by Golden Angel
Heading in the opposite direction as Cara, towards the exit, Liam went over relaxing breathing exercises in his head. He needed to get home, shower and make himself presentable, and - most of all - calm the fuck down.
******
As usual, Hilary's mother descended on them with a flurry of hugs and compliments, immediately latching herself onto Liam's arm and giving it a welcoming squeeze. Ever since Hilary had first brought Liam home, her mother had decided that he was perfect son-in-law material, and - in her own way - had set about realizing that goal. A lot of guys might have run screaming for the hills, but Liam always managed to hold her own. It was pretty embarrassing, but at least whenever her mother did manage to stop him in his tracks with one of her outrageous comments, it provided Hilary with some entertainment.
Right now her mother seemed more interested in talking to Liam about his Kung-fu Kids program, which paid for underprivileged kids to be able to take his classes. They had to be maintaining a certain grade level to be eligible, but it provided a safe haven in the afternoon where they could come and be part of a group, learn self-discipline, and entertain themselves in a productive way. Hilary's mom had actually first met Liam during a presentation he'd done for her and other potential investors in the program, and she'd been interested even before knowing who he was. Now she backed the program, as one of her charitable outreach efforts, and apparently she'd found another investor.
"It's gotten off to a good start, but you should think about expanding," she said, waving her free hand enthusiastically. "The pool of scholarship students is going to keep growing, and the more of them we can get into the classes, the better."
"Sounds good to me," he said, letting her mother lead him into the living room. "I'd love to meet him."
Hilary's mother beamed up at him. "You're such a good boy."
Choking on a laugh, Hilary veered around them and headed to her father, who was sitting on the couch and reading from a small pile of papers beside him. Possibly papers by his students, or possibly just papers on a topic that interested him; it was always a toss-up. He looked up, as if just noticing that they had guests and smiled with pure pleasure as she bent down to drop a kiss on his cheek.
"Hi Hil, I didn't know you were coming over."
"Hi Daddy." She dropped onto the couch next to him, as Liam led her mother to one of the armchairs, before coming over to shake her Dad's hand.
"Ed, good to see you."
Not long after they'd met him, Hilary's parents had insisted on Liam calling them Ed and Carol, rather than Mr. and Mrs. Bryant. Well, Hilary's mom had insisted, her dad probably barely noticed what Liam called him.
"You too, Liam," her dad said, shuffling the papers and setting them down on the table in front of him. Mom made a face of distaste at having a mound of papers on the table in front of all of them, but didn't say anything. She was probably relieved that he was setting them down to be social, instead of continuing to read.
Within a few minutes, Anne had come by to bring them all their usual before-dinner drinks, while Liam and her mom continued to talk about Kung-fu Kids, with interjections from Hilary and her father. Hilary had been to some of the classes, and she loved seeing how much the kids were enjoying them, how much they appreciated them. Her mother loved hearing about that, because - even though she knew that her contributions made a difference - there was nothing like having someone witness it. Of course, she'd stopped by before too, but she wasn't able to get to the dojo as often as Hilary.
Even though the subjects of their conversation were completely innocuous, Hilary felt like there was a strange kind of tension in the room. Liam looked like he was feeling it too. He kept glancing at her dad, but she wasn't sure why; her dad looked as relaxed and slightly out of it as ever. Although he was keeping up with the conversation better than her normally did.
Maybe it was just Liam who was acting weird, but she really didn't understand that either. She thought he'd gotten pretty comfortable with her parents by now.
"You know," her mother said cheerfully, "I was at a new restaurant yesterday with my girlfriends, right next to this charming hotel that just opened up. We were all talking about what a gorgeous place it would be for wedding ceremonies."
Oops, and that's what happened when Hilary got distracted; her mother would hijack the conversation. Although, to her credit, this particular gambit was almost subtle for her. Liam choked a bit on his beer, covering his mouth and sharing a look of amusement with Hilary. A look of amusement but with... something more?
No. Stop that. She wasn't going to do this to herself again. Not after she'd gotten hopeful over their last date, which, if she wasn't so pragmatic, could have ruined that entire night. Looking for things to become hopeful about was just asking for disappointment.
"That's nice mom, how was the restaurant? Liam and I recently went to a really great place," she said, steering the conversation away from her mother's hints. Charities, weddings and babies - her mother's three favorite things to talk about. No matter how embarrassing the latter two were for Hilary.
******
After dinner, much to Liam's relief, Hilary's mother insisted on getting Hilary's opinion on two dresses she'd recently bought. Apparently Ed's reaction had been to tell her they were both fine, which, Liam knew, was asking for trouble. Hilary's dad tended to be completely oblivious to his wife's ire in such circumstances; he definitely didn't pick up on her pointed tone when she explained why she wanted her daughter's opinion on the dresses.
He and Ed had retreated back to the living room, each of them with two fingers of Scotch, to settle down and talk. In the past, Liam had enjoyed quite a few discussions with Ed, usually over the vagaries of the English language or details of history. The older man had an incredible wealth of knowledge inside of his head, and he loved having someone who was more interested in his favorite facts than his wife or daughter were. Sometimes Liam wondered how the Bryants managed, considering how they were complete opposites, but their differences were also what helped them complete each other. Without his wife, Hilary's dad would probably be perpetually stuck in his study or researching, and without her husband, Hilary's mother would probably never slow down or relax.
"So... ah... Ed, I wanted to talk to you about something," Liam said, as soon as they'd settled into their seats. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible and, on top of that, he wanted to make sure they had finished talking about it before the women were done. Anything to do with clothing could take anywhere from a few minutes to hours, from what he could tell. "Hilary and I have been going out for a while now, and... well, I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. But before I asked her to marry me, I'd like to ask for your blessing."
Fingers wrapped around his scotch glass, Hilary's father blinked owlishly at him, a slightly perplexed look wrinkling his brow. Liam swore he could feel a trickle of sweat down his spine as he waited for Ed's reaction.
"I thought you were engaged already," he finally said, sounding a bit confused.
"Ah... no." Wow. He knew that Ed didn't always pay attention to what was going on around him, but... wow. "I wouldn't ask her without at least talking to you first."
To his surprise, this time when Ed blinked, Liam realized that the older man was blinking back tears. His brown eyes, so reminiscent of Hilary's, were slightly sheened with moisture. "Well that's very nice, Son. I'd be happy to give you my blessing. Much better than having to give you a dowry. You don't want my permission?"
Sometimes trying to keep up with Ed in conversation was a dizzying mental exercise. "Not to insult you, sir, but if I asked you for permission and you said no, I'd still marry her."
"Good lad," Ed said, beaming at him. "We'll be happy to have you as part of the family."
"Thank you," Liam said, relief pouring through him. He still didn't know why he'd gotten so wound up about this. Maybe just because it was something new and different, and even though he had been pretty sure Hilary's dad l
iked him, he'd never been totally sure. "I feel honored to be a part of it. Ah, I haven't said a word of this to Hilary of course. If you'd tell Carol, since I'm sure I won't get a chance to talk to her away from Hilary, I'd appreciate it, but please make sure she knows not to say anything to Hilary."
Ed waved his hand in acknowledgement, chuckling. "Even if she did, with the way my wife goes on about weddings, I doubt Hilary would even notice."
Like father, like daughter, Liam though with amusement. Hilary often made similar observations about him. Although, she had been proven right for the most part, apparently Ed did listen more than they gave him credit for. He just didn't involve himself in the conversation unless he really felt the need to.
"Are you going to ask her soon?" Ed gave him a slightly pained look. "I might hold off on telling Carol, if you're not. She won't tell Hilary, but she won't be able to stop herself from telling anyone else. Everyone else."
That made Liam laugh. The man definitely knew his wife.
"I'm taking her to dinner next weekend, I'm going to ask her there," he said, feeling that familiar tension starting to wind its way about his lungs again. Asking Hilary's dad for his blessing was really the easy part. Did he expect a yes from his girlfriend as well? Of course he did, or he wouldn't be asking her, but at the same time he didn't want to take that yes for granted either.
That yes deserved to be considered, cherished and celebrated.
******
"So, what do you think?" her mom asked, twirling around so that the layers of red chiffon swirled around her legs.
"I like both of them," Hilary said honestly. The first dress had been a bright canary yellow that had hugged her mother's body, made her skin glow and her hair look like spun gold; the red was somehow softer, probably because of the fabric, and swung with little flutters every time she moved.
Sitting on her parents' bed, watching her mother primp and preen into the mirror, Hilary had a sudden flash of what her life in the future might be like. What she might look like thirty years from now. It wasn't bad. Granted, her mother took good care of herself, but good genes had some say too, and her mother was still stunning. Maybe in thirty years she'd also still be stunning, and hopefully as in love with Liam as her mother still was with her father. They might not always see eye to eye, but there was no mistaking their feelings for each other. Even when her mom complained about him, the words were always said with loving exasperation.
"You're about as much help as your father," her mother muttered, skimming her hands over her belly and making Hilary laugh. Just like that; a complaint, but her voice was filled with affection.
"Well it's your own fault for picking out such gorgeous options," Hilary teased back. "How are either of us supposed to choose between them if you can't?"
Her mother considered her words and then nodded regally. "You may have a point."
The funniest part was that her mother didn't mean to be funny. Hilary laughed harder at the look of confusion on the older woman's face. "Just keep both," she said, between giggles. "You can always wear the other one for a different event."
"True," her mother said, relaxing a bit as she looked back at herself in the mirror. Probably Hilary's suggestion was the result she'd actually wanted. Sometimes Hilary thought her mother worried about being too spoiled. Even though they were definitely well-off, and her mother's favorite past-time was giving back to the community, she occasionally seemed concerned that she was becoming snobbish. Personally, Hilary thought it was one of her mother's best traits.
Once her mother had put back on her previous outfit, they went back downstairs to join the men. Both of them looked up when Hilary and her mother walked in. The strange tension that had dogged the room throughout dinner had dissipated, and Liam grinned at her as he held out his arm. Immediately Hilary slid onto the couch next to him, tucking herself into the space he held open for her.
When her mother sat down, her father reached out and took her hand, getting a fond look from his wife as they curled their fingers together. Maybe affection was catching. Liam cuddled her closer than he usually did when they were at her parents, giving her a look filled with such sweet tenderness that it made her feel like something must be going on. She stomped on that wild hope, because she'd read too much into their date last week and she didn't need to keep that up.
Still... a tiny suspicious voice inside of her couldn't help but wonder.
******
"Maybe he was asking your dad for permission to marry you!" Angel squealed, excitedly, making Hilary wince as she pulled her ear away from the phone.
"No," Hilary said firmly. "I am not going to think like that."
"Why not? You've been together a while -"
"Not even a year."
" - you've talked about it - "
"Sort of, but not in specifics and not about us."
"And he'd behaving differently."
"But not really noticeably. It's just a weird feeling that I have, and that's not enough. Can you imagine how awful our date might have been if I'd really gotten my hopes up and then nothing happened?"
Angel sighed, her resignation heavy, even over the phone line. "Yeah, I guess... It would just be so exciting, you know?"
"Personally, I think you moving in with Adam would be pretty exciting," Hilary teased. "Maybe I should drop him the hint that you find wedding proposals exciting."
"Don't you dare!" Even though she was laughing as she said it, Hilary could tell her friend was completely serious. She'd called Angel the day after dinner at her parents; talking with Jessica just hadn't really helped, because her best friend had seemed pretty reluctant to talk. Hilary had ended up feeling bad and calling Angel instead, so that Jessica wouldn't have to listen Hilary go back and forth about whether or not Liam might propose to her sometime soon, when Jessica was having her own issues with proposals and marriage. Besides, it never hurt to get a second opinion.
"Have you noticed anything weird about the way he's been acting?" she asked, rather wistfully.
"No, but I was pretty distracted the last time I saw you guys," Angel said, and Hilary giggled as she remembered the night at the club. "Maybe it's time for Adam to have a big group gathering soon... I feel like the Labor Day Party's too far away. I love going to Stronghold with everyone, but the interactions there can be kind of limited, because even if we wanted to focus on something else, the guys make sure we're only thinking about one thing."
"They'd probably be pretty insulted if we were actually thinking about anything other than hot sex with them while we're there," Hilary said, laughing. She curled her legs up onto the couch, leaning her head back against it. "I know Liam would take it pretty personally."
"Adam would probably spank me in the middle of the bar," Angel said, grumbling. Which just made Hilary giggle again.
"You'd love every second of that."
The sound of a key turning in the door had Hilary sitting up straight. "He's home," she whispered.
"Go, go! I'll talk to you later," Angel whispered back, even though there was no way Liam would ever be able to hear her. Grinning, Hilary hung up the phone, twisting around to see Liam coming in the door. Catching her eye, his smile lit up his face, showing pure pleasure at her presence after a long day.
It made Hilary's insides feel all floaty and warm, seeing him light up like that, just from seeing her. That was how she felt around him, too. Was he being even more loving since they'd been to her parents? Had he asked her dad for permission to propose? Somehow that just didn't seem to fit Liam's character, but who knew.
Besides, she wasn't supposed to be setting herself up for disappointment by wondering things like that anyway.
Chapter 6
Wrong. It was all wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.
Liam had been planning all week, down to the smallest detail. He was going to take Hilary out to a nice dinner - which she'd been just as excited about as she had the last one - and then afterwards they'd go for a walk. The fountain th
at she particularly loved to sit and watch, that she sometimes made a wish in, had seemed like the perfect place to go down on one knee. He'd been a bundle of nervous energy all night, the ring burning a hole in his pocket, and now they were in front of the fountain and the words seemed to dry up in his throat.
Everything about this was wrong. There were too many people walking around, sitting on the edge of the fountain, going in and out of the nearby stores. Somehow he'd thought that they would all fade away at this moment, but they weren't. If anything, the presence of other people seemed more intrusive than ever.
Snugged up beside him, tucked under his arm and holding the hand that hung down from her shoulder, Hilary rubbed her cheek against his chest. "It's so beautiful out tonight."
"Yeah." It was the only word he could choke out. Smooth, Casanova. The weather was gorgeous; a nice hot summer night without the muggy humidity that usually weighed down the air at this time of year. There was a small breeze, just enough to make Hilary's skirt flutter and keep them cool enough to cuddle up together. The fountain was tinkling merrily, the sun almost down and the stars coming out. A perfect evening.
Except that it was all wrong.
This moment was supposed to be about them, and at one point he'd pictured everyone falling silent as he went down on one knee, and then applauding when she said yes. The big grand gesture that made it into so many movies and television shows. But that wasn't Hilary.
His honey-girl wouldn't care about having an audience. Applause would mean nothing to her. This was a question to be asked when there were no other conversations than their own, when they could be completely private, completely intimate. What the hell had he been thinking?
Everything about this was just so, so wrong.
"Liam, is everything okay?" The concern in Hilary's voice made him snap out of it. The ring box in his jacket pocket thumped gently against his chest as he shifted his weight, feeling as obvious as a hammer banging on his ribs. Of course she didn't know he had it in his pocket, but for some reason he felt like she might realize it at any second.