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Moments later they were walking hand in hand away from the palace and heading towards Clarisse's rose garden. "It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Joseph said, his gaze fixed on the sunset.
Nodding, Clarisse put her free hand up onto his forearm and turned her head to look at her husband. "It is," she smiled. "As you know I love to watch the sunset and I have walked this path so many times over the years to do so. Sometimes I have been with you walking behind me, or side by side, and sometimes on my own. But I got to say this experience tonight, walking this path hand in hand with you now, has got to be my favourite."
"Mine too," Joseph said as he turned his head to look at her and smiled. "And there'll be plenty more evenings like this ahead of us to enjoy together."
"I can't wait," she smiled and reached up to kiss him before they continued walking slowly towards her rose garden.
"I'm sorry about what I said in front of Mia," Joseph said after a moment's silence and looked down at the ground as Clarisse turned her head to look back up at him. "It's just I do find you incredibly sexy, especially in the dress you are wearing tonight. Which is strange because it's not like you haven't worn beautiful dresses before, and you've looked equally gorgeous in each and every one of them but my god this time, Clarisse, I can't put my finger on it, but the feeling is different."
"Yes, I feel the same, seeing you in jeans this morning and then when I came into the suite after getting ready for tonight and seeing you without a tie and the top two buttons of your shirt undone and seeing a little of your chest hair, my god, I had to pinch myself," Clarisse said as Joseph looked up at her. "You didn't help then, by the way, wanting to cancel our plans to take me to bed," she said and they both laughed.
"Sorry," he said, giving her hand a small squeeze as they came to a slow stop and turned to one another. "If you want me to stop then I will."
"I'm officially your wife now so you can express your feelings more openly," Clarisse said as she gazed up into his eyes while putting her free hand up to cup his face, "so no, please don't ever stop doing it. It's just going to take time to get used to it that's all."
"Okay," he said and leaned in, kissing her a moment before pulling back just enough to look into her eyes. "Come on, let's finish our walk."
"Okay," Clarisse smiled as they continued slowly on their walk along the path, down the stone steps and along another path leading to the traditional stone pavilion in the middle of her rose garden.
But as they approached, it suddenly lit up. "What on earth?" Clarisse exclaimed in surprise as Joseph laughed and turned to her.
"I wanted to make our first date extra special, do something that we would both remember for the rest of our lives," Joseph said as she finally tore her gaze away from the pavilion and looked at her husband, "and I wanted to do this too. Because we never got engaged, just dived right in and got married," he smiled while pulling a small box from his jacket pocket and opened it to reveal the wedding rings she had picked earlier that day. "I'm going to slip these rings on your finger while down on one knee."
As her eyes grew wide, Clarisse watched as he pulled out the rings from the box before putting it back in his pocket and slowly getting down on one knee in front of her. "Joseph, you don't need to do this, honestly."
"Yes I do," Joseph said as he looked up at her and took hold of her hand when he noticed she still had the other ring on her finger. "You might want to remove the other ring first," he chuckled.
"Oh, yes, sorry," Clarisse said and held up her hand to check her finger before quickly removing the ring as they laughed together. "There you go," she smiled and held out her hand for him.
"Now, I'm going to make it quick as my knee really isn't liking this," Joseph said and watched as Clarisse crouched a little in front of him.
"Get up, please," she said, putting her hands out onto his arms to help him up, "nothing is worth hurting, or even damaging your knees for."
"This is," he smiled and looked into her eyes, "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Clarisse asked, her voice full of worry and concern. As much as she loved this idea, seeing him down on one knee in front of her, she really didn't want him hurting himself either.
"Absolutely," he nodded as she reluctantly stood back up straight in front of him. Clearing his throat before once again taking her hand in his, he held up the rings she had chosen and looked up at her. "Clarisse, my love," he began, his gaze fixed on hers as she took her bottom lip between her teeth. "Over the years we have grown from you hating me to us becoming friends, to best friends, to secret lovers, to now husband and wife and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband. Because asking me to marry you yesterday made me the happiest, most luckiest man alive. Clarisse, I love you, I always have and I always will. And as the inscription inside this ring says, you're my always forever, my love."
Her eyes pooling with tears, Clarisse took the rings from his fingers to have a look at the inscription. "You're my always forever," she read out before looking back into her husbands eyes as he took the rings back. "I love you too, my always forever. My love."
Looking down at her hand, he slowly slipped the rings on her finger before looking back up at her, his own eyes pooling with tears. "I have waited for this moment for so long," he said and they both choked back tears as Clarisse once again crouched down in front of him and framed his face in her hands.
"I love you so so much," she said and pressed her lips to his, letting it linger a moment before pulling back and helping her husband to his feet, where the kiss continued. Her arms wrapping around his neck and his around her waist. Holding each other as close as they possibly could.
Breaking the kiss moments later, Joseph rested his forehead against hers and smoothed his hands up and down her back before coming to rest on her sides. "Do you want to see what I've done?" He asked.
"I would love to, yes," Clarisse nodded, pulling back slightly to brush the tears from her cheeks before reaching up to frame Joseph's face in her hands and brushing his tears away with her thumbs.
"Are you alright? I didn't mean to make you cry." He said softly.
"I know you didn't," Clarisse said with a small shake of her head as she studied his face. "I only cried because I'm so incredibly happy, you know that right?"
"I do because I am too," he said softly and kissed her as she wrapped her arms back around his neck, a hand going to the back of his head.
"Come on," Joseph said after a moment and took her hand in his as they stepped apart.
Leading her the rest of the way to the pavilion, he pointed everything out to her. The garden fairy lights attached to each of the columns, several lanterns with lit candles inside either side of the entrance of the pavilion, a table set for a romantic dinner for two, with rose petals scattered over the table, three smaller lanterns with lit candles on the edge of the table, and a bottle or two of champagne on ice on a stand beside the table.
"This is all so beautiful," Clarisse said, astonished at everything he had done for her, for them, as she turned to him and snuggled close to his side while putting one hand around his back and her other hand on his chest. "When I asked you earlier if I had been to the place you were taking me before, and you replied with once or twice, I really didn't think it would be here. Actually this is the last place I would have thought of," she smiled up at her husband as he laughed. "Because I have been here more than once or twice."
"I know that, but I couldn't exactly say you come here nearly every day, could I? It would have given it away," he smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, his hand resting on the top of her arm as she put her hand up to his face and her finger on his chin.
"No, I suppose not," she smiled, her hand going back to his chest as she glanced down to his lips before leaning up to kiss him. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips before pulling back enough to look up into his eyes.
"Anything for you," Joseph said as she turned her head, resting it against his chest while wrapping her arm around his waist. "We can even enjoy the rest of the sunset here. We wouldn't have had that if we had gone to a restaurant."
"That's true," Clarisse smiled and they both fell silent a moment. Watching a bit of the sunset together, content in each other's arms.
"Would you like a drink?" Joseph asked, looking across at the table.
"I would love one, thank you," Clarisse replied as she looked back up at him, sharing a quick kiss before they stepped apart and Joseph made his way over to the table. "Now, are you going to behave if I take off my jacket?" She teased.
"It will be hard, but I'll try my best to show some self-restraint," Joseph smirked cheekily while looking over at her and picking up a bottle of champagne from the ice bucket.
Smiling, Clarisse looked down at her hands to undo the buttons on her jacket when the other wedding ring caught her eye. "What am I going to do with this other ring?" She asked while removing her jacket. The scarf remaining around her neck.
"Where is it?" Joseph asked as he poured them both a glass of champagne.
"I slipped it onto my right hand so I wouldn't lose it," she said while draping her jacket over the back of one of the chairs and held up her hand, showing him the ring as he put the bottle back down in the ice bucket.
"I'm not to sure," he said, moving around to her and taking her hand to have a look. "Who's is it anyway? It was all such a blur yesterday that I don't even know where this ring came from. It was just there when it was time to put the ring on your finger."
"Hmm," Clarisse replied and lifted her head to look up at him. "I don't actually know. I will have to ask Mia. She may know."
"Maybe," Joseph nodded and reached into his pocket once again for the box. "But for safe keeping, we can put it in here."
"Good idea," Clarisse nodded and slipped off the ring, putting it in the box before looking back up at her husband. "So, my love," she smiled, a twinkle in her eye, "tell me something that I don't know about you."
"Ha," he replied, putting the box back in his pocket while turning to the champagne glasses sitting on the table as she pulled out a chair and took a seat. "What would you like to know?"
"I don't know," Clarisse said as he turned back to her and handed her a glass of champagne. "You tell me," she smiled, uncharacteristically crossing her legs, the action causing the skirt of her dress to ride up her thigh a little and catching him completely off guard. Especially since she's always so careful not to let it go over the knee when wearing a skirt.
"Alright, well," he said, his heart beating faster as he pulled out the other chair and moved it close to hers before sitting down with a smirk. "I love black."
"Uh huh," Clarisse said, sipping some of her champagne before nodding and leaning slightly forward, "I already know that," she smiled and crossed her hand holding her glass over her other arm resting on her thigh. "Tell me something that I don't already know."
Laughing, Joseph shook his head and looked down a moment before looking back up into her eyes. A sly smile on his lips. "Now, I know you don't know this one, because you would have definitely said something had you known."
"What is it?" Clarisse asked, turning her head slightly to the side and raised her eyebrow. Curious to know what he's about to tell her.
"I have a tattoo," he said and took a casual sip of his champagne as Clarisse gasped.