You Took My Heart by Surprise

“I love this dress on you” Sergio enthused as he carefully wrapped his arms around Emilie’s waist, hugging her close to him. It had been a few weeks, after his meeting with Isla, he had been trying to piece together the perfect way to propose to his girlfriend, but he was grateful for a night off. He wanted it to be perfect, if he had his way, his second proposal to Emilie was going to be the one that stuck, but he was finding it more than a little tough to come up with ideas. He knew Emilie, she wouldn’t appreciate anything flashy or over the top, but he was struggling to come up with something that he knew she would appreciate, something which had left him a little frustrated.

“You say that about everything I put on” Emilie murmured, shifting a little more into his embrace. It was a little odd, being at the engagement party of her younger brother, but she was pleased that Sergio was around to be with her. With the season having started up again, she had been a little concerned that he would find himself busy, but a favorable Champions League schedule had seen him free for the night, something Emilie was grateful for. She knew there was no need to be nervous, the room they were in was filled with her relatives and people she had spent years around, but still it had put her on edge, something which Sergio’s presence was helping to soothe.

“That’s because I love you” Sergio teased, placing a kiss onto her shoulder.

Emilie rolled her eyes. “You’re cheesy, you know that right?” she mumbled, a slightly amused smile on her face.

Sergio nodded. “Of course I do, but you looked a little tense and I thought I would lighten the mood. You Ok?” he posed softly.

Emilie nodded. “I’m alright. This just really isn’t my thing” she admitted gently “Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled for Oscar and Melissa, but an engagement party? It’s not really my style” she added.

Sergio placed another kiss on her shoulder. “We don’t have to stay too long” he assured her softly “We can hang around for an hour or so and then we can say we need to get back to the twins. No one’s going to question it” he added.

Emilie nodded her head softly before she closed her eyes, allowing Sergio to cuddle her close for a few seconds before her mother appeared ahead of them, flashing Sergio a warm smile. “You two look as though you’re having a good time” Adelina fussed “What’ve you done with my beautiful grandbabies for the night?” she cooed.

“Isla’s keeping an eye on them” Emilie noted as she carefully willed herself out of Sergio’s arms “She and Cristiano love spending time with them” she added.

“I would love to see more of them” Adelina fussed.

Emilie smiled politely at her mother before she excused herself, leaving Adelina with Sergio. “Is she alright?” the older woman posed softly. She knew that things had been going well, for the first time in a long time, Emilie and Sergio looked content together, and she could only hope that nothing had changed. Her daughter deserved her happy ending and she wanted it to be with the man who’d showed her on more than one occasion that he wanted to be with her.

“She’s not a big fan of crowds” Sergio replied “She wanted to be here for Oscar, but I think she’s a little overwhelmed” he added.

Adelina nodded. “She’s always hated parties, even before Jeremy” she noted.

“She has?” Sergio posed.

“She broke her arm when she was 6 at her friend’s birthday party. Ever since, she’s been reluctant to attend them” Adelina mused “I’m still scared that one day, she’s going to come home, married, because she didn’t want the fuss” she added.

Sergio snorted. “I’d not let that happen” he noted.

Adelina let out a squeak. “You’re engaged?” she spluttered excitedly.

Sergio’s cheeks warmed slightly before he shook his head. “Not yet” he admitted “I’ve been thinking about it though” he added.

“You have?” Adelina posed.

“For a little while now” Sergio noted “I’ve got a ring, I’m merely looking for the right opportunity. Charlie didn’t mention anything?” he posed softly. He had made a point of it, calling and asking for Charlie’s permission to marry his daughter, and he was a little surprised that he hadn’t shared the news with his wife. Both Charlie and Adelina seemed more than happy to fuss over their son and daughter and it surprised Sergio that Charlie had kept his plan to propose to Emilie to himself.

Adelina shook her head. “He didn’t” she noted “You asked his permission?” she added with a proud smile.

Sergio nodded. “I wanted to make sure that you were OK with it. I’d never want to cause an issue between you both and Emmy” he insisted softly.

Adelina grinned and leant up, pinching his cheek softly. “You’re the sweetest man” she enthused, causing a slight blush to appear on the defender’s tanned cheek. “How are you going to do it?” she pressed.

Sergio shrugged. “I am not quite sure” he admitted “I know Emmy, she’s not going to want something OTT, but I can’t quite figure out the best way to do it. I even asked Isla for a few pointers but she didn’t exactly help” he added.

Adelina smiled. “I don’t think Emmy would care how it is done, Sergio, merely that she got to be with you” she insisted softly “But if you’re stuck, I can give you a couple of hints. She won’t want it done in public, no restaurants or anything cliché, she hates the idea of people staring at her” she noted.

Sergio nodded his head, signaling that he was paying attention.

“She’s like it to be intimate, something special to the pair of you, and she’d want it to be just the two of you, maybe the twins too, but she wouldn’t want anyone else involved. Emmy’s very keen on keeping things clean and simple” Adelina enthused.

Sergio smiled. “Just the two of us?” he posed.

“Absolutely” Adelina grinned “Something simple, sweet, and not extravagant. She wants it to come from her boyfriend, Sergio, not the footballer” she added before she spotted Emilie making her way back towards them. “Good luck, Sergio” she enthused before she stepped away, allowing Sergio to flick his attention to Emilie.

“Were you talking to my madre?” she posed.

“I was. She wanted to coo to someone about the twins and you walked off. You OK?” he posed.

Emilie offered him a slightly dubious look before she nodded, mumbling something about having gone to get a drink.

Sergio offered her a small smile and wrapped his arms around her once more, his mind already whirring at the thought of getting down on one knee for her.