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Her eyes bucked a little. “Wait. What? You called my old boss from New York to fly here to light a room for you, and he actually said yes?”

My head tilted at her tone of disbelief. “Yes, Memoree Layne. I called your boss and hired him to do a job. He did give a nigga a little discount at the mention of your name. I do mean little.”

“Wow!” Her body turned as she took the room in again. The glow of the lights bounced beautifully off her skin.

“You know, before I met you, I really thought lights were just lights. Those hoes turned on and off. If they were fancy, they dimmed. Now that you’re in my life, I realized that every light has intention, or at least should.” I stepped into her space and wrapped my arms around her to pull her into my chest. “That’s one of the things that I love about you. You can make something that most people deemed average, something spectacular.

“I used to walk into a room and only cared about who was in the room, what was happening in the room, where the exits were, who was watching me, and who I needed to be watching. Never in my life did I think I would ever care about color temperatures, glares, fixture placements, and all of that until this amazing woman named Memoree Layne Smith walked into my cigar lounge.”

She gave me a soft giggle. “Well, I have been told that I’m a pretty awesome person. Two awesome people tend to gravitate to each other.”

“I can agree with that. There are some people that walk into your life and change the way you see everything. They shine a light on things because they are light,” I told her.

Wetness caught in the corners of her eyes. “Don’t you make me cry. I worked way too hard on this makeup.”

I tittered. “You can’t cry yet. I haven’t even pulled the ring out yet, gorgeous.”

Her gasp was loud as her body pulled back. “What! What ring?” Her head was on a swivel. “Is that why you wanted the lighting to be so perfect? You wanted it perfect to ask me to marry you?”

I chuckled before I pulled the ring box out of my pocket. She had set the perfect stage. When I moved toward my marked spot to get on bended knee, she took another step back with her mouth covered by her hand.

“Memoree Layne, I love you. The first day that you walked into my place, I knew that it would be you. I didn’t need to talk to you to know that. For a living, you critique lights so that you can get them to a place of perfection. I’m not sure if you know that God created a perfect light in you that shines so bright. I want to know if you’d give me the privilege of sharing that light with me for life?”

I turned the ring box to her then opened it. “Memoree Layne Smith, will you marry me?”

Tears cascaded down her cheeks. Her body turned away from me for a moment to look up. “Oh my God! You angled the light to reflect perfectly off the ring.”

Yeah, a nigga was on his shit with every detail. The ring lighting was her old boss’s idea. He understood that every light mattered, and I appreciated him for that. He also knew my baby and her expertise in lighting because he trained her.

With a smile, I restated my question. “Memoree Layne, will you marry me?”

With a tear-drenched face, she began to hop up and down. “Yes! Yes!”

Within seconds the ring was out of the box and on her finger. Her arms wrapped around my neck as soon as I stood to my full height. Perfect! That was the word that described tonight. We hadn’t even eaten dinner yet, and I knew that tonight would be filled with several memorable moments. When I hired The Lighted Layne, I never thought that it would light the lane I needed to lead me to love.

A Few Years Later . . .

The perfect light that shined on Ledger and Memoree Layne had remained perfect. Naturally, there had to be updates to the lighting layout to make sure the same level of perfection remained. They were always up for the challenge of the layout change.

The couple wasted no time after the proposal to get married. Memoree Layne was so smitten with The Moonlight Love that she wanted to have their intimate wedding there. That was no problem since Ledger was now part owner. The other owners, Carla and Samuel Puffs, were excited about the opportunity.

Six months later, under the perfect lighting design of Memoree Layne herself and the moonlight, they were married. She always wanted to have an outside wedding but felt that wouldn’t be an option because of the sunlight and heat. The Moonlight Love was a perfect compromise for what she wanted.

Their wedding guest list only consisted of fifty people. Neither of them wanted anything overly extravagant. They just wanted to share their love with the people who loved them. Memoree Layne’s father was the proudest he had ever been as he walked her down the aisle. Sasha stood next to her, and Cole next to Ledger. The only reason Milan Renee wasn’t a part of the wedding was because her sister allowed her to have complete social media control of the event.

When the couple returned from their weeklong honeymoon, they were surprised by a private party that their staff at Kryptonite Reserve threw in their honor. Yes, Memoree Layne had been announced as the first lady a while ago before that day, but now it was official. The portrait of the mister and missus at the entrance of the lounge made it clear.

“Memoree Layne, this is your favorite place, huh? Your husband started something,” Sasha said as she put a piece of lamb chop in her mouth.

They were, once again, at the restaurant that had become a pivotal place in their love story. Ledger asked for her hand there, they were married there, and now it was time to shower their soon-to-arrive baby there. It was a full house today.

Ledger promised the owners that he would increase their bottom line, and he did more than that. He blew the bottom line out of the water. With his name on the business, he attracted a different level of patrons. Now he had a place to bring potential clients to for dinner and a closed deal. After he hosted a few gatherings in one of their private rooms, the new patrons came freely. The restaurant had been used for various events that brought in a pretty penny. It wasn’t cheap to shut down an entire restaurant for an event.

“This is my favorite place, next to my house and office. Plus, you taste their lamb chops?” Memoree Layne asked with an arched brow. According to her, The Moonlight Love, Carla, and Samuel could do no wrong.

At thirty-five weeks pregnant, her appetite only wanted food served by the restaurant, cooked by her mother, or food from a gas station that was between her office and her house. The restaurant didn’t offer delivery, but for the owner’s wife, they made an exception.

As if he’d heard her heart, Ledger appeared with a plate of lamb chops. He leaned down, kissed her lips, then set the plate in front of her. “Hey, baby, look what I got for you.”