Alpha Billionaire Series
The Right Choice Chapter 26

GAVIN

Madison walked slowly, hesitantly, testing each step she took before she trusted in it. I had blindfolded her eyes, and I guided her through the parking lot. Her bare skin beneath my palms felt cool. The water off of Lake Pontchartrain was chilly. The strapless dress she wore didn't offer much in the form of warmth, but it was gorgeous, just like her.

Her hair had been pinned into a French twist with a sprig of lavender decorating it, and she'd gone all out with her makeup. I'd never seen her so intoxicating. It made me wonder how incredible she would look on our wedding day-if she accepted the proposal tonight.

The restaurant was packed, but I had reserved the three-level deck that overlooked the water. There were over thirty tables outside, but I'd had them all removed, except for one. I could see as we approached that the staff had followed my orders perfectly. The expansive deck had been cleared, lights strung from the light posts, reminiscent of homes across the city at Christmas time.

Our lone table sat near the railing where we could watch the wildlife as we ate. Silver flatware and a vase of roses-offset from the center so I could look into her eyes while we dined-drew my eyes. There was even a bottle of Riesling chilling. At more than a grand for the bottle, the 1964 Von Shubert had better be as delicious as they claimed.

"Can I take this thing off yet?" she asked, reaching in front of herself as we walked.

"Yes, okay." I untied the knot in the blindfold and took it down. Madison blinked her eyes as they adjusted and looked around. A smile slowly grew across her face as she took in the sight. "Do you like it?"

She nodded, covering her mouth for a moment. When her hand dropped, she said, "It's so beautiful. And look, it's a heron." She pointed out at the water where a bird swooped down and flew along the surface, its reflection racing it to the shore. "You're beautiful." With a kiss, I guided her to the table and held her chair out for her to sit. I could see the goosebumps on her arms. The breeze was a bit stiffer than either of us thought. "Are you cold?"

Before she even responded I was sliding out of my suit coat and draping it around her shoulders. She accepted it gratefully, pulling the lapels closer together in the front. A strand of her hair fell, framing her face in, but she didn't bother to fix it, and I didn't mind. She was perfect.

"I took the liberty of ordering for us already. They should bring our meal out shortly." Sitting down, I unfolded my napkin and draped it across my knee. "I picked seafood lasagna for you. I hope that's okay."

Madison smiled appreciatively. "I will try anything once; it's sort of how I operate." She sighed contentedly. Thank you for putting this all together for my birthday. This is really special, Gavin." Her eyes passed across the water then she turned to me. "I love you." "Nothing is special enough for you, Madii. You're the most amazing woman I've ever met." Unlike the first time I proposed, when I was so nervous my hands were sweating, this time I felt calm. I already knew her answer, and I had planned the perfect delivery for the ring and the question.

The waiters came and delivered our food. It wasn't as delicious as I hoped it would be, but we ate it anyway. The wine, however, was fantastic-worth every cent I paid for it. I nervously checked my phone to see what time it was. I had told the wait staff to bring the cake at exactly 8:15 p.m.

"Why go to all this trouble for my birthday?" Madison wiped her mouth with the corner of her napkin and took a sip of her wine. "Do I have this too look forward to every year?"

"I would do this for you every year for the next 50 in a row if you let me." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the wait staff assembling on the patio farthest from us. No less than ten waiters or waitresses stood ready for my cue. I raised my arm and gestured for them to come, and Madison looked in that direction.

"What's all this?" Her smile faded to surprise, and I noticed her bottom lip quiver a bit with emotion. She watched as the entourage drew closer, keeping her eyes fixed on the flickering flames atop the cake one of the waiters carried. The candles on top of it seemed like a bonfire, their flames extraordinarily tall.

While she was distracted, I slipped off my seat and knelt on one knee in front of her. I could see tears brimming in her eyes as her hand fluttered to cover her mouth. I couldn't wait to put that ring on her finger and walk her down the aisle to be my wife. She looked back to replace me, and when we made eye contact, the look on her face was priceless. The tears came spilling over her lashes and I started my prepared speech.

"Madison, we haven't had the most conventional romance. You were engaged when we met, and professionally, I felt obligated to keep my distance. But we became friends, and through that, I fell in love with you. I've made some mistakes over the past few months, which I regret not handling things better. But somehow, even though I feel like I messed things up royally, here you are today, with me."

The wait staff stood behind me, flaming cake in hand and began singing happy birthday. I paused while they finished and cheered. Then the waiter carrying the cake, set it on the table. Madison looked down at the candles and nestled between them was the ring- not her old ring, a new one.

"Madison Springer, I have never found another human being on this planet that I would want to spend the rest of my life with until I met you. Please tell me you feel the same way. Be my wife?" I didn't have to wait long for her response; it came immediately. She nodded and cried harder, covering her mouth with both hands, then diving into my arms. I held her as she shook with sobs and mouthed "thank you" to the waiters. They slipped away silently, but the sound of footsteps surrounded us anyway as one by one Madii's friends and family, and even my parents joined us.

She was still crying on my shoulder when another round of happy birthday rang out. When she pushed away to dry her eyes, she started laughing. Her father carried a bouquet of flowers, Lexi had a small gift. Even Violet had made it-one last get together before heading back to college. Madii stood and I joined her. Her attention went to the crowd amassing in her honor, but my attention went to the cake where the ring was. I plucked it from the icing and wiped it clean with a napkin, then joined Madii and her parents. "There has to be 20 people here. How did you pull this off?" She wrapped an arm around me and accepted the flowers from her father, who kissed her on the cheek.

"I helped," Violet volunteered. She held her hand up for a high-five. After Madison had come back to me, I had called her parents to see if they would mind helping me put together the surprise for Madison. Violet had been more than willing to help. "Thank you, Vi." Madii gave her sister a hug, and when she returned to me, I took her hand and slid the ring on her finger. She held it up and studied it. "It's different." Her smile never wavered so I knew I had done well with the new choice. "Yes, the old one seemed... off. I don't think it fit what I wanted to say." The old ring had been a spur of the moment purchase, and even though Madii loved it, I hadn't put as much thought into it. This one was different-better. A simple silver band with inlaid sapphire and diamonds, no fancy setting to catch on her clothing or be damaged while she was adventuring.

"It's perfect, once again." We kissed, and Madii's parents excused themselves to have a slice of cake; they wanted Madii to be able to greet all her guests.

I walked her around the deck saying hello to everyone there. Crystal, another of Madii's best friends, came on the arm of her new fiancé, whom Madison had yet to meet. They talked for a long while, until Alice and Henry arrived. Madison paled, looking at me for reassurance. I excused us from the conversation with Crystal and escorted her toward the Heintz's.

"Alice, thank you so much for coming." I shook Henry's hand and offered Alice a kiss on the back of hers. "I'm so glad you could come celebrate Madii's birthday with us."

"Oh, Gavin, think nothing of it." Alice gestured with her hand, then took Madii in for a hug. "Thank you for inviting us. Happy birthday Madison."

Madii still looked like she was in shock, and when she spoke it was with quivering words. "Is Drew here?" She reached for my hand, and I held her tightly.

"Oh, dear. He wanted to come," Henry told her, "but he just isn't ready quite yet. Okay? He did make it very clear that he wants a wedding invitation and if he doesn't get one, he's going to crash it." Henry chuckled as he spoke, so I joined them with a smile. Madii laughed, as if she knew Drew would really do such a thing.

It made me very uncomfortable inviting the Heintz's, but Violet insisted it was the proper thing, and that Madii would want it. When she heard that Drew was not there, I saw her relax and let the tension out of her shoulders. Her genuine smile returned. Perhaps she wasn't ready either.

"Well tell him he was missed. Thank you so much for coming. You should get a slice of cake." Madison offered Henry a hug too, then watched with me as they made their way to the cake table. We stood holding hands and surveying the crowd as they mingled, laughed, and ate birthday cake.

"What made you want to do all this?" She gestured a sweeping motion with her hand.

"Oh, I just knew this pretty special girl who stole my heart and I wanted to make sure she was really happy on her birthday." I winked and leaned down to kiss her, and she rose up on her tiptoes to meet my advance.

"Thank you, Gavin. This is really special. I will never forget this night." She looked a little melancholy, her eyes holding a sadness I couldn't place.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and she drew my jacket tighter around her shoulders.

She nodded, looking out toward where Lexi was making jokes with Crystal. They seemed to be having a good time and I couldn't help but look forward to our wedding night when we would do this over again, in celebration of our vows.

"Are you sure you're, okay? You look sad." I hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her against me, only just then realizing how bad she was shivering.

"I'm a little sad Drew didn't come." Her chin dropped. "And don't get me wrong, he is truly only a friend, but I had hoped that our breakup wouldn't affect him so badly." She shrugged and my jacket fell from one shoulder. I fixed it, then wrapped both of my arms around her from behind to offer some added warmth and a wind block from the breeze off the water.

"Well, maybe he is doing just fine, and maybe he is just giving you some personal space. You know, this is your birthday-slash-engagement party." I kissed her cheek, feeling the coolness of her skin. "He probably just wanted you to enjoy the whole thing and not feel obligated to ensure he was okay."

"You're probably right." With a grin, she pulled away from me, taking my hand and tugging me after her. "Now, let's go eat cake!"

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch, except for when Madii's father went for a second slice of cake and spilled it down his front, smearing red and blue icing on his white button-down. The laughter at his expense was well-received as Madison gave him a friendly rebuke about his blood sugars and how it served him right trying to eat too much sugar.

We celebrated until everyone was too cold to stay any longer, then Madison and I retired back to her place for the night. As we made love that night, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the amount of love I had for this woman. We fell asleep talking about our wedding date and decided we wouldn't wait. We still had deposits on everything, except the venue which had booked up. So all we had to do was book a new location, and I knew just the place as long as it was available.