Getting to Me

Mandy was completely nervous when Zack told her that he had something planned. When he led her in to the kitchen and she saw everything that he’d set up, she groaned and looked at the table and surrounding room surprisingly.

The table was covered in a white tablecloth, red and white rose petals strewn across it and a large vase filled with lilies, carnations, and roses in the center of the table. There were two dish settings with china she knew belonged to her parents, along with a card set beside one of the plates she assumed was where he wanted her to be sitting.

“Zacky, baby, you didn’t have to put all of this together,” she breathed out as she looked at him, a small smile on her face as she took in the scenery. “It’s all so lovely.”

“I wanted to make today special,” he whispered into her neck as he pulled her closer against his body, his tattooed arms snaking around her waist and holding her. Mandy leaned in to his touch, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent of his cologne before she turned her head so that she could press her lips softly against his neck.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she told her softly before she grabbed on to his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t get home until now. I could have helped you set up,” she murmured against his shoulder. Zack let out a hearty laugh and then shook his head before he looked at her again.

“Nah, I wanted to set it up for us,” he whispered against her skin. “I wanted to make it a good surprise. Something that you would enjoy.”

“I’m sure I’ll enjoy tonight,” she whispered against his neck. “I have a surprise of my own for you after we go upstairs and retire for the night,” she murmured into his ear, breathing out softly and smirking when he shuddered against her body.

“Baby, don’t start talking all sexy like that until we can actually get upstairs. I don’t know if I can stand it,” he muttered before leading her over to the table. “I got some food that your Mom made for us,” he told her softly. “And Michelle gave me a bottle of wine for the two of us to split since Cedar Liquors was out.”

Mandy nodded and then ran her hand across his leg. “Alright, sweetheart,” she murmured. “But after dinner, I’m taking you straight upstairs and showing you just how much I love you.”

Zack smirked and nodded, although his nerves were still making it hard for him to concentrate on what she was saying. He had no idea how tonight was going to turn out, and whether or not they actually would end upstairs and tangled in each other’s arms tonight. This marriage proposal could either be good for both of them, or horrible. All he could hope for was that her heart truly loved him as much as he thought she did, and that she’d agree to marrying him.

Once she was seated at the table, he walked back over to the counter and brought over to the food, dishing both of them up what was there before he filled the wine glasses. She giggled when he spilt a little on the table, but dabbed it up with her napkin before she replaced the cork.

“So, is there any reason other than Valentine’s Day for this beautiful dinner?” She asked him as they started eating slowly. She could see the nerves etched in Zack’s face, and though it was cute, she was also slightly nervous that maybe he was planning to break up with her or something. Everyone always told her they could see how in love they were, but it was times like this; times when he was nervous like this, that she wondered what was going through his head.

“Kind of,” he agreed with a small smile before he pushed his hand back through his hair. “I uh…I want to talk to you about something important,” he murmured with a nervous smile.

The smile on Mandy’s own face faltered a little bit when she saw the way that he seemed to be nervous, but all she could hope for was that everyone was right about them being in love. She hoped that whatever he was about to say to her wasn’t going to break her heart.

“It’s nothing bad,” he whispered when he saw the look on her face. “I promise, it’s all good. I just…I’m really nervous about everything, that’s all,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s hard for me to even figure out how to say this.”

Morgan nodded, figuring that he’d say what he had to say when he could calm his nerves down a little bit.

“Alright, baby,” she nodded, licking over her bottom lip. “I’m here, so just take your time.”

He got up and started pacing in the dining room, trying to figure out the words to say before he said them. He didn’t want to sound stupid when he asked her to marry him. This was a memory she’d have for the rest of her life, and he didn’t want to ruin it for her. He wanted her to see that he was being serious about this, and that he was completely in love with her and wanted to marry her.

“Baby,” he started slowly as he looked at her with a small smile. “I…uh…”

“Take your time,” Mandy repeated, grabbing his hand in hers and squeezing it. Her heart started to beat faster.

He looked at her, and he knew that there was no doubt that she loved him. He knew he shouldn’t be nervous about asking her to marry him. After all the other things that had gone wrong in their relationship, this was no big deal. It was a short, simple question; nothing should be standing in his way of asking her to marry him.

“I love you,” he told her with a small smile on his face. “And…I mean, I know that I’ve already said that to you so many times, but it’s so true, Mandy. I love you.”

Mandy gave him a confused look when she saw the nervousness pass over his face again, and rubbed circles over her hand to stop him from feeling nervous. She didn’t like seeing him nervous like this, and she wanted to ease his feelings.

“I know you love me,” she murmured, running her hand along the side of his face before she closed her eyes. “And whatever you have to say, it’s not going to upset me. I promise.”

Matt listened to her words softly, trying to figure out what else he could say to her before he groaned as he looked down at the table. “Baby,” he said as he sat down on the chair next to hers, looking directly into her eyes. “I’m absolutely serious when I say that.”

Mandy nodded, but before she could say anything, Zack spoke once again. “And I mean, I know that you love me, too. I can’t believe that it happened, but it did, and…I’m rambling,” he muttered under his breath before looking down at the linoleum floor, taking a deep breath.

“Zacky, it’s okay. Just spit it out,” she whispered as she looked up at him. “It’s not going to break our relationship, whatever you have to say,” she added softly, knowing that the only way she would feel as if he was ruining their relationship was if he broke up with her.

He sighed and took another deep breath before he nodded, looking up at her before he moved so that he was down on one knee. He wanted to do this the right way; wanted to make sure that she knew that he was asking her to marry him a little ahead of time.

“I know that we’ve only known each other for…Well, not a long time. Not nearly as long as two people typically know each other before they get married. It hasn’t even been six months since I met you at Thanksgiving, and…now I’m asking you to marry me, Mandy. You’re young, and I know that it might not be the thing you want to hear, but—”

Mandy’s eyes widened at his words, and then a grin broke out on his face. “Are you saying what I think you are, Zack?” She whispered. “Did you just ask me to marry you?”

Zack nodded slowly, wondering if he had said the wrong thing. Zacky said something with a small smile before he pulled a small velvet box out of his jeans, opening it to show her the ring that he had gotten for her. “Mandy Haner, will you marry me?”

The expression on her face lit up even more, and she nodded quickly, allowing him to slip the ring onto her finger before pulling her to her feet, hugging her tightly. He couldn’t believe that she had just agreed to marry someone like him. He knew that it was going to be an amazing thing, though. He knew that he loved her with his whole heart, and right now, that was all that mattered to Zacky.

“Now,” she whispered into his ear with a small smirk. “Let’s go upstairs so I can show you my surprise.”