His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 193

Olive’s POV

We walked into the restaurant and immediately I was hit by the atmosphere, elegant without being pretentious, expensive without being showy, the kind of place where people came for special occasions and marriage proposals.

A hostess greeted us with a practiced smile and when I gave her my name, well, technically JT’s reservation under my name, she nodded and gestured for us to follow her.

We were led through the main dining area, past tables filled with well-dressed couples having intimate conversations over wine and elaborate meals, and I could feel Brenda getting more nervous with each step.

“Olive,” she whispered, grabbing my arm. “This place is way too nice. Seriously, how much is this costing? We should leave. We can go somewhere else. Somewhere normal.”

“Too late,” I said, pulling her along. “We’re committed now.”

The hostess stopped at a door toward the back of the restaurant and opened it with a flourish.

“Your private dining room,” she said. “Enjoy your evening.”

Private dining room.

Brenda’s eyes went huge.

We stepped inside and I watched Brenda’s face transform from confusion to shock to something that looked almost like panic as she took in the scene JT had created.

The room was decorated with flowers, roses everywhere, in every color, arranged in elegant vases and scattered across surfaces….and candles that cast soft, romantic light across everything.

Soft music was playing from hidden speakers, something classical and beautiful that I didn’t recognize but that fit the mood perfectly.

And in the center of it all stood JT, dressed in a suit that made him look unfairly handsome, his face lighting up the second he saw Brenda walk through the door.

“Hello, Baby,” JT said, his voice warm and nervous. “Happy birthday to you.”

Brenda froze, her hand flying to her mouth.

“JT?” Her voice came out high, shocked. “You-you did all of this?”

“I did,” JT confirmed, walking toward her with a smile that was equal parts confident and terrified. “Olive helped me plan it. Helped me make sure everything would be perfect for you.”

Brenda turned to look at me, her eyes wide.

“You knew?” she asked. “This whole time, you knew and you didn’t tell me?”

“Well, you did mention it the first time, I’m really bad at keeping secrets,” I admitted. “So we should probably acknowledge that I deserve an award for not spoiling this.”

Brenda laughed-this slightly hysterical sound-and turned back to JT.

“This is-this is too much,” she said, and I couldn’t tell if she was pleased or overwhelmed or something else entirely. “You didn’t need to do all this. A simple dinner would have been fine.”

“Nothing is too much for you,” JT said seriously, taking her hands in his. “You deserve the world, Brenda. And I want to give it to you.”

I felt like I was intruding on something private, something intimate, and I started to back toward the door to give them space.

But JT caught my eye and shook his head slightly-he wanted me to stay, to be there as a witness or maybe just for moral support.

So I settled into a chair near the side of the room, trying to make myself as invisible as possible while still being present.

“Come sit,” JT said, leading Brenda to the table that had been set up beautifully with fine china and crystal glasses. “There’s food coming. And-well, there’s something I want to talk to you about first.”

Brenda sat down slowly, her movements careful like she was afraid of breaking something, and JT took the seat across from her.

For a moment they just looked at each other, and I could see so much love in JT’s eyes, so much hope and nervousness and desperate desire for this to go perfectly and I decided this was a perfect timing to grab the chocolate bar on the table, quite nice of them.

“Brenda,” JT started, then stopped, took a breath, started again. “These past two years with you have been the best of my life. Before you, I didn’t even know it was possible to feel this way about someone. To wake up every morning excited just because I get to see you. To go to sleep every night grateful that you’re in my life.”

But then JT did something I didn’t expect.

He laughed.

Not a nervous laugh or an embarrassed laugh, but a genuine, warm laugh that seemed to break some of the tension in the room.

“You know what?” he said, turning back to Brenda. “Forget the cake. The cake doesn’t matter. None of this matters-not the flowers, not the private room, not any of it.”

He walked back to where Brenda was standing and took both her hands in his.

“What matters is this,” JT said. “What matters is you and me and the life I want to build with you.”

And then, with the ruined cake sitting forgotten on the side table and soft music still playing in the background, JT dropped to one knee.

Brenda’s breath caught, her free hand flying to her mouth.

“Brenda Ronald,” JT said, his voice steady now despite the emotion clear on his face. “You have been the best thing that has ever happened to me. The absolute best thing. You gave me a chance to prove myself to you, and it was the best chance life has ever given me.”

I felt tears pricking at my eyes because this was beautiful and terrifying and so full of hope it hurt to watch.

“Will you marry me?” JT asked, pulling a small velvet box from his pocket and opening it to reveal a ring that caught the candlelight perfectly. “Will you be the missing rib in my body? Will you make me a whole man?”

The question hung in the air, and I watched Brenda’s face, trying to read her expression, trying to understand what she was feeling.

And what I saw made my stomach drop.

Because Brenda didn’t look happy.

She looked terrified.