Andrew said nothing, unable to find the proper words as he held the small box in his hands, letting it ground him and comfort him.
Seeing Andrew this uncomfortable, Henry wondered if everything was all right. “Everything okay? How’s Chris?”
At hearing the worry in Henry’s voice, Andrew finally looked up and made eye contact with the man who meant more to him than he ever realized. “She’s good. We’re...good.” Licking his dry lips, Andrew motioned to the house and followed a quiet Henry inside.
Both men made the atmosphere inside the home feel stale and uneasy, as they wordlessly settled into the living room.
“Not that I’m not thrilled to have you here, Andrew, but you look as if I’m about to bring you to the gallows. What gives?” Henry sat back in his recliner, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive manner.
The man in front of him looked white and pasty, almost about to pass out. If Henry didn’t know any better, he would think something was wrong, but since he had spoken to Chris that very morning he knew the likelihood of something serious happening to his daughter was slim.
“I want to marry Chris,” Andrew blurted out, his mouth dry, his palms sweaty. “I want her to move in with me and I want your blessing.” He swallowed dryly, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Henry, I love her and I want to be with her forever.”
Henry blinked a few times, processing this new information. He tilted his head, watching Andrew carefully as he thought this through. “And what does Chris want?”
Andrew fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he sat on the edge of Henry’s old plaid sofa, his elbows resting on his knees, his left leg bobbing up and down nervously.
“Chris?” Andrew met Henry’s eyes. “Um...I...I don’t know. I didn’t...I mean, I wanted to ask you first, you know, because that’s what we’re supposed to do?” Andrew’s voice didn’t feel like his own as it came out choppy and squeaky, almost like it did when he was fifteen and still going through those awkward hormonal changes. He licked his lips and cleared his throat, his forehead feeling oddly warm. “I want...I need you to say yes, sir. Can I ask your daughter to marry me?”
Andrew broke eye contact with Henry and looked around the living room, his eyes scanning the numerous pictures on the walls. One particular picture caught his eye and he sighed, feeling a sudden sense of relief wash over him.
“Why do you think I should say yes, Andrew? I know my daughter. I know she loves you, but why do you think you’re good enough for her?” Henry didn’t even hesitate as he eyed Andrew with judgment—aware his interrogation was entirely unfair and unfounded. Andrew had been nothing but a gentleman with Chris, and was a nice young man with a good head on his shoulders and a bright future ahead of him.
Eyeing the picture on the wall of the two families together on a fishing trip, an eight-year-old Andrew holding Chris’s hand as they smiled for the camera, Andrew smiled at Henry and found the courage to answer the only way he could. “I’ve loved her forever, Henry. I promise to keep doing so until I take my last breath and my heart stops beating.”
Henry uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. Licking his lips, he nodded, his eyes roaming over Andrew’s features. “All right, son. Do you have a ring?” A grin tugged at his lips when he noticed Andrew visibly relaxing for the first time since he had walked back into his life.
Andrew took the ring box out of his pocket and handed it over to Henry. “It was the one Dad gave Mom when he first proposed. She gave it to me, to give to Chris.”
“Your mother knows?” Henry’s eyes narrowed as he looked inside the box, seeing the familiar piece of jewelry.
“Yes, sir. I... We’re very close.” Andrew licked his lips, then added, “She’d love to see you.”
Henry closed the box and handed it over to its owner. “I’ve been meaning to drop by, but you know how it is.”
Andrew nodded. “Yeah.”
The two sat in comfortable silence after that, facing each other. Andrew relaxed against the couch cushions, feeling proud of himself for accomplishing such a task. He looked around the house, which seemed so sad the last time he had been there. But now, in this moment, as he thought of the newer memories—dinner with Chris and Henry, and this current predicament he found himself in—he couldn’t help the relief that washed through his entire body. It left him weightless with a sense of accomplishment he never thought in a million years he would ever have in his life.
Henry stood abruptly and stretched his arms. “Well, Andrew, I don’t want to throw you out, but I need to get ready for work.”
Andrew’s eyes widened at the realization he basically came over unannounced and barged into Henry’s living room. “Oh, shit, yes, sir. I’m sorry. I forgot you worked the night shift.”
“That’s all right.” Henry patted Andrew’s shoulder in a fatherly manner as he guided him out of the living room and into the entryway. “So when are you planning this proposal?”
Andrew smiled a big, toothy grin, scaring Henry, who had never seen him look so happy. “Friday. I... Everything is coming together on Friday.”
. . .
“Oh, I’m so happy you could make it!” Abby trilled, pulling Chris into a warm hug.
“I said I’d try.” Chris returned her hug with fervor, realizing she had missed her dear friend.
The two had wanted to get together to discuss Abby’s impending wedding, but with everything going on around Chris and the shop, it seemed as though she never had time.
“I’m glad you finally made it. I missed you. We need to catch up,” Abby said, pulling out a chair, taking a seat.
“Mrs. Davis is at the shop a lot these days so that helps, although Amy is back in school, so I only get her part-time.” Chris sighed, taking off her jacket, hanging it on the back of her chair. “You get me all afternoon, sweetie. Now shoot. What’s the story, morning glory?” Chris giggled.
“Well, apart from the fact your bestest friend since forever is getting married, I have the scoop on that ex of yours.” Abby wiggled her eyebrows.
Chris grimaced. “I don’t want to know, Abby.”
“Oh, but you do, sweet thang. Seriously, he’s been talking to Ian a lot lately and you know how that man cannot keep anything from me? Well, anyway,” Abby droned, barely taking a breather between sentences. “He told Ian that begging for you to take him back was his low point. He said he needed to change.”
Chris snorted. “Yeah, well, that’s his problem, Abby. Why are you telling me this?”
The waitress came around and took their order. Abby was chomping at the bit, her body visibly vibrating as she tried to hurry along the waitress so she could continue what she had to say.
“So, he asked Mindy to go out with him,” Abby whispered as soon as the waitress’s back was turned.
“Mindy? His secretary? You’re kidding me?” Chris flinched, an irritated sigh escaping her lips. “Seriously?”
Abby nodded. “Seriously. He told Ian he’d never really seen her that way before, but after spending a weekend with her in Palm Springs on a business trip, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.”
“Huh. Well, whatever floats his boat, I guess.” Chris took a sip of her water, feeling rather put out by the current gossiping they were doing. “Did she say yes? I mean, I don’t care, but Mindy was so happy about Frank and me getting married. I don’t know...it’s weird, you know?”
Abby shrugged. “Apparently, he wore her down enough, since they’re Facebook official and all.”
“Wow, Facebook, huh?” Chris nodded absently. “That’s...yeah, that’s some serious shit right there.”
“So anyway, enough with the man that never was, how’s the man that will always be?” Abby beamed, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically, looking up dreamily.
For the first time since sitting down, Chris grinned widely. “He’s great. We’re...God, Abby, we’re good. I’ve never had that with anyone. I don’t know if it’s because we have so much history or what, but..
.he’s...yeah, he’s my Andrew.”
“I’m so happy for you, honey. We should all get together sometime and go out. I bet Andrew and Ian would hit it off,” Abby suggested.
Chris nodded. “I’d like that.”
The women discussed their work and talked a bit more about their personal lives. Chris informed Abby that her dad was now seeing Lynn, which made Abby giggle.
“Your dad is so cute,” Abby said, spearing a piece of chicken from her plate.
“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Chris groaned. “It’s sweet, though. I’m happy for him. He seems happy, too.”
“Ah, to old people and love,” Abby toasted, raising her glass.
“To old people, love and great sex.” Chris wiggled her eyebrows and laughed, the wine in her glass clearly making its way through her system.
Abby burst out laughing and clinked her glass against Chris’s. “To old people, love, great sex and a happy life.”
The women ate their meals and giggled as they reminisced, Abby filling Chris in on some of the decisions that had been made on her wedding plans.
. . .
Friday night, Chris sent everyone home and turned off the “Open” sign, just as Andrew showed up; his laptop bag slung over his shoulder.
“Hey,” she cooed. “What brings you here at this time of night?”
Andrew grinned, leaning in and kissing her softly. “I, sweet girl, have come to bring you some surprises.”
Chris locked the front door and followed Andrew to the back room where he proceeded to take out his laptop from its bag.
“And what, pray tell, does that mean?” Chris was amused.
“It means—” Andrew settled the laptop on the worktable and turned it on “—that I need to show you something.”
His excitement was palpable, making Chris wonder what in the world he could have possibly been up to. “You realize you could have talked to me about this later tonight while I was at your house, right?”
“Ha!” Andrew pulled Chris into his embrace. “But where’s the fun in that?”
Chris narrowed her eyes, her lips twitching from trying not to laugh. “Give it up, Harris. I’m tired and cranky. Lay it on me, dude.”
“Okay, so I may have revamped your website a little,” he told her hesitantly.
“Um, Andrew, we didn’t have a website. I mean, that thing Mrs. Davis had was barely a phone book ad with a web address.” Chris eyed Andrew’s fingers moving across the small laptop keyboard with interest.
“Oh, don’t I know it,” he whispered under his breath. “So, I want you to look at it. Click on all the pages and links.”
Chris took a step toward the laptop, her fingers dragging the arrow over the screen. “Holy shit! You did this? For me?” Her eyes scanned the colorful designs on the screen as she read and clicked on different links.
“I love you, Chris. Of course, I did this for you,” Andrew replied; voice shaky.
“Wow, baby, this is phenomenal,” Chris breathed out in awe, her eyes never leaving the laptop screen. She clicked one more link and gasped. “Andrew?”
Not hearing an answer, she turned to find Andrew on his knee, a small ring box in his hand. “Chris, will you do me the honor—”
Without letting him finish saying the same words she had read on the web page moments earlier, Chris kneeled down and threw herself at Andrew, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Yes.” She kissed him. “Yes. A thousand times, yes.”
Andrew wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to her feet. “Yes?” he asked again, pulling the ring from the box.
Taking the ring from his hand and putting it on her ring finger, Chris repeated, “Yes,” one more time before kissing his lips roughly, slipping her tongue inside his mouth, groaning at the sensation.
Andrew’s hands were quick as he pulled her to him, grinding his erection against her belly.
Chris moaned into his mouth, her breathing unsteady; closing the shop and counting the cash in the register forgotten for the night.
“I love you so fucking much, Chris,” Andrew whispered into her collarbone, reaching for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head.
“I love you too, baby. More than words can say,” Chris told her new fiancé. She unfastened Andrew’s belt buckle, her fingertips grazing the silky tip of his erection that was trying to make its way out of his pants.
“Fuck, how do I get this damn thing off you?” Andrew was trying to unfasten Chris’s bra.
Kissing Andrew’s jaw, Chris reached behind her back with one hand, and with a simple slip of her fingers in the clasp, her bra fell loosely over her shoulders.
“Show off,” Andrew mumbled, sucking one nipple into his mouth.
“Years of...ugh...practice.” Chris’s fingers made their way into Andrew’s hair, holding his face to her chest as he lapped at her breasts with his tongue and twisted her nipples with his fingers. “Oh, God,” she pleaded. “That feels incredible.” Her head fell back as she closed her eyes, letting herself feel what Andrew was doing to her.
“These need to come off, baby,” Andrew stated in a breathy voice, as she felt his fingers fumble with the button of her jeans.
Looking down, she noticed his fingers trembling as he worked unsuccessfully at getting her undressed. “Andrew...” She urged him to look at her. Once his eyes met hers, she smiled lovingly and took his hand in hers, pulling on it so he could stand. “Hey, why are you shaking?”
Andrew licked his lips and pressed a kiss to her forehead, inhaling deeply as he calmed his frantically beating heart. “I just...God, Chris, I love you so much.” He pulled her into his arms, her bare chest pressing against his clothed one. “And all I want is to have you forever.”
Chris wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to lean his forehead on hers. “I just said I’d marry you, Andrew.” She sighed. “I promised myself after...after Frank that I wouldn’t be here again, but you’re...my Andrew. You’re...everything to me. Don’t be so nervous. You have me forever.” Chris chewed her bottom lip, twisting the hair at Andrew’s nape between her fingers as she looked him in the eyes. “Do you...regret it?”
At her hesitant tone, Andrew drew her to him and pressed his lips roughly to hers, grunting possessively as he lifted her up on to the workstation. “This is the best decision I’ve ever made, Chris.” His hands skimmed the top of her thighs and came to rest at her hips, his fingers digging lightly into her flesh. “I’m just so—” He smiled, his fingers making their way up her waist, skimming the sides of Chris’s breasts. “Happy. I’m happy and I don’t even know how to deal with this much happiness.” He cupped her face between his palms and traced his thumbs over her cheeks. “You make me so fucking happy, Chris.” He chuckled, then kissed her tenderly, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth.
Chris returned his kiss, her tongue touching his lip in a light pass, teasing his tongue as her hands grabbed at his shirt and pulled it up. “This needs to go.” She grinned, throwing it on the floor somewhere behind her.
Andrew’s nimble fingers slid the button of her jeans easily out of the loop and he unzipped her pants with a smirk. “And so do these, sweetheart.”
Chris pushed at his chest and hopped off the table. “If I’m getting naked back here, so are you. Strip, Harris.” She gave him a pointed look as she slipped her thumbs under each piece of fabric at her hips and pulled them down. Stepping out of her pants and underwear, she peeked up and laughed at Andrew’s expression. “Oh, like you haven’t seen me naked a million times already.”
“It never gets old, honey, trust me.” He smirked, letting his pants and boxers fall around his ankles and stepping out of them.
It was Chris’s turn to stare. Andrew’s toned chest and arms were her favorite parts of his body. She knew how it felt to cuddle with him at night and loved the feel of his strong arms around her, comforting her. Her eyes scanned the trail of light, reddish-brown hair leading down to the impressive bulge that was pressed against
her earlier, but was now pointing straight at her. Clearing her throat she said, “I guess it doesn’t.”
With a cocky grin, Andrew once again pulled her to him—this time flesh to flesh. “Didn’t we start something in here once before?” His hand skimmed the taut skin of her stomach and the top of her thigh.
Chris kissed his collarbone and chin. Looking up at him with big doe eyes she whispered, “Hmm, you may need to refresh my memory.”
Andrew’s fingers trailed lower where he found her warm and wet for him. “I think you remember very well, sweetheart.”
She kissed his lips, teasing his tongue, and wrapped her hand around his erection. “I do, but the doors are locked this time, baby.”
“Thank God for that.” He stroked her slick folds and circled her clit with his thumb as his fingers pushed inside her.
Moaning, Chris leaned her head on his chest and spread her legs wider, allowing him deeper access. “Oh, God...” she cried, heat spreading throughout her body, signaling her impending orgasm. Her legs were shaky and her movements faulty at best as Andrew’s fingers stroked her expertly.
“You’re close, Chris. Let go, sweetheart,” Andrew cooed, kissing her neck, dragging his tongue down the shell of her ear. “I want to feel you come on my fingers.”
Hearing Andrew’s filthy words was her undoing. “Oh, please...please,” she begged as Andrew quickened his pace, one hand holding her backside steady as his other hand pleasured her in ways only he could.
A shuddering gasp echoed throughout the store as Chris let go and found her release.
Andrew held her trembling body, letting her come down a bit before he grabbed both her butt cheeks. He lifted her off the ground, as if she was light as a flower, her legs quickly wrapping around him as she held onto his neck. “Holy shit, warn a girl,” she panted. “What are you—?”
Man in the Moon (Sweet Escapes Book 1) Page 15