Arriving home after her day at the spa, Kristina found a note attached to the front door that read:

Giggling with excitement, she hurriedly opened the door and ran to the bedroom. Just as the note had said, she found a large silver box with a bright red bow attached. She opened the box and found yet another note inside, lying on top of red metallic paper, which concealed the contents of the mysterious box. The note read:

Kristina carefully opened the paper to find a low cut black dress that would hang just above her knees. The skirt was flowing and she knew by looking at it that it would move with ease at her every movement on the dance floor. She smiled with the revelation that Howie was planning on taking her dancing. He had always asked her to wear dresses that flowed freely about her thighs when they were going out dancing. He loved the way the skirt would lift and reveal her legs as he twirled her around on the dance floor.

Now, staring at the dress, remembering how sensual she always felt as they danced together, she became aroused, a sudden heat building between her thighs and spreading throughout her body. She couldn’t wait to be on the dance floor, in his arms, the center of HIS attention, staring into his soft dark eyes.

She began to undress, wanting to be ready in time for the arrival of the car he was sending. She didn’t want to make him wait, as she couldn’t wait to see him. Once she had removed all of her clothes, she went to the bathroom and wet her hair. ‘D’ loved the way her natural waves framed her face when she allowed her hair to air dry and she wanted to be the perfect vision of beauty for him that night. She quickly brushed her long lashes with mascara, added a touch of brown shadow to her lids to set off the blue in her eyes and dabbed pink blush on her cheekbones.

All that was left before putting on the dress was to apply pink gloss to her lips and body glitter to her breasts.

Kristina went to the closet and removed the new black sandals that Howie had bought for her the day before and slid them on her feet, buckling the tight belt around her ankle. She then went to the jewelry box and took out her butterfly anklet and her choker.

Just as she finished pulling the dress on and fluffing her hair for extra body, the doorbell rang. She glanced at her watch. ‘Right on time’ she said aloud as she reached for her small black purse and walked towards the door.

Once inside the limo she found a single red rose with a note held by a gold ribbon.

Kristina pushed the play button as instructed, smiling as ‘Time’ echoed throughout the car. She leaned her head back against the plush leather seat and began to sing along softly. She would never make it through the entire CD before reaching her secret destination.

As the car came to a stop in front of the restaurant, the driver helped Kris out and escorted her inside. She was greeted by the matre’d who led her to a large private room that was lit only by candles. She gasped as she saw the thousands of multi-colored rose petals covering the floor.

Howie stood as she entered the room, his eyes undressing her as she walked towards him.

"Thank you. I can handle it from here" he said to the matre’d who simply nodded his head and walked away.

Howie held her hand against his chest, pulling her closer to him. As they stood just inches apart he smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"This is so amazing" Kris said as she allowed her eyes to survey the room. "I can’t believe you went to all of this trouble for me."

His fingertips brushed her cheek lightly as he stared at her, his eyes searching for approval. "You are so gorgeous."

"Only because you make me feel this way" she whispered as she touched his lips with her own, nipping his bottom lip sensually.

"Dance with me" he said softly, leading her to an area void of tables and other obstructions. He placed one hand on her hip, the other hand lacing their fingers together as she pressed her breasts against him. He continued to stare deeply into her eyes, loving the way they glistened in the candlelight.

"How was your day at the spa? Did Heidi take care of you?"

"Mmm, hmm. It was heaven" she whispered, closing her eyes and allowing her body to move along with his to the beat of the soft Latin music. "You spoil me."

"And I’m going to continue to spoil you, angel. It’s something I enjoy."

They danced for the longest time without saying a word, simply enjoying the feel of their bodies pressed to one another. Howie finally broke their embrace and signaled for the waiter to bring their dinner, leading Kristina to their table. He slid her chair out and waited for her to be seated before moving his chair beside hers. It was a common practice for Howie to sit directly next to her versus across from her, as he liked to be able to hold her hand and touch her throughout the course of their meal.

As they ate dinner the two of them laughed and talked about moving all of her things into his house and the possibility of finding a new house to share. The waiter soon removed their plates and poured each of them yet another glass of wine. Their conversation had been so exciting that Kristina had lost count of how many glasses of wine she had drank until Howie finally took the glass out of her hand.

"Are you cutting me off?" she giggled, leaning closer and running her hand up the inside of his thigh, lightly brushing his crotch. "You know what wine does to me and what I’ll do for you later."

His manhood twitched at her touch. He had been hard most of the night as they danced and laughed and he was already using the majority of his restraint in order to get him through the next phase of his plan. He loved seeing her that happy and relaxed and knew that the wine would be an added benefit for an all night lovemaking session.

Taking her hand and touching it to his lips, he said, "No baby. I’m not cutting you off for the night. I just need you to be clear headed for the next few moments. Okay?"

Kristina became worried seeing the seriousness in his eyes. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yes, baby. Everything is fine. You and I are together, my family loves you and life is great. There is only one thing that would make my life better at this moment."

"Tell me, ‘D’. I’ll do anything for you."

Howie knelt in front of her, still holding her hand in his. He smiled as he saw the realization of what he was about to say spread across her face.

"Kris, in my eyes you are the most beautiful creature God ever created. You captured my heart the moment that I met you and just when I think I can’t love you anymore than I already do, I look at you and I fall deeper in love. When we were apart, I didn’t think my heart would ever heal or that I would ever love again. Then out of the blue God brought you back to me and I knew that it was meant to be. You inspire me and you make me realize just how precious life and love really are. I want to grow old with you and watch our grandchildren running carefree in the front yard. But most of all, I want to wake up every morning and make love to my ‘Alma companero’. Will you do me the honor of being my wife, Kristina?"

Silent tears streamed down her face, nodding ‘yes’, as she was unable to speak her answer.

Howie cradled her face in his hands and kissed her sweetly and tenderly before wiping her tears away. He quickly produced the black velvet box that held the ring he had chosen for her. "If you don’t like this ring, we can take it back and get something you like better" he said as he opened the box to reveal the stunning diamond.

"Oh ‘D’. It’s gorgeous" she whispered as the light bounced off of it brilliantly.

He took it out of the box and slipped it on her finger as he proposed once again. "Kristina, will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you ‘D’. Oh God, yes!" she squealed as he lifted her from the chair and spun her around.