Picture Perfect

decorated. A bottle of chilled champagne was on the table along with two silver covered dinner plates.
    Taking it all in, Tessa gasped in wonder. “Flynn! It’s magical. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
    Looking only at her, I nodded my agreement. “Me either baby.”
    Pulling out her chair, I helped her to sit down before pulling off the cover on her plate. When she saw what the dinner consisted of, she laughed out loud. It was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, fried chicken and broccoli in cheddar cheese sauce.
    “Oh honey… I love you so much. This is heaven on a plate. Thank you for doing this.”
    Smiling, I reached into the cooler next to the table and pulled out an ice-cold bottle of cherry Pepsi. “Nothing but the best for the love of my life.”
    It was a dinner that I’d normally have inhaled and asked for seconds, or even thirds of, but I was so nervous that I had to choke the whole thing down past the lump in my throat. I knew she loved me, but it was still scary shit asking a question that I wasn’t positive I knew the answer to.
    When we had finished dinner, I placed our plates in the empty cooler that had been left for that purpose. Reaching under the table, I pulled out my computer and booted it up. Tessa raised her eyebrows at me in query, and I held out my hand and asked her to come sit in my lap. Once she was in position, I pressed play and the screen came to life with me singing “Devour” to her all those years ago.
    Gasping, she turned and looked down into my eyes. “Oh my God… how did you know?”
    Cupping her cheek in my hand, I began to explain. “I didn’t remember the details of that night until earlier today when Jess triggered my memory. But here’s the thing- that night was pivotal for me. I couldn’t remember who you were, but I can tell you that singing to a fan for three hours was something I never did before and have never done since. My fuzzy memory from that night involved chocolate eyes, and even though the band tortured me for months afterward by calling me Elvis once Cole insisted that you were my Priscilla, I never had the memory back. Now I do, and I just… It’s blown me the fuck away, to be honest.”
    Caressing her cheek, I went on “My crazy life started to change six years ago when I looked out into a crowd of twenty thousand and picked you out. Saw those eyes staring at me and knew you deserved better than what I was . Knew it, and worked my ass off to become better, even though I didn’t fucking remember what I was changing for. I changed for you baby, before you ever said a word to me. You know why that is? It’s because you’re my soul mate. I know it, and I’m living it with you every day. You looked at a picture of me when you were thirteen and you fell so in love that you couldn’t let yourself go when other people touched with you. That wasn’t groupie shit baby; that was pure soul mate. Sometimes things happen that are beautiful, and there is no real explanation for it. Those things are miracles baby, and we are each other’s miracles.
    “The way I feel toward you is so much more than I ever got being on stage singing to thousands of people who were singing my songs back word-for-word. You’re everything I ever wanted, and the only thing I can’t live without. When I taste your lips, I taste a heaven I didn’t know existed. When I touch your skin, I feel things that I didn’t know were possible. When I breathe you in, I know I’m home, no matter where we are. And baby? When I see you, I see my future. I see you carrying our babies; see myself singing lullabies to a little girl with brown eyes just like yours. I see you rocking our son to sleep, see me waking up to your beautiful face every day for the rest of my life. That’s the kind of future that men willingly die for baby, and I’m the lucky son-of-a-bitch that’s going to live that dream, with you.”
    Running my hands through her hair I said, “Stand up for a minute baby.”
    When she complied, I left my chair and got down on bended knee in front of her, pulling the jewelers box from my pocket, opening it and holding it up for her. Taking a deep breath I asked, “Tessa Annabelle Hamilton, will you do me the tremendous honor of agreeing to be my wife?”
    She started bawling her eyes out as she nodded her head enthusiastically, dropping down in front of me and putting her arms around me as she gave me the answer that I needed to hear. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes,