The Lily (The Flowering Series Book 1) (5 page)

A few days after the appointment I noticed that Jake started acting strangely but no matter how hard I pushed he would not confide in me. I knew something was definitely up but he continued to love me as passionately as ever so I let myself write it off as stress. Any reasonable person would be stressed in our situation without the baby so adding another large responsibility would certainly push anyone’s boundaries.

Life continued on and luckily I was beginning to feel better which helped considerably for my concentration on my upcoming finals. It also allowed me to find the perfect second anniversary gift for Jake. I got his grandfather’s watch refurbished by one of Carmine’s friends. I knew how important his grandfather had been to him and the watch had not worked in years. I was going for thoughtful and I just hoped he agreed.

On the night of our anniversary Jake told me we were headed to Don Pappies’ so dress accordingly. Of course I was thrilled to see Carmine and Nancy but I was still worried about Jake’s sketchy behavior. I found out after the fact that Jake and Mike had spent the whole day decorating our apartment roof as the perfect post-proposal setting and Carmine and Nancy were in on the whole thing.

I had bought a gorgeous new dress with a bit of stretch so it could last through the first bit of the pregnancy. It was an emerald green wrap dress that I hoped pleased Jake. We had been lacking in the physical affection part of our relationship since I still was exhausted from my schedule. I hoped this dress and a little alone time would lead us back in the right direction. So I added some sparkly shoes and when I checked the mirror I saw it. I was happy and maybe even glowing a bit.

I’d be lying if I said that thought did not set off alarm bells near my heart. It was getting to be too much work to fight giving Jake every last part of me, even the parts I vowed to never show anyone again. I shook off the doom and gloom and grabbed my handbag.

Jake picked me up and by the look in his eye I knew that the dress had done its job and the desire that was always simmering beneath the surface when we were near each other was still there. I was more than ready to throw our reservations to the wind and order pizza if it meant that I could wrap myself immediately around Jake and never let go.

Jake however quickly shook the lust from his eyes and kissed me chastely on the cheek and led me to the car. I was surprised but his charming smile smoothed my concerned and we arrived at Don Pappies’ at seven on the dot. He had pre-ordered my favorite dinner of prime rib with a side of brown rice and beans and a Caesar salad. The prime rib was tender and delicious as usual and the pregnancy was causing me to crave beef in a big way so the meal was perfect.

After our plates were cleared I looked closely at Jake and I knew deep in my heart he was hiding something. I tried to stay positive and tell myself that it must be my anniversary gift that he was hiding. In the back of my head though there was always the fear that the bubble would be burst and Jake would walk away from me.

I was also getting rather suspicious of the Don Pappies’ staff. I was the obvious center of attention and I was growing uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by.

Finally the lights began to dim and the Executive Chef came out with champagne glasses filled with a scoop of ice cream, pink, fuchsia and white M&Ms and what looked like magical whipped cream. I loved whipped cream and Jake knew it was my weakness.

As the Chef put one of the glasses in front of each of us I began making small talk asking about his family and his new house. Finally when he left I turned to the champagne glass and I saw that those delicious looking M&Ms had writing on them. As I looked closer I saw the words “Will U Marry Me, Please?” printed on the candies.

I sat back in shock and I realized I was holding my breath as Jake dug into my glass to get the ring and got down on one knee and nervously asked me to be his wife. I took the ring dripping with whipped cream and slid it onto my finger. With tears running down my face I kissed Jake deeply and whispered yes.

The dining room erupted with hoots and claps. I was being pulled in all directions into congratulatory hugs and kisses. After about fifteen minutes we were able to sneak out the door. On the drive home my hand was shaking as I stared at the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. It was a pear shaped two-carat diamond ring that was simple and absolutely perfect. If Jake had given me a gumball machine ring I would still be in love with it.

I also had snagged some of the M&Ms so I could hold on to a few to some day share the story of the proposal with the baby. This child would only know of love and sharing how it all began was a great way to lay that foundation.

When we got home Jake led me up to the rooftop where a wonderland of twinkling lights awaited us. There were vases and vases of lilies adorning our secret ‘alone’ spot. The sight was breathtaking and I looked at Jake who was staring at me expectedly. I kissed him with all the passion I had in my body and whispered my thanks.

He told me how concerned he had been that his proposal might not be special enough for me and how nervous he was that I might say no. I laughed softly and made sure that he knew how perfect the night was by unlocking the final key to my heart.

We spent the rest of the night talking, kissing and exploring each other’s bodies. The pregnancy had done wonders to my figure and Jake seemed to appreciate my swelling breasts and slightly rounded tummy. We honestly could not resist each other and as I came apart in his arms we told each other of our deepening love. I fell asleep tangled in Jake’s legs and full of hope.

Lily showed up at 9am screaming her congratulations and begging to see the ring. She was a little mad that Jake had not taken her to pick out the ring but it was water under the bridge once she laid eyes on the size of it. When she hugged Jake you could feel the love and support she had for her brother.

Lily immediately went into wedding planning mode and before long my head was spinning with the intensity of it all. By the time Lily left both Jake and I were completely exhausted and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon resting and just being with one another.

Around dinner time we took a walk which I thought was the perfect time to ask Jake the burning question that had been nagging the back of my mind since his proposal last night.

I knew that if Jake proposed because of the baby I was going to have to give the ring back. I could not bear to have the possibility of the resentment lingering in the background.  Jake’s reaction said it all as he stopped in his tracks and spun me around to face him. I think he was mostly surprised that I would ask him such a thing but he explained his plan to propose before Japan and how things had changed and now became the perfect time.

I had never hid the fact that I was leery on marriage based on the example from my parents and Jake confided that he always had a bit of fear that I would never want to marry him and that was truly the only thing he wanted.

The conversation just proved how important honesty and trust were to our relationship. I trusted that Jake had intended to marry me baby or not. The baby was just the world’s way of telling us we were waiting too long. We were crazy in love and I could not wait to bear his name.

When Jake and I spoke of our future family it consisted of four boys that we would raise with strong values and compassion. For the large gap between our childhoods, we were on the same page when it came to the importance of instilling trust and loyalty in their children.

I never told my mother and father that I was to be married to Jake. To say we were estranged would be putting it nicely. I did keep in contact with my sisters but often it was hard to see them because it would immediately trigger the bad memories I had worked so hard to forget.

This was my chance to move on and wipe the slate clean from all sides and I was going to take it. Jake and I deserved a happy ending and I was going to do everything in my power to make that happen.

We decided to get married in the fall right before we left for Japan. I would be showing by then but we wanted to make sure the important people in our lives could be present. Jake’s family welcomed the idea with open arms, I asked Lily to be my maid of honor and Jake sent a message to his brother Ash telling him the news.

After Lily’s wedding makeover talk I tried to be as clear as possible to Jake when speaking about the type of wedding I wanted. Small and quiet with just immediate family and close friends. I figured that my parents would not show since they never took the initiative to show up to any other life events in my life so I was contemplating not even inviting them.

Jake agreed that the smaller the better. It would allow us to fully share the experience with all of our guests. He showed some concern about not inviting my family but he knew to defer to me on that subject.  With that decided Lily and Nancy took off running with the plans so Jake and I could concentrate on graduation.

Chapter 6:

The school year was drawing to a close and finals were closing in. I have always been dedicated to my studies and even though I was being pulled in every direction with graduation, the wedding and planning our life together, I held true to my determination to succeed in my own right.

Jake fell into the lucky category and his good grades seem to miraculously fall from the sky. I wanted to be angry with him for his easy success but how could I when the man had actually chased and caught me by loving who I was!

I was physically feeling a lot better just in time for finals and I could barely contain my excitement for graduation. I had come so far and worked so hard and it was strange to finally be closing that chapter in my life.

I have to admit that there were times when I secretly hoped my family would come to graduation and see all that I had accomplished. Knowing them they probably had not even opened the invitation.

When I would catch myself going down this rabbit hole of thinking I tried to remember that they did not do me any favors and I got to where I was with my own hard work and perseverance. I did not need them to feel validated.

When the day came to take my last final I held my breath and crossed my fingers and toes. Business Law was a thorn in my side and my grade in this class would determine whether I was valedictorian or not. There was only one other student at the top of the class but the honor was still up for grabs.

The Professor dragged the grading process out for as long as possible but I finally got a call from the President of the University telling me that I was actually second in the class by only a few hundredths of a point. I honestly drew in a deep breath and released a sigh of relief. I was still in what was considered the crème de la crème of the graduating class and I did not have to speak in public. I was set to begin my life with Jake and the baby in Japan and I was happy.

Lily insisted that we get new outfits for our Sorority/Fraternity dinner and the graduation ceremony. We had a great day shopping and talking about the wedding and graduation. I avoided trying on anything too tight for fear that my little bump would set off the alarm bells in Lily’s head.

As we loaded our mountain of bags in the car it became clear that if the baby turned out to be a girl Lily would be going crazy on a regular basis dressing her in the finest baby fashions. I secretly grinned at the possibility of a girl but knew that I would love that child no matter what the sex.

Jake and I had a private graduation celebration of our own at Don Pappies’ where Jake refused to stop saying I was number one no matter what the school said. After a while I just smiled and felt at home in the fact that he was just trying to be as supportive as possible.

Carmine and Nancy made a wonderful dinner for us and gave us each a present congratulating us on graduating. I cried as I opened a small box with a set of diamond earrings. They were perfect, simple and elegant.

They gave Jake a gorgeous leather briefcase for his new job in Japan complete with a check to help ease their coming expenses. While Jake was shaking hands with Carmine I felt Nancy slide a piece of paper into my hand. It was a check for $5,000 to be used for our Hawaii trip. Of course I immediately shoved it back into her hand but then she got her ‘Don’t Mess With Me’ look on her face and I accepted the check with more tears and hugs. This was our private goodbye with Carmine and Nancy and it was definitely bittersweet. We were sad to leave but excited for the next chapter in our lives.