Say Yes
By Mellie George
Copyright © 2013 Mellie George
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
To my husband and daughters for all their support, encouragement, and love.
Table of Contents
Say Yes
Chapter 1
Going Home
Chapter 2
Family Dinner
Chapter 3
Luke
Chapter 4
Truth
Chapter 5
Late Night Chat
Chapter 6
Butterflies
Chapter 7
Strange Encounters
Chapter 8
Lunch with an Old Friend
Chapter 9
Brody’s Bar
Chapter 10
Dream a Little Dream
Chapter 11
Dinner Invitation
Chapter 12
Confessions
Chapter 13
What Happens at a Bachelorette Party…
Chapter 14
No Going Back
Chapter 15
Waking up in Heaven
Chapter 16
Clearing the Air
Chapter 17
Rehearsal Dinner
Chapter 18
Slumber Party
Chapter 19
Wedding Day
Chapter 20
Christmas Day
Chapter 21
The Beginning of the End
Chapter 22
Surprise Indeed
Chapter 23
So Happy Together
Chapter 24
…And Baby Makes Three
Chapter 1
Going Home
So, my name is Lilly Harrington, and this is my story. I will warn you that it starts out like most stories: with a woman reflecting back on her life and wondering, “What am I supposed to do?” And that woman would be me. My story really is kind of typical (or cliché, depending on how you look at it). Single girl living a great independent life that goes back to her hometown for the first time in eleven years for a wedding. And of course, as most stories go, things happened there that made me question every decision I made since leaving. See? It sounds like the plot for a cheesy made-for-TV movie, doesn’t it? But now, here I am, almost a month later, wondering where to go from here. What do you do when your head and your heart tell you two different things? Which path do you choose?
Let me go back a bit. As I mentioned before, this all started a few weeks ago when I flew back to my hometown of Glenbrook, Georgia. Never heard of it? Yeah, most people haven’t either. It’s a tiny town right near the southeastern most part of the state, right outside of Kingsland (which is a small town in itself) and there are only 4, 186 people in my hometown. I never had a problem having roots to such a small town, but from an early age, I knew it was one that I would eventually outgrow. Ever since I was four years old, I knew I wanted to cook. I know what you are thinking. That’s kind of weird. Most children dream of growing up to be doctors, lawyers, brave policemen, some even singers or actors. But, I was different. We all dream of something, and mine was to be a talented chef. I can remember playing make-believe that I owned my own restaurant in my little play kitchen. I think I went through four Easy Bake Ovens in my youth. I loved being in the kitchen, concocting something that tasted amazing out of simple ingredients. I loved the look on people’s faces when they tasted something I made and enjoyed it. I knew that cooking was what made me happy, and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life so when I graduated high school, I went out into the world, determined to make my dream come true. And I did. After double majoring in Culinary Arts and Business Management at UCLA, studying my ass off, and basically sacrificing every fun part of the collegiate experience, I did it. I was Lilly Harrington, one of the top and most in-demand chefs in California, and was personally head hunted by Jean-Luc Pinchot to work as the head chef at his restaurant Mystique in San Francisco. My name was out there professionally, and I was getting hundreds of calls weekly for celebrity events. I was in control of my fate, and my life was great. I lived in a beautiful studio apartment, I had amazing friends, I had a career I loved, and I didn’t have the pressures of relationships to stand in the way of that career. I was never one that wanted, needed, or depended on a man to make me happy. In my quest to reach my goals, I felt that romance was a necessary sacrifice. I have always been a driven and self sufficient woman, and I never saw that changing.
The last night I was in San Francisco, my two best friends and I decided on having dinner and drinks together since it was the last time I would see them for three weeks. I hadn’t had a vacation in five years, and I was very, very lucky to be getting one right before Christmas. Most importantly, the younger of my two sisters was getting married and the wedding was planned at the right time for me to finally get away from the city and visit with my family. Her wedding was in two weeks, and I was staying for another week to spend Christmas there. At that point I hadn’t been home since I left for college, and even though things in Georgia are remarkably different than California, I admit I was happy to be able to see my family again. There was no real reason why I had never been back…I simply just hadn’t. We had always been a tight knit little group, even if it was from a distance, and I know they were thrilled that we would see each other again on home soil instead of coming to me, especially over the Christmas holiday.
Anyway, I met my friends Tara and Alejandro at our favorite restaurant 3-6-9. I remember when I stepped out of the cab…
“Hey, Lilly! Finally! Where have you been, girl? We are starving!” yelled Tara. She flicked the cigarette she was smoking on the ground and stomped on it impatiently. Tara and I were roommates all four years of college, and she ended up working for a top California PR firm. She could be a little bossy and brash, but she was one of my best friends and I loved her.
“Sorry, Tara, it took me twenty minutes to hail a cab. And, don’t whine. I’m only twelve minutes late.” I looked past Tara and waved at Alejandro. He was UCLA alumni too. Alejandro had been a double major in marketing and fashion design, and was now making his living as a top wedding coordinator. We met on our first day of classes our freshman year, and I instantly loved him. He was funny, fiercely loyal, encouraging, and spontaneous. Too bad he was gay…otherwise he’d be my perfect man.
“Oh, girl, you know Tara. Twelve minutes is like a lifetime,” said Alejandro. “But, seriously, thank God you are here. Maybe now she’ll stop bitching.” Tara very charmingly flipped him off, and he just smiled back sarcastically. They really couldn’t stand each other, but they kept the peace because I loved them both and wasn’t about to give either of them the boot.
“Well, we are all here now, so let’s eat. This is a celebration! This is my last night in town for a few weeks and we won’t get to see each other for the holidays this year,” I said. Tara stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and I and said, “Don’t get all pouty on me, it’s not like I’m moving there. We’ve been together every single Christmas since we all met. Eventually one of us was going to branch off for the holidays. Besides, I think it will be nice to spend Christmas back home. I so need this vacation.”
Tara snorted. “I would hardly call a wedding in a podunk little town a vacation. It sounds more like my idea of purgatory.”
“Hey, now, I love my little podunk town, thank you very much. Granted, seeing my baby sister getting married is a little strange, but I haven’t seen my family in, like, forever, s
o I am excited for that,” I replied. And I was telling the truth. I was glad to be able to spend some time with them, and catch up with old friends in town. I wonder if he still lived there….
Tara interrupted my wandering thoughts, saying “Well, enough of this blah blah hometown boring conversation. I want to tear this town up with my BFF before she leaves me for three weeks! You know, in Cali, three weeks is like a lifetime! You are going forget me!” I looked at Alejandro and he rolled his eyes and mouthed “oh my God”.
“Tara, there is no way in the world I could forget you in the span of three weeks,” I replied. “You leave a lasting impression.”
“Whatever, the point I’m making is that we are all going to miss you like crazy while you are down at the little country Christmas wedding on the plantation or whatever,” she said, with a smile. “Just promise me one thing, Lil.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t go meeting some hot country boy and abandoning us forever,” she said.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Yeah, Tara, that’ll happen,” I said. There was no one back home that I cared about like that. Well, except for… “Okay, let’s stop wasting time, I’ve got a plane to catch in the morning, so let’s get our drink on, bitches!” I shouted, and we headed into the restaurant together.
The next morning, I woke up nauseated and my head was splitting. It felt like a big burly construction worker was jack hammering on my skull. Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have drank that much. I was trying to avoid flying hung over. I blame Alejandro. He was the one that kept ordering pitcher after pitcher of margaritas. Thankfully, I hadn’t packed my bottle of Excedrin, so I popped two of them, and washed them down with water. I had decided to treat myself and fly first class, so I was hoping for my appetite to come back because they always serve a pretty decent breakfast. But, a growling roar coming from my stomach pretty much dashed those hopes. I checked my carryon bag and made sure that I had some Pepto Bismol in there. My cab arrived right on time, and I did a double check to make sure I didn’t forget anything. After making sure everything was ready, I grabbed my luggage and my plane ticket, locked my apartment, took a deep breath, and began my trip home.
I made it through airport security okay. No pat downs, thank goodness. While I was waiting for the plane to board, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and half-smiled. Of course my mom would be calling me at four o’clock on the morning of my flight home. “Hey Mama,” I answer.
“Hey, darling, good, I was hoping I’d catch ya before your flight! I take it you haven’t boarded yet if you are talkin’ to me,” she says warmly.
“Nope, not yet. Probably in about five minutes or so. What’s up? It’s gotta be like seven in the morning there, why are you up so early?”
“Early? It’s four o’clock there,” she said with a chuckle. “Anyway, I was callin’ you since you are going to be here in time for dinner for the first time since you left for college,” she pauses and sniffs, “I was just wondering if you still liked barbecue turkey,” she asked, with a slight crack in her voice. I could feel the guilt radiating from her over the phone.
“Uh, I don’t-wait, what?” She called me to ask about turkey?
“Well, I know that people’s tastes can change over the course of eleven years or so, not that I’m counting mind you,” she sniffs again, “And I just wondered if you lost your taste for home cookin’ while you have been living in California cooking all of that fancy food of yours.”
“Um, barbecue turkey sounds great.” My stomach rolled in protest.
“Oh, that makes me happy to hear that. So, is that okay for dinner then?” she asked me.
“Absolutely, that sounds good, Mama.” In all honesty, southern comfort food wasn’t something I ate now. Like, at all. I tried my best to eat healthy and I knew anything and everything I would be eating the next three weeks would be loaded with butter and deep fried. But, I didn’t want to start my visit off on a bad note. I would just have to exercise more to make sure that all that food didn’t show. “So, how’s everything else? How are you and Violet handling the wedding plans?”
I heard my mother sigh. “Lil, you know your sister. She cares too much about what others think. She stressing herself out over trying to make everything perfect that I think she’s forgetting to enjoy herself. I am so glad that you will be here these last few weeks. She always used to listen to you, and I think with your knowledge and advice she might calm down a little bit.”
“Well, I’ll do my best, but Vi is a force of nature. How has Daisy been with all of this? I thought she was the maid of honor,” I said.
“Daisy is Daisy. She’s helping as best she can, but this just isn’t her thing, you know that. Bless her though, she’s trying,” said my mother, a hint of a smile in her voice. Daisy is the middle sister of the three of us, three years younger than I am. Independent like me, but just a tad more rebellious by nature. I can imagine her picking out bridesmaid dresses, floral arrangements, wedding favors…the thought makes me chuckle. At least I know the bachelorette party will be awesome. Just then, a voice from overhead said, “Flight 432 to Saint Mary’s, Georgia now boarding.”
“Oh, are they callin’ your flight, darlin’?” asked Mama.
“Yes, I have to go. I’ll see you in a little while,” I said, grabbing my carryon bag.
“Yes, in a little while,” she said, her voice cracking slightly again. “Your Daddy and I can’t wait to see you!”
“Me too, see you soon. Love you,” I said.
“Love you too, sugar, have a safe flight. Goodbye!”
“Bye, Mama,” I said, and with that last goodbye, I turned my phone off and boarded my plane home.
“Lilly, hey!” he called, bounding up the front porch steps of my house. He walked over to me quickly and sat down next to me on the porch swing. “I heard you are leaving for college tomorrow. Why so soon? We just graduated a week ago.”
“Well, Luke, I have a chance to start UCLA early. Besides, I don’t want to sit around all summer doing nothing,” I said.
Luke smiled at me, and cocked his head to the side. “I would hardly call me ‘nothing’,” he said.
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “In your dreams, buddy.”
“Well, if it’s your last night in town, come to the Summer Festival with me tonight. God only knows when we’ll see each other again!”
“With you? Like, what, like a date or somethin’?” I laughed. It was hilarious to me that someone like Luke Beckett, the quarterback of our high school football team, would ever go for a plain Jane girl like me.
“Naw, I gave up hope on you a while ago,” he said, a laugh escaping him, and it almost sounded like there was a touch of sadness behind it. “Just as friends on your last night in Glenbrook. Daisy and Jack will be there too. What do you say?” He held out his hand, smiling while his ice blue eyes bore into me.
“Sure, okay. Sounds like fun. You gonna win me a stuffed animal I can take with me?”
“Just one? I bet I can win you a hundred of ‘em. I am a quarterback you know, so rumor has it I have a good arm,” Luke said, taking my hand and leading me off my front porch down the road.
“Please fasten your seatbelts as we make our decent into Saint Mary’s Airport. We hope you have had a pleasant flight, and thank you for flying with Omega Airlines,” the friendly flight attendant said over the speakers. I sat up in my seat. Holy shit, we’re here already? I must have been tired to sleep through most of the flight. My stomach growled. Because of the previous evening’s festivities, I had passed on breakfast, and now I had slept through lunch. Daddy’s barbecue turkey sounded downright mouth-watering right now. Ugh, I felt groggy from my nap. I yawned and stretched my stiff arms out. Did I just dream about Luke Beckett? That dream…it was odd. Well…the dream wasn’t odd, but the timing of it was. Of course I would dream of that night before I left home as I was coming back to it. I shook my head and sighed, shaking off my trip down memory lane. It’s been eleven years si
nce I have seen him. Luke probably doesn’t even live in Glenbrook anymore.
After safely landing, I got off the plane and took my first step on Georgia soil in eleven years. I took a deep breath. The air still smelled the same, it was comforting. I immediately felt at ease, which was a little unsettling. I started to walk toward the baggage claim, turning on my cell phone and preparing to check my messages. But, before I could do that, in the distance, I heard a high pitched voice squealing, “Oh, honey, look, there she is! She’s here! Lilly!”
Chapter 2
Family Dinner
I looked to the left and saw my baby sister Violet smiling and waving, with a very handsome man standing next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist. I assumed it was her fiancée. At this point, I had never met him. I quickly walked over to her. “Oh my goodness, Violet, hi!” I said, surprised. I wasn’t expecting anyone to meet me when I got off the plane.
“Oh, Lilly, I’m so glad you are finally here! My wedding will be perfect now, everything is just perfect,” she said, stepping away from Mr. Handsome and pulling me into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much!”
I hugged her back, and in that moment, I realized how long it had really been since I had seen her. I had obviously seen her when the family would fly to California to visit me, but the last time I was in Glenbrook, she was only eleven years old. I pulled back and looked at her. She was so beautiful. Still the same long blonde hair, but lighter than the last time I had seen her. Same big blue eyes, same sweet smile, same energetic personality. We looked absolutely nothing alike. I looked just like Daddy, and Violet looked just like our mom. Daisy, my middle sister, was the perfect mix between both my parents with Daddy’s dark hair and Mama’s blue eyes. I had dark hair, jade green eyes, and was a little thicker and curvier than she was. Violet looked like a model. I suddenly felt a tad self conscious. Anyone meeting her the first time would think she was either the head cheerleader or the homecoming queen when she was in high school. And they would be right. And now, she really had seemed to have it all, including a huge rock on her left ring finger and a handsome husband-to-be. “Vi, I have missed you too. Look at you, you are stunning!” I said, taking her left hand into both of mine. “Ooh, this must be the ring! Wow, look at this thing, its breathtaking!”
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