Angel

Part 31

May 26th was just like any other day to Stevie for many years now. She still celebrated her birthday because her band and friends always insisted. When Lindsey asked if she wanted to do something special this year, she said, no. She said, she wanted to stay home, just the two of them. He wasn't going to complain. No matter what the occasion was or worse - there was none - he absolutely hated going out. He thought of taking her out to dinner at least, but given how popular they were and how many famous people they knew, they'd hardly have a peaceful evening together. It didn't matter where they were, most of the time they'd bump into someone. 

It was past 12 pm and Stevie was still in bed. It was her birthday and Lindsey wasn't going to bother her. Besides, he had to leave the house for a bit and it was better if she didn't know. She could tell if he was hiding something from her and she had always been able to get it out of him.

Sometime after 2 pm was when Stevie was finally ready to roll out of bed. She wasn't surprised that Lindsey wasn't beside her. He had likely completed all of his errands for the day by now if he had any. After a shower, wearing a simple top and a long flowing skirt, Stevie walked out of the bedroom and turned towards the staircase. She stopped, finding a vase, with at least a dozen red roses, on every step. A smile crossed her lips and her heart started beating a little faster. She slowly made her way down and looked around for Lindsey. He was nowhere to be found and she was a bit disappointed that she couldn't thank him. 

Stevie entered the kitchen and before she went to make herself a cup of coffee, she found a handwritten note on the kitchen island. 

'Had some things to do. Be home soon.

L'

Stevie wondered if those things had anything to do with her birthday. She swore, she didn't want to make a big deal out of getting a year older. She thought, Lindsey understood. For the first time in a really long time she had a reason, she had something keeping her home. She didn't feel lonely and alone, she didn't feel the need to get out and drink away her heartache. 

No more than half an hour passed and Lindsey walked through the front door. Stevie eyed him as he brought a couple of bags with him. He told her, it had nothing to do with her birthday, he was not throwing her a surprise party. 

"Thank you for the flowers." Stevie leaned back into Lindsey as he came to stand behind her once his hands were free for a second before her wrapped his arms around her.

"You're welcome." Lindsey said, kissing the top of her head. "I was going to make your breakfast, bring it to bed, but I was afraid that some hot fireman would be the first thing you see today and he'd steal you from me."

Stevie chuckled lightly, lifting his hand up to her lips. "I've got a pretty gorgeous man in my life already."

"Handsome, Stevie. Men are handsome. Sexy maybe." Lindsey shrugged. 

"Ugh, fine." Stevie rolled her eyes. "I have an incredibly handsome, super sexy man in my life." 

"That's more like it." Lindsey nodded and moved so they were face to face. "Happy birthday, baby." He smiled, cupping her face in his hands to pull her in for a kiss.

"Thank you." Stevie replied and was about to get up, but Lindsey asked her not to.

"I know, you told me, you didn't want today to be anything special, but I do have a present for you." Lindsey said and walked over to the bags he'd brought home. "Before I give it to you, I want you to know, it's not what you're going to think it is."

Stevie watched him with a raised eyebrow, her eyes settled on his hand, clenched into a fist. "Okay...?"

"I want you to know, how happy I've been since you came back to me." Lindsey began. "We had a rough start, but I believe, we're past that. I honestly never thought that you and I would be a couple again. I feel like we're doing something right this time. I've already promised you that I wouldn't do anything to risk losing you again and I'm going to keep it. You mean the world to me, Stevie."

His words were beautiful, but Stevie felt like this was a proposal. She had shut him down before, she had no idea, what she would say if he asked her to marry him again. She loved him, she knew that much. And they were definitely doing much better this time. But she had so many plans, she still had so many things she wanted to do. Marriage was one thing, but the next step was usually kids. Was she ready for that? Was she ready to start a family? She knew that was something Lindsey wanted.

While Stevie was freaking herself out, Lindsey opened his hand and revealed a ring. Oh God, she thought, she was going to faint. Before she could even try and come up with a response, Lindsey continued.

"This is not an engagement ring." He said and she let out a shaky breath. Did she want it to be? "It sounds silly, but I want you to think of this as a promise." Lindsey took the ring out of the box and held it up. "I want you to wear it and every time you're scared or unsure, I want you to look at it and remember that you have me, that I love you, that I'm not going anywhere."

"Linds..." Stevie whispered, her eyes welled up with tears. "It's- It's beautiful."

"Yeah?" He smiled, somewhat carefully reaching for her hand. "Beautiful enough to wear it?" She only gave a small nod of her head and he slipped the ring on her finger. "Maybe someday you'll accept another."

Sniffling, Stevie nodded, wiping her cheek, a smile on her lips. "Maybe."