Chapter 13

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Savannah cried, careful not to hurt her hand as she slapped Everett’s shoulder.

“Babe, you know it’s true,” he chuckled. “She has absolutely no rhythm. I tried to show her how to slow dance the other night and ended up laughing my ass off instead.”

“Language,” Dakota chided, putting her hands over Brent’s ears.

“Behave, Everett,” Aunt Doris said, waving a finger in his direction. “Thanksgiving is a time for family, not foul language.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” he teased, winking at his aunt.

“Why were you torturing my sister with dance lessons anyway?” Dakota asked.

Everett’s smile widened, but he only shook his head. They would all find out soon, but not just yet. He’d been planning this for a couple of months and he wasn’t going to be rushed into it.

“Because he enjoys finding new ways to make me blush and look like a fool,” Savannah said, making everyone at the table laugh.

“But, Baby, you look so cute when you’re flustered,” Everett said, pulling her against his side and kissing her cheek.

“Whatever,” Savannah chuckled as she pulled away and sat up straighter. He loved seeing a smile on her face and watching her enjoy herself. And he was so proud of how far she’d come in the past couple of months.

That night he’d taken her to the game, she’d pretty much snapped on him, screaming and even trying to curse. But she’d also opened up about her feelings more than she had at any time before and it made a huge difference that he could see right away. She didn’t fight his efforts to calm to her and she even convinced him to give her a real kiss that night. And every day since, she’d been doing a little better, showing off a little more of the woman he’d first met and leaving behind that scared person. She still didn’t like to go anywhere without him, but she could handle being left alone in the apartment for a few hours at a time if he needed to run out on an errand.

“Everett, did you hear what Brent asked you?” Savannah questioned, her fingers rubbing lightly against his forearm.

“Of course he heard,” Dakota chuckled. “My son has yet to learn volume control.”

“All little boys are that way,” Doris said, giving Everett a tender smile. “I remember well being able to figure out Everett’s location by the volume of his little voice.”

“It was only when he was quiet that you had to worry,” Uncle Calvin added.

“That’s still true,” Savannah said, smiling up at Everett. He didn’t even make an attempt to repress the urge to kiss her that he felt and was damn glad that he no longer had to. Savannah was growing more confident and comfortable with their kissing and touching each day, and to ensure that continued, he let her lead almost all of the time. He’d never thought he would enjoy giving up control that way, but he did with her. It was another reason why he was so sure she was supposed to be his girl. And he wanted her to remain his for as long as possible.

“I was reading the other day—” he started, his voice sounding loud to his own ears.

“You read?” Dakota teased, grinning at him.

He ignored it and continued. “About the different ways people celebrate Thanksgiving. The article mentioned families that spend the day in front of the television watching football, and some families who made a big deal of getting up early to watch the Macy’s parade. There were some other examples, but the point was that there’s a lot of ways to show love and thanks for your family.”

“Everett, are you getting sentimental on us, son?” Calvin teased, gripping Everett’s shoulder.

“No, I’ve just figured out what I’m thankful for,” Everett said as he stood and pushed his chair from the table.

“Everett, why are we standing? Are we leaving early?” Savannah asked as he pulled her chair back and helped her to stand.

“Hold off on the questions for just a minute,” he said, holding both of her hands in his.

She nodded in agreement, though she looked guarded and cautious to him.

“Savannah, since I met you, nothing about my life has been the same. The first day we met, you insulted me. Since then, you have annoyed me, frustrated me, and even made fun of me. But you’ve also given me kindness and compassion, and more love than I have ever deserved. You have become the most important person in my life and I’m thankful every day that I met you. We both know in the beginning that I wanted you, and I only hope that you know now how much I need you. I want my arms to be the only arms you ever fall asleep and wake up in. I want my lips to be the only ones you ever kiss. I want to hear you say you love me and see in these beautiful eyes of yours how much you mean it.”

The second he produced the black box from his pants pocket, there seemed to be a collective gasp from the room. He ignored the urge to react to it and focused instead on opening the box for the beautiful woman with the teary eyes standing in front of him.

“Savannah Thompson, I want you to marry me. I need you to be my wife and share your life with me.” He’d never spoken words more honest or heartfelt and he was a complete wreck on the inside as he waited for her answer.

“Why? Why would you ask that and ruin everything?” Savannah cried before running out of the room.

Everett just stood there, staring at the spot where she’d been seconds before.

“Everett, I’m sure she misunderstood or something,” his aunt said as she moved to stand up.

He waved for her to stay seated and set the box on the table, closing the lid. “No, it’s fine. It was just a thought.” It was the first lie he’d told in over a year, but he couldn’t help himself. “I … I think I’ll go, though. It should be easier for Savannah to calm down that way. Dee, have her call me if she wants me to come back to take her home.”

“Everett, I really think you should go talk to her,” Dakota said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I think there’s been a mistake here, I just don’t know where. You know how Savannah gets when she doesn’t understand something.”

“I think Dakota’s right, Everett,” Uncle Calvin said. “It could just be the unexpectedness of it. You’ve never portrayed yourself as the marrying kind after all.”

“I know, but …” Everett sighed and shook his head. “I guess I thought my hints to her were clear enough to show I’d changed my mind about that kind of long term commitment.”

“Even on her best days, Savannah doesn’t do well with hints,” Dakota replied. “She needs to be able to ask questions and get the answers to be sure she isn’t misunderstanding.”

“So go and talk to her, Everett,” Aunt Doris urged.

Everett nodded his head and left the dining room, heading upstairs to where he figured Savannah would most likely be. He couldn’t figure out where he’d gone wrong or why she would think he was ruining things. He’d honestly believed being his wife was something she would want, but maybe he’d just been fooling himself. Maybe she was finally getting around to blaming him for everything that had happened to her.

He found her on the balcony outside of the room they’d shared when they had lived at the estate in those first few months. He could tell from the way her body moved that she was crying, though he couldn’t hear any sounds coming from her.

He wrapped his arms around her, ready for her recoil and completely unprepared for her to lean into him. Why would she want his touch but not his ring?

“Savy, I …” But he didn’t know what he was or what he wanted to say so he just pressed his lips to the nape of her neck.

“I asked you to stop turning your life upside down for me and you promised you would. But then you go and do something like this. How could you lie to me like this? Why would you break your word?”

“I didn’t break—”

“No,” she said, cutting him off and turning to face him. “No, this time, you’re going to let me talk. I have appreciated everything you’ve ever done for me and I have tried my best to show not only that I’m grateful, but that I don’t expect it. Your love and support have meant so much to me, Everett, and that’s exactly why I don’t want you living some life you can’t stand just because you want me to be happy. That wouldn’t be a life. It would be a lie. And I love you too much to let that happen.”

“Are you done?” he asked. He understood her anger, and he even understood why she would think that way, but he pissed to know she actually believed he’d lied to her.

“For the moment,” she said. Her cheeks were red, her eyes were narrowed, and as much as that look and her distrust annoyed him, he still wanted nothing more than to kiss her. So he did.

He’d always been able to tell so much about her through her eyes and touch, and right now was no different. The way her lips moved with his, frantic and needy, and her hands held tightly to his shoulders let him know she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He just needed to prove himself a little more.

“I didn’t lie,” he breathed against her lips while his eyes bored into hers. “I didn’t break my word. I haven’t turned my life upside just for you. I’m trying to create a life with you. I’m trying to show in action what I’ve been saying with my words for months now. I want you today, and tomorrow, and all of the days after that.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” she argued. “I could maybe understand if I was better and we were … we were a real couple, but I’m not and we aren’t.”

“You still aren’t listening,” he said, struggling to keep his voice even. “We started dating because I wanted sex. I proposed because I need you.”

“Exactly my point,” she replied. “Why would you propose when you don’t even know if sex will ever be possible for me?”

“I’ve learned to live without sex, but I never want to find out if I can live without you. This is not a rash decision that I’ve suddenly made, Savannah. I’ve thought about this for a long time now and I know it’s what I really want. Please, Savy. Please tell me it’s what you want too.”

“How long?”

“What?” he replied, confused by her question.

“How long have you been thinking about it?”

“Months. I even got with a jeweler Uncle Calvin knows and had him help me design your ring. I wanted you to have something as unique as you are.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but the little smile on her lips gave him hope. “Is that what all the cryptic phone calls and errands were about?”

“Yes.”

“You really did think this out?”

“Yeah, Savy. I put a lot of time and effort into it so you would see how much I meant it.”

Her eyes suddenly grew wide and her hands flew up to her mouth.

“What?” he asked, rubbing her arms to soothe her.

“I am so sorry. Downstairs, I—”

“No, it’s okay,” he said, interrupting her apology. “I get why you reacted that way. But, Savy, you still haven’t given me an answer.”

“You’re sure, you want this?” she asked, her small hands touching his cheeks. “That you want me?”

“I’m completely positive I’ve never wanted anyone or anything more. Will you marry me, Savy?”

She smiled and he could see her answer in those baby blues of hers. “Yes, Everett. I’ll marry you.”

His smile stretched across his face as he made sure there was no space between their bodies and lips. His girl was going to marry him, making him the luckiest bastard alive.

After a few more kisses and many whispered words of thanks from him to her, they headed back down to join their family. As soon as his uncle saw them enter the room, he stood and approached them. “Savannah, regardless of what you decide with Everett, I want you to know that you will always have a place here as part of our family. Dakota and Brent as well.”

“Thank you, Uncle Calvin,” she said, reaching up and pressing a small kiss to his cheek. “I hope that means you wouldn’t mind if we had a very small ceremony here at the estate whenever we choose a date.”

“I knew it!” Aunt Doris squealed as she latched onto Everett and Savannah. “Calvin, didn’t I tell you!”

“Yes, Sweetheart. You told me quite a few times,” Uncle Calvin chuckled.

“Here,” Dakota said, pressing the box into Everett’s hand. “I think you need this now.”

Everett squeezed her fingers with his and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Dakota.”

She seemed surprised by the gesture for a second and then smiled at him. “Welcome.”

“Do I really want to see this right now?” Savannah asked with a grin. “If your taste in engagement rings is as expensive as your taste in everything else, I could faint.”

“There’s a no faint clause to this marriage proposal,” he joked, showing her the box.

“Everett, stop teasing the poor girl and let us see the ring,” Aunt Doris urged.

“Darling, this is our nephew’s moment, not yours,” Uncle Calvin chuckled.

Everett turned the box toward Savannah and lifted the lid, revealing the eight-pointed diamond flower on a platinum band. “I wanted you to have a ring as delicate and beautiful as you are.”

“Oh, Everett,” Savannah gasped, her hands going up to cover her mouth.

Everett smiled at her reaction as he lifted the ring out, the diamonds sparkling under the dining room chandeliers. He gently pulled Savannah’s hand from her mouth and slipped the ring onto her finger. “Perfect,” he said, looking up from her ring finger to her face and kissing her lips lightly.

He did the exact same thing seven months later when he married Savannah in his aunt’s garden during a small civil ceremony. Savannah wore a long, flowing gown of white satin with small white flowers placed throughout her golden curls. In Everett’s eyes, there had never been a more beautiful woman and he’d worried she would change her mind right up until he was kissing her as his new wife.

“Are you happy, Baby?” he asked, swaying with her under the night sky and the glow of the twinkle lights his aunt had decorated with. He didn’t really need Savy to answer with words since the smile on her face was proof enough, but he liked hearing her say it all the same.

“I’ve never been happier, Everett,” she promised him.

“This is just the start, Baby. We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us. And we’re going to do it all. We’ll see the world, put those brand new college degrees we earned to good use, and even do the kid thing.”

“The kid thing?” she chuckled.

“Well, yeah,” he said with a shrug. “I was thinking it might not be so bad to have a little boy like Brent, minus the million questions. But a little girl that’s just like you wouldn’t be bad either.”

“It’s so surreal,” she sighed, her fingers tracing that scar at the back of his head.

“What is?”

Her smile widened a little and her baby blues returned to his eyes. “That you started out as nothing more than a beautiful liar and ended up the husband I always dreamed of.”

He returned her smile as he dipped his head down and joined their lips in a kiss full of love and promise for a future they would both enjoy. There were still emotional and physical obstacles to overcome and fears for Savannah to face, but he knew they would get through it all. They loved each other too much to do anything less.

THE END!!

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