Making It Personal, Wells, C. [best books under 200 pages .TXT] 📗

It was nearing midnight. The party had been going really well. Melissa had turned up fashionably late, her father in tow. Will could only estimate how much she’d spent on her outfit. He scowled. She wasn’t doing it to please Blake. She simply wanted to look fabulous when Blake announced their engagement. The scowl faded, to be replaced by a grin. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden silence as the music was switched off. Blake motioned for him to come stand nearer. Justin and Bill were deep in conversation, and both looked up to see what was happening. Melissa was hovering near Blake, her eyes gleaming. Everyone in the room turned to face Blake as he stood at the end of the room.

“Thank you all for coming here tonight. I know some of you put off attending large family gatherings to be here tonight.”

“Hey, boss, we should be thanking you!” Rick’s outburst had everyone laughing.

Blake grinned. “And some of you might even have been planning to join the crowds on the river bank to watch the fireworks.”

“Yeah, okay, we’re ’appy to be ’ere, all right?” Ed’s cheerful interjection caused more laughter.

Blake held up his hand for silence. “As I was saying, it was really important to me to have you here tonight. I’m particularly grateful to have my team around me.” He held up a glass of champagne. “Guys, you are the best people it has been my pleasure to know. You give 100 percent, every day, and this company wouldn’t be where it is without all your hard work.” Applause greeted his words. Blake turned to his father. “Dad, thank you for the wonderful press release this last week. To have you praise all the things we’ve achieved here was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I hope to make you even more proud of me as Trinity Publishing goes from strength to strength.” There were murmurs of approval from his audience.

Blake lowered his glass and gazed at the people around him. Will found the hairs standing up on his arms. He shivered. All his senses told him something was coming.

“Someone said to me recently that New Year’s Eve is a very romantic time to announce an engagement.” Out of the corner of his eye, Will was aware of Melissa beside him. He gave a brief glance in her direction. Her eyes gleamed with triumph. “That got me thinking. After all, New Year is a time for new beginnings, resolutions, a time to cast off bad habits and take up new ones. So it is with that in mind that I have to share something personal with you all.”

Will caught the buzz around the room. All eyes were fixed on Blake, his included.

“I’ve met someone, someone who means the world to me. We haven’t known each other for that long, but when you meet the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with, your heart knows it. Time is immaterial.”

Will’s chest constricted. What the hell…. His heart raced as Blake pulled a small, black velvet box from his pocket and walked slowly toward him. Will felt his legs tremble. Surely Blake wasn’t going to….

“Will Parkinson, I love you. I don’t want to spend another minute of my life without you.” Will gasped as Blake got down on one knee, holding out the open box, where a simple white gold band inset with diamonds gleamed. Beside him, there was a sharp intake of breath. Will ignored it, his attention focused solely on the man kneeling before him, his upturned face glowing with love. “Marry me, Will?”

The murmurs and gasps of the room’s occupants faded away as Will gazed into his lover’s eyes. His heart pounded in his chest as he reached down to cup Blake’s cheek. “Oh God, yes.” The smile that spread across Blake’s face sent him soaring. Blake got to his feet and after removing the ring from its box, slipped it onto Will’s finger, sliding it into position. He moved closer, until Will could feel the heat pouring off him.

“I love you, so much.” Blake murmured the words, before cupping the back of Will’s head to pull him into a kiss that rendered him breathless. Will was oblivious to everything but the man who held him so closely. He lost himself in the heady kiss, Blake’s breath sweet as he sighed into his mouth. From the back of the room the applause started, building until it reverberated off the walls, accompanied by shouts and hollers of support.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

Melissa’s strident voice cut through the joyous sounds. Blake and Will parted, stepping back. Melissa’s face was a mottled shade of purple, her eyes almost bulging from her head as her face contorted. She glared at them.

“This was not what we agreed!”

Blake regarded her coolly. “What exactly did we agree, Melissa?” Will was suddenly aware of the horrified glances Bill was giving his daughter.

“You know what I’m talking about! You were supposed to be proposing to me!”

Blake laughed, the harsh sound so unlike him. “I’m gay, Melissa. Why would I propose to you?” Her lips narrowed and her eyes became slits. “Oh, that’s right, I forgot. I was supposed to marry you and make you rich, and in return you wouldn’t tell my father that he had a fag for a son.” The cold gleam in Blake’s eyes made Will shudder. “That was the deal, wasn’t it?”

Bill Richards glared at his daughter. “What is Blake talking about, Melissa?” Will watched as all the color slid from Melissa’s face. Her mouth opened and closed as she stared at her father.

Justin gave his friend an apologetic look. “I’m sorry you had to hear it like this, Bill. The boys informed me last week about Melissa’s little blackmail attempt. Fortunately, events took a different path.” Melissa gaped. He walked across to Blake and Will and put his arms