Chapter 29

I couldn’t wait to get out of work, yet I was thankful that I was there and had something to do. Sidney came back to Pittsburgh today. Unless something happened he’d be home when I got there and I was excited to see him. The day seemed to drag on forever, and I’m sure it didn’t help that I kept an eye on the clock all day long. Nancy and Violet laughed at me most of the day, but I didn’t care.

The minute the last dog left my office I grabbed my stuff and ran out of the office calling a quick goodbye to everyone still there. I drove faster than I should have to get home and was lucky I didn’t see any police or else I would have had a speeding ticket for sure. When I pulled into the driveway I was disappointed to see that there weren’t any lights on in the house. Something must have happened and Sidney wasn’t home yet.

I sighed and got out of the car. I checked my phone to see if I’d missed any messages from him, but I hadn’t. I started to worry a bit, but told myself everything had to be fine. I unlocked the door and walked into the house. Almost as soon as I put my stuff down on the hall table I felt like something wasn’t right. I paused and listened, straining to hear any noise. After a few minutes of not hearing anything I began to wonder why I felt that way.

I walked further into the house but couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been in the house while I was at work. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. I listened again but still heard nothing. I began a search of the house looking to see if anyone was there. After I checked every room in the house and didn’t see anyone I began to relax and walked back to the kitchen to put the knife away. I made my way into the living room and froze when I saw the wrapped box on the coffee table.

Had I missed that when I searched the house before or did someone put it there while I was in another room? I listened again for another noise, but still heard nothing. I walked over to the box and saw a note on top. I picked up the note and read it, a smile spreading across my face.

Find the place where you would use this.

The note was in Sidney’s handwriting. I opened the box and found a towel sitting in it. Confused I picked up the towel and headed to the bathroom upstairs. When I walked in I noticed a note on the shower curtain. I took it down and read that one as well.

When you’re done with the shower make sure you dry your hair.

I was tempted to walk around the corner to where my hair dryer was but thought better of it. I undressed and got into the shower, but made sure to take the fastest one I could. When I was done I walked over to my hair dryer and found another note.

Get ready then go get dressed.

I shook my head laughing and did as he said. When I was done with my makeup and my hair I walked into the bedroom and over to the closet. I opened the door and didn’t immediately notice a note. Confused and wondering if I was supposed to go someplace else I took a harder look around the closet. I had a pretty meticulous way to organize my clothes and saw something out of place. When I pulled it out there was a note attached to a beautiful red dress.

Put this on and find shoes to match.

Again I did as I was told. When I walked over to my shoes I saw a note on top of a pair I’d never seen before.

I was informed that these were “to die for.” Now go downstairs and put on your white coat.

I walked downstairs and opened the hall closet and pulled out my white coat that was perfect for a late summer night. When I put it on I felt something heavy in the pocket. I pulled out a cell phone.

Hit 2, then talk.

I did as I was told and listened to the phone on the other end ring a few times. I had no idea who I was going to be connected to.

“Hello?” a male voice I didn’t recognize answered.

“Um, hi. This may sound a little strange but I was just told to call this number and wasn’t told anything else,” I said feeling a little stupid.

“I’ll see you outside in just a minute, Miss Robinson,” the voice said before hanging up.

What the hell was going on? I walked out the front door in time to see a limo pulling around the corner. I rolled my eyes and decided Sidney was just too much. Was it really necessary to put me through all of this just so I could see him again? The limo pulled to a stop in front of the house and the driver got out and opened the back door for me. I got in and found myself sitting alone in the back seat.

“Where are we going?” I asked the driver.

He simply smiled at me and closed the divider. I rode in silence wondering what Sid could possibly be thinking doing all of this. Wouldn’t it just have been easier to tell me to dress up and meet him someplace? When the limo stopped I waited for my door to be opened. As I stepped out I saw that we were parked outside of our favorite Italian place. I started to smile, but stopped when I saw that the restaurant’s lights were off.

I turned to ask the driver where I should be going but he’d already gotten back into the limo and was driving away. I looked around the street but didn’t see Sidney anywhere. At this point I was getting slightly annoyed. All I wanted was to see him and I was on some scavenger hunt trying to figure out where to go next.

I glanced back at the restaurant and noticed a small light flickering inside. It looked like candlelight and I decided to take the chance and try the door. To my surprise it was unlocked and I walked in. I looked towards the light and saw a table illuminated by candles. It was then that I noticed the figure standing next to the table.

“You look beautiful,” Sidney said. I walked over to him.

“How can you tell?” I joked wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

“You always are,” he replied. I looked up at him and pressed my lips to his.

“Was all of this really necessary?” I asked him when we pulled apart. He laughed.

“Not at all, but it was fun,” he explained. I laughed as he took my coat from me and put it down. We both sat at the table and almost immediately a waiter was at our table pouring us each a glass of wine.

“So you rented out the whole place for the night?” I asked him after the waiter walked away.

“I wanted to do something special tonight and since we’ve kind of made this ‘our’ place I thought it was perfect.” I smiled and agreed.

We talked about his trip and he laughed at me when I told him that I knew something was different with the house the moment I walked in, but that it took me forever to figure it out. The waiter returned a little later carrying plates out to us. I saw that I was looking at my favorite grilled Sicilian swordfish in salmoriglio sauce. We continued to talk as we ate until we were both full.

“I have one more thing. Hold on,” Sidney said. I was in no hurry to end the night and just smiled at him. “Shooter!” I laughed as I saw Shooter run out to us from somewhere in the back.

“You brought Shooter here?” I asked surprised as I began to pet him. “What have you got there?” I asked seeing that Shooter was holding something in his mouth. I reached for whatever the object was and he let go once I had a grip on it. My mouth fell open and I did a double take when I saw what was in my hand.

“You should probably open it,” I heard Sidney say a minute later as I continued to just stare down at the tiny box in my hand. My heart started pounding. Was this really happening? My breath caught in my throat when I saw the same ring I had been admiring at the jewelry store before he had left for the summer.

“Sidney, how?” I choked out unable to take my eyes off of it.

“I had it all planned. I told the salespeople to keep an eye out in case you made your way over to the engagement ring section. I called back later and found out that you’d liked that one.”

I looked up at him in shock. He’d been planning this for that long? He got up from his seat and walked over to me. I watched him take my hand and get down on one knee. Tears began to stream down my face before I even had a chance to hear a word he said.

“I spent a year in love with you from afar and another year struggling to prove to you that I’m worth trusting and loving. We’ve gone through so much since we’ve known each other and those trials have only proven that I love you more than anything else in this world. You told me once that I saved your life but really you’ve saved mine. You’ve given me something to look forward to everyday and something that makes me happy even when I shouldn’t be. I love you, Loralei Robinson, and I want nothing more than to have you be my wife. Will you marry me?”

I was crying too hard to respond. I hadn’t seen this coming even with the scavenger hunt and the private dinner. I tried more than once to tell him how I felt only to be unable to make a sound that wasn’t a sob. I gave up trying and pulled his lips to mine in response. The crying finally subsided by the time we ended the kiss.

“Yes,” I finally managed to whisper to him. He smiled and kissed me again while slipping the ring on my finger.