Every time, Brian thought. No matter what he was doing, what she was doing, no matter where they were or how upset he might be with her, every time he saw her, he fell for her. Again. And again.

She was perfect. She was his soulmate in every possible way. He’d never imagined that he might actually find a woman so perfect, but he had. Ever since he was a little boy, he’d dreamed of the woman he would love more than life itself, the woman he would have children with, grow old with. Ever since he’d found her, not a day would go by without him thanking God for giving her to him.

Of course, just because he was thrilled and ever-grateful that she was in his life, that she loved him as much as he loved her, didn’t mean that they couldn’t and wouldn’t tick each other off. They did, they most certainly did and with alarming regularity. Sometimes, he wondered what on earth they were doing together when all they ever seemed to do at times was argue.

But then, in the middle of any argument, he’d look at her, just look at her, and every defense he had would crumble. The way her deep green eyes would spark with frustration and annoyance, the way her sun-kissed curls would stick up all over the place because she’d raked her hands through them in anger…the way she was just herself. Just his Jenny. No matter how pissed off either of them were, he wouldn’t be able to help himself from just reaching out and crushing her close to him in a hug that would radiate with all the love and affection they had for each other.

Brian and Jenny. Jenny and Brian. God could not have created a more flawless couple.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They’d been together for nearly three years now. He’d bumped into her at a Starbucks, causing her to spill her coffee all over her belongings and him. Instead of getting angry with him, she’d helped him clean himself up and, by the end of the ordeal, he’d ended up with her phone number. Brian was sure that the first time he’d fallen in love with her had been in that Starbucks.

After that fateful coffee shop collision, the two had become inseparable. Jenny worked in Los Angeles as an accountant, and Brian was always jetting off here and there to work on a Backstreet Boys album or tour. Somehow, despite their hectic lives getting in the way, they’d come through it all together.

Brian hoped that they would always be together. After all, he was completely in love with her, and he knew she felt the same way about him. She was his air, his world, and, without her, he knew he’d never be able to go on.

On this fateful day, Brian had finally gotten up the courage to ask Jenny to marry him. Unfortunately, they’d also gotten into a horrible argument over the fact that Jenny had made special dinner reservations for them, and Brian had cancelled them. He hadn’t told her that he’d already planned to ask her to marry him that evening and was hoping to spend the rest of the night cuddled up with her, whispering sweet nothings to each other. Dining out didn’t quite fit into that plan after all.

Once he’d lit the last of the candles, Brian stepped back from the table and admired his handiwork even as his stomach fluttered with thousands of giant-winged butterflies. He knew Jenny wouldn’t stay angry with him, but he was still worried that she would be upset enough with him to not comply when he asked her to meet him in what they affectionately called their “love nest”.

The boathouse sat at the edge of Brian’s Malibu estate, overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Ocean. The first time they’d made love had been here when he had set it up just the way it was tonight. Champagne, Jenny’s favorite foods on the table, the candlelight that made her look like an angel, and soft music filtering through the hidden speakers had set a mood so romantic that Jenny had wept the first time he’d made love to her.

He was hoping she’d be just as overwhelmed this time. When his fingers brushed against the velvet box in his pocket, he smiled to himself, thinking of how he’d propose and she’d accept.

He sincerely hoped and fervently prayed that she would accept.

Glancing around the room one last time to make certain everything was the way he wanted, he took a deep breath to fortify his shaky nerves and left to find Jenny and persuade her to come with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Jenny was frustrated, furious, and famished. When she’d set up the dinner reservations, she had been expecting to have been fed by now. Instead, she was furiously yanking out the tiniest of weeds from her garden beds. Taking care of these flowers helped her relax in her otherwise hectic life, and she thought that it really had been wonderful of Brian to allow her a free hand to do whatever she wanted with his gardens.

Of course, Brian wasn’t at the top of her wonderful list at the moment.

“More like at the bottom,” she muttered angrily to herself. Fueled by fury, she yanked out another weed and accidentally pulled out one of her darling flowers with it. “Oh no!” she wailed, cradling the dying bloom in her palm. “I’m so sorry, baby! I didn’t mean to kill you!”

Tears started to well in her eyes as she examined the torn stem of the lifeless posy. Her flowers were like children, and she’d lovingly planted each one. Gardening was her passion—well, besides Brian, of course—and it broke her heart as she clutched the dead flower to her chest.

“Jenny?” Brian knelt next to her, eyes widening at the grief on her face. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

She looked up at him, and her heartbroken expression tugged at his heartstrings. “I killed it, Brian! I killed my marigold!” And then, curling up against him, she burst into tears.

Brian knew how much Jenny’s flowers meant to her, so he held her close, brushing his hand over her hair soothingly. From past experience, he knew it was best to let her get out all of her tears. Finally, when her sobs quieted to hiccups, he leaned back and brushed the tears off her cheeks. “Jenny, I’m sorry about the flower. And about canceling your dinner plans,” he added sheepishly. “You know I love you, right?”

She smiled bravely, despite the tears still cascading down her alabaster cheeks. “I know. I love you, too. I don’t know why I let the poor marigold get to me so badly. I guess it’s just,” she trailed off and looked down at her hands.

“It’s just what?” Brian tipped her chin up to look into her beautiful emerald orbs.

Jenny sniffled and shrugged. “I just wanted to do something special for us tonight, and I guess it upset me more than I thought that you canceled it.”

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” he murmured and pressed kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, and her lips. “I’m so sorry. If I’d known it was that important to you, I wouldn’t have done it.”

She managed to smile and squeezed his hands affectionately. “It’s okay. I just had some pretty big news, and I really wanted to tell you somewhere special.”

“Well, this garden is special enough,” he told her. “You made this garden beautiful with your love, and I think it’s one of our most special places.”

Nodding, she glanced down at the dead flower in her hand. “Brian, the other reason I was so upset about killing my precious flower is because they’re like my children. If I can kill one of these, how can I be sure that I’ll be a good mother to my real children? You know?”

Brian shook his head. “You’ll be a wonderful mother, Jenny! I know it.” He could only hope that she loved him enough to have those beautiful children with him.

“I hope so, I really do,” she began. “Because we’re going to be parents in just under seven months, Brian.”

It took him a moment, but then his jaw dropped and his eyes lit up. “Y-you—you’re pregnant?!” When she nodded and managed another smile, he let out a whoop of joy and scooped her into his arms, dancing her around the garden. “We’re going to be parents! We’re having a baby! Oh my goodness, there’s so much to get ready for! We have to go shopping, you have to go to the doctor! Did you go to the doctor? Let’s go right now,” he said eagerly, already half-dragging her down the garden path.

Jenny laughed and pulled him to a stop. “Brian, I love you so much! Yes, I’ve been to a doctor, and, yes, we do have to do a little shopping. But we probably don’t have to do it right this instant.”

“Oh.” He blinked. “Right. Well.” And then he felt the weight of the box in his pocket, and his face lit up again. “Oh, God, Jenny. This is perfect. You’ve made me so happy with this news, but I’m hoping you’ll make me the happiest man on earth if you say yes to my next question.” Sliding the box out of his pocket, he dropped to one knee and held open the tiny case so that she could see the ring. When her hands flew to cover her mouth and she gasped, his grin widened. “Jenny, will you marry me and spend the rest of forever with me?”

Tears began pouring down her smooth cheeks again, and she threw her arms around him. “Yes! Yes, yes, YES!”

Brian slid the gleaming ring onto her finger, then covered her lips with his in an exuberant kiss full of all the love they felt for each other.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Later, when they finally made it to the boathouse, much to Brian’s joy, Jenny did burst into tears again, overwhelmed by the beauty of the scene he’d set for her.

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