“What is the real reason you don’t want to go to Florida?” Coco asked.
“I don’t want to leave you and Mr. Winters. You two keep me straight.”
She shook her head. “No, you keep you straight, Jerome. You purposed in your heart that you would become a better you. Ransom and I can’t take credit for that.”
“It might be good,” Jerome said after a moment. “I can get away from these knuckleheads.”
“Didn’t you tell me at one time that you wanted to go to college in Florida?” He nodded.
“Well, Florida can’t be too bad, then.”
“I’d miss you and Mr. Winters.”
“There’s e-mail,” she said with a chuckle. “And you love texting. He and I both have unlimited texting.”
“I know that you were real hurt when Marcus and his brother came here. Marcus an all right dude. He just got a crazy brother.”
“I’m glad Ransom was able to get him away from here,” she said. “His brother is going to prison for a long time.”
“Miss Stanley, thank you for seeing me as a person and for not thinking that we’re all thugs. I’m not the clothes I wear.”
“No, you’re not,” she said. “Most times, people don’t take time to look past the clothing. You, Benjamin and even Marcus have taught me to look past the outer shell to the inner man. Thank you for that gift, Jerome.”
“You’re not gonna start crying now, are you?” he asked with a frown.
Coco laughed as a tear ran down her cheek.
Chapter 19
It was Sunday.
Ransom, his brothers and Michael were in Miami for the Super Bowl.
Coco surfed through the channels on her television, searching for something to watch, but there wasn’t a whole lot to choose from. She had a slight temperature and felt weak from a spell of the flu. She’d had enough of Lifetime movies and wasn’t interested in watching the pregame events.
Her mother walked into the room. “How are you feeling, sugar?” She sat down on the chair across from her.
Coco could feel her mom’s eyes on her and met her gaze. “I wish Ransom was here.”
“They’ll be back tomorrow.”
“I know.” She sighed.
“Are you hungry?”
Coco shook her head. She didn’t believe she could keep anything down. She hated being sick.
“Mama, you don’t have to stay here. I don’t want you getting sick.”
“I had my flu shot. I keep telling you to get one.”
“Maybe next year,” Coco said. She leaned back against the sofa, her eyes closed. Ransom had offered to come home when he found out she was sick, but Coco knew how much he had been looking forward to the game.
Her mother’s words broke through her musings. “You’re sure you don’t want to try eating something?”
Coco shook her head again. “Not right now, Mama. Maybe in a little while.”
February 1
Coco was feeling stronger, but decided to stay home for another day. Actually, Ransom insisted that she take one more day off before diving back into her work.
Michael assured her that Valencia had everything under control.
The knock on the door surprised Coco.
She opened it and smiled. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be at the studio all day long.”
“I wanted to make sure you were behaving.”
“I’m here,” she said. “I’m bored to tears, though.”
Ransom held up a bag. “I brought you some lunch. You need to eat so that you can gain back some of the weight you lost.”
Coco frowned. “I hope that’s not soup.”
“It’s not.”
“Good. Because I’m really sick of soup.”
“It’s from La Maison. Matt told me that you love the red beans and rice.”
“Yes!” she squealed.
Ransom laughed.
They sat down at the table and talked while she ate her lunch. When she was done, they went into the den.
“I have something else for you,” Ransom announced with a smile.
Her eyes grew hopeful. “Dessert?”
He shook his head.
She tried to hide her disappointment.
Ransom handed her a box.
“What’s this for?” she asked.
“The first day of February,” Ransom said. “And the first of fourteen presents. I’m giving you one a day until Valentine’s Day.”
Excited, Coco unwrapped her gift. She laughed when she saw the gleaming set of ebony chopsticks. “This is from our first date. When you tried to teach me to eat with them. I ruined that beautiful silk shirt of yours.”
“I was enjoying your company so much that I barely noticed,” he said. “It was one of the best nights of my life.”
She kissed him. “Mine, too.”
Coco had already purchased a gift for him—tickets to join his siblings on their annual family cruise. This year they were sailing the Mediterranean. She was joining him, although they were going to have separate cabins.
She had learned a long time ago never to ponder what she was getting for Valentine’s Day. That way she didn’t have to deal with disappointment. However, it was hard to escape the excitement and anticipation of daily presents until “V” day. Coco was touched by his creativity.
The next day, when he picked her up for dinner, Ransom gave Coco another gift.
Without saying a word, she tore into the package. “It’s a CD of the concert we went to,” she exclaimed. “That was our second or third date. I love it.”
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m glad you like the gifts.”
“I’m warning you, Ransom, you’re spoiling me with all these presents. A girl could get used to this very quickly. I love receiving gifts.”
“Good,” he responded. “I love giving them to you.”
He was looking forward to Valentine's Day, because that was when he would give her the most important gift—the gift of his heart and soul.
Chapter 20
Ransom serenaded Coco with a song he’d written for her, and feeling ambitious, actually attempted to play it on the violin.
“‘I’ve often heard that for every heart, there beats another, a matter of time until someday you find each other. But Coco, each night when I look up to the skies, I wonder out of all the millions, will the real one pass me by?
“‘But now I believe in all the joy and laughter I see in your gorgeous eyes. I know we’ll endure forever and a day. Every dream that I dream can come true, ’cause out of all the millions, Coco, I found you…’”
Ransom cleared his throat, then sang, “‘Baby, I don’t wanna miss this chance to say that nobody ever touched me in the way that you have. Every dream that I have, I know can come true, ’cause I found you. Yeah o’ yeah…I found you.’”
The words were beautiful but his attempts to play the violin were disastrous.
Coco put a hand to her mouth to keep from chuckling. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings after he had worked so hard to try and play the violin. It was terribly romantic, but poor Ransom—he wasn’t a bad singer, but playing the violin was not his gift.
She clapped as loud and as hard as she could when he was done.
“Baby, that was one of the most romantic gestures anyone has ever done for me. Thank you,” she told him. “I loved every minute of it.”
“I recorded it on a CD for you and it sounds much better than the live version. Play it when you are in need of a laugh every now and then.”
“Ransom, I love it because I know that it came from your heart,” she stated, holding the CD to her own heart. “I’m going to cherish this forever.”
“There are a couple of other songs on the CD,” Ransom said. “They are a blend of hip-hop and violin music. I think it came out really nice.”
“Really?” Coco rose to her feet. “I’d like to hear it.”
She walked
over to the CD player and slipped in the disk, then stood there listening, amazed at the results. “This is nice, baby.”
Inspired, she and Ransom spent the rest of the evening putting music to the song he’d written for her.
“I like that,” he said at last.
“You can even add some rap to it for the remix. Like this.” Coco stood up. “You say you love…yeah…yeah. You make my heart sing….”
“Honey, just stick to playing the violin,” Ransom advised, laughing hard.
She threw a pillow at him.
Chapter 21
Valentine’s Day
Ransom had given her chopsticks, CDs, a song he’d written just for her, a huge box of red hots candy, a pair of heart-printed socks, personalized cards, plus handwritten love notes that she’d found planted in her coat pocket, in the refrigerator and behind the windshield wiper of her car. He had sent her flowers, fourteen perfect red roses. A hilarious Valentine’s Day T-shirt. A bag of candy hearts personalized with their names. A beautiful teddy bear, and a host of other cute romantic gifts.
Coco stared at the stunning red gown, Ransom’s most recent present to her, along with a formal invitation to meet him at La Maison for a very special Valentine’s Day dinner. She fingered the expensive material of the dress. This was by far the most extravagant of the gifts, although she knew the studio time for the CDs must have set him back a few hundred dollars.
No man had ever done anything like this for her. Coco knew she shouldn’t be surprised—look at the way he was with his boys. Ransom was generous to a fault.
Smiling, she padded barefoot to the shower. She was not going to be late for her romantic evening with Ransom.
She showered quickly, then got out and dried off. Coco ran her fingers through her short curly hair. She eyed her reflection, scrutinizing her complexion, then applied her makeup with a light hand.
Satisfied with her looks, she got up and slipped on the strapless gown. It fit her body as if it had been made just for her.
“Great job, Ransom,” she whispered. She was pretty sure his sisters must have helped choose her gown. Kaitlin owned a chain of bridal stores, so she was probably the one who’d selected this gift.
Coco would be arriving at La Maison any moment now. The driver had called to let him know that they were a block away. Ransom and Matt had worked on the perfect menu for this evening—everything had to be perfect.
Coco took his breath away when she walked into the private dining room at La Maison restaurant wearing the stunning red strapless gown he’d purchased for her.
She glanced around the room. “Are more people joining us?”
“Yes, but before they get here, I want to do this.”
He kissed her.
“Hey, get a room.”
They turned around to find Kaitlin standing in the doorway.
“You look stunning,” she told Coco. “Have you seen my husband?”
“Are you joining us for dinner?”
Kaitlin nodded.
Just then Ray and Carrie arrived, followed by more of the Ransom clan.
“You don’t mind that dinner is more of a family affair, do you?” Ransom asked.
“Of course not,” Coco responded. She spied Michael walking in with Ivy, and waved. “You invited my parents, too?”
Ransom nodded. “We’re going to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a family.”
“This is really nice,” she told him.
“Elle, what’s wrong?” Coco asked a moment later, noting the troubled expression on her friend’s face. “Has something happened?”
“Mama’s bringing a date.”
“Really?”
“I mean, she deserves to have a life, but none of us knew she was dating anyone.”
“Maybe he’s just a companion or a good friend,” Coco offered.
“Maybe,” Elle responded. “I just need to wrap my head around her seeing some one.”
When everyone had arrived, Matt came in and greeted them.
“Tonight, we will dine on oysters Rockefeller, chateaubriand with portobello mushrooms and Madeira wine jus, steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce, twice-baked potatoes with leeks and parmesan. For dessert, we will have tiramisu hearts, and we would be remiss if we didn’t end the evening with coffee and Stanley white-chocolate dipped strawberries.”
Waiters appeared out of nowhere, bringing in trays of food as soft jazz floated around the room.
Ransom reached over and took Coco’s hand in his.
“Did you plan all this?” she asked him. “Matt helped.”
“You did all this for us?”
He nodded. “My mom and I used to do Valentine’s Day in a big way. We’d get all dressed up and go to dinner.”
“This is very nice. If she’s looking down here right now, I’m sure she’s happy and smiling.”
“I think so, too. This is what she wanted for me.” Ransom glanced around the room.
“I think they’re all in shock, seeing Miss Amanda with another man.”
“She’s never shown any interest in dating before. I’m surprised myself, but that does explain why she’s doing all these spa days with my mom. Aunt Amanda never really cared about stuff like that before.”
Laine said grace.
Everyone dived into their food.
After dinner, it was time for the couples to exchange gifts.
Ransom was speechless when Coco gave him trip cruise tickets. “We go on a cruise every year,” Kaitlin explained. “Since you’re one of us, we are expecting you to join us this year.”
“Coco, I can’t believe that you did this for me,” he told her. “A cruise to the Mediterranean.”
“You’re going to be with your family—and me, of course. I hope you don’t mind that I decided to tag along.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Ransom said with a smile. “I noticed you reserved two cabins.”
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I know that you’re celibate and I didn’t want to tempt you too much by being in the same room with you.”
He laughed. “Coco, I think that it’s time for me to give you my gift.”
Ransom pulled a present from under the table.
Coco hid her disappointment.
Well, that’s certainly too big to be jewelry. It’s not like I was expecting a ring or anything, but couldn’t the man have bought me earrings or a bracelet?
Shut up! I’m happy with whatever Ransom gives me.
Smiling, Coco unwrapped the package. Inside was an elegant wooden box, which she opened to find a large diamond-shaped chocolate candy inside, inscribed with the words Will you marry me?
Coco blinked twice, then read it again. “‘Will you marry me?’” She met Ransom’s emotion-filled gaze. “Is this for real?”
He nodded. “I love you, Constance Stanley, and I want you to be my wife.”
She kissed him. “I love you, too, and yes, I’ll marry you.”
Ransom grinned. “We’re not done yet. Now for the other part of your gift.” He pulled a tiny black velvet box out of his pocket.
He opened it to reveal a gorgeous diamond engagement ring featuring a four-carat, emerald-cut, chocolate diamond with two white diamonds along the shank. “The diamonds are all conflict-free, something we both feel strongly about.”
Tears rolled down Coco’s cheeks. “It’s stunning,” she whispered.
The room erupted in applause.
Coco pulled him to her and kissed him. “Thank you for the honor of being your fiancée. Now tell me, what kind of candy is this?”
Ransom smiled. “This diamond has a Venezuelan chocolate casing with a rich praline center.”
Coco glanced over her shoulder at her brother. “Michael told you this was my favorite, right?” “It isn’t?”
“No, it’s just that I always told him that the man I married would bring me pralines covered in Venezuelan chocolate.”
Ransom gave Michael a thumbs-up. “Good looking out,
man.”
“Hey, it’s the ultimate chocolate proposal,” he responded.
Coco was all smiles for the rest of the evening. This was a Valentine’s Day she would never forget.
Chapter 22
Holy Trinity Christian Church was filled to capacity.
This was the first wedding to be performed in the new building. The chic architectural lines of the structure provided the perfect backdrop for Ransom and Coco’s June wedding. The rows of seats were garnished with lavish displays of red and ivory flowers arranged with bronze-colored ribbons and baby’s breath.
Coco stood in front of a huge full-length mirror in the bridal dressing room. She had never been to a church with a room set aside specifically for brides and their attendants.
This is pretty cool.
“You look so beautiful,” Elle said from behind her.
“I can’t wait to glimpse Ransom’s face when he sees you walking down the aisle.”
“So do you,” she responded, turning around to face her best friend. “That mocha color looks great on you.”
Coco had chosen to have her bridesmaids wear different shades of chocolate, from deep dark chocolate to a creamy mocha color. Her own gown was the color of white chocolate.
The men were all wearing dark brown, custom-designed tuxedos, their vests in varying shades to match the bridesmaid dresses.
Coco had been fortunate to find a flower grower that had chocolate-colored blooms available. Chocolate orchids, chocolate cosmos and chocolate sundae dahlias were used in her wedding bouquet and the decorations for the reception.
Her father came to the door. “It’s time,” he said with a smile.
Elle hugged her. “I’ll see you at the altar.”
“Baby, I’m so happy for you,” Coco’s dad murmured. “You got yourself a good man. If Prescott were here, I know that he’d be pleased.”
“Thank you, Daddy, for setting a perfect example of a good man,” Coco told him. “You were my first date and you set the standard by which I chose the men in my life. I love you.”
“I love you and I’m so very proud of you.” He gestured toward the door. “Now let’s not keep your husband-to-be waiting.”
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