Vincent's pov:
For months it has been haunting me in my idle moments, inspiring me with vague and exhilarant emotions. Today is the day I had been waiting for months, where one word could change my life once and for all. I have been driven crazy by that thought. Even though I pretty well know the damm answer, there is still one part of me that knows something might go wrong, changing my entire course of life.
Today I was going to propose to my longtime girlfriend Hazel Ashford. We both started dating when I was 22, When I came back to Brooklyn for summer from Harvard. I knew her for a very long time as both I and her brother Aiden Knight, are childhood best friends and we both went to the same high school and Harvard too. And yes we both shared the dorm room. On top of that, our parents were business partners.
What started as a summer fling with Hazel quite turned out to be a real thing. For a year we both tried to be friends, but we both knew we wanted more than friendship. After a year I asked her out to officially be my girlfriend, to which she agreed. We both had a long-distance relationship for almost a year until I came back to Brooklyn to help my dad in the family business.
Today I am standing here awaiting her presence so that I can finally ask her hand for marriage. We have been planning for marriage for the past one year, but never brought it up as an important discussion within us.
I have made the arrangements as per her liking across a beach with beautifully lit candles across the aisle with her favorite rose petal all around the place. I planned to propose to her under a pergola looking across the sea and a beautiful breeze. I have also arranged for a candlelight dinner, in a cozy, well-lit tent, decorated with small led lights. The place was so beautiful, I am sure Hazel will never be able to take off her eye's off it. I have been planning this for at least 3 months now and the day has finally arrived. I also choose a pink diamond ring, with smaller diamond stones placed across it. I remember her showing a similar kind of ring a few days ago with a pink central diamond and she was crazy about that diamond. I took special care in getting this one done to her liking.
As I was wondering about how beautiful she will look in the dress I asked her to wear, there she comes my Bella with such a beautiful smile on her face, that could even melt a rock. She was looking so beautiful, thoughts of taking her then and there were swirling in my mind. She wore a pastoral pink full-length gown, leaving her blond hair down, and the ocean breeze enhancing her beauty to the almost. With the most alluring smile, she walked towards me.
Getting my thoughts proper, I cursed myself "Idiota, fai bene i tuoi pensieri". I walked towards her and took and hands and kissed her knuckles softly and said "Benvenuto mio amore".
{idiota, fai bene i tuoi pensieri = idiot, get your thoughts right}
She giggled and said "You know that right I don't understand Italian, yet you talk in Italian and waste your energy to translate it back to me." I sighed and started "I know mio amore, but what can I do when I was born and brought up in Italy for nearly 10 years and also it being my first language it becomes difficult to express my words to you and you do know that Italian is the language of love dolcemente. By the way I just stated welcome my love."
{mio amore= my love
dolcemente= sweety}
She once again laughed softly at my words and questioned me "Vince you have been living in New York for the past 18 years and yet you can not leave one day without speaking Italian?"
I just rolled my eyes at her and said "Love today let's not talk about that. I have planned a special surprise for you come let's go". She nodded her head softly and held my hand. We both walked towards the table with roses and 2 champagne glasses and an ice tray with a champagne bottle in it.
I pulled out a chair for her, which she accepted gladly. We both sat opposite each other. I poured both of us some champagne and offered her a glass. Due to my nervousness, I gulped the entire thing in one go. Sensing something is wrong Hazel asked me what it is.
Thinking it was now or never I got up from my chair and walked towards her, took her hand in mine, and waited for her to stand up. I walked her to the edge of the porch and looked into her deep Hazel eyes, which looks like honey, full of sweet memories in which I can drown myself and stared to pour out my heart to her and just hope she actually accepts my proposal.
"Mio amore, we have been together for nearly 4 years now, you have made me feel complete, alive. And have shown me the true meaning of happiness. I am a better person with you by my side. I love what I know of you, and trust what I do not yet know about you. Mio Dolcemente I cannot wait to grow old together with you, get to know the woman you will become, and fall in love a little more every day. Today I give you my heart, hand and my love to you. That's why today, I want to ask you out, to officially marry me and be mine forever tesoro. I want you to be referred to as Mrs. Hazel Lorenzo in the near future. I took out the ring from my pocket and slid it to her ring finger.
When I lifted my head I could see tears in her eyes and I was tensed as hell and quickly blurted out "My love it's fine if you don't want to marry me so early, I can still wait for you, but please don't" before I could even finish my sentence she took hold of my neck and looked into my eyes with her hazel colored eyes, which were moist and closed the gap between us and placed a kiss softly on my lips. I was just shocked and was rooted to the place without moving. The kiss was too soft and delicate. Sensing that I did not kiss her back, she broke the kiss and stared into my eyes and said "My love, yes I want to marry you and grow old with you and love you till the last breath of my life, and yes I wanna marry you and have kids with and name them after your family name Lorenzo. I want to change my name from Hazel Ashford to Hazel Lorenzo. I want to completely be yours forever my love".
Without wasting any breath, I kissed her so passionately that she returned with the same passion. She gave me access to her mouth which tastes earthy and intense due to the champagne we had. She wrapped her legs around my torso and I carried her to the tent without breaking the kiss. I laid her down on the mattress and started to explore her body and she gave it into me the same way she has been doing in the past years.
*****
After the passionate night, we both were lying down, she had placed her head on my chest and her hands were wrapped around my torso. I had my hands around her waist. She stated, "Vincent, now how do we tell our family about our marriage". I thought of teasing her and said "Mio amore we are just getting married tomorrow and showing up at their doorstep so that they can accept our relation". To tell that she was shell-shocked was an understatement, she raised her head slowly and tried to get words out of her mouth which made no sense at all.
" I....I will not get marry tomo...rrow. I want some family. I waa... not to convince my marriage time." I laughed at her gibberish language so loud she was frozen in her place. I kissed her forehead and said, "Mio amore I was just joking however your brother Aiden feels suspicious about us, and more over our family was also ok with us going on dates."
So, I don't think it will be a problem at all to convince them. "She rolled her eyes and hit me hard on my arm playfully "Vincent it's no time to joke, be serious at least once for god sake."
"Hazel I am very serious about us that's why I plan on telling our families tomorrow by hosting a dinner party at ri...." before I could complete she said something which made me tense, she got up from our sleeping position and looked into my eyes and stated with a smile "Vincent I understand you, about telling our families but we cannot do that tomorrow as Cassie will be coming home tomorrow and my dad is hosting a special dinner for her, I thought even your family is invited with his other close friends but however we can announce about our marriage next week which would be great I guess"
My words got stuck in my throat and I simply nodded to her. She went back to the sleeping position and laid her head on my chest. Later it occurred to me about Aiden came to my office yesterday with some invitation cards and stated about dinner and Maison Premiere restaurant but I was busy planning things for Hazel, I did not hear it out. Why Cassie why now? When everything was going on so perfectly why are you coming back? Especially now, after I am over you. I was thinking about it when Hazel had to disturb my train of thoughts about Cassandra.
"Baby are you not happy with my decision?" she asked. Brought out of my dilemma, I kissed her hair softly and said "No darling, nothing like that I do like the idea and yes let's inform your family next week during our family lunch and its truly a great idea, even our grandparents will be there which makes it easier to inform all of them at once. And yeah it totally slipped out of my mind about Aiden coming yesterday and informing me about the dinner. "But never in a million years did I think it would be my worst nightmare that will change my entire life once and for all. As well as the last night I and Hazel will have for ourselves.
*****