by J. B. McGee
“My pleasure.”
As he started walking down the pathway leading into the main area of the gardens, he stopped for a moment, “Gabby.”
Still giggling, she turned to look at him. “What?”
“I just wanted to see you for a second.”
She raised her eyebrows, “What are you up to? You’re acting so strange.”
“You’re about to find out.”
At the end of the main walkway there were several brick steps leading to a terrace that had a long looking pond in the middle. There were red rose petals all over the terrace. On the ledge that led of the brick enclosed looking pond, there were hundreds of tea light candles. The music of her new favorite band, The Strange Familiar was playing. Falling Back to You was playing quietly. It was one of her all-time favorites. The sun had just started to set and the warm colors of the sky filtered through the lush canopy of trees created a most romantic ambiance. “You did this for me?”
He put her down. “I did.”
She beamed and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down into a kiss. “I love it.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close. He broke the kiss and looked down to her. His eyes were sparkling from the glow of the candles.
“Gabby, do you remember the meet in the middle proposition as you called it?”
She giggled, “Of course.”
“You remember us talking about this place?”
“Yes.” She whispered.
“All I could think about was watching the light through the trees bouncing off of your eyes and being able to see those little golden specs in your eyes.” He caressed her face. “All I could think of was how badly I wanted to be able to see you here in this place at this time of day.”
“We’ve been here before though?” she responded confused.
He put his finger over her lips, “Shh. You told me the night you met me that you wanted someone who wanted more than just your body. Someone who wanted you mind, body, and soul.”
She shook her head smiling. Was he about to do what she thought he was about to do? She couldn’t control the tears as they started streaming down her face. Her chest was so tight she could barely breathe.
“Gabby, there is no one else for me. If I can’t be with you for the rest of my life, I will be alone. I’ll be miserable.”
“Me too.” She said.
He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Shh.” He released her and got down on one knee.
“Gabriella Nicole Gerhart, you have my mind, my body, my soul.” He reached in his pocket and pulled a small red velvet sachet. He opened it and pulled a Neil Lane princess cut diamond ring and showed it to her.
She was in awe. It was beautiful. The center stone was surrounded with round stones and then there were also round stones going down each side of the band. Her hands covered her mouth as she tried to contain the joyful sob that was escaping her.
“Gabby, may I have your mind, body, and soul forever, for always? Will you marry me?”
“It’s beautiful.” She spoke softly as her voice quivered.
Bradley maintained his position looked to her completely raw with emotion, tears in his eyes. “Please, Gabby.”
“Yes. Yes!”
She put her hand out for him to place the ring on her finger. She held it in front of her and admired it while he quickly stood, grabbing her waist on the way up and bringing her lips to his. They kissed passionately. He squeezed her close and picked her up, twirling her. “You have just made me the happiest man in the world.”
“And, you’ve just made me the happiest girl in the…”
He cut her sentence off as he began to kiss her again. When he broke it he was panting out of breath and his voice full of desire, “I love you so much.”
She nodded her head as tears streamed down her face. “I love you.”
He released her and turned around, as if looking for someone. “Sam did you get all of that? She said yes!”
Gabby’s eyes lit up and she quickly snapped her head back and forth, “Sam’s here?”
Bradley proudly looked back to her. “Yes, she helped me set all of this up for you and hopefully video- taped this for us.”
“You have got to be kidding me?”
“No.”
“But, we weren’t even supposed to be here. We were supposed to be in Atlanta. How did you get her to do this so quickly?”
Sam came into view as Gabby rattled off questions, “Awe, Gabby. Let me see!”
Gabby held her hand out for Sam to see the massive ring, “I’m so glad you could be here.” Gabby couldn’t hold back her sobs any longer. Sam grabbed her and just hugged her swaying back and forth. “Oh Gabby, I told you he was your keeper, your prince charming.”
“I know.” She sniffed trying to tame the sobs, “I know.”
When Sam released her she asked her question again, “But, how…?”
Bradley interrupted her. “Gabby, I had planned to propose to you in Atlanta last night. Sam had planned to drive to Atlanta Saturday morning to help me.” He looked over to Sam and grinned offering a hug. “When all of that happened, I had to cancel everything there.”
Gabby started to look sad realizing just how much damage Ian and Veronica had managed to do yesterday. No wonder he had looked so shattered when he got to her last night and saw her with Ian. He had gone through so much trouble and his plans had been ruined.
“I’m so sorry.” Gabby whispered.
“Don’t be, baby. This was way better than what I had planned anyway.” He moved a stray curl back behind her ear, “I was so upset last night and knew I just needed some time to think, to make sure that this was the right decision.” He leaned down and kissed her head. “It just solidified what I already knew, Gabby. I’m kind of happy it happened. I have no doubts what so ever. I will cherish every day I get to spend with you because I now know what it’s like to have you leave me.”
Gabby started to shiver because the sun was almost fully down and it was getting darker by the minute. The candles and flowers were beautiful. She looked around wondering how they would clean all of that up before dark.
Bradley interrupted her turning her chin so that she was looking at him, “Hey, we have permission to be here late. Sam is going to clean it all up for us. How does Malia’s sound for dinner?”
“Delicious.” Gabby beamed and turned back to hug Sam. “Thank you for this.”
“Oh Gabby girl, you deserve this.”
Gabby laughed at Sam using Bradley’s little nickname. “Goodnight, then. Love you, sister.”
“Love you, Gabby.” Sam nodded at Bradley, “Y’all have fun.”
Bradley whispered, “Thank you,” as he gave her a quick hug. “And we will.”
He scooped Gabby up the way he had when they first arrived, “Let’s go my little princess.” He leaned in and kissed her.
She giggled and wrapped her arms around him. She looked over his shoulders at her left hand and shook her head in disbelief. “Is this really happening or am I dreaming?”
“Really happening, love. Really happening. And the night is just getting started.”
“I thought you said we were eating at Malia’s?” Gabby pointed at the window as they passed Malia’s on the right.
“I said we were having Malia’s for dinner.” He glanced over to her grinning, “But I didn’t say we were eating there.”
“Oh. Where are we eating then?”
“The Carriage House Inn”
Gabby looked back over to him with hooded eyes, “Oh really?”
“Yes, another thing I had dreamed about that night at Steak and Shake was taking you to a sweet bed and breakfast here in Aiken. So, I decided tonight would be the night.”
She bit her lower quivering lip, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll spend the rest of my life taking care of you, I promise.”
“And I of you.” She reached over and ran her fingers through his hair. “
What will we do if the baby really is yours?”
“I was really trying to not think about that situation tonight. This is about me and you.”
Gabby shrugged shaking her head. “It’s the elephant in the room Bradley, I don’t know how much longer I can ignore that question.”
He stared straight ahead, “I’ll support the child. I’ll have a relationship with him or her.” Glancing to her with fire in his eyes, “But, I will not have a relationship of any kind with Veronica and she knows that. I made that very clear.”
“Okay. I can live with that.” She tilted her head, “Will we have babies?”
“Of course, we’ll have as many babies as you want.”
Her round eyes grew large, “Six?”
“Ahem,” he cleared his throat trying to not choke, “Six?”
Gabby thought he looked so adorable in that moment. She was really just teasing him but it was obvious that he thought she was serious. And it was also obvious that he was entertaining the idea in an effort to make her happy and honor the statement he’d just made. She couldn’t let him worry too long.
“Yeah, you know. A large family of little adorable Bradley’s?”
“If you want six, I’ll have fun trying.” He glanced over at her grinning wickedly.
Gabby busted out laughing, “I don’t want six.” She winked. “But, I appreciate that you’re open to a large family.”
A wave of relief washed over his face and the color started to return. “You had me worried.”
She reached over and fingered through is hair, “Thank you.” She gleamed.
He leaned into her touch, “My pleasure. We’re here.”
The inn was located in downtown Aiken on Lauren’s Street, farther down and on the other side of the road from Malia’s. It was a grand white colonial two story inn with black shutters.
“This is so neat that it’s right in the middle of town. I’d passed it before, but never really paid any attention to the fact that it was a bed and breakfast.”
“I thought it was a great location. C’mon. I had Sam check us in so everything is ready. We just need to go to our room.”
He opened his door and walked around to her side and took her hand helping her out of low car. “I’ll grab our bags.” He said as he pulled them from the back of the car.
They walked up the stairs to a large suite with a four poster king sized bed with soft white linens. The room was decorated in warm yellows and had a balcony that overlooked the courtyard in the rear of the property.
He watched her as her wide eyes surveyed the room. There were red roses covering the floor. You could barely see the carpet. There were pillar candles of staggering lengths on nearly every surface. There was a room service tray that had silver dome over the plates, a tray full of chocolate covered strawberries, a bowl of fresh whipped cream, and a chest of ice holding a familiar looking bottle. It was the same champagne he had for them on their first date at The Peninsula Grill in Charleston, Champagne Perrier-Jouet, 2004 Belle Epoque Rose.
“Say something.” He whispered as he closed the door and wrapping his arms around her waist. He moved the hair on her neck to the side and started nibbling, kissing her sweetly.
She grabbed his arms, “It’s beautiful.”
All he could think of was there was nothing more beautiful than her. The view of her eyes as he carried her into Hopeland Gardens earlier took his breath away. He wished he could have had Sam capture just her eyes in a photo in that exact moment. It had been even better than he had imagined. “Beautiful like you.” He continued to kiss, “Ya hungry?”
“Mhmm.” She hummed as she tilted her neck, giving way for his kisses.
“For food or something else?”
“Both.”
“You’re monosyllabic again, you know?”
“Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m beyond okay.” She turned and faced him. Her eyes were like hot liquid gold. They shimmered with anticipation. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, Gabby.”
He put her chin between his fingers, slowly tilting her head up to his. He gently pulled her bottom lip as he savored her. He intended to slowly savor every moment with her. This day had not gone the way he had planned, but he knew they were going to be okay. It was turning out better than anything he could have planned. He appreciated her more than he ever had before. He hadn’t known that was even possible.
He cupped her face in between his hands and deepened the kiss. Their tongues were dancing and gently tugging on each other’s swollen lips. He moved one of his hands down her arm, then to the small of her back pulling her quickly as close as she could possibly be to him. He inhaled sharply, “I can barely breathe when I’m around you because you take my breath away.” He continued to kiss her. “But, when I was without you, I thought I was drowning.”
She opened her eyes and looked at him as her lips formed a smile around his. “Me, too.”
He closed his eyes tightly, “Oh, Gabby.” He started to move them back into the room. Gabby giggled not knowing where she was going, “I got you.”
“Mmmm, I know you do.”
When they reached the side of the bed, his hands moved to the back of her dress, finding the zipper. He slowly started to pull it down. He stopped kissing her and opened his eyes watching her. Her lips were parted and her eyes were hooded with desire.
“When can we set a date?” Gabby asked.
“Let’s talk wedding dates during dinner.”
Gabby’s face turned red, “I want to get married as soon as possible.”
He smirked as he pushed the dress back and down to where it puddled in the floor around her feet. She was so incredibly sexy standing there in a black thong, and a black strapless lacy bra. She didn’t need to even wear sexy lingerie. She could make the simplest bra and panties delectable. Although, he fully intended to buy her plenty of lingerie once they got married. “Why as soon as possible, my love?”
“Because I can’t wait for you to make love to me, Bradley.”
He sucked in air as his her words. He clenched his eyes closed and he was grinning devilishly when he opened them, “Then let’s get married tomorrow, then.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling. “I want a traditional wedding, the fairy tale. I’ve already got the prince.”
He rubbed his nose on hers, “We could elope and then have a big wedding.” He began to sway their bodies from side to side to the quiet romantic music playing on the room’s sound system. He leaned in and began to kiss her cheek, then her ear lobe.
“Okay.”
He continued making his way down her body, “Okay?”
“Okay.” She whispered.
He stopped and looked at her moving his favorite stray piece of hair behind her ear lobe. “Not okay.”
Her brows furrowed and she looked at him confused.
“I was kidding. You would regret that. My family would kill me, not that I care that much. But more than anything, Sam would be devastated and disappointed.”
Gabby shrugged her shoulders, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But, I want it planned as soon as possible.”
“Okay.”
Her smile reached her eyes and she stood on her tip toes to kiss his ear lobe as she mirrored his word, “Okay. Now no more wedding talk.”
He threw his head back laughing, “Can I record you saying that and use it against you in the future?”
She giggled and pushed him back, but he barely budged. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back against the bed while moving the white bedspread down towards the foot. Her legs were dangling off the tall bed. He ran his hands down her beautiful toned legs, kissing and sucking his way to her left foot. When he got to her ankle, he slowly slid her shoe off and let it drop to the floor. She looked down at him and laced her fingers through his hair. He went back to the top of her thigh and repeated the motions on the right leg. Her breathing was ragged and his eyes glanced up
at her, never removing his lips from her leg. He smiled and continued.
Oh, how he wished that he didn’t care so much about giving her the whole fairy tale wedding because if he had his way he would have brought in a notary to marry them tonight.
He kissed his way back up her legs, alternating sides and when he reached her hips he used his teeth to start pulling her panties down. She giggled as he nipped and kissed her. He let out a small roar for her, “Mmm. You make me wild like an animal.”
“I see.”
Gabby
His slow sensual undressing of her was about to make her explode. She wanted his lips on other places of her body and she had started to wiggle and squirm. She could feel his lips curve into a smile on her body every time she moved. Rather than speeding things up and giving into her, he would just slow down and take his time.
When he got to her feet again, he let the panties drop to the floor as he had her heels. He started to move his way back up, this time paying careful attention to the insides of her thighs with his tongue and lips. “Ah.” She moaned. She knew where he was headed and she rolled her eyes in the back of her head. “Kiss me.” she muttered.
“I am kissing you.” He breathed onto the very tops of her thighs. “Kiss you where, Gabby?”
“There.”
“Where?”
She leaned up on her elbows and inhaled closing her eyes and then flashing them back open, “You know.”
“Here?” he moved his kisses up to her belly button.
She laughed, “No.”
“Here?” moving his kisses up her stomach and pushing her back down onto the bed.
“Ah, no.”
He put his hands behind her back and unclasped her bra, tossing it to the floor with the rest of her clothes.
He took one of her perky nipples into his mouth and playfully glanced up to her, “Here?”
She shook her head no.
“I think you’re wearing too many clothes.” She grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head.
He leaned down and took her mouth in his, kissing her deeply and passionately, “Here?”
“No. You’re getting colder not warmer, Mr. Banks.” She giggled.
