When we entered the master bedroom, I think that sealed the deal for Brandon. It was huge, had vaulted ceilings and two walk-in closets—his and hers…or just hers.
“Where would you put your clothes?” I joked.
“Which closet would you want?”
“Both,” I said with a devilish smile.
“Okay, I’ll take the hall closet,” Brandon said, laughing with me.
“Well, now that that is settled, look at this view.”
The master bedroom had an amazing view of the surrounding mountains. It was peaceful and breathtaking. Brandon and I shared a look and then both nodded at the same time. He called for Kristen and we told her that we wanted to make an offer.
*~*~*
“Hey Spencer, Carroll and I are going to grab a salad at the café down the street; want to join us for lunch?” Bel asked from the doorway of my office.
“Sure,” I said, grabbing my purse. “Let’s see if Amanda and Sue want to come, too.”
Sue was stuck in a meeting with Skye, but Amanda agreed to join us and the four of us walked down the street to the café. It was a beautiful day in San Francisco and getting out of the office to get some fresh air was exactly what I needed. My stomach was in knots. I was cooking dinner for Brandon for Valentine’s Day that night and I kept thinking about Ryan and Paula’s speculations that he was going to propose.
“I’ll grab this table if you can order me a chicken Caesar salad,” Amanda said just outside the café.
“No problem,” I said as Amanda tried to hand me money, but I waved it aside. “I got it. Think of it as payback for all the coffee and donuts.”
Bel, Carroll, and I had just placed our order at the counter when a familiar cologne drifted across my nose. No! I turned around slowly, looking at the ground where my eyes met a pair of brown loafers, followed by light brown pants, and then slowly moved up to a matching suit jacket with a white dress shirt accented with a lavender tie.
My eyes met the green eyes of my past.
“Hello, Spencer,” he said.
“Travis,” I acknowledged him with a cool nod.
“It’s good to see you. How are you?”
For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why Travis would think I’d want to talk to him. There were so many other things I’d rather spend my lunch hour doing than talking to this lying, cheating sack of shit.
“I’m good––really good.” I paused, reluctant to ask him how he was doing in return. “Spence, food is ready,” Carroll said, saving the day.
“Okay. It was nice seeing you, Travis, but I really need to eat my lunch and head back to the office––you know, only have an hour,” I said with a brief smile as I excused myself, turning away to walk outside.
“Take care, Spence,” he said as I looked back over my shoulder at him and nodded.
I walked out of the doors––all eyes were on me. I hadn’t talked to TravAss since the day he ripped my heart out when I walked in on him and Misty in his office. I wasn’t sure what was worse: trying not to die at the hands of a bat-shit crazy girl, trying to avoid a weird stalker-Trevor, or running into TravAss and being forced to exchange pleasantries when all you wanted to do was kick him in the balls.
I sat down at the outdoor table with my back to the door. I didn’t want to see him when he left. Actually, I never wanted to see him again, period. Even though I was madly in love with Brandon, seeing TravAss still affected me and put me in a bad mood.
“Uhh, I hate that guy!” I said, plopping down in the wrought iron chair. I grabbed my phone to text Ryan.
Me: Just fucking ran into TravASS!
“Is this the first time you’ve seen him since the break up?” Amanda asked.
“No, I actually saw him a few months ago when I was with Brandon and Ryan. Brandon went up to him and I’m not sure exactly what was said, but Brandon told me that he thanked him for being a douche,” I said, setting my phone down on the table.
“What did he say just now?” Bel asked.
“He said it was good to see me.”
“That’s it?” Amanda asked, taking a bite of her salad.
“Yeah, then Carroll saved the day. I didn’t know what to say to him.”
“Awkward,” Bel said, dragging out the word.
“Shh, here he comes,” Amanda said, making my back instantly tense up in agitation.
My phone buzzed next to me on the table; it was Ryan texting me back. I didn’t turn around to see TravAss leave, but I did see him out of the corner of my right eye as I read Ryan’s text.
Ryan: WHAT?!?! Where??? OMG, call me after work!
“I’m bringing my lunch to work from now on,” I said jokingly, setting my phone back down on the table.
*~*~*
I called Ryan right away when I left work and told her about my run in with TravAss. Of course, of all days, it would have to be Valentine’s Day. Sigh! On the bright side, I somehow managed to convince Brandon that we didn’t need to go to the gym after work, so I was able to get off a few minutes early and head to the store to grab things for our special dinner.
On our first date, Brandon had mentioned that ribs were his favorite food. I had never made ribs before, but I found plenty of recipes on the Food Network’s website and ultimately chose to go with one from Bobby Flay for Honey-Mustard Glazed Ribs that I could do in the oven. Bobby Flay was, after all, the barbeque king of the Food Network, and even though I was going to do the ribs in the oven, I had no doubt they would be delicious.
I hurried into the house and began prepping the rubs while the oven pre-heated. Checking my watch, I had about a half hour left before Brandon would be home. There was no way I could hide the fact that I was cooking his favorite meal, but at least it would be done shortly after he got home.
I threw the ribs in the oven and started to peel potatoes for potato salad when I heard Brandon pull into the driveway. I quickly threw the potatoes in the boiling water when Brandon walked it.
“Whatever you’re making smells like heaven, Babe,” he said, walking into the kitchen.
“I’m making your favorite…well, kind of your favorite. I’m making you ribs, but I’m not using a grill,” I said, pointing to the oven.
“I’m sure they’ll be delicious,” he said, wrapping his arms around me from behind and bringing a bouquet of roses up to my face.
“You got me red roses?”
“Of course. That’s what you’re supposed to do on Valentine’s Day, right?”
“I’ve heard, but this is the first time I’ve actually received them,” I said, smiling happily.
“And this is the first time I’ve given them.”
“Ever?”
“Well no, not ever, but the first time I have given them on Valentine’s Day.”
“Ah, well thank you, I love them,” I said, turning around in his arms and looking up into his eyes.
Brandon tilted my chin up to kiss me lightly. “And I love you. Now, hurry up and cook my dinner, woman. I brought you flowers!”
“Hey, shut it!” I said, slapping his ass.
“No, really, do you need help?”
“Sure, you can chop the celery and onions,” I said, pointing to the counter.
I put my roses in water and returned to tend to the boiling potatoes while Brandon chopped the vegetables. Everything came together perfectly and even though I wanted to make the dinner for Brandon, I appreciated the fact that he helped.
“Wow, Babe, those ribs were fantastic,” he said, licking his fingers.
“Yeah, they were, weren’t they?”
Dinner had actually turned out to be pretty amazing. I had never oven cooked ribs and they were really, really good.
“Now it’s time for me to give you your present,” he said, getting up from the table.
“I thought my roses were my gift?”
“Um––no,” he said with a laugh.
Brandon walked down the hall and then back to where I was sitting at the dining room
table. He presented me with a little black velvet box cupped in the palm of his hand, making my heart stop. Oh my God, was this it? Was he really going to propose? I was ready to say yes, wasn’t I?
I hesitated for a minute before reaching out my hand. “Aren’t you supposed to get down on one knee or something?”
“What?” Brandon asked, laughing nervously. “Oh––it’s not a ring.”
“Oh,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure if I was sad or relieved.
“You wanted me to propose––tonight?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Because it’s Valentine’s Day?” Brandon asked, still holding the black velvet box.
“Yes, Ryan and her mom got the idea in my head the other day. Sorry,” I said, sticking out my hand for the box.
“Babe,” he said, kneeling on one knee. My heart stopped. Holy shit, was he really going to propose after all and had just been pretending like he wasn’t going to? “Oh––no, no,” he said as he saw the express on my face, standing back up again. “Babe, I am not proposing. That doesn’t mean I won’t eventually, but I don’t need a holiday to tell me to propose to you. I want to do it when the time is right.”
“You do want to marry me?”
“Of course, I do. Like I told you the other day, I have never felt this way about any other girl or girlfriend. I can’t even imagine my life, my future, without you in it. So yes, eventually, I want to propose, but not because a holiday is telling me to.”
“Okay,” I said, reaching out my hand to lighten the mood.
Brandon handed me the velvet box. I lifted the lid and it wasn’t a ring, but holy shit, it was the second best thing!
“Oh my God, diamond earrings?”
“Yes, I know yours are cubic zirconia and you wear them all the time, so I figured it was time for an upgrade and I got you real ones.”
“You really need to stop spoiling me. Don’t you know that you are supposed to start small and then move up over the years?” I teased, laughing.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I stood up quickly from my chair and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him––hard. “I love you!”
“I love you, too.”
“Now, it’s your turn.”
“You got me something, too?”
“Of course, silly,” I said, walking towards our bedroom. “I’ll be right back.” I grabbed the shoebox that I had wrapped in festive paper with Valentine’s Day hearts on it and walked back to the kitchen. “Here,” I said, handing it to him.
Brandon ripped open the paper and then lifted the lid to the box as he looked at what was in it, his eyes widening with blatant male appreciation. He let out a low whistle. “You had Boudoir pictures taken of you?”
“Yep.”
“When?”
“A few weeks ago while you were at poker.”
“Oh,” he said as he began to open the album.
The first picture was of me on a high back chair that was turned around so the back was covering most of my body. My arms were on the top of the chair as my legs straddled the seat. My toes pressed my feet and legs up off the ground for a sexy pose and I appeared to be naked.
“Love it,” he said, flipping to the next photo.
The next two photos, I had on a white lace bra and panties. For one pose, the photographer was above me while I was lying mostly on my back, my hips turned a little to the right, my legs bent and my head and eyes looking up behind me. For the other, I was on all fours on the bed, my hair flipped over my right shoulder as I looked away from the camera with a slight smile as the photographer was angled to my left, capturing my breasts.
The last picture was of me in a pink and black corset with thigh high black stockings that clipped to the corset. I was sitting on a green chaise lounge chair with my legs propped on the seat cushion and my right arm resting above my head as I looked off camera with a slight sexy smile on my face.
“I’ve never seen you wear any of these outfits before,” Brandon said as he stared at the last picture.
“That’s kind of the point. I bought them for the shoot and they’re also the other part of your Valentine’s Day gift. You don’t like?”
“Um no, I fucking love them,” Brandon said, closing the album and stood up. “Now, go change into the pink one,” he said, slapping my ass and then pointed me toward the bedroom.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I arrived at Ryan’s parents’ house two hours before her bridal shower was due to begin so that I would have plenty of time to get everything set up. It was a nice sunny day for being the middle of March, so we decided to have the party outside around the pool. I hired a catering company to provide all of the food because I knew there was just no way I would have time to make enough food for fifty people while we decorated.
Ryan’s five bridesmaids arrived about an hour later and we all went to work, some of us setting the tables with green napkins and pink roses in crystal bowls while others hung white paper lanterns all around the backyard near the pool.
Guests finally started to arrive shortly after Ryan arrived. As soon as each person came through the door, one of the bridesmaids placed an index card with the name of a celebrity on their back. While the guests mingled, they had to find their celebrity mate.
After everyone had eaten, we played the traditional “make a wedding gown out of toilet paper” game and Ryan picked the winner. Some were really good and inventive while others were really hideous and badly made. Afterwards, the ladies ate cake while they gathered in the living room so Ryan could open her gifts.
“Oh, it’s so soft,” Ryan said, opening his and hers white terrycloth robes.
“You don’t have them yet, do you?” Kathy, a friend of Ryan’s mother asked.
“No, I love them. We will definitely be wearing these on our honeymoon.”
I handed Ryan the next box to open.
“These smell so good,” she said, opening massage oils from Kris, “and will also come in handy on our honeymoon.” Kris grinned and winked at her.
Moving on to the next gift, Ryan exclaimed, “Holy crap, it’s huge!” as she unwrapped and held up a huge white and chrome wall clock given to her by Whitney. “I have no idea where I am going to put it, but I’m sure it will fit somewhere.”
Next Ryan opened a Cuisinart blender. “It’s so shiny and new!”
“I wonder where I can put this,” Ryan mused aloud, opening a crystal bowl given by Heather, a friend of Ryan’s.
Ryan continued to open a plethora of gifts like lingerie, blank photo albums for her wedding and honeymoon pictures, towels, a rice cooker, picture frames and other various things. After she finally opened the last gift, I told Ryan that we had been writing down her reactions as she opened each of her gifts.
“So Ryan, this is what you will say on your wedding night,” I said, accepting the list from Virginia as she handed it over to me. “Oh, it’s so soft––these smell so good––holy crap, it’s huge––I have no idea where I am going to put it, but I’m sure it will fit somewhere––it’s so shiny and new— and last but not least—I wonder where I can put this?”
After everyone stopped laughing and Ryan’s face returned to its normal peach color, her guests mingled with each other for another half hour or so before they finally went home, leaving the bridal party to clean up. Even though I was thoroughly exhausted, I was very pleased that Ryan’s bridal shower had been a success.
*~*~*
“Ready to go to our home?” Brandon asked as we walked to his car after signing the papers for the house.
We had put an offer on the last house we looked at after we both fell in love with it and thankfully, our offer was approved. After waiting thirty days for the loan process to close, I could hardly believe we were finally homeowners. We jumped in the car and drove the forty minutes out to Kentfield before the ink was dry on the papers. Even though we had no furniture and would be moving in on the weekend, we both just wanted to see our new home.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as we approached the dark house. We had just bought a house that would be our own…not his, not mine, not the house that I once shared with Ryan, but our house together. Our new home was a house that TravAss and Christy had never seen and was a fresh start for us and a huge step in our relationship.
These past few months of living together had actually turned out to be pretty damn great. I wasn’t thrilled about the commute, but Brandon and I discussed carpooling together. He had no problem picking me up from work so we could work out together and then head home after. I think he actually preferred it that way since there was still the Trevor issue that remained unresolved. Wednesdays would be the only day that I would go alone since he had his poker night and honestly, I was fine with that.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I squealed as Brandon picked me up after opening the front door.
“I’m carrying you over the threshold.”
“I think that’s supposed to happen on our wedding night.”
“No, I think men can also do it when you buy a new house together.”
“Ha ha, okay, if you must. Proceed,” I said with a flourish of my hand.
Brandon carried me over the threshold and into the silent house. All the model furniture had been removed since the last time we had seen the place and did the final inspection. I couldn’t wait to come back in two days with our stuff. Brandon had sold his furniture with the condo, as he didn’t want any memory of Christy and quite frankly, neither did I.
We had bought a new king size bed that was being delivered on Saturday. My old bed was going in one of the guest bedrooms and even though Brandon could afford new furniture, Ryan had given us all of the furniture in the house I had shared with her since she didn’t need it at Max’s. I figured that this way, we could slowly find stuff we both liked and gradually make it our own.
We went room to room, just taking in the house. I couldn’t believe it was actually ours.
“I really love the kitchen,” I said as we walked into it.
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