Page 94 of Taste of Surrender

“Bingo!”

“And then where?”

“Do you want me to tell you now or do you want to wait until we check our bags?”

“Check our bags? You packed for us?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I had to in order to pull this surprise off.”

“Now I’m really intrigued.”

“You weren’t before?” I cocked a brow.

“Okay, I was.” He chuckled. “But, tell me now. Where are we going?”

I hesitated for a brief pause before responding, “Norway.”

Jasper blinked. “Norway?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s in Norway?”

I cracked a grin. “You’ll see.”

The chilly Norwegianair greeted us as we stepped out of Tromsø Airport. It was nothing like California and for a split second, I wished we were back in LA. But that was only for a millisecond because I couldn’t wait to see Jasper’s face once he realized what I had planned.

The northern darkness was already settling in, with occasional glimpses of the moon illuminating patches of the landscape. A black car I had arranged waited for us just outside the terminal.

“Holy shit, we’re in Norway,” Jasper said as he slid into the car.

“I know. Just wait until you see our room.”

The drive to Lyngen North was a journey that took us through an eerie wilderness, far from the city lights. Jasper pressed against the window, mesmerized by the mysterious scenery passing by. I stole glances at him, overwhelmed by howlucky I was to have him with me and how after all these years we were together.

Our arctic hotel stood as a secluded sanctuary overlooking a silent fjord. It was perched atop a hill and glowed softly under the moonlight. Stepping out of the car, the staff welcomed us and led us to our glass igloo.

“This is incredible,” Jasper gushed.

“Yeah, the pictures online don’t do it justice.”

He looked up at the dark sky. “I can’t believe there’s a glass roof. It’s kinda like camping under the stars.”

“Exactly.” I smiled.

“Ah, I see what you’re doing.” He nodded his head slowly.

I furrowed my brow. “You do?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t have flown us to Norway just to go camping like we used to, but I have to admit this is pretty amazing.”

As if on cue, the aurora borealis began to paint the night sky in green and blue light.

“Malachi,” Jasper breathed, turning to face me. “Thank you for bringing me here. This is more than I ever dreamed of.”

I took his hand, squeezing it gently. “There’s something else,” I began, feeling my heart race. Dropping to one knee, I pulled a small box from my pocket that I’d put in there when I’d changed out of my tux at LAX.

He gasped. “Mal …”