𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗥𝗘 | M.V.

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ ᴛᴡᴏ

After the sound of the rolling wheels of her suitcase stopped, she felt the touch of his hand again. Only this time not on her hands, but her lower back. "Follow my lead," he whispered in her ear. His low soft voice numbed her a bit, and without hesitation, she walked in the direction he was pushing her in. She trusted him. 100%.

"Don't I need to change clothes?" She asked after realizing she was still in her sweater and joggers from her flight.

"No," Max said and pressed a kiss on the back of her neck, which was available to him because of her hair being tied up in a messy bun. "You already look gorgeous," he continued. Madelyn giggled because of his cheeky comment and almost opened her eyes, causing Max to cover them with his hand.

"No peaking," he warned her.

"Okay. I'm sorry, smooth operator," Madelyn chuckled.

"You can change in a minute. First, I want to show you something." Madelyn could hear the doors that led to the balcony slide open, and a warm evening breeze met her face. After Max helped her step onto the balcony, he stood behind her and used both hands to cover her eyes.

"Are you ready?"

"Hmm," she hummed as she nodded her head.

Slowly, Max removed his hands from her face. It took a moment for her sight to sharpen, but once it was clear she could see the table covered in rose petals and candles. The table was set, and in the ice bucket, there was a bottle of wine. On the floor, there were jars filled with candles, making it one of the most romantic things Madelyn had ever seen.

"Oh, wow," Madelyn gasped, still taking all of this in.

"You like it?" Max asked carefully from behind her. Madelyn turned around to him with the biggest smile wrapped around her lips.

"I love it," she beamed and she stepped toward him to peck his lips. "I absolutely love it."

"Good," Max grinned. "Now go change, miss perfect, while I'll get our dinner."

Madelyn laughed at the nickname he gave her and stepped into the apartment, receiving a tap on her butt on the way out. She looked at him over her shoulder, giving him the middle finger behind her back.

"No, that's on the planning later tonight," she heard him laugh before getting to her suitcase and walking into his bedroom.

After Madelyn had changed into more suitable clothes for the night, both enjoyed a lovely dinner with wine. Max had arranged a pre-made dinner made by the chef of the restaurant where they had their first official date. It was the perfect evening, better than they could ever wish for. It was late into the evening. They sat at the table with their third glass of wine of the evening. For the whole night, they had chatted about everything and anything. It's what they both loved about being together. If felt natural, right. Almost as if it was meant to be.

Just like when Madelyn arrived, Max had been acting nervous all night. That was until Max sat up more straight on his chair and started looking deep into her eyes.

"Lyn," he said before clearing his throat with a small couch. "I've been meaning to tell you something all evening. Or better, ask you something."

"Okay..." Madelyn said slowly, not quite getting to where he was going with this yet.

"Remember during the second week in Austria, when I told you I was planning on asking you to be my girlfriend?" Max said while searching for something in his pocket.

"Yeah." Madelyn's face started beaming once the memory came to her mind and she realized what question Max was going to ask her in a few seconds.

"Well, I guess this is the moment." Max revealed a small black box from his pocket. Once he opened it, it showed Madelyn a beautiful gold necklace with a small 'M'.

"So, Madelyn Scott. Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" Max's hands were shaking because of the nerves. Madelyn noticed it from the corner of her eye. She tried to calm him down by covering his hands with her own before showing him her smile.

"Yes, Max. I would love to."

Max released a relieved breath before getting up from his chair. Madelyn followed his example and stood in front of him when he got the necklace out of the small box. She turned around and grabbed her hair together, allowing him to place the piece of jewelry around her neck.

"I thought, since both our names start with an 'M', this would be perfect," Max said as he struggled with the small lock. When he finally got it closed, he pressed a soft kiss on the back of her neck before turning her around. Madelyn looked down at Max's gift when she realized she needed to confess something as well to him.

"It is perfect," she mumbled and looked back up at him. "You are perfect." She placed her hand on his cheek, caressing the stubbles before finally saying the big three words she had been meaning to tell him for a while now.

"I love you."

Madelyn waited nervously for Max's reaction. She saw his eyes widen for a moment and him bite his lower lip. He remained silent for a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Madelyn before he finally began to speak.

"I wanted to say it first," he said softly, after which he started smiling. It took a moment for Madelyn to realize that he just confessed he loved her as well. But after she finally figured it out, she too began to smile from ear to ear. Max also reached for her and laid his hands on her lower back, whispering "I love you too" before kissing her most passionately.