A/N: Well here's chapter 9, the song in this chapter is taken from Dashboard Confessionals and it's meant to sort of reflect a lot of Brooke's unsaid thoughts and feelings..
Thanks again to Vicky for reading over my chapters in advance and thanks to those of you who are taking the time to leave reviews! You guys are great.
"The Ghost of a Good Thing"
I guess it's luck, but it's the same
Hard luck, you've been trying to tame
Maybe it's love, but it's like you said
"Love is like a role that we play"
But I believe in you so much
I could die for the words that you say
But, I believe in you so much
I could die from the words that you say
Brooke sunk down slowly to a sitting position on the edge of her bed. Still in shock as she thought back to the earlier events of the evening. Everything had gone so wonderfully with the show and she arrived home to a message on her machine saying that the orders were piling in for the new line and it truly was a success.
But you're chasin' the ghost of a good thing
Haunting yourself as the real thing
It's getting away from you again
While your chasin' the ghosts
Normally, Brooke would have been ecstatic at the news. Jumping up and down in excitement around her penthouse and hurriedly calling her best friend Haley to share the news. However the events that had followed the successful fashion show had put a damper on everything and managed to completely numb any celebration that should have occurred.
I guess it's luck, but it's the same
Hard luck, you've been trying to tame
Maybe it's love, but it's like you said
"Love is like a role that we play"
But I believe in you so much
I could die for the words that you say
But, I believe in you so much
I could die from the words that you say
Brooke thought back to the recent events of the evening…
As the couple arrived at the restaurant, Brooke couldn't believe where they were. It was 'L'amour', the most famous French restaurant in all of California. "Jordan…" Brooke gasped, "Really?" Brooke sometimes forgot how successful they both were and some of the places they would go to and the parties they'd be invited to still blew her away.
"Of course," He smiled enthusiastically, "Nothings too good for my gorgeous!" Jordan got that sparkle in his eye, the same one that he got whenever he was up to something.
"What made you decide to make reservations here?" Brooke was beyond curious, they were both successful for a reason, and throwing money away on dinners that would cost well over a thousand dollars wasn't one of those reasons.
"You'll see gorgeous, you'll see…"
As the young, powerful couple walked into the five star, world renowned restaurant, Brooke noticed that the place seemed empty, only the serving staff, the host and the string quartet occupied the stunning dining room.
"Jordan…" Brooke was blown away and new immediately this wouldn't just be any dinner, it was a special occasion, they were celebrating something, she just wasn't sure what.
Jordan turned and smiled at the woman he adored, his gorgeous girlfriend. He wasn't in the slightest bit worried about her reaction to tonight's events, fully confident in himself. That was his first mistake.
"Table for two please." Jordan addressed the host as if he hadn't had the entire evening planned out, as if they weren't the only two patrons of the restaurant.
"Yes sir, of course. Follow me. Right this way" The host led them into the dining room which was filled with soft candle light and the string quartet played romantic waltzes. As he motioned to the table for two they would be seated at, Jordan walked around to Brooke's chair and pulled it out, once she was seated, he walked around to the other side of the table and seated himself.
Brooke was still speechless at everything he had done, was broken out of her trance as the server requested what they would like to drink as he suggested a nice wine.
"We will have a bottle of the 1989 Bordeaux Margaux to drink, as well as the chef's special for dinner" Jordan ordered this with confidence for himself and Brooke. The servers and the chef already knew the order so there wouldn't be much of a wait for dinner, but were informed to make the starting course after just enough time for the couple to enjoy a waltz together.
Brooke was astonished, Jordan had never ordered for her and it set a slightly uneasy tone to the evening for her. That was his second mistake of the evening.
"Would you care to dance?" Her handsome boyfriend broke her out of her thoughts. He was a little taken aback by how far away she seemed, however he had deducted it to shock and that she must just be a little overwhelmed.
"Of course" The brunette beauty pushed aside that feeling in the pit of her stomach determined to enjoy the evening with her thoughtful companion.
He swept her off her feet to the dance floor and they moved in complete unison with each other as they practically floated to the music that filled the room.
Jordan led her back to their table just in time for the first course. The salad was a balinese coconut & mango chicken salad with cellophane noodles. Not a particular favorite of Brooke's, but she reminded herself that Jordan had gone to great lengths to plan the evening out and that she should be grateful for his thoughtfulness.
"So how was your trip?" They really hadn't spoken all that much since he'd picked her up after the show and the petit brunette knew that there had been a lot at stake with his latest business trip.
"It went well, we managed to obtain 3 new clients and we're looking at a local ball player as a potential 4th since he's a first draft pick to the NBA." Jordan was clearly excited about his latest clients with the PR firm. He was known in the business for driving a hard to pass up bargain with potential clients. Very rarely did Jordan Lacosse not get a potential client to sign.
"That's great babe!" Knowing how much his work meant to him, every success was exciting for Brooke as well. With Jordan owning a PR company, a lot of his clients ended up coming her way for new fashion designs once they found out who he was dating. "Anyone I know?"
"Umm, let's see, well we secured Paris Hilton, she dropped her rep after the latest fiasco… man, I just have this feeling she's going to be a handful, but great for the accounts…"
"You seriously signed Paris?!?" Brooke was amazed, she didn't even realize that Paris had been on Jordan's radar for potential clients.
"That we did, she was really excited to see what you brought out with your latest line too, I think she'll be wearing a lot of your designs this season…"
"That's great!" Brooke exclaimed gleefully, Paris would be excellent advertisement for her newest line, she was always in the papers. "So who else did you manage to sign?" Her curiosity heightened.
Mid conversation, their salad plates were cleared and the main course came out. The server introduced the dish as an Island salmon, servied with dill and vodka crème fraiche, caviar, smoked sea salt accompanied with homemade blinis. Brooke looked at the dish which was slightly more appealing than the salad they started with. At least it was more along the lines of a meal she would have selected.
After the server ensured they had everything they needed, he once again disappeared into the background and the young couple enjoyed their meal in a comfortable silence, rather than picking up their discussion where they had left off, silently deciding that 'the office' could be discussed at a later time.
As dinner ended, dessert was served, a chocolate soufflé with a crème brule sauce, and was by far Brooke's favorite selection of the meal. Savoring every last bite until it was gone.
Jordan admired his girlfriend and with confidence that the evening was going well, he called the server over.
"Yes sir?" The server, eager to please, awaited the order.
"Could you please bring out a bottle of your finest champagne?" The handsome man asked with a smile.
"Of course sir."
Brooke glanced up at Jordan in surprise. "So what's going on babe? This is so beyond normal… and completely not necessary… You know I don't need all this fussing around." How naïve she could be at times, no idea what the special 'occasion' was.
"I know you don't gorgeous, but I wanted to do something special for you, it's a special night".
"Well, alright, if you're sure. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to the ladies room…" With that, Jordan stood and waited for her to walk away before seating himself again.
After she was out of site the server returned with a bottle of champagne and poured them each a glass. Jordan then took the small box out of his breast pocket and slipped the custom ordered ring into her glass, it floated to the bottom, just in time for her return.
As they sat in conversation, drinking champagne, laughing and enjoying themselves, Brooke had eventually made it to the last sip of her glass, unaware of what was to come with her next sip. Jordan waited in anticipation as Brooke took the last sip.
"What the…" As the small object entered her mouth. She turned back to find Jordan, not sitting in his seat, but instead on one knee next to her as she to the ring out of her mouth and looked at it.
Gracefully Jordan took the ring and held it up to her "Brooke Penelope Davis, my gorgeous, I love you more than life itself, I want everything for us, to be together for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?" He slowly slid the ring on her finger, waiting for a reply. When none came at first, he thought she was just speechless, however after a few minutes passed and she still had not answered him, he was getting nervous.
In a last effort to save himself, he continued "If you can't answer me right now…. Just… just consider it, you can answer me later…" He was crushed. She responded by nodding her head slowly and looking at the floor.
Deciding it was time to call it an evening, he stood up to take care of the bill and returned to pull her chair out. They walked to the car and drove back to her penthouse in silence. He dropped her off, without a word, without a kiss.
But you're chasin' the ghost of a good thing
Haunting yourself as the real thing
It's getting away from you again
While your chasin' the ghosts
Just bend the pieces 'till they fit
Like they were made for it
But they weren't meant for this
No, they weren't meant for this
It was late, Brooke now had no one to call… normally she would have called Haley, but she didn't want to risk waking James. She'd call her first thing in the morning. Instead, she just continued to sit there… fiddling with the ring on her left hand that she had yet to remove, yet to provide an answer to the man who so desperately needed her to say yes, a man she loved.
Just bend the pieces 'till they fit
Like they weren't made for it
But, they weren't meant for this
Chasin' the ghost of a good thing
Haunting yourself as the real thing
It's getting away, away, away, away from you again
Chasin' the ghost of a good thing
Haunting yourself as the real thing
It's getting away from you again
While you're chasin' ghosts