Page 128 of Love Unscripted
The restaurant Aaron chose sat atop a boutique hotel overlooking the Phoenix skyline. Floor-to-ceiling windowsframed the desert night, the horizon painted in deep indigo with distant mountains silhouetted like a quiet promise. Candlelight flickered across white tablecloths, and a soft jazz trio played near the bar, their music weaving through the low murmur of conversation.
It was elegant, intimate, and secluded enough to feel like the rest of the world had faded away.
Aaron stood as Camille approached the table.
She wore a simple cream dress that skimmed her figure and fell just below her knees, paired with delicate gold heels. Her hair was down in soft waves brushing her shoulders.
“You look beautiful,” he said quietly.
“Thank you,” she replied, her eyes lingering on him.
He took a sip of his drink, but his gaze never really left her.
Her stomach fluttered.
Since that night in her hotel room in Chicago, he had kept a careful distance. There were still small things—the way he watched her, the way his voice dropped intimately when they were alone—but he hadn’t gone out of his way to get her alone again.
Until tonight.
He leaned forward and gently took her hand.
Her breath caught.
“Camille,” he said quietly, thumb brushing over her knuckles, “I owe you an apology.”
She blinked. “An apology?”
“You asked me to forgive you for deceiving me about filming theShadow Peakepisodes… and I never did.” His gaze held hers. “so now, I’m saying I forgive you. And I also want you to forgive me. I said some really hard things to you that day when I confronted you. I was scathing and judgmental. I didn’t even let you explain. And yet you forgave me. You remainedcivil and gracious throughout. You demonstrated more Christian maturity than I did.”
Her eyes filled instantly. “You were right to be angry, Aaron. I betrayed you.”
“Yes. But I wasn’t gracious. I wasn’t forgiving.” His voice softened. “I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”
She nodded, tears slipping free. “Yes… I do.”
He lifted her hand and pressed a slow, reverent kiss to her fingers. “Thank you. That means more to me than you know.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “I want to ask you something else.”
“What’s that?”
“I want us to be together. And not just as friends anymore. As more than that.” His voice dropped lower, more intimate. “I love you, Camille. I never stopped loving you. And I don’t want it to be a secret any longer. I’m not willing to sit before another host and say we were just following a script. I want to shout to the world that I fell in love with you on the set ofEsther.”
A startled laugh escaped her. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, eyes blazing. “In fact…”
He reached into his pocket.
When he withdrew the small black box, Camille gave a sharp intake of breath.
He opened the box.
The diamond caught the candlelight and scattered it into a thousand points of light.
“It’s called the Camille marquise,” he said softly. “The moment I saw it, I knew it was perfect for you.”
Then he pushed back his chair and dropped to one knee beside the table.
“Camille,” he said, voice steady but thick with emotion, “will you marry me?”
