“Let’s go,” she says as she takes my hand in hers and leads me down the hallway and into the kitchen where her parents are putting groceries away.
“Hi,” she says brightly.
“Hey,” her father says, then he glances at me with a look that says You kept my daughter out all night and I’m not happy about it.
For a moment I’m annoyed—Ashley is an adult, after all. But then I consider that to her father, she’ll always be his little girl. His only daughter. This knowledge only makes me less eager to have a conversation with him, and I wonder if suggesting it was a mistake.
Ashley seemed to like the idea, so there’s that.
“What have you two been up to?” Ashley’s mother asks.
Ashley tells them about our hike and going dancing, then she glances at me with a secret smile before facing her mother. “Drake even bought me a pair of diamond earrings.”
Her father’s eyebrows rise and his gaze darts to me before settling on Ashley. “Is that so?”
She nods.
“Where are they?” her mother asks. “Can I see them?”
“They’re in my room,” she says. “Come on, I’ll show you.” Then Ashley gives me a look that clearly says Here’s your chance to talk to my dad.
I watch her walk out of the room with her mother before I turn to her father.
“Diamond earrings, huh?” he says. “That seems rather extravagant.”
A diamond engagement ring—especially the one I gave her—is much more extravagant. “Ashley means a lot to me,” I say, knowing this is the perfect opening.
Her father leans against the counter and folds his arms across his chest. “Tell me more.”
I decide to jump right in. “I’m in love with your daughter.”
He tilts his head. “How long have you known Ashley?”
Disappointed that my statement didn’t immediately win him over, I say, “Just over two months.” In reality it’s been barely two months, but I know how that sounds and I want him to believe me, to know I’m sure about my feelings.
“What about her do you love? What makes her different from the other women you’ve surely dated?”
The question is fair, although I’m not used to being questioned and I don’t much like it. But as much as it bothers me to feel like I have to prove myself, I know I have to make a good impression on this man—my future father-in-law.
I consider his question. “To me, Ashley is not only beautiful, but she’s smart, hardworking, caring, and thoughtful.” I pause, then holding back the emotion that wells up, I add, “She makes me want to be a better man.”
Her father slowly nods, and a small smile turns up the corners of his mouth. I hope that he sees that this is the real thing, that I truly love his daughter.
“Tell me more about yourself, Drake.”
I tell him about my parents and about Drake Consulting, and he seems to relax.
He uncrosses his arms and gestures towards the living room. “Why don’t we sit down?”
I follow him into the living room and sit across from him.
“Ashley hasn’t told us anything about you,” he says. “How did the two of you meet?”
Ashley and I haven’t discussed how much about that first weekend she wants to share with her parents. Memories flash through my mind—Ashley’s sassy attitude, Ashley pretending to be my housekeeper, Ashley showing up at Drake Consulting to interview for the job as my assistant—and I hold back a smile.
“Did Ashley tell you that her car slid off the road on her way to Reno?” I ask.
Her father nods. “She called us and told us a little about that.”
“I guess she didn’t mention that I rescued her.”
“No. She didn’t.” Curiosity fills his face. “What happened, exactly?”
I tell him how she flagged me down, how her ankle was hurt, and how I brought her back to my cabin.
His eyebrows rise at that last bit of information. “I have to admit, I’m kind of surprised she went with you—a complete stranger—to your house.”
I nod. “It was a bad storm.” I chuckle. “She was kind of freezing by then, and I think feeling kind of desperate.”
“I’m grateful to you. For helping her in her time of need.” He frowns. “And for not taking advantage of her.”
Guilt immediately cascades over me as I think about the second night Ashley and I were together. When we watched the Lord of the Rings movie in my bedroom. “Of course.” Does he see right through me? That I can be a selfish lowlife? Worried that he does, I brace myself for more questions.
“Tell me, Drake. Where do you see yourself with Ashley in the future?”
Suddenly the rightness of my decision to marry her overtakes my worries. With confidence, I say, “I want to marry her.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “Does Ashley know this?”
A wide smile curves my mouth. “We’ve discussed it.”
“From the look on your face, I can only assume that she’s on-board.”
I nod. “I proposed to her last night.” My smile grows. “And she accepted.”
He stares at me a moment and I wonder what he’s thinking.
“We would like to have your blessing,” I add.
He smiles. “You’re both adults and can do what you want, so I appreciate you talking to me about this.” He pauses. “I do have one concern though.”
Not liking that he’s about to put a damper on my happiness, nevertheless I need to hear what he has to say. “What’s that?”
He leans back in his chair and says, “You’ve known each other for a very short period of time. Don’t you think it’s a little soon to be talking about marriage?”
Before I made the decision to propose to Ashley the day before, I would have completely agreed with him. But now, everything is different. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I’ve never felt towards a woman the way I feel towards Ashley. “I understand your concern, Mr. Spencer.”
“Call me, Russ.”
“Russ,” I say with a nod. “There’s something very special between Ashley and me, and marriage feels completely right.” I pause. “We haven’t set a date yet. I believe we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other even better before we walk down the aisle.”
“As you know,” he says, “Ashley’s mother and I have been married for thirty years.” He leans forward in his chair and rests his elbows on his knees. “I believe it would be better to have a long engagement to make certain that you are truly committed to each other, rather than rush into marriage only to later realize it was a mistake.”
I can’t say I disagree with him, but I still don’t like the idea that he’s dictating how my relationship with Ashley should go. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I appreciate that, Drake.”
I notice he hasn’t explicitly given us his blessing, and for some reason I want to hear him say it. “If I may,” I begin, “do we have your blessing?”
He smiles, but he seems hesitant. “Of course Ashley’s mother and I will support the two of you in your decision. Congratulations.”
Feeling better, I accept his congratulations, then we move on to other topics of conversation, and I wonder if Ashley has told her mother our news.
Three
ASHLEY
“Those earrings are stunning, Ashley,” Mom says as she turns my chin this way and that.
I’m dying to pull my engagement ring out of my pocket and show it to her, but wanting to give Drake a chance to talk to my father first, I hold back.
I wonder how it’s going in there.
As I imagine the conversation taking place in the other room, a bright smile lights my face. Fortunately Mom thinks it’s due to the fabulous diamond earrings Drake bought me.
“I know,” I say as I touch one of the earrings in my earlobe. “He let me pick out whichever ones I wanted.”
One of her eyebrows arches. “He’s a generous man.”
I picture
the five-carat cushion cut diamond engagement ring in my pocket and think, You have no idea. “He is,” I say instead. “But honestly, these earrings almost feel like too much, don’t you think?” Despite the fact that he bought me the huge diamond ring, I’m still not completely comfortable with taking the earrings too. I’m pretty much dirt poor and I don’t want him to think I’m interested in him for his wealth.
She purses her mouth. “What do you think he’s expecting in return?”
And that’s what does it. I have to defend Drake, and to do that I have to tell her everything. “Mom,” I say as I give up trying to keep any semblance of a poker face. “He proposed to me.”
Her eyes briefly widen. “That seems sudden.”
For some reason I expected her to be as happy as I am and I’m disappointed by her response. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, honey. Just the other day you told me the two of you had decided to date other people. Now he’s proposing marriage?”
Not liking that she seems skeptical, I feel the need to defend Drake. “It turns out that was just a big misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? You told me there was someone else he wanted to go out with. What happened to her?”
Regretting now that I shared that with her when I arrived the previous Friday night, an image of Jasmine comes into my mind—her uncanny resemblance to Rachel, the way Drake stared at her backside when she left his office, the fact that she’ll be working with him everyday. And Drake’s admission during our game of Truth or Dare that he finds her attractive.
A feeling of dejection cascades over me, and needing Mom’s advice, I murmur, “She’s his personal assistant.”
“Oh,” Mom says, obviously surprised. She’s quiet a moment, then she says, “Wait. What made you think he wanted to go out with her?”
Not sure how much I should share—I don’t want her to think poorly of my future husband—I hesitate.
She must notice, because she says, “You know what? You don’t have to tell me.” She smiles brightly. “I’m sure you and Drake can work this out.”
I think about the feeling I had the day before when I realized I knew I could trust Drake. The feeling comes over me again and I know I need to let go of my Rachel worries. “We already did.”
Mom smiles. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out my engagement ring. “When he proposed to me last night, he surprised me with this.”
Mom draws in a quick breath. “That’s lovely, Ashley.” I hand it to her and she gazes at it a moment. “Did you pick this out?”
I shake my head.
She hands it back to me. “The man has good taste.” Her eyebrows pull together. “Why aren’t you wearing it?”
Glad there’s a reasonable explanation, I laugh. “I was wearing it earlier, but then Drake thought he should talk to Dad before we made our announcement.”
Mom nods as if a secret has been revealed. “So you brought me in here to give them a chance to talk in private.”
I smile at her perceptiveness. “Yes.” Then my smile fades. “What do you think Dad will say?”
“Hmm. I’m sure it won’t be easy for him to give his only daughter away in marriage, but he loves you, honey. He’ll support whatever you decide to do.” She smiles. “And I will too.”
I hug her, grateful for her support.
“Should we go see if they’re done talking?” Mom asks.
Eager to know how their conversation went, I leap to my feet. “Yes.”
A few moments later, as we approach the living room, I hear Drake say something about sports and I worry that he didn’t talk to Dad about marrying me. But the moment we step into the room, Dad says, “Did you tell Mom your big news?”
My gaze goes to Drake, and he smiles his gorgeous smile, and I know everything is okay. “Yes,” I say, then I hold out my left hand in Dad’s direction. “Check out this beauty.” I glance at Drake and see him smile.
Dad takes my hand in his and gazes at the ring, then nods in Drake’s direction with a look of approval before releasing my hand.
“Welcome to the family, Drake,” Mom says, then she steps closer to him and gives him a hug.
“Thank you,” he says.
Once Mom releases him, I go to his side, and when he puts his arm around me, security and love wrap around me and I lay my head against his shoulder.
“You know,” Mom says, “I’m sure your brothers would like to meet your fiancé.”
I smile at the word, but then I frown. “We have to catch our flight in a few hours, so we’ll have to postpone that.”
“Okay,” she says. “Maybe we can schedule a little family get-together in the next few weeks.”
“That would be perfect.”
We chat about other things, then when it’s time for us to leave for the airport, we say our good-byes, then head out the door.
“What did my dad say?” I ask Drake the moment we’ve cleared the driveway.
He laughs. “That’s between your dad and me.”
“Fine,” I say with a smile. “Don’t tell me.”
He glances at me with a smile. “I don’t plan to.”
Excited to be heading home when I have such a fantastic future to look forward to, I settle into my seat, and before I know it, we’re on the airplane and on our way to Reno.
Four
ASHLEY
“I have a lot of work I need to get done tonight,” Drake says when he drops me off at my apartment that afternoon.
I happily accept his kiss as we stand in my living room, then say, “I should probably get some work done too. No reason to make my boss any more irritated with me than he already is.”
“Hmm,” Drake says. “If he fires you, I’m sure I can find a place for you at Drake Consulting.”
The idea has appeal—especially if it means I’ll see Drake as much as Jasmine will. Hey, I have an idea! “Like as your assistant?” Then you can fire the hottie.
He laughs. “No. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
A little offended that he’s dismissed the idea out of hand, I hold back a frown. “Then as what? The receptionist?”
He gently strokes my face. “Something in the marketing department.” His voice is soft as he gazes into my eyes. “I just want you to be happy.”
Forgetting about feeling offended, I throw my arms around him. “You’re too good to me, Drake.”
His arms go around my waist and he murmurs in my ear, “Only because I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” I’m still on a high from being newly engaged—a high I hope to stay on for a very long time. He kisses me again and I don’t want him to leave, but I know we both have to get some work done after taking two days off.
“Let’s have lunch tomorrow,” he says.
“I’d love to.”
With a final kiss he tells me good-bye, and I watch him leave.
Eager to tell Emily my good news, I focus on work to keep myself occupied until she gets home, but the moment she walks in the door, I prance in her direction and hold out my left hand.
“No way!” she squeals as she snatches my hand and stares at my ring. “No freaking way!”
“Yes, way,” I say with a laugh.
“Oh, Bee. That’s awesome!”
I laugh at the nickname she gave me. “Yes. My honey loves me.”
“I want to hear every detail,” she says as she drags me to the couch where I sit beside her. “How did he propose? Were you totally surprised? What happened when he got to your parents’ house on Monday morning?” Her eyes widen. “What do your parents think about him?”
Laughter bubbles up from inside me. Her questions are endless, but I’m so happy I don’t care.
“Don’t keep me in suspense, Ash,” she says, an eager look on her face.
I start with the moment Drake showed up at my parents’ house and tell her everything, ending with leaving my parents’ house this morning
.
“I love that you weren’t expecting his proposal,” she says, her eyes dreamy. Then she sits up straighter. “I guess you kind of have me to thank for this—since I told him where you were.” Her eyebrows go up. “And I didn’t tell you he was coming.”
I laugh. “Of course you’re right.” Then I tap my finger against my chin. “How can I thank you?” With a smirk, I say, “I know. You can be my maid of honor. And I won’t make you wear a hideous dress.”
“Deal!” She pauses long enough to draw a breath. “So, when’s the big day?”
Shrugging, I say, “We haven’t talked about that yet.”
“Well, I think you should start looking at dresses right away. You know, so there’s time to do alterations and stuff.”
The thought of trying on—and picking out—a gorgeous wedding gown sends a fresh wave of euphoria through me. This is really happening! I’m going to marry Drake! “That would be fun.”
“Great! Can you go on Saturday?”
Drake and I haven’t made plans for the weekend yet, so I’m not sure. “Let me talk to Drake first and I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good."
The next day as I head to work, I’m slightly apprehensive to see what my boss will say about me missing work two days in a row. He okayed the first day off, but not the second. Will he fire me? Or will he let it slide this time?
With a small shake of my head, I try not to worry about that and instead think about the other thing that’s making me edgy. Seeing Evan, my co-worker. Since shortly after I started working there I’ve had a few bumpy moments with Evan—first he came on to me, which I rebuffed, then he showed up at a dance club where Drake and I were dancing and asked me to dance with him. When Drake didn’t object, I agreed, but moments later Drake came to claim me, causing a moment of discomfort for all three of us. In fact, I ended up fleeing to the bathroom to allow the situation time to cool.
And then, the day after Drake and I broke up, when I was feeling especially sorry for myself that the love of my life had told me he wanted to date other women, I had a burst of empathy towards Evan and suggested we go to lunch together. We kept it professional, but now I’m worried how he’ll react to the news that Drake and I are engaged. The previous week Evan and I were both too busy to go to lunch, but I’m worried that he’ll expect that I’ll be completely willing and available to go to lunch with him if he asks. And I don’t want to. Not now that I’m back with Drake—engaged to Drake.
Drake and Ashley: The Complete Story Page 47
