* * *
Me: XOXO
Inside the crisp white box lay a gorgeous lilac wrap dress. They’ve become Lenny’s obsession. His words, not mine. “They don’t keep me away from what I want.” Wearing this dress excites me for what he has planned tonight. Why? Because I know this dress will be on the floor before we fall asleep. With the ring of the doorbell, I scatter across the floor to greet my date.
“Hi, handsome,” I say with a wide smile as I take in the way he’s dressed. In his signature style, he’s changed it up some with a dark navy button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and dark jeans that hug his hips and ass.
“Hi, yourself. That dress is amazing on you,” he says.
“Come on in, I just need to grab my bag.” I open the door wide for him to enter.
“Not happening, I’ll wait right here. If I cross this threshold, we won’t make it on time.”
I let out a laugh as I know he means it. “Fine, wait here.”
With my clutch in my hand, I grab my phone and keys from the table where I placed them before Lenny arrived.
“Let’s go, Romeo,” I say, stepping out and letting him close the door behind him.
When we enter the car, Lenny turns toward me. “I need you to put this on.” He hands me a mask for my eyes.
“Why?”
“Jules, don’t fight me on this. Just do what I ask, please.”
“Fine, but just know I don’t like surprises.”
“Noted.” He thrusts the mask toward me. I take it from his hands and tie it around my eyes.
“Can you see my hand?”
“No, I can’t see anything.” I know he sees me poking out my bottom lip.
“Good, let’s go.” I listen to the purr of the engine as he backs us out of my driveway and takes off to a destination unknown.
“Wait here and let me help you out.” I hear the door close followed by mine opening only seconds later.
“Where are we?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” He chuckles.
I take a deep breath, the smell of salt water and a mixture of the marsh filters through my nose. If you’ve never smelled the marsh at low tide, you might not understand how it has a certain smell to it. It’s like salty and musty, but it’s also a reminder of home for me. It’s an acquired smell that only those who grew up with it can love. Well, that’s what I think anyway.
“Lenny, are we at the club, or…where are we?” I ask again, reaching for the mask to remove it.
“Jules, if you take that mask off I swear I will not allow you to have an orgasm tonight. That’s a promise that I’m fully prepared to deliver.”
“Fine,” I say and drop my hand because I know he means it. He’s done it before, and that’s something I never want to repeat.
Lenny leads me up a few sets of stairs. I hear the door opening and a gentle whisper that I can’t quite make out. I have a feeling that we’re at the country club, but I’ll act surprised.
“Okay, Jules, you ready?” He shifts behind me and places his hands in the ties of the mask.
“I’m ready,” I say, holding my breath.
“Surprise!” comes from a room full of people. Immediately I spot my family and Sophia behind a three-tiered cake with... wait, is that forty candles on top of the cake? Yes, it is. Those sneaky people who say they love me.
“Happy Birthday, Jules. Make a wish,” Lenny says from beside me.
I look over at him and respond, “It already came true.”
Epilogue
Jules
Two Years Later
* * *
Today marks our two years and four-month anniversary of the day I made a wish and didn’t know it had already come true. It’s also the day I turned forty-two. It’s been a whirlwind the past few years. The two of us growing closer, getting to know the ins and outs of each other’s lives. Not to mention the business—not just mine, but Ward Properties. We have been so busy with work and Sophia graduating that we’ve forgotten what today was. Well, I did, but apparently, Lenny remembered. No, I didn’t forget my birthday, but I sort of forgot that it was our anniversary. See, Lenny feels that we connected and officially became an item on my birthday. I disagree, but who am I to argue with him? I can try, but he only ends up winning in the end.
“Are you ready?”
“No, I don’t want to go to dinner with everyone. Can’t we just stay in and celebrate?”
“No, now, come on. You’re already dressed.”
“Fine, but I’m going on the record that all I want is a bubble bath in my tub and you naked,” I say, smirking in his direction. Oh, did I forget to tell you that we moved out of my house a year ago and we now live with Lenny in his brownstone? In reality, I live there, and Sophia comes to visit when she comes home from Georgia State. She’s a freshman in college, but I still see her as my baby girl. I thought I was protective over her, but I have nothing on Lenny. He calls her daily to just check in.
“Where are we going?”
“Put the mask on, Jules.”
“No, the last time you did this I had to blow out forty candles. I thought I needed an oxygen mask when I was done.”
“No candles, I promise.”
“You swear there are no fire-breathing dragons either?”
“I have no idea what you are referencing to with that one, but sure, no dragons.”
“Fine,” I say as I snatch the mask from his hand and tie it around my eyes.
We make the short drive across town, and I don’t even ask where we are. I know. It’s a given by the smell of the water. I brace myself for candles and a crowd.
This feels different the moment we walk inside. I hear chatter, and Lenny suddenly isn’t behind me to take the mask off. His voice sounds farther away than it should.
“Jules, take your mask off,” he says, and I follow his instructions. The moment I take the mask off, my eyes adjust to the room, and I see my family and friends standing with their hands covering their mouths. It’s then that I spot Lenny down on one knee in front of me.
He gestures for my hand and a lump forms in my throat.
“Jules Aldridge, from the moment I walked into your conference room, you’ve captured my attention and haven’t let go since. We might have gotten off rocky at the start, but I knew I loved you and that one day I’d ask you to marry me. I know that I’m not just asking you but your daughter as well. By the way, she already said yes,” he says as Sophia moves closer to us. She has tears rolling down her face. “See, it takes a special man to love two women, and I promise you until the day I die, I’ll never stop loving the two of you. Let’s celebrate every birthday together, and make wishes that will forever come true. So, will you do me the honor and become my wife?”
“Yes…yes, I’ll marry you,” I say through my tears.
Lenny slides the princess-cut diamond onto my finger, and before I can say anything else, he stands and grabs me around my waist to claim the first kiss from his fiancée.
* * *
THE END
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Forty Candles: A Standalone Romantic Comedy Page 18