CHAPTER 292: CHAPTER 292 ROMANTIC SURPRISE

Joseph’s POV

"Uncle, don’t you think this is a bit over the top?" Antonio asked as I scattered the last few red rose petals across the living room floor.

"Not at all," I replied happily, looking around at what I’d done. The entire living room was covered in red rose petals, with bouquets placed carefully throughout the space. A trail of petals led toward the bedroom, and heart-shaped balloons hung from the ceiling.

The bedroom, bed, and bathroom were decorated the same way with roses. There were red petals everywhere you looked.

"If you say so, but I think you’ve bought out every red rose in the city," Antonio commented, glancing around. "And those heart-shaped balloons..."

"Don’t be ridiculous," I shot him a look. "I ordered everything in advance."

"Oh, Uncle, you’re killing me! Who would have thought you’d turn into such a hopeless romantic!" Antonio laughed, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "But I should get going. Mom sent a driver to pick me up."

"I told her I’d drive you back," I grumbled.

"You know how she is," Antonio shrugged. "Uncle, I really enjoyed spending the week with you."

"Kid, I enjoyed having you here too. You’re welcome anytime." My nephew hugged me happily. I truly loved having him around.

"Thanks, Uncle. See you tomorrow?"

After saying goodbye to Antonio, I showered in the guest bathroom to avoid disturbing my "masterpiece" in the master bath.

At eight o’clock, I arrived at Ava’s place.

To be honest, I felt a bit nervous knocking on her door, considering how opposed her mother Odelia was to me.

Dean scoffed in my head, "We’re an Alpha. It’s your fault for acting like a playboy all the time, making yourself too approachable. No one fears you anymore."

I retorted, "That’s not true. When I’m furious and ready to tear enemies apart, they fear and respect me."

The door opened, and Odelia stood there with Ava right beside her.

"Good evening, Ms. Trollpoe. You look lovely tonight!" I complimented her, and she truly was beautiful. Ava looked so much like her.

"I think you’ve confused me with my daughter," Odelia replied coldly. "She’s the one you should be complimenting, not me."

Ava quickly jumped in to ease the tension.

Half an hour later, my goddess and I were heading to my place. I noticed Ava seemed serious, distracted by something.

"I’ve prepared a simple dinner at home, but if you prefer, we could go somewhere else," I offered.

"No, Joseph, your place is perfect!" she assured me.

"That’s great, because I’ve missed you so much! This week felt incredibly long," I complained.

"I missed you too," she smiled, but I could tell something was weighing on her mind.

"Tell me, what’s with that worried expression?" I asked gently.

"It’s nothing. Maybe I’m just tired."

"Are you unhappy?"

"I’m very happy."

"Good. Although I regret to inform you that you’ll be even more tired tonight, because I don’t plan on sleeping," I said with a mischievous grin, which made Ava laugh.

"What exactly do you have planned for tonight?"

"I plan to lose myself in your magnificent body and spend the entire night finding myself in you!"

"You’re such a pervert!" she laughed.

Whatever had been bothering her, I managed to help her forget it momentarily.

"It’s your fault for being so sexy!" I took her hand and kissed her palm. "I hope you like what I’ve prepared for you."

"Oh, there’s a surprise?"

"Many surprises!"

"I love surprises!" I smiled at her excitement; she looked like a child about to open Christmas presents.

When we arrived at my penthouse and I opened the door, Ava stood there speechless. Before leaving, I had turned on all the warm yellow lights, and the rooms were filled with LED candles that looked like real ones. Antonio had convinced me that the actual candles I wanted to use might cause a fire hazard.

"Oh my God!" Ava said slowly, taking it all in. "Are you secretly a rose farmer or something?"

"No, but that’s not a bad idea. Maybe I should invest in something like that," I joked. "Don’t you like it?"

"Joseph, I love it! It’s as cheesy as our love!" Ava laughed, making me burst into laughter too. She jumped up to kiss my neck. "I think it’s amazing! Thank you."

"Mmm, I’m glad you like it. I have many more surprises for you tonight."

"Oh, do you?"

"Yes, but first, let’s have dinner."

Dinner went exactly as planned. The food was delicious, and afterward, we sat in the living room, enjoying wine and conversation. Ava enthusiastically told me about her ideas for reorganizing Draven and Caroline’s office and how satisfied she was with her new job. I told her that Caroline would be returning to the company on Monday, which made her very happy.

"I want to take you to bed," I said, trailing my fingers along her cheek.

"Finally!" Her response caught me off guard, and my expression must have shown it.

"What? You think you’re the only one with desires, the only one who wants to make love? No, my handsome man, I also enjoy losing myself in your magnificent body and finding myself in you."

"You’re so perfect that sometimes I wonder if you’re even real." I kissed her, and the atmosphere began to heat up, but I wanted to get to the bedroom first because I had a small gift prepared for her. So I stood up and pulled her along.

"Let’s go!"

When we entered the bedroom, Ava was just as surprised as she’d been with the living room. In addition to the decorations, I had prepared a bottle of chilled champagne, cream-covered strawberries, and chocolate.

"Now I’m the one wondering if you’re real," Ava said, turning to me. "You’re like someone who walked straight out of my dreams."

I laughed and pulled her into a hot, wet, desire-filled kiss. My pants were already showing an obvious reaction. While kissing my goddess, I guided her toward the bed. I had her sit down, then broke the kiss.

"I have a gift for you. It’s a bit special, but I hope you’ll like it," I said, pointing to a black box on the bed.

Ava looked at me curiously, pulled the box closer, and opened it. Her eyes widened, her mouth forming an O shape, but she said nothing. She touched the contents of the box with her hand, and I started to grow anxious, thinking perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. But Ava remained silent, and the longer her silence stretched, the more I feared I’d done something stupid. She just continued examining the box’s contents very seriously.