I wasn’t going to answer it, but I saw it was Sigmund.
I immediately put him on speakerphone.
Before I could say anything, his voice rang out. “So…what happened?”
“She said yes!” I proclaimed with a huge smile.
“Hi, Sig!” Felicity smiled from ear to ear.
“That’s brilliant,” he said. “But I was referring to whether or not she survived your cooking.”
We all got a good laugh out of that.
After dinner, I had one more surprise for my girl.
“Get your coat on, we’re going out back.”
“Really? It’s so cold.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got that covered.”
I’d hired some local guys to set up outdoor heaters and a firepit in our yard while we were eating dinner.
After we put on our black parka coats, we stepped outside.