by J. A. Low
This makes her laugh. “No, she’s just raring to go riding.” She pats the beast’s nose lovingly. And if I am being honest, it makes me jealous. “Come on, let’s go.” She points to my horse and I tentatively move toward him. We both look each other up and down and I am not sure if I passed his muster. “I’ll hold him while you get on.” Olivia grabs Sarge and holds his reins, he nuzzles her. Goddamn it, I want to nuzzle her too. Okay, you can do this. You have played in front of hundreds and thousands of people and never been nervous. This is just a horse. There is no need to be afraid. I try and pump myself up. I grab hold of the saddle, put one foot into the stirrup and hoist myself over the large beast’s frame until I am settled against the soft leather. Shit, I am high up. I look around the forest where the stables are set.
“Here, hold onto your reins. Now remember to show him who is boss.” Olivia gives me a wink and expertly jumps up onto her horse looking like some sort of horseback riding sex kitten. So hot. I asked Frieda a couple of days ago if I could set up a romantic picnic somewhere. She mentioned that there were some old stables deep in the grounds that Olivia used to go to whenever she needed a break from Penny. It was her secret, special place and I thought it would be perfect for a romantic picnic. My horse starts to follow Olivia’s and I hang on for dear life as we trot away.
***
A couple of hours later, my ass is numb and my balls hurt, but Olivia looks so happy letting herself go. Her hair blowing in the wind as she takes off on her horse, mine deciding he wants to join them and follows with a quick gallop. I literally thought I was going to die and probably screamed like a little bitch as he took off. I’m pretty sure Sarge was walking me into low hanging branches just to be a dick. Now, I have a couple of scratches on my face to add to all the other aches and pains happening all over my body.
“Axel,” Olivia gasps as she turns the corner and sees the old stables for the first time. I too am taken aback. Frieda has set up a luxurious picnic area. A large day bed with a white canopy sits in the middle of the doorway, to its right is an old wooden table with wooden bench seats and it is set for two. There are crystal glasses, bone china crockery and a huge vase of pink peonies. Kind of overkill for a picnic, Frieda. I turn and look at Olivia who has tears in her eyes and maybe, just maybe, the old girl knows what she is doing.
Olivia jumps off her horse and quickly ties her up outside, I follow suit and feel like my legs don’t work and stumble a bit. Eventually I get my shit together and tie Sarge up beside Lottie.
“You did this?” Olivia asks.
“Well, technically Frieda did. I asked for a picnic but instead it looks like I got a three course Michelin dinner.”
“I love it,” she says. Jumping into my arms she kisses me. I’ll take that reaction any day.
“I’m glad, I wanted to do something special for you.” Letting my arms fall I rest them on her pert ass and give it a squeeze before picking her up, Olivia wraps her legs around my waist. I take a couple of steps and lay her down on the bed and nestle myself between her legs. She looks up at me and all I can see is adoration across it. I’m not sure how the fuck I got so lucky, but I am. I look down at her and my heart literally aches from the love that is flowing through it. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would find someone, let alone want to settle down with them. But there is no one else I want in this world, this life, except her. “I love you, Olivia,” I say seriously.
“I love you too, Axel,” she says in return, holding onto the connection we have between us.
“Marry me?” The words tumble out before I even have a chance to realize what I have said. Olivia stiffens underneath me, but I am serious. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know we haven’t been together long, I know we are living on opposite sides of the world, but I also know that I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have kids with you, watch your belly grow nice and big. I want to explore this world with you.” I notice a single tear fall down her cheek. Shit, it’s too soon, Axel. Way too soon. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer me.” Feeling a little defeated, I start to move away from her, but her legs tighten around me and her hands reach up to touch my face.
“I would be honored to be your wife.” My heart stops. Did she really just say what I think she said? “Yes, Axel. Yes.” Now more tears fall down her cheeks and I am stunned for a moment taking it in. It takes me a little while to realize what she has said and once I do my lips come crashing down against hers as I hold her close to me.
“You’re saying yes?” I pull away and look at her. Her pink lips swollen from our kisses.
“Yes, I am saying yes.” She smiles up at me. “I want to grow old with you, Axel. I want us to have kids, to be a family. I want it all.”
“Fuck, I…shit…I don’t have a ring.” Now I feel like a total douche.
“Hey, we can get a ring another day, it doesn’t matter. This, you and me…” She points between us. “This is what matters.” My God, I am a lucky son of a bitch. I claim her mouth again with a searing kiss.
“I can’t believe you asked me to marry you,” Olivia states, still in shock after I spent a long time making love to my fiancée. Shit, fiancée. I made love to her on the bed in a stable in the middle of the woods in France.
“It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to propose.”
“Really?” She seems surprised.
“Yeah, I knew when you came to LA that was it; I was going to marry you. There is no one else in this world that is made for me like you are.” Olivia lets out a happy sigh. “But you deserve to have the most epic of proposals, at the very least a stunning ring.” I rake my hands through my hair. I feel guilty for not giving this woman the best goddamn proposal ever.
“Axel.” She grabs my attention. Her chocolate colored hair blowing in the breeze, her creamy skin on display in the sunshine and a simple throw wrapped around her naked body. “It was perfect, today was perfect. This place was perfect. This place has such significance to me. The fact that you did it here makes it so much more special.” My heart thumps in my chest. “It was perfect, so please don’t feel bad about it. I’m sure what you might have had planned would have been just as beautiful and romantic as well, but this to me, right now, this is exactly how I have always envisioned it to happen.”
“Do you think Frieda knew that?”
Olivia giggles, “I think you might be onto something. I’ve never told her but she knows me so well.”
“Guess she knows me pretty well too.” That crafty old lady knew that seeing this all set up would put me in the mood to propose. “As soon as we get to Paris I am taking you shopping wherever you want to go and buying you a ring. I need the world to know that you’re mine.” I look at her seriously which makes her smile.
“I’m yours,” she whispers, pulling me back on top of her.
After another hour of love making with my fiancée—I don’t think I am going to get sick of hearing those words—we spend the rest of day wrapped in each other’s arms, eating the large amounts of food Frieda had organized for us. We may have also consumed a bottle of champagne and are already onto the second one.
“So, will this be a long or short engagement?” Olivia asks.
I pop a strawberry in my mouth and think this over. “I hadn’t thought about it. If I’m honest, I would love for you to be Mrs. Taylor sooner rather than later.”
“Mrs. Taylor, huh?” Olivia jokes.
“I assume you will be taking my name?”
She just gives me a smile. “I think I could handle that. Olivia Taylor.”
I frown. “Would you not be a Lady anymore?”
“Yes, I would stay a Lady as it is the title I received at birth. I would be Lady Taylor instead of Lady Pearce.”
“But I don’t get a title if I am marrying you?” I ask, confused by all of this.
She shakes her head. “No, unless the Queen bestows a title onto you.”
“Guess that isn’t going to ha
ppen.” We both burst out laughing and fall into a comfortable silence.
“Can I ask you something?” Olivia asks.
“You can ask me anything, sweetheart.”
“Would we be able to get married here.”
“In the stable?”
She laughs, “No, here at this home. This place has meant so much to me and I always thought it would be the place where I got married.”
“Of course, I’m sure my family and the gang would love to come here for a wedding.” This makes her smile.
“How did I get so lucky?” she asks as she kisses me.
“I keep asking the same thing.”
***
“You proposed!” Christian shouts through the computer screen, the room erupts into shouting and screaming. Liv and I decided that we would Skype through for family dinner night in LA. One night a month the gang gets together for a big sit down dinner with everyone. This time Vanessa and Christian are hosting and everyone is there.
“Guys, guys, guys,” I shout through the screen. I can see everyone is losing their minds over my news. “She said yes.” Again, chaos ensues and more screaming and crying comes through the screen.
“Show us the ring,” Vanessa booms.
“I don’t have one yet,” Olivia answers and the room goes silent.
“Seriously, dickhead, you proposed with no ring,” Christian chastises.
“Um, remember you skipped getting engaged and got married in Vegas instead.” I remind my brother what happened between him and Vanessa.
“Yeah, but I totally bought her one that same night. I may have been drunk but I remembered that bit.”
“It sort of just happened in the moment,” I confess. The girls turn giddy over that statement judging by their faces on the screen.
“Yvette needs to do your dress. You have to pop in when you’re in Paris. I bet Ivy and Isla could meet you there,” Derrick adds.
“What? Wedding dress shopping, Um…isn’t it a little early for that, I mean we haven’t planned the wedding or anything yet. She doesn’t even have a ring, we just got engaged.” Olivia puts a hand on my shaking thigh.
“Breathe, babe, breathe.” I nod as I get my emotions under control.
“Derrick, I can pop over to Paris anytime. I want to spend as much time as I can with Axel first before he has to leave,” Olivia adds.
Ugh, the thought of leaving my now fiancée half away across the world is not sitting well with me.
“Fine, but you better call Camryn when you can to book her in. There is so much to do, so much,” Derrick carries on. I think I am going to throw up.
“Is it going to be a long engagement?” Christian asks.
“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” I add.
“Dude, you are so slow. Seriously, you need to lock her down before someone better comes along.” Gee, thanks brother for your support. Vanessa slaps him across the head. “Hey, I was just saying he can’t do better than her and before she changes her mind he needs to put a ring on her finger.”
This makes Olivia smile. “We have so much going on at the moment. I don’t think we are in a hurry, I mean we need to work out our living arrangements first before we can think of adding wedding stress to it,” Olivia tells the group.
“She’s smart, as well as beautiful. Not sure why she is with my brother,” Christian adds and I flip him off.
“We miss you. We need to have a girls’ night soon. When will you be back in LA?” Vanessa asks Olivia.
“Probably in a month or two, I’m not sure. Once I have hired a manager and trained them, then I can come.” My stomach sinks that we are going to be apart for that amount of time, but in the bigger scheme of things it’s just a small blimp until we can sort out what we are doing.
“We are so excited for the two of you,” Sienna calls out.
“We can’t wait for you to be back in LA. I miss my Lady,” Derrick moans.
Yeah, yeah, I get it. All my friends love my fiancée.
“Hey, Ax, when do you want a press release to go out announcing your engagement?” Vanessa asks.
“Shit. Do I have to?”
Vanessa smirks. “You know the paparazzi have been following you both.” Olivia stiffens. “But you’re pretty safe in France because of the strict laws there. You know once they see a massive diamond on her finger they are going to be all over the two of you.” I turn and look at Olivia who looks a little white with fear.
“We’ll talk about it and get back to you,” I advise Ness. “Okay guys, well, I need to go and be with my fiancée.” The room erupts into cheers and shouting. “Bye,” we both say, quickly shutting off the computer before they notice. “We don’t have to say anything to the public, they don’t need to know. It’s none of their business,” I tell her.
“I know, but you are a sizzling hot rock star, one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. I think I need everyone to know you are mine.” Olivia smiles as she crawls into my lap.
“Is that right?”
“Yep. I want all those groupies to know your dick is out of commission. No more groupies.” She gives me a steely look which is kind of adorable and cute and I love the way she says dick; it gets him going.
“I’m all yours.” I smile back.
“Good, now show me.”
Olivia being controlling is kind of hot.
Today sucks! I spent the morning waving off my fiancé at the Edinburgh airport. I was a sniffling mess. I didn't realize that saying goodbye would hit me so hard. Blimey, he’s my fiancé! Of course, the paparazzi were all over us and hours later my bloodshot eyes and snotty nose were all over the gossip pages. Thankfully, I had swapped my engagement ring over to my other hand and turned it around so they wouldn’t see it. The tabloids only just realized Axel and I are actually dating because some fans spotted us in France. They would lose their minds if they really knew the extent of our relationship. If they smell one little bit of news that we are engaged, all hell will break loose. Luckily, I will be staying at my old cottage at the castle while I search for a manger for the estate. There is no way they can find me there; it will give me a little bit of peace and quiet.
I keep staring at my stunning engagement ring, the thing is huge. I didn’t want something so ostentatious, but when you are presented with the most beautiful rings in the world to choose from, what’s a girl to do? I actually never thought I would be that girl who wanted the huge diamond ring, but when the sparking rock is on your hand and mesmerizes you, you have to have it. Of course, the man that loves you decides it is definitely the one, you have no choice but to keep it.
“Still staring at your ring?” Penny startles me from my trance
“Yeah, sorry,” I reply, feeling a little embarrassed being caught looking at it.
“It’s okay, it’s a beautiful ring and you are just happy.” Penny smiles at me. This newfound Penny is still taking me a little to get used to. She has moved into the village and set herself up in a gorgeous little home. Ivy is going to redecorate it for her as it hasn’t been updated since the 80s and I’m not sure Penny is into granny chic. I’m really impressed though; she has been coming into work every day and looking after our wedding and events section of the business. She’s a quick learner and has only had a tantrum once, okay maybe once a day, but still, I think that is progress. Eddie on the other hand is MIA until the paternity test results come in, which should be any day. Guessing he doesn’t want to stick around until he has to.
“Thank you.”
“I know I’ve said this before, but I can’t apologize enough for being a bitch to you, I know my quick personality change will take a while to get used to, but this baby…” She rubs her nonexistent belly. “This baby changes everything. I don’t want this little one to grow up in a family where the members hate each other.” I move my lips to speak but she shushes me. “I did this to our family, not you. God, you put up with my jealousy all your life…you’re a better person than me, Liv. I don’t want my child to
see me like that, a toxic human.” Wow, I seriously think Penny being knocked up is the best thing in the world for her. It’s like she’s been replaced with a normal human being.
“Well, I am pretty proud of you right now,” I say, giving her a smile.
“I know I have lots to do to repair the damage I have done between us, but I am going to try. You’re going to be the aunt to this child and I am going to need you, it’s going to need you.” My eyes get glassy. I guess Penny’s pregnancy is hitting me. I am going to be an aunty.
“Well, I am here for you, no matter what.”
Penny nods. “Okay, enough emotional crap, we have work to do. I’m so sick of carrying you,” She laughs at her joke. This, this is what I have always wanted between us.
***
Penny and I have been going through the resumes of candidates for the estate manager job. We have had a meeting with Camryn and Kimberly who are finalizing their bid proposal for taking over the events side of our estate. I think I am finally getting on top of things and I haven’t thought about Axel in like two minutes.
Penny’s phone starts ringing, making her jump. “Shit, it’s the doctor.” My stomach sinks. “Hello.” She answers with hesitation in her voice. “Yes, this is Penny.” She is silent, her face like stone. She would be great at poker, not giving anything away. “Okay, thank you.” Then she hangs up.
“What? Is Eddie the father?”
Tears well in her eyes and she bursts out crying, I quickly jump up from behind my desk and put my arms around her as she sobs against me. “I lied to you, Liv.” What is she talking about? “I lied, I’m so sorry.” My stomach does somersaults; she pulls away from me. “I knew Eddie wasn’t the father.” I’m stunned. “I just said it was him because well…” At least Penny has the balls to look ashamed. “I wanted to hurt you. You caught us the day of your wedding. You mentioned the pregnancy test. I was in shock finding out I was pregnant and I was there with Eddie and then bombarded by our family and I panicked. I said it was his because I knew that the guy who is probably the father will never be with me. He and I can never be together.” Penny breaks down again in my arms. This is a lot of information to take in right now.