Sunshine spilled into the room, and Chloe opened her eyes and stretched. She quickly realized that Jax was not in the bed with her, but she knew he had been there. She remembered him holding her in the night.

Chloe looked down and noticed a note on his pillow. He was always leaving notes on the pillow if he had to leave before she woke up. Chloe loved that about him. This was something she could definitely get used to.

Dear Chloe,

I had to run a few errands. Be back around noon. I love you.

Jax

Jax walked through the mall and headed to Wyndham's Department Store. He went up to the jewelry counter and looked at the assortment of diamond rings in the glass below.

"Hi. Is there something I can help you with?" asked a friendly twenty-something saleslady.

Jax looked up and smiled. "I'm going to propose to my girlfriend tonight."

The saleslady looked Jax up and down and grinned widely. "Lucky girl. Oh, congratulations! That's so romantic."

"Thank you."

"Well, we have a wide selection of diamond rings to choose from." The girl unlocked the glass and pulled out a tray displaying several rings. "Did you have anything particular in mind?"

"Well, I want the best ring that you have, because she's worth it."

The saleslady smiled. "Well in that case, I would suggest this one." The woman picked up a ring with a heart cut diamond. "This is certainly my favorite."

Jax took the ring from her and examined it more closely. "This is a beauty."

"Also…we have some like this…" She picked up another ring for Jax to look at.

After looking at several of the rings, Jax decided to go with the first one the saleslady showed him…the one shaped like a heart.

As Jax left the store, the saleslady smiled. "Hey, I hope she yes."

Jax smiled back at her. "I hope she does too."

Around lunchtime, Jax got back to the penthouse. He had spent all morning making arrangements for their special night. Chloe had no clue of the surprise she was in for.

"Hey, where have you been all morning?" Chloe complained as she walked over to Jax and put her arms around him. "I missed you."

"I'm sorry. I just had to take care of some errands."

"But you were gone all morning! What could have possibly took so long?"

Jax smiled at her and gave her a kiss. "You know I hate being away from you for too long. I'm sorry I was gone all morning." He kissed her again.

Chloe smiled. "Okay, I forgive you."

"Great. Well, I'm starving."

"Grille?" Chloe suggested.

"Let's go."

Chloe sat on the couch and browsed through a magazine. Jax walked over to her. "I need you to get dressed," he said.

Chloe looked up at him with a confused expression. "Well that's an unusual comment coming from you." She laughed.

"I'm taking you out tonight."

"Don't you like what I have on?"

Jax laughed softly. "Of course I do. But this is a surprise. I thought you might like to slip into a dress or something. Nothing too fancy, just casual, but dressy."

"You've planned a surprise for me?"

"Yes."

"Aww, how sweet. Jax!" Chloe stood up and touched him on the cheek. "I am the luckiest girl in the world." She then smiled as she left the penthouse and headed to her suite.

Jax had spent all morning planning his proposal surprise for Chloe. He didn't have to think hard about how he would propose. He already knew what Chloe wanted.

1985

Jax and Chloe walked through the park one November evening after spending a few hours at the library.

"Can you believe this stupid history project?" Jax complained.

"I know! And I can't believe Mr. Miller gave us the Spanish Inquisition! I wish we could pick our own topic. I would research the Renaissance."

"I would research Australia."

Chloe smiled at Jax. "I don't think he would let you do that."

"Why not?"

"Because it would be too easy for you! You probably wouldn't need to do hours of researching!"

"I guess."

"Let's go sit over there and wait for my mom." Chloe pointed over to the swings.

"Okay," Jax said and followed her.

As they sat down on the swings, they were silent for a while. They both watched a couple across the park sitting on the edge of the fountain.

After observing them for a few minutes, Chloe said, "He's going to propose to her."

Jax gave her a skeptical glance. "You think?"

"Mmm-hmm," Chloe mumbled and shook her head.

Jax looked back at the couple. "How can you tell?"

"Well look at them. Look at how they're sitting. They're sitting with their knees toward each other. And they're holding hands."

"So? They're obviously dating. That doesn't mean he's going to propose to her."

"Well no, but look at the guy. He looks nervous, and they're obviously too intimate for it to be an awkward first date. He's nervous about proposing to her. And what could be a more romantic place to propose than the park on a beautiful evening? I think he's going to propose."

Jax glanced at her again.

Chloe looked at him. "You'll see. Just watch. I know I'm right."

"You think she'll say yes?"

Chloe smiled. "Definitely."

And just a few moments later, they watched the man pull out a ring from his pocket and he got down on one knee. The young girl shook her head yes and threw her arms around her lover.

"Told you," Chloe said as she went back to watching the couple. "If a guy ever asks me to marry him, I hope it's in a place like the park. It's so intimate and romantic."

Jax looked at Chloe and smiled. No one was more romantic than Chloe.

Chloe was pleasantly surprised at Jax's plans for the evening. They weather was perfect and the stars were out. It was the perfect night to have a candlelight dinner in the park. She just couldn't get over how incredibly sweet he was.

Jax, however, was growing more nervous by the moment. He was afraid that Chloe would sense his nervousness. She was very perceptive when it came to things like that. He tried not to be nervous. He went over and over in his head a thousand times how he would ask Chloe to marry him. He had no reason to be worried about messing up any lines. But when dinner was slowly coming to an end, he could feel his heart accelerate. His palms were a little sweaty. Jax felt a lump grow in his throat.

But then he looked at Chloe. She was smiling as she looked up at the stars. He remembered how Chloe said she would love it for someone to propose to her in the park. He started to feel a little better.

"Would you like to dance?" Jax asked her, bringing her softly out of her reverie.

"I would love to. There's no music though."

"Yes there is." Jax clapped his hands, and on cue, a saxophone player appeared. "He's ours for tonight."

Chloe stared at Jax open-mouthed. Jax just grinned as he got up out of his seat and offered his hand to her.

Chloe took Jax's hand and they began to dance.

They danced for quite a while. Chloe eventually put her head on Jax's shoulder and Jax held her more closely. Now was the perfect time.

He slowly turned Chloe's head up to face him. "Chloe?"

"Yes, Jax?"

"There's something I wanted to tell you."

"What's that?"

At this point, Jax had forgotten everything he had rehearsed. Instead, he just spoke from his heart.

"Chloe, when I think back on, I'm so happy that we lived on the same street and became friends. And I'm glad that even now, we are still close. You can't say that about a lot of childhood friends. But to me, you're more than just my best friend; you're my soulmate. And I think I have probably known that since the day I saw you on your bike. And you had that little white dress on and your hair in braids."

Chloe laughed softly. She remembered that day, but even she had not remembered what she had been wearing or how she wore her hair. It was amazing that Jax did.

"I guess what I'm really saying is that you are such an important part of my life, and I can't imagine what life would be like without my soulmate." Jax held his breath as he got down on one knee.

Chloe gasped. She couldn't believe that she had not realized that this was what Jax was up to.

Jax took the ring out of his pocket and held it up to Chloe. "Chloe, will you marry me?"

Chloe felt tears sting her eyes. She shook her head. "Yes! Yes, Jax! Of course I'll marry you!"

Jax got up on his feet, slipped the ring on her finger, and kissed her.

To be continued…