Once in New York after a late evening flight, Drake and Meg decided to stay home alone and ring in the New Year together. Meg reluctantly called Sarah earlier that morning and asked that she join them. Thankfully, Sarah assured her that she had plans with her two men. Drake prepared a menu with Helena’s help. She picked up the items the day before and left them in the refrigerator. Together, Drake and Meg worked on preparing dinner, both throwing knowing looks at one another adding to the heat that was quickly fusing them together. Meg prepared spinach salad with strawberry and mango while Drake busied himself with a three cheese cannelloni and grilled veal chops. They purposely rubbed against one another as they maneuvered around the large kitchen. It was a slow tease indeed and fueled the growing inferno between them. He planned dessert in advance and refused to share what it was. For whatever reason, he seemed overly excited about dessert so Meg decided to leave well enough alone and enjoy the surprise. He always loved to surprise her, he loved taking care of her, and he looked forward to her thankful responses.
Finally, Meg decided it was time to open the wine from Michael Jordan’s restaurant. She recalled her conversation with the nice waiter shortly after she returned from her first trip to New York. She called to thank him for the thoughtful gift he had given her, and to his regret, he admitted the wine was purchased by Drake and not him. Meg smiled to herself. She never did tell Drake she knew he purchased the wine. She was happy that she waited for this particular evening to open it and share it with him. It would go perfectly with dinner, even Drake agreed and he was far more an expert on wine than Meg ever was. Music played lightly in the background. They both enjoyed a variety of different types of music but this evening called for something a little more sensual. This music was intended to set the perfect tone and ambiance for a romantic evening alone. The sound was soft and inviting and created a magical world around them.
Once dinner was prepared, they both ran eagerly upstairs and changed into something elegant. Drake dressed in a formal black tuxedo and Meg sported a silver sequined floor-length ball gown that hugged her curves in all the right places. It was cut low at the front showing the right amount of cleavage and her back completely exposed. The material opened all the way down to the V at the tip of her tailbone. It was sexy and Drake loved it when Meg exposed her back. He arranged to order both garments and have them delivered to his home before they returned from their trip in Door County. Helena made sure both items were hanging in the walk-in closet for them to see when they arrived late last night. They were both dressed formally and looked like they were about to go out on the town. But they didn’t care, they were far too excited for what the evening had in store for them and staying at home was exactly where they wanted to be.
After dinner, Drake insisted they leave the dishes for Helena to take care of the following morning. Although Meg wasn’t entirely used to the lifestyle Drake lived, she had no issues with leaving the dishes. She wanted to cherish every moment with him this evening. In fact, she was eager to get him out of that suit. He was devilishly handsome, and Meg couldn’t take her eyes away from him. “What’s that look for, Meggie?” He said with his eyes fixed on her. God, she wanted him.
Meg couldn’t hold back the blush that crept over her entire face. She was caught staring at her lover like some lovesick teenager. “Nothing,” she replied a little embarrassed.
Drake knew she was checking him out, and he struggled to hold himself back from swiping everything off the table and taking her right there. But he had plans for them this evening and nothing would interrupt what he intended to do. He held himself back for now, reminding himself that he could hold her later and satisfy their need for one another.
He grabbed the remote and turned the music up a little louder and came around the table. He took her hand in his. “Shall we?” he asked, as he brushed his lips across her knuckles. His blue eyes grew dark with lust and his erection was evident as he stood before her. But he didn’t mind, he had no issues with Meggie knowing exactly how much he wanted her and how tonight would end. He raked his eyes slowly over her entire body.
Meg felt the heat of his stare right between her thighs. What she really wanted to do was throw him on the floor, straddle him, and ride him hard.
“You look insatiable,” he said as he pulled her up to stand before him. He held her close and while his hands worked over her perfect curves he kissed her tenderly on the mouth.
“Do you want to know what I was thinking earlier?” she dared to ask.
“Yes,” he replied tenderly.
“I was thinking how lucky I am and how I never get tired of wanting you.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and continued to follow him into the family room. He took her into his embrace, and they danced slowly to the music. With their bodies held snug against one another, they found the perfect rhythm. Their movements were slow and sensual; their bodies speaking in a language of their own.
The doorbell rang and Drake asked Meg to go upstairs while he prepared dessert. It was silly but important to him so she did as he asked. Twenty minutes later, there was a quiet knock on the bedroom door, and Drake stepped inside the room. “Dessert awaits us, Ms. Malone,” he held the door open and escorted her down the stairs. On the way down, Meg noticed the miniature Tiffany night lights plugged into the outlets along the hallway, just like the one in their bedroom, and she smiled knowingly to herself. He took such good care of her, was there anything he didn’t think of?
“Wow, how did you do this in twenty minutes?” Meg stood there stunned as she took in the wintery scene laid out before her. White shiny balloons stood tall on each side of the curtains. Happy New Year written in gold on each of them and heavy shiny gold weights secured them to the floor. A small table for two stood out in the middle of the room, covered in a white floor length tablecloth and two chairs covered in white linen with gold bows wrapped around the back of each chair. In the middle of the table stood a miniature tree. It glimmered like diamonds and stood approximately three feet tall. Each branch heavily encased in shimmering crystal giving off the effect of ice covered branches. It was magical, and it felt like she had entered a winter wonderland. Three ornaments hung from the branches, two of them were familiar. They were the ornaments they exchanged from their trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake. The third one was embedded in heavy crystals. It was absolutely stunning.
They approached the table and Drake pulled out a chair for her to take a seat. Dessert was hidden under silver covers and before he sat down, he removed them both. Meg’s right hand immediately moved to cover her mouth. She was nicely surprised and in awe that he staged this entire dessert to perfection. Sitting on the plates before them, were crepes, filled with bananas and nutella and white powdered icing sugar lightly dusted over each one, giving them a signature touch along with chocolate shavings.
“ChickaLicious?” Meg asked. “Was this all set up and delivered by Liu?”
“It was indeed. He said to give you a kiss before he left and apologized for not staying to say hello.” Drake kissed her cheek, before he continued. “I told him we would drop by later this week and that tonight I wanted you all to myself.”
“Hmmm, as much as I would love to see him, I’m happy you sent him away.” She looked at Drake with a meaningful look that needed no words to support what she was feeling and what she wanted. She wanted him alone, and she wanted that wicked mouth of his all over her.
“I can’t believe you did all of this without my knowing.” Meg couldn’t contain the excitement she felt. He was smiling and so freaking sexy, she wanted to skip dessert and show him how thankful she really was. But she couldn’t resist taking a bite first. Her hand reached out to pick up the fork, and she was ready to dig in. He reached over and touched her hand.
“No, allow me,” he said. Drake picked up his fork, cut into the delicious crepe and fed her. He watched intently as she took every bite. She knew he was turned on; he was shifting in that chair a little uncomfortably, and of course, it didn’t help matters when she moaned softly and suggestively after each bite hesitating before letting the spoon leave her lips. He took bites in between feeding her, and before she knew it, dessert had disappeared.
“Umm, that was like a piece of heaven,” she licked her lips in approval.
“Do you remember when we purchased these?” he asked pointing at the ornaments on the tree.
“How could I forget? That just happens to be one of the most memorable weekends of my life,” she replied smiling back at the memory.
He turned the third ornament in her direction, and she leaned in a little closer to read the inscription. “Will you marry me?” Immediately, her heart skipped a beat. She was thrilled, and excitement filled every part of her. Tears surfaced immediately and spilled quickly down her face. Meg couldn’t believe this was happening. She knew without doubt that they loved one another, that she had found the one man that could truly make her happy, who would spend his entire life protecting her. He came around and bent down on one knee and took her hand in his. She was shaking in anticipation and words couldn’t describe how she felt in that moment. He reached into the inside of his jacket pocket and presented her with a small black velvet box. He opened the box and held it up for her to see. Meg sucked in a breath and took in the beauty of the diamond ring. It was so shiny. The diamond was a perfect size, square-shaped, and encased by miniature diamonds. It was breathtaking.
“I have the blessing of both your parents,” he assured her. “I knew when I met you that you were special, but when we spent that weekend together, the one when we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake, I knew then that you were the one. When I came out of that little Christmas shop, I had purchased two ornaments. I knew that one day soon after that I would be asking you to marry me.” Drake removed the ring from the box and held her left hand in his. The ring slid on easily and was a perfect fit. “Will you, Meggie Malone, spend the rest of your life with me? I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you and to make you happy. I want you as my lifelong partner, the one at my side every day for the rest of my life. I promise there won’t be many business trips. Now that the Japan deal was successfully closed, I won’t need to travel that much. I know we’ve only been together for a short time, but I have no doubt in my mind that you are the one for me, Meggie Malone. I want to spend every day for the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me.”
Tears streamed down her face, and Meg tried her best to recover quickly. Somehow she choked out her response. “Yes, Drake, I would be happy to marry you,” she managed. Meg wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and showered his face in kisses. She couldn’t stop kissing him. He stood up and took her hand in his. “May I have this dance with my fiancée?” he asked.
They both danced late into the evening. At midnight, they turned the music over to the radio station and anxiously waited for the final countdown. After the New Year rang in, they cheered, kissed, and hugged passionately. He swept her off her feet and headed upstairs to the bedroom.
* * * *
The following morning, Meg dialed Sarah’s number and anxiously waited for her to answer. On the third ring, she picked up.
“Happy New Year, Meg,” Sarah screamed into the receiver.
“Happy New Year to you too, Sarah,” Meg returned with a chuckle. “Guess what? I have the most amazing news! Are you sitting?”