…By saying it with flowers.
She awoke one morning to find a single white rose lying on the pillow next to her, and a crystal vase on her nightstand that she had never seen before.
"How do you feel about flowers?"
She ran her fingers over his familiar handwriting and smiled. She liked them, of course, but what was he planning to do?
The second note was accompanied by a fresh éclair from a bakery she liked so well but rarely ever got the chance to go to, and two small orange roses.
"Thinking of you today."
She ate her éclair on the way to work, and realized that she would be thinking about him long after the last crumbs were long gone.
"I can't wait to see you tonight."
Three lavender roses greeted her a few days later, along with a small jewelry box. Inside, pressed against the crushed velvet, was a small pair of delicate gold earrings. She smiled as she put them on, and wondered what he would think of next.
No note accompanied the fourth set of flowers – four red roses, entwined around an antique key. She turned the key over in her hands, as the roses joined their companions in the crystal vase. A vase, an éclair, a gorgeous pair of earrings, and now a key had accompanied each set of roses.
She was no rose connoisseur by any means, but she was pretty sure that red meant passionate or true love, which brought a smile to her face as the key found its way to the top of her dresser.
Five red and white roses greeted her that night, as she got home from work. She picked up the note that accompanied them. "Turn around."
Standing there, with an antique box in his hands and an impossibly wide smile on his face, was Eric. She retrieved the key from her dresser, and after taking the box from his hands and turning the key, she saw what was inside.
A fifth note, a diamond ring. "Marry me?" the note said.
"Yes."