Wish List: City Love 4

by Belinda Williams

  “Another reason I love you is because you have one hell of a backbone, and when you’re faced with someone who isn’t as pleasant as you, you deal. You think you’re not being pleasant anymore but here’s what I see: class. One hundred percent pure class, and you can’t fake that. You were born with it and your family couldn’t stand it. My father can’t stand it.”

  He exhaled and the heat of it warmed my cheeks. His eyes glowed, orbs of molten heat. Everything about him warmed me when I was with him, I realized.

  “I couldn’t bear subjecting you to all of that again. And you’re right. You deserve only the best. You deserve to leave all of that shit behind. A normal life, a normal family. Nothing about my family is normal, Cate. It’s all screwed up, just like me.” His voice cracked, and he looked down at our hands.

  I knew if he wasn’t holding me so tight he’d be shoving a hand through his hair in frustration.

  “Dave,” I began, but then he released a hand and pressed a finger to my lips.

  “Shh. Let me finish. When Nadia died, so did a part of me. Yes, we were young, but I loved her. When I was with her, I didn’t feel worthless anymore. It took me a long time to see I shouldn’t derive my self-worth from another person. My father, my girlfriend, it doesn’t matter. And then I met you. And all bets were off. God, Cate. My love for you scares me.”

  He fell silent and so I waited. I was beginning to understand that’s what he needed. I’d been so busy thinking about myself I hadn’t recognized it. I reached up and pulled his other hand between us again, then stood there holding onto him, like I was his anchor.

  “I was so scared I couldn’t give you what you needed,” he said after a while. “So I took the coward’s way out. I’m sorry. I should have fought for you. But when my father pulled that stunt of his, something in me broke. I snapped. It was like history repeating itself and I thought the only way to stop it from happening again would be to stop us.”

  Tentatively, he pressed his forehead against mine. I was done struggling. The storm was abating and we were still afloat. I looked down at our hands holding onto each other between our chests – each other’s anchor.

  “When it comes to you, Cate, nothing can stop you. Not even a wall,” he said.

  I giggled.

  “You scared the living shit out of me by the way. It took all my strength not to pull you out of that car and drive back myself, but I knew you wouldn’t go for that.”

  “No. Not so much.”

  “I’m not going to lie. It’s in my nature to protect you, but I’ll try and ease back when I can. And talk some more.”

  “OK,” I said.

  “OK?”

  “OK.” And it was. It really was.

  “Can I kiss you now?” He sounded unsure.

  “You don’t have to ask.”

  “I thought you liked pleasantries?”

  “Screw pleasantries, Dave.”

  I felt the rumbling of his low laughter snake its way deep down into my stomach.

  “Does that mean I can take you right here then?” he asked, mirroring my own dirty thoughts. “That suit of yours is driving me wild.”

  I grinned and tipped my face up so our noses touched. “Hmm. Maybe not. I am a bit of a romantic, remember?”

  His lips brushed mine lightly, seductively. A hint of what was to come. “Yeah, I remember.”

  Chapter 43

  “This was a great idea,” I said as we pulled up in front of Maddy’s parents’ holiday home.

  “I thought so. Even if it means being driven down the coast in a girl’s car.”

  “You love it,” I shot back, not remotely offended by his reference to Swift.

  “You’re right. It gets me hard every time I think about you racing around the track.”

  I bit down on a self-satisfied smile. “You’re just a sucker for a girl in a driving suit.”

  “Damn right.”

  My cheeks colored at the memory of Dave relinquishing my driving suit after my last track day. He grinned while I pulled on the handbrake and twisted to face him.

  “What?” he asked.

  I shook my head and continued to look at him. I bit my lip. God, he was beautiful. All rough and polished, hard and soft, gruff and sweet, and I loved him. Summer had long gone but his skin shone with the same golden glow as his eyes. I couldn’t see them because he was wearing sunglasses, but it didn’t matter. I could feel their heat behind the reflective lenses.

  “This is a perfect location for a weekend away,” I said.

  He nodded. “I hope so.”

  The last couple of months had been hectic. Dave’s business purchase had gone through and he was now the official owner of Bell Plumbing. Then a few weeks ago, I’d moved in with him.

  It seemed romantic Cate wasn’t dead after all. Practical Cate knew it was rushing in, but I didn’t care. I loved him and he loved me, and that was all that mattered. I figured if love could bring together two people as different as Dave and me, both with our difficult pasts and screwed up families and still make it work, then I was going to trust in that love.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go straight out the back and get an eyeful of that view.”

  We got out of the car and made our way down the side of the house hand in hand. When we stepped onto the deck where Christa and Max had been married, I inhaled a deep breath of the salty air.

  “It’s as perfect as I remember,” I said with a sigh.

  “I’m glad,” Dave said from behind me. He threaded his arms around my waist and I pressed my back against his chest. He rested his chin on my shoulder. “I love you, Cate.”

  I smiled to myself and closed my eyes. “I love you too.” I’d never get sick of hearing it, I realized. He wasn’t the most talkative man, but somehow that made his words even more meaningful.

  We watched the view for a while. The water rested languidly in the midday sun and the sky arched endlessly above us, a pristine blue. The calm scene before us matched the contentment in my heart.

  Dave squeezed my waist. “You’ve changed me.”

  “What? How?” I tried to twist to face him, but he held me firm.

  “You just have.”

  “I didn’t plan to.”

  “Come on. Don’t you have a plan for everything?” I could feel him grinning into my hair.

  “Not everything. Not this. Not love.”

  “You had your list.”

  I groaned. “Don’t remind me. I look back now and realize how stupid I was. On one hand I’m romantic Cate and on the other I was expecting love to tick a series of boxes. Love doesn’t work that way.”

  “No. It doesn’t.”

  “And you’re better than any list, do you know that?”

  “That’s a relief.”

  I reached around and swatted him on his backside. “You joke, but it’s true. You’re my perfect man.”

  “Now you’re romanticizing me.”

  “I know you don’t believe in romance, but I mean it. You’re the man for me.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  I went stiff. His voice had lost the teasing tone. “What are you saying?” Oh God. Here I was floating on a cloud of loved-up bliss. Had I missed something? Something terribly important?

  “Not that, green eyes. I meant about romance.”

  It took me a moment to register what he’d said. “You believe in romance?” I asked in disbelief.

  “For you, Cate, I’d believe I could fly to the moon and back, so a little bit of romance doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.”

  “Wow,” I said, awed by his words. “What have I done to you?”

  He released me. “Don’t turn around, alright?”

  “What?” I went to do exactly that, but he put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Please?” He sounded flustered.

  “Alright.”

  I concentrated hard on the ocean but I desperately wanted to turn around. What was going on? Even as I thought it, a small part of me fe
lt the urge to squeal in delight. Stop it, I ordered myself. You’re getting carried away. He was not going to propose here on this beach in this beautiful setting. It was too soon for that. He was probably planning something like a romantic lunch for two. But if he did ask me, of course I would say yes. Yes, yes, yes! I’d shout it and then throw myself into his arms—

  “Cate?”

  I blinked, Dave’s voice cutting through my ridiculous thoughts. Because that’s what they were. Completely ridiculous and I needed to get a grip.

  “You can turn around now.”

  I turned slowly, not really sure what I was about to find.

  “Oh.” My hand flew to my mouth. “Is this a dream?”

  He looked up at me from his position on bended knee, the diamond dazzling me in the sunlight.

  “I ruined it, didn’t I?” he asked. “When I asked you not to turn around? I’m kind of new to this romance thing.”

  I bit down on another squeal. “No! It added to the anticipation. For a moment I thought I must be crazy, thinking you could be about to propose. I mean it’s a perfect setting and so romantic, but then I told myself not to be silly. It’s way too soon and you’d probably just organized a nice lunch or something, but then why would you ask me not to turn around? And then I thought, well, you are a man of action and—”

  “Cate?”

  “Yes?”

  “Can you stop talking for a second so I can ask you to marry me?”

  “Oh my God! Sorry. Yes. Go ahead.”

  Dave shook his head at me, but he was grinning from ear to ear. “Cate Harmon, I love you. Before I met you, I thought romance was overrated, but now I realize I just hadn’t met the right girl. And you’re the right girl. So what do you say, are you ready for some romance?”

  “Is this where I say yes?” I asked uncertainly.

  “Not yet. Let me explain. I knew if I was going to propose to you, it had to be romantic. You deserve nothing less. So I racked my brains trying to figure out what to do. And then I had a crazy idea. It’s probably more crazy than romantic. Like I said I’m kind of new to this. Now I’m rambling. Huh. Must be nervous.”

  I waited while he took a deep breath. “So, there’s kind of two parts to this proposal.”

  “Two parts?” I echoed.

  “Yeah. I need you to answer the first question before I ask you the second.”

  I smiled at him in amazement. I wasn’t sure if this was romantic but it was definitely unexpected and the suspense was killing me.

  “First question,” he announced.

  “Yes, no, or multiple choice?” I asked.

  We both cracked up. He shook his head at me but we kept grinning at each other like idiots.

  “Sorry, I’m turning this into the longest proposal ever, aren’t I?” I asked when I’d recovered. “Oh wait, that was you. So, part one.”

  “Part one is the obvious: will you be my wife, Cate? I want to spend my life with you. I’m sorry, I can’t really say it more romantically than that, and my knee is killing me.”

  I thought I’d scream it. I thought everyone within a two-mile radius would be able to hear my answer when the time came, but I hadn’t counted on being all choked up. It took me a moment to blink away the tears and to swallow the lump in my throat.

  “Cate?”

  “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, of course.”

  He stood and crushed me in his arms. As if I wasn’t breathless enough already. His lips found mine and we kissed in the heat of the midday sun until my happy tears of joy had dried and we could taste their salty flavor on our lips.

  “Here.” Dave eased back and found my hand. “I hope you like it.”

  “I love it.” The ring was simple. A delicate gold band with a solitaire diamond, and it was perfect.

  “I chose it because it was all class. Like you.”

  Words. Why did they seem to be eluding me right now? “Thank you,” I managed.

  “Right. Now part two.”

  I tried to nod seriously but didn’t do a very good job.

  “The engagement party,” he said.

  My eyes widened. “Wow, you don’t mess around.”

  “Not my style,” he agreed. “So are you ready for the engagement party?”

  I stared at him, dumbfounded. “Um, I’m not following.”

  “Today. Here. Right now.”

  “What?”

  Alright, so that had been the volume I was aiming for when accepting his initial proposal.

  Dave’s face fell. “Damn. I knew it was a crazy idea,” he muttered to himself.

  “Wait.” I grabbed his arm. “Are you saying you’ve organized an engagement party? Here? Now?”

  Dave gave me a sheepish look. “Yeah. I’ve stuffed up, haven’t I? I was trying to be romantic. I understand if it’s too much.”

  My grip softened on his arm. “It’s an amazing idea, Dave. It really is, but I just need a moment to process all this. We’re three hours from Sydney. What about my friends, or our close family? Like my brother or your sister?”

  Dave shrugged. “Yeah, they’re here.”

  “What?” My vocal chords were definitely back in full working order.

  He indicated upstairs with his thumb. “They’re hiding up there until I tell them it’s safe to come out.”

  I stared at him. I just stood there and stared at him open-mouthed.

  Dave winced. “Have I ruined it? Should I have just gone with the proposal and forgotten about the party?”

  “My brother is here?” I asked when I finally found my voice.

  “Yeah,” Dave replied, looking uncomfortable. “And your nieces.”

  My hand flew to my mouth and Dave frowned.

  “Are you mad at me? Scarlett was actually taking bets. It’s running at about seventy-thirty at the moment.”

  “Seventy-thirty?”

  “Yeah. Most of us thought you’d think the engagement party was a really romantic idea and love it, the rest thought you’d think it was too much.”

  “Who else is here?” I asked.

  Dave stared at his feet. “All your friends, plus my sister and mum,” he admitted. “Oh, and Bear, Wally and Bones. I hope you don’t mind.” He still wasn’t looking at me.

  “Tell them to come out.”

  “What?”

  “Tell them to come outside,” I repeated.

  Dave glanced at me uncertainly but turned toward the house. “Guys!” he called out. “Time to show your faces. The gig’s over.”

  I watched on in disbelief as everyone appeared on the upstairs deck.

  My family, I realized, tears filling my eyes. Every single one of them. Some of them blood relations, but most of them weren’t. Life had been generous to me and these special people had become my family. And they cared about me so much they were all here today.

  They were dressed beautifully too. Even Bear was wearing a shirt and tie and he actually looked quite dashing. A few tears ran down my cheeks when I saw my two nieces jumping up and down and waving. And there was Maddy too, holding Ava who was mimicking the girls and bobbing up and down.

  “So?” Scarlett called out. “What was your answer?”

  “What do you think?” I called back.

  “Well, obviously you said yes to the marriage proposal. No-brainer.”

  I nodded happily, then threw my head back and laughed. I heard a few people clap and cry out – Dave’s mother among them.

  When I stopped laughing I crossed my arms and looked at Scarlett again. “What about part two? Come on, Scarlett, you and your bets. What did you go for?”

  I glanced over at Dave who was standing beside me but avoiding eye contact with everyone.

  “Well, that was a tough one. When Dave first consulted us – smart move, by the way, Dave – I told him there was no way you’d have an engagement party without your brother and nieces.”

  “And as usual, Maddy took care of the details,” Christa added, giving me a wave.

  I met
Maddy’s eyes and she held up a dress. A blue dress. The dress I wore as Christa’s bridesmaid. The dress.

  “We figured it was the dress that started everything so you should wear it to your engagement party.” Scarlett smirked at me.

  I blushed and shook my head.

  “So?” Scarlett called out. “Happy? Annoyed? What’s the verdict?”

  I laughed again. “You still haven’t told me what you bet?”

  “No way. You first.”

  “Alright.” I guessed it was only fair.

  I turned toward Dave and grabbed both of his hands, tugging him closer. He met my eyes finally, and their golden depths were swimming with regret.

  “I’m so—” he began.

  “Shh.” I put my finger on his lips. “I love you,” I said.

  “What?”

  “You heard me.” My smile was so big it hurt.

  “You’re serious? You’re not annoyed?”

  “I’ve never been more serious.” I cupped his face in my hands and rubbed a thumb against his rough cheek. “And this is probably the most romantic thing anyone has done for me. Ever. Not counting the proposal, of course.”

  Dave swallowed, then he treated me to a true Dave’s happy face with a smile so bright it rivaled the sun’s rays. I basked in the glow of it, the warmth of this man who was going to share my life and become my husband.

  We heard murmuring from the deck. “So?” I heard someone ask.

  I turned to face them and threw my hands up in the air. “What do you think? Happy, of course!”

  Cheers and squeals rang out like a chorus and everyone rushed down the stairs, engulfing us in a tide of excited well wishes. It wasn’t until my girlfriends were by my side that I noticed their outfits.

  “Your dresses!”

  They smiled at me, reflecting my joy.

  “We thought it would be fun to be coordinated,” Maddy said.

  They each wore a dress in a lighter shade of blue to match the dress I would be wearing.

  “And we’re going to be your flower girls!” Millie squealed, throwing a handful of roses at me.

  “Not yet, Millie,” Susie told her. “This isn’t the actual wedding, remember? This is just a practice run.” Susie shot me an apologetic look over the girls’ heads. “Sorry about this. Stupidly I mentioned you might be getting married. Trust me, it was easier to let them dress up and give them a few flowers or I never would have heard the end of it.”