Man of Her Dreams

by Tina Martin

  “I came over here because I had some things to say.”

  “Okay,” she says, stepping aside so I can enter.

  I walk in, look around and say, “I see you’ve changed the place since I was here last.”

  “Yes. Billie wanted all leather seating so it looked good to his clients.”

  I bet he did…

  “Sit down, Elsie, and let me get you something to drink.”

  “No, I don’t want anything to drink. I’m just going to say this before I lose the nerve.” I clear my throat and ask, “Have you lost your freakin’ mind?”

  “Elsie—?”

  “How can you just pick some guy to ask me out—some random dude on the Internet for crying out loud? And then you had the nerve to tell him about me. Where I live, where I work—”

  “I never told him where you lived.”

  “You told him where I worked! You told him things about my personality that I’m ashamed to tell people—private things I trusted would be safe with my best friend.”

  “I see how wrong I was in doing that now, but—”

  “Did you even check his background or anything? He could’ve been a serial killer, but, you know what? That’s beside the point. What I have to say is this—for years, I’ve been your sidekick, Priscilla, and you’ve been the girl who got everything. The man, the looks, the house, the loser best friend that you could use and manipulate—you won at life. I don’t care what you say about Trevor. He likes me, but you don’t want me to be with him because you don’t want to see me win. Why? Because you’re the winner. I’m the loser. That’s how it’s always been, and that’s how you want it to always be.”

  “But—”

  “There’s no need to say otherwise because I know better. Why else would you confess and tell me what you did?”

  “Because I felt guilty,” she answers.

  “No, because you wanted me to stop seeing Trevor so I’d be available for you, but understand something, Priscilla—that ends now. I’ve been a loyal friend to you. It’s time you learned how to be one to me. For starters, do not show up at my house at any time of the day, do not ring my doorbell back-to-back-to-flippin’-back like a lil’ kid who got locked out and do not track me like I’m your property. If you want to see me, do me the courtesy of calling first. Got it?”

  “Yeah. Okay. Jeez,” she says, doing an eye roll.

  “And do not ever in your glittery, little perfect life ever hook me up with an Internet stranger.”

  Priscilla sighs heavily. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  “For your sake, you better hope it doesn’t,” I say, feeling empowered for some reason like I can actually snatch her. I think Karsheeda is rubbing off on me.

  “Are we good now?” she asks.

  “That remains to be seen,” I say standing up. “Depends on how you behave. I’m out.”

  “Where are you going?” she asks in a panic.

  “None of your business,” I say, smiling as I exit the door and head for my car.

  * * *

  When I leave Priscilla’s, I have a plan in mind to find a way to talk to Trevor. A phone call won’t do. Neither will a text message. I can’t retreat into wariness and I can’t allow fear to prevent me from doing what has to be done. I just hope it’s not too late.

  I swing by a store to buy a housewarming gift and drive to his house. I press the doorbell and wait for a moment. The wind is whippin’ so hard, I feel like my face is chapped. When I hear the door opening, suddenly I can’t feel the cold any longer. A flash of heat comes over me instead.

  The door opens fully and it’s Lana.

  Lana?

  “Lana,” I say, my eyes as wide as her grin.

  “Hey, Elsie!” she says, excited to see me.

  I’m shocked she doesn’t call me Rachel. “You know my real name,” I say.

  “Yes. Trevor told me all about it. Come in.”

  I step inside and give her a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you again, Lana.”

  “You, too.”

  “I can’t believe Trevor told you about me.”

  “He did.”

  “Is he here? I haven’t had a real conversation with him since we left your house, so I brought him a housewarming gift.”

  “That’s nice of you.”

  I place the gift bag on the table, then look at her. She’s looking back at me, smiling.

  “So, Trevor’s not here?”

  “No. Not yet,” Lana says. “He’s back to work now that the move is finally complete. I’ve been helping him organize things.”

  “Oh.”

  “Why did you agree to be his pretend fiancée when you came to visit?”

  “I was doing Trevor a favor.”

  “But you made it seem so real, Elsie. You’re either a superb actress, or you’re actually in love with my son. Which one is it?”

  “The latter,” I respond.

  Her smile widens. “I knew it!”

  I’m smiling, too, but it disappears when I don’t know where I stand with Trevor.

  “How long are you in town, Lana?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Thanks to our little talks, I decided to leave Dexter. If he cleans up his act, I’ll go back, but as for now, he doesn’t deserve my cooking, cleaning or anything else. I can’t believe how blind I was.”

  “What matters is that you realized it and made a change.”

  “Yes, and I feel great,” she says.

  There’s commotion at the front door and we both look there to see Trevor enter. My body stiffens as we lock eyes and I watch a small frown tighten his already tense expression. He has a couple of grocery bags in his hand and pushes the door closed with his foot.

  “Hi,” he says, carrying the bags to the kitchen, placing them on the counter. Then he comes back to where we’re sitting.

  Lana stands and says, “I’ll give you two some privacy.” She heads down the hallway.

  Trevor sits on the sofa – a safe space away from me to look at me as if reacquainting himself with my face when he says, “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

  “I know. I needed some time to process everything. Um...” I glance up at him. He’s still handsome. Still everything my heart desires, but I now know he’s so much more than his physical attributes. He’s a man with a heart equally as beautiful as his face.

  “I’ll broach the subject since I was one of the conspirators,” he says. “When Priscilla brought this idea to me, I didn’t want to do it because she said you were shy and I didn’t want to hurt you. I told her that, straight up. But she offered me a chance to work with EBN and I took the bait.”

  “Trevor, you don’t have to explain.”

  He scoots closer to me and says, “I do, because I want this to be resolved and I want you to know the truth. Priscilla asked me to ask you out. I did that. She told me you would say no. You did that. But me convincing you to have dinner with me, was because I wanted to. Everything that has happened between us—the dinners, skating, watching football together and asking you to tag along with me on my trip to my parent’s place was all me. And by the way, when we were there, I wasn’t kissing you to impress my mother. I was kissing you because I wanted to kiss you. Because my mouth watered for the taste of your lips.”

  He slides closer to me and takes my hands in his, and says, “I was kissing you because I’ve fallen in love with you, Elsie Evans.”

  My eyes fill with tears like the man had just proposed. “You love me?”

  “Yes. I love you. And I miss you and I need you to forgive me because I can’t live without you. Do you forgive me?”

  “Yes, Trevor, and I love you, too.”

  He releases a sigh like a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, then straddles me, prompting me to lay back on the sofa while he presses his lips to mine before taking a deeper kiss. I know his mother is here but I can’t control the moans that force their way out.

  “Stop all that noise,” he wh
ispers against my lips. “Mother’s going to think we’re getting busy on the couch.”

  I laugh at him. “I can’t help it. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too, baby,” he says, kissing me again. Then he pulls back, looks at me and smiles.

  “I brought you a housewarming gift,” I tell him.

  “I know. I’m kissing it,” he says kissing me all over my face.

  Giggling, I say, “It’s on the table, silly.”

  “Is that your way of telling me to get off of you?”

  “Yes, before we get busted.”

  He slowly eases off of me, takes the bag from the table and removes his gift. He smiles.

  I’m so tickled, tears come to my eyes.

  “A-1 sauce with a red ribbon tied around it. You got me back,” he says, smiling. “This ain’t the same bottle I sent you, is it?”

  “No. I got you the big bottle since you have such a massive appetite.”

  “Right,” he says, placing the bottle on the table. He leans forward to give me another kiss, then we embrace in a long, tight squeeze, hugging the life out of each other. He loosens his grip on me when he says, “I got something for you, too.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. I’ll be right back.”

  When he returns, I see nothing in his hands, but he drops to his knees in front of me when he says, “These last few weeks have taught me a lot about life and love and heartbreak. When I saw you cry that day on the stairs at your house, it broke my heart. That’s how I knew I loved you. And when you gave me this ring back,” he says, removing the ring from his pocket, “It hurt me to my soul because I never intended for you to take it off. I want you to be mine, not just for a little while, but forever. Elsie Evans, will you marry me?”

  I didn’t know I could work up tears so fast. I’m a leaky faucet while I’m staring at this man in disbelief. “You want to marry me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” I ask, sounding foolish.

  He laughs while wiping my tears away and says, “What do you mean, why? Love isn’t enough?”

  “It is, but—”

  “Then make my dreams come true and say, I do, and I want you to look into my eyes when you say it.”

  I look up, see the intense stare in his green eyes that still makes my stomach quiver and after he thumbs more tears away, I say, “I do.”

  He slides the ring back onto my quivering finger where it will stay for an eternity because I’m never taking it off. Never.

  Trevor embraces me again and I hug him back, elated. Through all of this, I never had to change who I was to impress him. I’m still an introvert. I don’t dress like the ‘it’ girl. I’m not a boss chick and I’m not assertive by any means. I’m me. Elsie Evans. AKA Ellie. AKA Izzle, and I’m in love with and engaged to the man of my dreams.

  Epilogue

  A beautiful day in May

  She wanted a summer wedding. He wanted a fall wedding, so in the spirit of compromise, they agreed to a late spring ceremony in the mountains at a private old English manor. The temperature was in the high sixties – perfect as far as they were concerned.

  It was a small ceremony. Reid was Trevor’s best man while Priscilla, who’d gotten back on good terms with Elsie over the past few months, was her maid of honor. Elsie’s parents made the trip from Boston to see their daughter tie the knot. Trevor had been encouraging her to reach out to her parents and few months of calling them every week had paid off. The Evans were even talking about moving to Charlotte so they could be closer to Elsie and their new son-in-law.

  “It turned out nice man,” Reid commented. “Not bad for a man who said marriage was off the table.”

  “What can I say, she’s something special,” Trevor said looking at Elsie in a beautiful lace-sleeved wedding gown that fit her body perfectly.

  “And you chose a shy girl,” Reid said. “So, first, you said no to marriage, then you said you didn’t like shy women. Now, you’re married to a shy woman. Is that how love works?”

  Trevor grinned. “You know how they say God knows what you need more than you know what you need?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She’s what I needed.”

  Elsie caught Trevor’s glance and smiled at him. She was busy talking to Lana who’d reconciled with Dexter. Turns out he just needed a reminder of what he had and how important she was to him to straighten up his act. Lana stayed with Trevor for two months and she’d moved back home at the beginning of April after Dexter nearly begged her and made promises that he would never step out on her again. So far, he’d been true to that promise.

  “I’m happy for you, Elsie,” Priscilla said, hugging Elsie again. Even she had gotten her act together after Elsie laid down the law and put her in her place.

  “Thank you, Priscilla.”

  “I guess I did something right, huh?” Priscilla asked.

  Elsie smiled, glancing over at Trevor. Goodness, he was handsome in his black tux – the striking sheen of his green eyes captivating her from across the way. “I should’ve known you were going to try to take credit for this.”

  “Of course. I have a big hole to dig myself out of with you.”

  “Well, this is definitely a start.”

  Billie walked over to Trevor and said, “Congrats, man. The ceremony was beautiful. Extremely beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Billie.”

  “I tell you, Trev…if I’d known what my lil’ sneaky wife was up to with that whole job offer deal—”

  “It’s water under the bridge,” Trevor said, cutting him off. He wasn’t even sure why Billie was bringing it up again. They’d already discussed it. Billie ended up offering him the job, anyway to which Trevor declined. He didn’t want anything to taint his marriage.

  “Would you take the job if I offered it to you as a wedding gift?” Billie asked.

  “No. Elsie is my wedding gift. Excuse me,” Trevor said. He began walking over to Elsie when Dexter stepped up to him and said, “Hey, son.”

  Trevor looked at him. “Hi.”

  “It was a beautiful ceremony. Your mom couldn’t stop crying. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re a better man than me. You always have been,” Dexter found the need to say. “I wish you nothing but the best. You’ve certainly scored a beautiful, sweet bride.”

  “And you’ve been married to one for years, Dad. It shouldn’t take for her to leave you for you to realize that. Now, that she’s given you a second chance, be good to my mother. Okay?”

  “I will.”

  Trevor continued walking to Elsie. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I desperately need some alone time with you.”

  “I need some alone time with you, too.”

  “Then what do you say we get out of here?” he said, taking a kiss.

  “I say, let’s go.”

  * * *

  “Should I bother asking you where you’re taking me?” ‘Elsie asked, while Trevor held her left hand with his right as he drove.

  “No. You know I’m not telling you,” he said, rubbing the ring on her finger.

  “I can’t believe we’re married,” Elsie said. “It feels like a dream. Every day we’ve spent together since we met has felt like a dream.”

  “It has been that way for me, too, Ellie.”

  She smiled when she glanced over and caught his dimpled smile. “Now, tell me where you’re taking me.”

  “I’m taking you somewhere you’ve been before but this time, when we get there, angel, I’m actually going to take you.”

  Elsie chewed on her lip. For the last few months, they’d taken the time to get to know each other fully. They’d refrained from making love. Trevor was tempted many times, but he’d kiss his way through it and think about how special this night would be, and now, it was here.

  “It looks like we’re going to your parent’s house.”

  “Stop guessing,” he said.

  A soft smile
touched her face and Trevor could feel the nervous energy flowing through her hand.

  When he made the turn onto his parent’s street, Elsie said, “Really Trevor? We’re spending our honeymoon at your parent’s house?”

  “No, Ellie,” he said. “Let’s just say I’m glad you changed out of your wedding gown because we’re going for a hike.” He parked in his parent’s driveway and took his backpack from the backseat, then he walked around the car to open the door for his bride.”

  “We’re going hiking in the dark?”

  “Yes. We have flashlights.”

  “What are flashlights supposed to do when Bigfoot comes running out?”

  Trevor laughed then said, “Ellie.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I will protect you with my life. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Besides,” he said, still tickled. “I have two guns. One is in my backpack and the other is in my pants. Both are locked and loaded, but the only one I plan on firing is the one in my pants.”

  Elsie giggled. “You are something else. Why are you comparing your junk to a gun?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” He took her hand after giving her a flashlight, they began the hike in the woods. This time, there was no snow on the ground but springtime in the mountains was still a little chilly which was fine by Trevor because things were sure to heat up once they arrived at the shed.

  “We’re spending the night in the shed?” Elsie asked excitedly. That shed had memories. She still got goosebumps thinking about the time they roasted marshmallows and kissed there.

  As he’d done the previous time, Trevor unlocked the padlock and when he opened the door, Elsie’s jaw dropped.

  “Wow,” was all she could say as she looked around. Was this the same place? It was decorated beautifully with white pillar candles, string lights blanketing the arches of the ceiling and a twin-sized mattress with covers and pillows. There was a small radio already playing soft music. A picnic basket was beside the makeshift bed along with a bucket of champagne.