by Tina Martin
“Yes. I’m finished.”
He stood up, took her plate, dumping the leftovers in the garbage. “Since this is your first time here, do you want a tour of the place?”
“Sure. Let me see how the other half lives.” She stood and walked near him, following him to the living room where he showed her the piano. Then he took her to the sunroom, a peaceful retreat with a waterfall fountain and a slew of plants. There were two couches, a TV and coffee table.
“This is where I like to study,” he told her.
“Study what?”
“Things for work. Maybe research is a better word.”
“I’m sure you have a library in this huge home.”
“I do, but the sunroom allows me to tap into my creativity. Come on. I’ll show you what I mean.”
Melanie followed him to the opposite side of the house and when they entered the room, he said, “Here it is.”
Melanie looked around at the wall-to-ceiling bookshelves – filled with books. There was an oak desk, a couch, coffee table and a tall, floor-standing lamp. “This is nice, but I get your point about the sunroom. It does seem cozier and more relaxing.”
“Yep.”
“Are you working on anything, in particular, right now?”
“I’m working on several projects. My main focus is on a smart phone app that would allow employees to submit their timesheets directly to their employer. I want it to be available for the launch in Vegas.”
“You’re designing an app?”
He nodded. “Yes. You look surprised.”
“I thought you were an analytical guy.”
“I am, but I majored in computers in college, so I’m good with electronics, computer programs and things as such.”
“That’s awesome,” Melanie said, impressed. “You better get to work, then, huh?”
Dimitrius slid his hands in the pockets of his jogging pants. “It’s all good…I must make time for my lady.”
Melanie smiled, then followed him to the guest bedroom. After she’d fully scoped out the room, which came with its own bathroom, she followed Dimitrius upstairs where the remaining four bedrooms were. He showed her the master bedroom last, watching how reluctant she was to go in.
He hid a smirk and said, “Go ahead, Melanie.”
“That’s okay. I don’t want to intrude on your personal space.”
“I insist,” he told her, trying to withhold desire from his eyes.
“Okay,” she said, walking in. “It’s an enormous room.”
“That’s the way I wanted it.”
Melanie noticed the shiny, wooden floors first. He had to have used the services of a housekeeper to have a house so sparkling clean. He worked too much to do it himself.
The color scheme of the bedroom was black, brown and ivory – natural colors – from the comforter on the super king-sized bed to the rugs beside it. The room gave off a virile feel – yet a romantic, whimsical one. Melanie hadn’t thought of Dimitrius as being a romantic, especially since his straightforward, brash attitude preceded him, but walking further into the room, she noticed tall, ivory pillar candles, a few small fountains, plants and then the thing that really blew her away were the skylights above the bed. There were so many, you could look up and see the stars. It must have been quite the sight with the lights off.
“The skylights are a nice touch,” she told him.
“It’s my way of bringing the outside in. If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m the outdoorsy type.”
“Oh…explains why we went hiking.”
“Exactly.”
“And the plants, the fountains…”
He nodded. “And the stars are amazing at night, especially since I’m outside of the city limits and don’t have all those lights to contend with.”
“I bet. I can barely see any stars at my apartment.” She looked up at the ceiling again.
“So what do you think?” he asked, following her into the ensuite bathroom that housed a garden tub, separate shower, Jacuzzi and his and her sinks.
“It’s nice,” she said, turning around to meet his gaze. “You have a lovely home.”
“Good. I’m glad you approve,” he responded, then seductively bit his bottom lip. He loved the feeling of having her in his home, and the fact that she liked it satisfied him.
“Let’s take a walk outside and do a little stargazing,” he said. “What do you say?”
“Um…” Melanie began. She didn’t have to work in the morning, but she had practically spent the entire day with Dimitrius. And he still didn’t want her to go.
“Just a little while,” he said.
“Okay. A little while.”
* * *
“This is so beautiful,” Melanie said after they stepped onto the deck, both staring up into the dark, star-blanketed sky.
“It is. I come out here sometimes to lay back and stare up towards the heavens.”
“Lay back, where?” Melanie asked, looking around.
“There.” Dimitrius pointed to the chaise lounge chair.
Melanie walked over to it and sat down on the soft, cushiony seat, then laid back so she could stare up into the sky.
Dimitrius joined her, lying comfortably next to her.
For a long moment, they were both quiet, enjoying nature until Melanie said, “Dimitrius.”
“Yes,” he said, turning to look at her.
“I know I’ve been a little standoffish, and I don’t want you to think that I don’t like you because I do. I just don’t know if marriage is for me since—”
“It is for you.”
She smiled. “How can you be so sure?”
“Look at you…everything about you screams marriage. I have no doubt you’d be the perfect wife, mother, confidant, lover—”
“But—”
“Shh. No buts. You can’t think too much into this, Melanie. You just have to go with it. If you read too much into it, you’ll think of all the reasons why we shouldn’t be together instead of focusing on the reasons why we should be…remember?”
Melanie swallowed hard. Unknown to him, there was a reason they shouldn’t be together, and she knew she had to tell him right here and now before this went any further. She rolled over to lay on her side while propped up on her elbow and looking into his eyes, she said, “Dimitrius, I—”
“Kiss me,” he said, interrupting her, staring at her lips.
Melanie glanced at his lips and suddenly she felt her pulse quicken as she lost all thought. As if caught under his spell, she did what he asked and moved her lips closer to his until they touched, merging together under the stars into something beautiful. Magnificent.
She felt the warmness of his mouth as she led, placing her hand against his face, securing him closer to her while she felt his hot tongue slide inside of her mouth, causing a whimper to settle at her throat.
“Dimitrius,” she managed to slip out in rough breaths but he kept on kissing her. “Dimitrius.”
“Yes, baby.”
She swallowed hard when she saw the intensity of his eyes, how ravenous he looked. “I have to go,” she said.
“No you don’t.”
“Yes, I do,” she said. “It’s late.”
Something akin to a grimace appeared on his forehead. “I know it’s late.”
“Don’t you have to work in the morning?”
“I’m my own boss. I don’t have to do anything,” he told her. “Do you have to work in the morning, Melanie?”
“No, I don’t have to work.”
“So why are you trying to leave?” he whispered in her ear.
“Because I think I should. I can’t be with you. I promised myself that the only man I would ever make love to again would be my husband.”
Dimitrius moved his lips away from her neck and looked at her with a smile on his face. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
“Yes. I know you want to. I can feel it.”
“Of course I want to. I’m attracte
d to you, Melanie. It’s only natural for me to feel this way, but I know how to control myself.”
“That’s all the more reason for you not to control yourself.”
He smirked. She had a point, but she needed to know that he knew how to control himself. “Melanie, all I want, right now, is to kiss you. Spend time with you. Learn you. Can I do that?”
“Yes, but it is late—”
“Then you’ll spend the night,” he coaxed. “I need to be with you, Melanie.”
“Okay,” she said, giving in to him once more, allowing herself to enjoy being with him.
Chapter 19
Three Weeks Later
Melanie opened her eyes, seeing the bright blue sky through the skylights above the bed in Dimitrius’ bedroom. Since they’d spent that one night together at his place three weeks ago, they made it a tradition. She would stay at his house one night a week. That would be a good way for her to get used to the idea of being there, Dimitrius had told her. And she even became acquainted with Gino, since Dimitrius would have him come over to fix a meal anytime Melanie was there. And she was there on a consistent basis.
She especially enjoyed it when her parents met Dimitrius. He had insisted that they come over to his house for dinner, and they had done so last week. He had a good time talking to her parents about her, learning things he hadn’t known about her and from the wonderful night they’d spent together, her parents liked him already. Or maybe they were just overjoyed that Melanie had started dating again.
Melanie stretched her hands high in the air, then glanced towards the clock on his nightstand. The time was 8:03 a.m. This afternoon, they would be flying out to Vegas since The Champion Corporation was unveiling the new and improved eRoll payroll system along with the brand new application that Dimitrius had been diligently working on.
After stepping out of the bathroom, Melanie pulled her hair in a ponytail and walked downstairs. She followed the scent of bacon to the kitchen, thinking that Gino must’ve been here since there was food cooking, but when she walked in the kitchen, she was surprised to see Dimitrius standing near the stove wearing a white T-shirt and a black pair of boxers.
She smiled. What was he doing cooking? He had told her that he hadn’t cooked in years and now, he was taking a stab at making breakfast.
“Good morning.”
He swung his head around quickly to look at her. “Good morning.”
Melanie walked closer to him, watching as he took a few pieces of bacon from the skillet. “Since when do you cook?”
He shrugged. “Just felt like cooking for you this morning.” He wrapped his arms around her and took a kiss from her lips. “Now if you would have a seat, my lady, I’ll serve you your food.”
“Okay,” Melanie said smiling, walking to the table.
When she did, Dimitrius eyes fanned up and down her fully clothed frame, after which, he took his attention back to breakfast. Serving her a plate of food, he made one for himself then joined her at the table. “So are you ready to fly out today?”
“Yep,” Melanie said. She had already packed a suitcase and left it in the foyer.
“Are you ready for the presentation?” she asked him. “You’ve been working really hard on it these last two weeks.”
“I’m ready. The app is ready and the presentation will go just fine, Melanie.”
She smiled. “You’re so confident.”
“That’s because I know what I’m doing. That’s why I’m confident about us, and speaking of us, how confident are you? How do you think things have been between us this last month?”
A smile touched her lips. “Things have been great. I must say, Dimitrius…I really have enjoyed spending time with you.”
“Good, because I have something I would like to give you.”
“What’s that?”
Dimitrius dabbed his mouth and said, “I told you that when the time came, and we were in Vegas, if you thought we had a chance, we would get married. So,” he stood up, walked around the table to her and took a ring from the pocket of his shorts.
Melanie opened her mouth, in shock, watching as he lowered himself to both knees in front of her. Taking her left hand inside of his, he said, “Melanie Summers, will you marry me?”
“Dimitrius…what are you doing?”
He grinned. “I’m proposing to you,” he said.
“I know but—”
“Marry me, Melanie.”
She wondered how it was that her heart didn’t jump out of her chest as she watched Dimitrius slide a ring onto her ring finger. When she felt tears escape her eyes, she knew this was real. Like Emily told her before, Dimitrius didn’t do experiments. He intended on going all the way all along without an ounce of hesitation.
“Melanie,” he said to take her out of her reverie. When she looked at him, connected gazes with him, he said, “Marry me.”
Melanie swiped tears away with the backside of her right hand. “What if I say no?”
“I won’t accept that. I know you want to say yes, and I know this is scary and nontraditional…all of that. But you knew of my intentions when I first approached you, did you not?”
“I did.”
“And we enjoy each other’s company, don’t we?”
She nodded.
“Then I want this. I want you to be my wife. I want us to learn each other as we grow in love. I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you, Melanie. And I want that journey to start this weekend. Marry me.”
Melanie dabbed her eyes again and nodded slightly. “Okay. I will marry you.”
He pulled her close to him and held her in his arms, relieved that she said yes. Now, he couldn’t wait to get out of the house, go to Vegas, make the presentation and claim his woman.
Chapter 20
The presentation that Dante, Dimitrius and Desmond delivered to well over two-thousand business men and women had been a success. Most of the attendees on Friday and Saturday had signed up for the new eRoll software and downloaded the payroll application.
Melanie was impressed as she watched Dimitrius work. Not only was he gorgeous, he was sophisticated too. She watched as women stared him down, sliding him business cards and trying to flirt with him. She was too busy watching her soon-to-be husband work to be worried about other women.
Melanie thought about how her mother and father seemed to take so well to Dimitrius. He was certainly a welcomed sight for them, since they thought she wasn’t trying to date again. When she called them Friday from the hotel to announce her engagement, they were beside themselves with joy. When they learned she would be getting married on Sunday, they were shocked. Melanie explained to them that it was how she and Dimitrius had wanted things to be. She told them she was in Vegas and by the time she was back in Asheville, she would be married. After a few more convincing words from her end, they seemed a bit calmer about their daughter’s quick marriage. As long as Melanie was happy, then so were they.
* * *
Melanie closed her eyes to draw in a deep breath and slowly pushed it out of her mouth. Dimitrius had left the suite to go to Dante’s room, and Emily was with Melanie, helping her get ready.
“You alright, girl?” Emily asked her. “I hear you sighing heavily over there.”
“This is so stressful.”
“What is? Getting married, or getting married to Dimitrius,” Emily said, then laughed.
“Both.”
Emily grinned. “You said it yourself that Dimitrius was showing you a good time these last four weeks, and that you thought you were falling for him.”
“I know, and I meant that, but—”
“And, in my opinion, I think you two are so good together. I’ve watched you with him. You light up whenever he’s around and Dimitrius…let’s just say he’s a different man when he has love in his life.”
“I know. He’s an amazing man, Emily, and I think I love him,” Melanie said, fighting back tears.
“Then why do you look so pitifu
l on your wedding day, Mel?”
Melanie swallowed the lump in her throat and said, “I think I made a mistake by not telling him about my fertility issues. I tried several times. It didn’t work out. So, I thought that if I got him to fall in love with me first, then he’d be more receptive and understanding. Now I feel like, once he finds out, he’ll probably never trust me again.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“I want to tell him right now, but—”
“You’re afraid he’s going to call off the wedding.”
Melanie nodded. “I don’t want to lose him, Emily,” she said, feeling tears well up in her eyes, but held them back. She didn’t want Dimitrius to see any signs of sadness on her face when they stood face to face, repeating vows. The last time she was emotional to the point of tears, he’d picked up on it right away.
“Melanie, Dimitrius is nothing like Scott. If you ask me, Scott wasn’t all that crazy about you anyway. But Dimitrius went after you hard. You know he did. Why would he end your relationship when he wanted you so much?”
“He told me that he thought I would be the perfect wife and mother.”
“And you will be. Dimitrius knows you’re are a good catch. When you finally do decide to tell him, I’m sure he would be fine with adopting some babies. A man who truly loves a woman look for opportunities to make things work…not run in the opposite direction.”
Melanie nodded.
“So, stop worrying and start smiling. Dimitrius is waiting for you.”
Melanie smiled.
“There. That’s better,” Emily said. “Now let me fix these flowers in your hair.” Once she adjusted the row of white flowers with bobby pins, she said, “Perfect.”
Melanie looked at herself in the mirror. Emily had done an excellent job with her make-up. She wore the fuchsia color of lipstick that Dimitrius seemed to like so much, and the added touch of the flowers in her hair made her look come to life.