4 Times She Thought is Was a Proposal and the 1 Time it Was

She's always been way too smart for me. She knew all of my next moves before I did. I don't think I've managed to surprise her at all in the years that we've been together.

I was devastated when she told Jess that she had a feeling I was planning to propose soon. I had at least held out the hope that I could pull off a proposal without her finding out.

But obviously, I was still going to do it. Sure, she had figured it out, but I spent a lot of money on the ring and I had been thinking about this moment for weeks.

That's when I came up with a plan. It may very well be the last time I ever try to surprise her again, but I would try nonetheless.

She woke up today alone in bed. I was already downstairs getting ready. I told her I wanted to take her out for coffee and for a long walk in the park. Just as she came downstairs, all dressed and ready to go, I slid the velvet box into my coat pocket.

"Ready?" I asked.

At the park, I stopped her in the middle of an empty trail. She looked at me and was smiling like she already knew what was coming. I knelt down.

And tied my shoe.

She brushed it off and pretended like she didn't just take a mental blow. I stood and took her hand again, acting as nonchalant as I could. I could see her processing everything that she thought was right. She was trying to figure out where she had gone wrong with her reasoning. Little did she know that she couldn’t be more right.

Next was a stop at her parents' house. When I told her we were going there next, she smiled at me in a knowing way, like she had a secret. Her mom made an abundance of lasagna and wanted us to take a few home. As we sat in her parents' sitting room, waiting for her mom to bring the trays, she bounced on the edge of her seat, like she was waiting for something to happen.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "You seem a bit on edge today."

She shook her head and managed to cover up her look of disappointment quickly. Her shoulders slumped and she sat back, looking confused. I shook hands with her father and hugged her mother while balancing two trays of lasagna on my hip and then we were out the door.

We went home and put the food in the freezer. I quickly grabbed her and kissed her. She was caught off-guard, which is rare. I felt her lips turn into a smile as I pulled away from her.

"Hey..." she started to say in a light whisper. I was too quick, though.

"I'm going to run upstairs and take a shower."

"Oh, okay," she replied. As I walked up the steps, I tried to ignore the gnawing at my stomach that started as soon as she started to frown.

We sat around for the rest of the day before I suggested dinner. I didn't see that same spark that had been around all day when I suggested our next excursion. She just hummed in response and then went to get changed.

She looked beautiful. I mean, she always does, but she was radiating confidence and happiness. I don’t know another person alive who is as lucky as I will be tonight. Assuming she says yes, of course.

I had been smart enough to call and get a reservation so we didn't have to stand in the lobby for long. She seemed to appreciate that, but she was becoming very hard to read. In the middle of dinner, I excused myself and I felt her eyes on the back of my head as I approached the waitress and asked her for a dessert menu, and then the check.

By the time we left the restaurant and headed outside, I could tell that she was frustrated.

"One last stop," I said quietly, taking her hand to stop her from descending the stairs to the subway. "I want to go somewhere else quickly." I smiled at her and she nodded. She would be smiling back in a few moments.

We walked for a while down the sidewalk until we stopped at a flower shop. They were nearly closed, but I had timed dinner just right. I told her to wait outside and I purchased a small bouquet of lilies. She seemed to lighten up again once I handed them to her.

"What's the occasion?" She asked slyly as we walked across town. "I don't recall any birthdays or anniversaries coming up."

She knew. She definitely had to know what I was about to do.

"You love lilies," I stated simply, as if that was the answer she was looking for.

"Yes, but why did you get me some?"

I couldn't fake it any longer. I had always planned to do it tonight, after all of the fake staging, but it had to be done now. Another second spent not engaged was not one I wanted to experience. I took her free hand and stopped her right in the middle of the bustling sidewalk.

People continued to move around us. Lights all around us flickered and made her skin glow beautifully.

I held her hand and got down on one knee. I saw tears pooling in her eyes, but I knew they were happy.

"I love you. And I always will. I've been waiting for the day to ask you to spend the rest of your life with me for so long and I didn't know how to do it. But I know that it doesn't matter how, as long as we leave here together."

People had stopped walking to watch us. I could hear whispering everywhere. My heart was already beating out of my chest.

"Will you marry me?"

She really started crying now. She nodded her head rapidly and pulled me up into a crushing hug. I held onto her tightly, knowing that I wouldn't have to ever let her go for as long as I live.

Maybe she wasn't the only one who cried that night.