Ezra grabbed her arm gently and turned her around. He’d never seen her look so beautiful. The dress left little to the imagination so he was pretty sure the men had all basically had their eyes popping out. He held her close her back to him and gently kissed her neck. He felt her lean into his body and he took that chance to slip his hands over her eyes.

“I’ve got a surprise for you, my love,” he whispered in her ear as he slowly walked her into the room.

He closed the door behind him to keep people from peeking inside. He’d set up a blanket in the middle of the room. All the tables and chairs had been moved out into storage for the time being. The dimness of the lights added to the mood he was going for and he had lit a candle so that it would smell as close to the bakery as possible. After a deep breath he let his hands fall to his sides and smiled at the gasp. He knew it wasn’t much, but at time like this he was pretty sure she was just happy with the thought he put into it. He walked around so that he was facing her and held her hands in his own. He brought them up to his face and he placed a kiss on each one. He could feel his body trembling as the moment finally arrived.

“Marta, I know that we have not spent our childhoods together and there is still so much we have yet to learn about one another, but I know in my heart of hearts that you are the reason I was born. You are the reason my heart beats and the reason I wake up every single morning. Your smile is like the sunshine and I honestly could not imagine you not being with me. Every time I see you I feel my heart beat quicken,” he said placing her hands over his chest so she could feel, “Every time we kiss my body trembles and when lay together at night I know that there is a God because only he could make someone so perfect. I am not worthy of your love, but I will fight everyday to prove that I am the man for you. I cannot promise for everyday to be good, but I promise to always protect and cherish you. I promise to never take you for granted and I promise to love you more than you thought possible.” He slowly went down onto one knee and pulled the ring out of his t-shirt pocket. He held it up to her; his hands shaking with every movement. “Will you be my wife? Will you marry me, Marta?”

Ezra felt like his insides were about to explode as the seconds ticked by making it feel like an eternity. He could see it perfectly on her face that she had not been expecting him to be so bold, and he could hear the shuffling of feet outside the door trying to listen in for an answer. He heard Isiah shoo them all away and he heard Atalia giggling. He looked at Marta with hope and he prayed that she would agree to his question. He would understand though if she decided her fun was over and she wanted to drop into reality again. He just hoped that she would risk it all with him.