As I reach the door, I’m already shaking head to toe, each quake jostling the need inside me, the need I’ve been suppressing the hell out of throughout this trial.
I want to be engaged to Thio.
I want to be married to him.
I want our forever, and I want it to startnow.
The door’s silent as I shove outside.
The afternoon sun is high and bright in a cloudless sky, a vibrant backdrop to the cityscape around the rooftop. I should be assaulted by the honking of horns and the shouting of pedestrians and the general chaos of Philadelphia, but it’s… quiet. Which is one of the spells I set up, a sound-deadening bubble; and music’s playing. Which is also something I set up.
But I haven’t activated those spells yet.
I pause, door held open, brow furrowing.
A short brick wall rims the space, the lawn chairs for visitors pushed aside in favor of a picnic blanket.
Which isnotpart of my plan.
The red checkered pattern is set with food; by the smell, it’s that sun-dried tomato cream sauce dish that never fails to let Thio get in my pants. A bottle of champagne perches next to a vase of bursting red roses.
Roses that Thio is currently crouched next to, fussing over, muttering to himself as he tugs one to lay in symmetry with the rest. He hasn’t seen me yet.
This bastard is stealing my proposal.
I smirk.
Unluckily for him, I know my future fiancé quite well and anticipated something like this.
I hold the door open behind me for another beat, watching him.
He’s in a set of navy-blue scrubs, so he must’ve raced up here not long ago; or maybe he just knows I like him in his scrubs. His long hair is braided back and twisted into a bun at the nape of his neck, tattoos slashing harsh black lines against his neck and arms as he carefully adjusts the vase.
There’s a newer tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. It’s one of the runes we created that stops a wizard from draining their components. He didn’t get it as a magical tattoo, just the image.
He got it for me.
The wide-angled lens of this day contracts, bypassing the verdict, the lawsuit, proposing before he does.
Heart swelling, I let the door thud shut behind me.
Thio spins to his feet. He smiles, the corners of his eyes lifting, and a giddy laugh wants to burst out of me, that he still gets that look on his face when he sees me.
I cross the roof to him, taking in his setup with an appreciative whistle. “Well, damn. Whoever did this—” I motion at my ear, the lack of city noise, the music. “Pretty talented wizard. Nice romantic atmosphere.”
Thio’s smile doesn’t waver, but his head cocks. “I… yeah. I am a pretty talented wizard.”
Um. “What? I did this. I set up these spells.”
He snorts. “I know when I do spell work, baby. I set this up a few minutes ago.”
Oh my gods. He didn’t steal the spells I set up; he just had the same ideas as me?
Well,someof the same ideas. It ain’t over yet.
My grin is wicked, and Thio seems confused, but he’s still smiling, too.
“And why, oh, why would you go to all this trouble?” I ask, making my eyes big, feigning ignorance.
