The large shopping centre – that boasted some of the top brand shops – was mobbed on a sunny, Saturday morning. A cute, little jingle played on the speakers in the background as shoppers bustled around – to and 'fro – searching for that new toy, getting their groceries, finding a pretty dress or generally, just browsing.

One group though, stood out from the rest. A man and two women strolled at a leisurely pace, window-shopping as they had yet to figure what to buy as a birthday present. None of them looked the least bit worried about time nor money.

Taking the man's hand in hers, one of the women, Tessa sighed in frustration.

"What the heck should we get your Mother?" Tessa asked – eagerly awaiting an insightful answer. She was sure he would have the perfect gift idea for his Mother.

"I'm sure whatever we get her, no matter how rubbish it is, she'll love it" he joked, squeezing her hand gently.

"We are not getting your Mother, the one who gave birth to you, a bad present" she replied before swiftly taking her other hand and playfully, swatting him on his arm.

"No, but seriously, she'll like whatever we get her, don't worry. I'm more concerned about your present. Two birthdays on the same day – Mother and girlfriend – it seems that I can't catch a break!" Corey sighed dramatically.

"You'll survive" the other woman, Sonja, said dryly, rolling her eyes and making the couple giggle.

"O-oh, hey! That reminds me. Son, I n-need your...help on something. Your opinion?" Corey hastily cleared his throat – eyes darting between the two women at lightning speed.

"Oh, is this about my birthday present?" Tessa squealed and clapped her hands.

"Something like that... come on Son" to which he then proceeded to drag her by the arm – though she hadn't quite given her consent – around the corner and out of Tessa's view.

Left by herself, her mind started to drift to the week leading up to their Saturday shopping expedition. Every night that week Corey had sat Tessa down and told her that she was the woman he was going to marry and that he would propose in due time when he was ready. His face had been so sincere when he said his proposal would be the one that every girl dreamed of and that every man should strive to recreate.

Smiling at the memory, she was pulled out of her reverie by the reappearance of Corey and Sonja - both empty handed except from a handbag - who were grinning widely and sneaking little glances at each other. Tessa frowned as she noted that Sonja was holding her purse pretty tightly. So tightly in fact that her knuckles had turned white, almost as if whatever it hide within it, should be protected at all costs.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Tessa teased, still looking for her hidden present in earnest.

Corey just winked, took hold of her and Sonja's hand and pulled them in the direction of the food court.

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Back in the car with full stomachs and bulging shopping bags, Tessa tried again to understand why Corey and Sonja were smiling and winking at each other in the mirror when they thought she wasn't looking.

"So Son, what was your opinion?" she asked, trying to look as innocent as humanly possible.

"About what?" Sonja poked her head through the middle of the two front seats, her face set in a frown.

"Corey wanted your opinion on something... was it brilliant? Good? Bad? Horrible?" Tessa was struggling to keep from begging to find out what it was.

"It was simply brilliant - out of this world" she answered with a small smile that told Tessa that Sonja knew exactly what she was trying to do.

"You two are so infuriating! Sneaking silly glances in the mirror that I can quite clearly see and not even giving me a hint to what it's all about" and then she threw up her hands in a overly dramatic fashion that caused them to all burst into laughter.

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They arrived back at Sonja's house and for the next hour or so, time was spent decorating it for their anniversary party and setting out the food. After hearing Corey ask for something from Sonja's handbag, Tess took a break and headed for the bathroom to splash some water onto her face.

She closed the door behind her and locking it, she went to the sink and sprayed cold water droplets on her face and neck. Once again, she contemplated Corey and Sonja's strange behaviour.

The whole car journey, she had continued to try and get some information out of them but both of their lips were sealed on the subject. Sighing again, she finally decided to give up. Whatever was going on, she was going to end up finding out sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.

She unlocked the door and came face-to-face with the man clouding her every thought. Without warning or the chance to look surprised, he had wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a tight hug.

After she had recovered, she relaxed and leaned into the hug, perching her chin on his shoulder and putting her arms around his neck. They stood like that for what seemed like hours but was actually only a few minutes.

Finally, he pulled back and she felt as if she was about to find out what all the secrecy was about. As she looked at him, she noticed how happy he was. He was bursting at the seams with it and shining from every pore was that happiness.

She started to inquire about today when he placed his finger against her lips and stopped the words from pouring out of her mouth.

"Tessa... I love you and as I said before, when I was ready, I'd propose. What I'm trying to say is, I'm ready" and with that simplistic statement that was the most perfect thing that she had ever heard, he reached into his pocket and extracted a small, blue jewellery box that could only hold one thing.

With wide eyes and a racing heart, she watched him opening the ring box and gasped as she glimpsed the ring nestled inside. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Even as she looked at it, the sun glistened off of the gold band with heart and diamond chips embedded around it, and it started to glow in an angelic haze.

Speechless, she stood there, hardly believing her ears at his words and her eyes that were firmly set on the beautiful ring that glistened and sparkled. Her eyes quickly darted between the ring and his face, her brain not yet comprehending what was happening. The silence began to stretch as she forgot how to speak and he began to shift restlessly on his feet and look worried about her answer.

"Uh-h, should I, you know...get down on one knee?" his voice shattered the invisible barrier over her use of her voice.

Laughing, she launched herself at him. So shocked by the movement, he was unprepared for Tessa and stumbled a few metres before tripping up and landing on his bottom ungracefully.

Peeking around the corner at the display was Sonja who at that particular moment was holding her stomach to try and stop the uncontrollable giggles.

Blushing, he quickly recovered and took up his place standing next to her again. Realising he had still not gotten her answer he asked that all important question.

"Is that a yes?" he prompted.

Smiling, she nodded her head and placed her hand in his whereupon he took the ring and slipped it onto her ring finger - it was a perfect fit. As they kissed to seal the engagement, she couldn't help thinking that this exceeded 'special' for her.

That night, on their anniversary no less, they celebrated with their close friends their engagement and like little kids, they couldn't stop smiling at their up and coming nuptials.

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Tessa and Corey were engaged on the 28th of November, 2009 and finally announced this to their families on Christmas eve nearly a month later. They set the wedding date for 11th of June, 2011.

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I hope you liked this. Especially Tessa. Thank you so much for allowing me to write this story. I hope I did it justice and wish you and Corey good luck.

Sorry for the long wait, my computer got corrupted and the computer I was using instead, couldn't save my documents onto it. All fixed now.

This is the last - for now - chapter until I get some more stories and now I'm on HIATUS in order to get my story done. Thanks for reading! The reviews have been amazing. :D