“No. Just wear a different pair,” he said, picking up a pair of small, silver hoops.
“I can’t,” I said, digging more frantically.
“Why not? These would look fine with your dress.”
“It’s not about that, Drew,” I said, dropping to all fours as I started looking on the ground for the earring.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just an earring. We’ll get you a new pair.”
“It’s a big deal because they belonged to my grandma. I got them when she died,” I said and then he got on his hands and knees too, joining in my search.
“I’m sorry, Natalie. I didn’t know.”
“I know you didn’t, but I have to find it. I have to,” I said and we continued looking. I was frantic as I scoured the floor. We searched every inch of the bathroom and then moved onto the bedroom, but after fifteen minutes, I knew the search was futile. The earring was lost and I sat on the bed, hanging my head in defeat. Drew sat beside me, rubbing slow circles on my back.
“I’m sorry, babe,” he said gently, pulling me to him, holding me close and kissing the top of my head.
“I just wanted tonight to be perfect,” I said as a tear I didn’t even realize had formed in my panic slid down my cheek.
“And it will be. Your lost earring will not ruin our night,” he said, pulling away and tilting my chin up so that our eyes met as he wiped the tear away. “Tonight will be wonderful and I know someday, we will find that earring.”
For some reason, I believed him and I felt a smile forming on my mouth. He kissed me sweetly and then stood up.
“Now, I’ll leave you to get ready before I can’t stop myself from removing you from this little black dress,” he said and I laughed, grateful that he was trying to make me smile.
He left the room and I finished my make-up and pulled my hair up into a loose twist, leaving a few tendrils out to frame my face. I put on the earrings Drew had suggested and put the one earring of my grandmother’s back in the box, hoping the other would turn up soon. I clasped the bracelet Drew had given me for my birthday onto my wrist and then glanced down at the engagement ring once more before making my way into the great room.
The apartment was ready with small round tables covered in elegant white table cloths and simple centerpieces. Quiet piano music flowed through the sound system. A small buffet had been set up in the kitchen and the caterers were putting the finishing touches on the food. Drew was sitting on the couch, wearing a crisp black suit. He’d forgone the tie and I liked the more casual look of his gray dress shirt unbuttoned at the top as it peeked out of his jacket.
“Come sit and relax for a few minutes before everyone arrives,” he said, patting the seat next to him.
“You look nice,” I told him.
“Thank you for noticing because no one else will. They’ll all have their eyes on you.”
“I think my head has swollen about ten times its normal size since meeting you.”
“I won’t stop telling you you’re beautiful, Natalie, if that’s what you’re implying.”
I leaned in, kissing him chastely and met his eyes again.
“You look nervous,” he pointed out.
“I am.”
“Don’t be. It’ll be a great night. Just stick by me,” he said just as the doorbell rang and I felt my nervous heartbeat begin. He reached for my hand, kissing it again and smiling reassuringly at me. “Time to make this official, Miss Vasser.”
“Let’s do this, Mr. Saben,” I said, trying to muster my confidence and together, we stood up to greet our first guest.
He held my hand as he opened the door and we were greeted by my family. They’d cleaned up nicely, both my dad and brother in suits and my mother in a pretty blue dress.
“You look great, Mom,” I said when they walked in. I was determined this was going to go well and I didn’t want to say or do anything that would create tension between us.
“You really think so?” she asked quietly as we hugged and when we pulled back, I could see the worry on her face. She looked uncomfortable, as if she was afraid of not fitting in. I didn’t blame her. This wasn’t what she was used to. It was how I’d been when I first moved to the city. Iowa and New York are about as different as you can get.
“I do, Mom. You look beautiful,” I said, pulling back and taking her hands as I smiled at her.
“I’m just a little nervous is all,” she said, straightening the skirt of the dress and smoothing her hair. “This whole thing seems a little above our station.”
“To be honest, I’m a little nervous too. It can be intimidating, but you’ll be fine,” I said and then hugged her again, sudden sentimentality overtaking me. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but she was my mother and I loved her and I was grateful she was here with me.
“Can I offer you a drink, Leanne?” Drew’s voice interrupted us and we both turned to him.
“Please,” my mother answered and he put his hand on the small of her back and led her away, but not before winking at me.
“So, what are the chances of me nixing the plans to attend Iowa State and shacking up here and going to NYU instead?” Wes laughed, coming up beside me. It felt like I hadn’t had a chance to say more than two words to my brother since my family arrived.
“I thought it was your dream to go to Iowa?” I asked as I led him towards the appetizers.
“It was until I came here,” he said, reaching down for a taste of the artichoke dip. “I have to be honest, Nat. When you told Mom and Dad you were moving here, I thought you were nuts. I can see why you’ve stayed though.”
“I like the city. I don’t think I could ever go back to Iowa,” I told him, taking some dip for myself.
“Plus, you’ve landed yourself a free ride for the rest of your life, nailing a guy like Drew.”
His words struck me and I could feel my defenses rising.
“It’s not a free ride, Wesley. I work.”
“Calm down, Nat. I just meant you don’t seem to have to worry about much. Not bad for the ripe old age of twenty-three,” he said and I could tell my brother was clueless to the hurt his words caused. I didn’t want to discuss it here though. This was mine and Drew’s night, so I smiled, thankful for the knock on the door.
Drew was talking to my mother as they both sipped on a glass of wine and so I went to the door, opening it to find Drew’s parents and Kayla.
“Natalie!” Janice said, stepping inside and hugging me tightly.
“Good to see you again,” Drew’s father added, leaning in for a hug and then Janice’s hand rested on my arm as her eyes met mine.
“I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you in person on the engagement. Truly, I am so thrilled to welcome you into our family.”
I could feel the sincerity in her voice and it couldn’t have come at a better time. After the conversation with my brother, I needed to get my mind back in the right frame of mind.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile and she pulled back, her eyes meeting mine.
“Maybe I will have grandchildren before I die after all,” she laughed and I wondered if she saw me flinch.
“Seriously, Mother,” Kayla said, appearing from behind Janice and linking arms with me. “You’re going to scare the poor girl off with baby talk already.”
Janice looked over at me, an apologetic expression on her face.
“I hope you know I didn’t mean to offend you, Natalie.”
“Really, it’s fine,” I said, not wanting to create any tension.
“As you get to know my mother more, you’ll realize she doesn’t have a filter,” Kayla jested and Janice rolled her eyes.
“And you’ll see my children tease me mercilessly.”
“Only because we love you,” Drew’s deep voice added when he joined us, leaning in and hugging his parents and Kayla.
“Now, onto the important things,” Kayla said, grabbing my left hand. “Let’s see this ring.” She stared down at it, a low whistle esc
aping her lips. “There’s no way you could say no when he showed you this thing.” She laughed and then looked at me. “You know, Natalie, we could pawn this thing and go on one hell of a vacation.”
I laughed too and Drew’s hand wrapped protectively around my shoulder, pulling me close to him.
“Don’t give her any ideas,” he warned playfully. “Natalie’s family is already here. Let me introduce you.”
I knew there was nothing to be nervous about, but everyone seemed a little anxious when Drew mentioned the inevitable introductions.
My parents were sipping wine across the room as we made our way over. I could see the nerves on my mom’s face as she checked out Drew’s family, especially his perfectly polished mother.
“It is so nice to finally meet Natalie’s family.” Janice jumped in right away, smiling warmly as she made eye contact with my mom. I could see her start to relax as she realized Drew’s family wasn’t as intimidating as she first thought.
“Likewise,” my mom said, extending her hand to Janice. “I’m Leanne.”
I watched as our mothers smiled at each other and then I turned to Drew. His hand rested on the small of my back and he kissed me on the temple, pulling me close to him. I could feel the nerves lessening and I thought I might enjoy the evening after all.
The guests started coming in steady streams after that. I stood by Drew’s side as he introduced me to everyone, doing my best to appear steadfast and confident as the future wife of Andrew Saben. I had to admit my smile was more eager though when my friends showed up. Court and Anna Beth were welcome sights and shortly after, Ava and Kara arrived. I chatted with them for a little while before Drew and I continued to make our rounds together. It was going well and the butterflies in my stomach were almost completely gone until a striking head full of black hair caught my eye and I suddenly felt sick.
“Well,” Christina said as she approached us with a fake smile, “I haven’t had the chance to congratulate either of you personally since I heard the good news.”
She leaned in, kissing Drew on the cheek and then hugged me a little too tightly.
“Thank you, Christina,” Drew said. “I didn’t think you were coming. Mom said you’d be away with some friends.”
“That was supposed to be the case, but plans can change. You really thought I would miss this?”
“I’m glad you could make it, Chris,” Drew said and when I looked at him again, I knew he meant it even if I didn’t share his sentiments. “Now if only Ella could’ve made it.”
“Seattle’s a little far for an engagement party, but you know she won’t miss the wedding, which will be when?”
Her green eyes darted between us, that phony smile still donning her face.
“We haven’t set a date yet,” Drew answered.
“You’d better get on that,” she said, resting her hand on my arm momentarily. “We’ve got bridesmaids dresses to pick out, don’t we, Natalie?”
I felt my mouth hanging open, not knowing how to address this. There was no way in hell she was going to play any role in my wedding party, is what I wanted to say to her, but settled on, “We’ll have to discuss that.”
“I’m just giving you a hard time, Natalie.” She laughed, touching my arm again. “But, if you need any help with anything, I’m more than willing.”
“Thank you,” I said and then Christina looked at Drew.
“Well, I’m going to go mingle. You’ve got to have one eligible bachelor amongst all of these suits.”
“And I’m sure you’ll have no problem sniffing them out.” Drew laughed and Christina waved before she began her search.
“Is your sister bipolar?”
“Excuse me?”
“Does she have some kind of mental illness like bipolar or multiple personalities?”
“Of course not, Natalie.”
“Well, she seemed like a totally different person,” I said, my suspicions rising.
“Perhaps,” he said, but I watched as his eyes followed his sister for a moment before looking back at me. “I know you’re doubtful, Natalie, but let’s enjoy tonight.”
“I am,” I told him and he leaned in, kissing me softly before pulling away and taking my hand, gently pulling the engagement ring off my finger.
“What are you doing?”
He didn’t say anything though as he linked our arms together and led me into the sea of guests.
“Excuse me,” Drew called out loudly, his deep voice carrying through the apartment and the conversations started dying down. “Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” he asked again and the extra voices began to quiet. I looked around as all of the eyes in the room rested on us. I tried not to appear nervous and on the outside, I probably didn’t appear anxious, but on the inside, I was a mess. I felt Drew reach down and take my hand. “I wanted to take a minute to thank you all for joining us tonight. It means a great deal that you would take time out of your lives to celebrate this special time for Natalie and me. If you had told me a year ago that I would be standing here an engaged man, I would’ve said you were crazy, but that shows how much I know because here I stand with the most incredible woman in the world and somehow I convinced her to spend the rest of her life with me.” He paused for a moment, turning his body so that he was facing me. “She walked into my life seven months ago and to say she caught my eye would be an understatement. I didn’t need to say a word to her to know I wanted to know her better and the more I got to know Natalie, it became more and more obvious that she was not just beautiful on the outside, but even more beautiful on the inside.” He brushed his fingertips across my cheek as our eyes met again and it was as if we were the only ones in the room. “I proposed to Natalie on a beach in Santa Barbara,” he continued. “It was a moment for only us. Our moment and no one else’s and when she said yes, I have never been filled with more joy than I was when I heard her say that one little word…yes. I want to share that joy with you all now,” he said, bending down on one knee and then turning and grinning at the crowd momentarily. “Plus, I want to give her a chance to come to her senses and say no.” A low rumble of laughter flowed through the room before it grew quiet again and Drew focused his attention back on me, holding up the ring he’d just taken from my finger. “Natalie,” he said and I thought I heard his voice crack. “I thought my life was perfect. I had everything I wanted: success and the perks that come with it, but that was before I met you. You came into my life, filling a void I didn’t even know existed. It wasn’t until I fell in love with you that I became a complete man. The only thing that could make me even happier is if you would do me the honor of allowing me to be your husband, the one you turn to in all your troubles, the one who will always protect you and take care of you. Will you do me this honor, Natalie?”
Even though he’d already proposed, hearing him express his feelings for me again, especially in front of all these people, was different. He wanted the world to know that he loved me and as he looked at me with adoring eyes, I smiled and nodded.
“I will, Drew,” I answered, trying to keep my composure when what I really wanted to do was bury myself in his chest as he held me.
Our guests started clapping and there were even a few whistles as Drew slid the ring back on my finger, rising to his knees and kissing me deeply. If the rest of my life with him was filled with even half the happiness I was feeling right now, knowing how completely loved I was by this man, then I couldn’t wait to begin our lives together.
~~~
The apartment was quiet. Everyone was gone. The caterers had packed up and left. It was just us and I was relieved to be alone. I’d gone into the bedroom to get out of the dress and relax. It felt good to be in my sweats and when I heard Drew walk in, I turned around and suddenly felt very inadequate when I saw him leaning in the doorway, arms folded, still in his navy suit.
“I like you like this,” he said, his eyes scanning over me.
“Like what?”
“Like this.
Sweats and a t-shirt. Hair all askew.” He walked towards me, sliding his hands around my waist, pulling me to him. “I think tonight was a success. What do you think?”
“It was nice.”
“Nice?” he asked, his eyebrow rising in surprise.
“It was lovely, Drew.”
“That it was.”
He cradled my face in his hands and our lips met softly before he pulled away, stripping off his jacket and shirt, draping them over the chair as my eyes focused on his bare chest and hard stomach. I watched the way his muscles moved as he made his way into the bathroom. I heard the water turn on and I waited for a moment before walking to the bathroom myself, stopping in the doorway, watching as he finished up brushing his teeth. I could see him eyeing me in the mirror.
“What are you doing?” he asked after he’d rinsed his mouth.
“Watching you.”
“Am I that interesting?”
“You’re very interesting, Mr. Saben.”
“I’m glad you think so, Miss Vasser,” he said, wiping his face with a hand towel, brushing by me, our bodies touching as he made his way back to our bedroom. Again, I watched him as he took off his pants and traded them in for a pair of shorts and then slipped on an undershirt.
“What you said tonight…in front of everyone…I didn’t expect that,” I said and he paused for a moment before turning around to face me with a serious look.
“I meant every word of it, Natalie. The only thing I want in life is to make you happy.”
Our gazes locked from across the room for a few intense seconds until we both started walking, meeting in the middle. He brushed the hair from my forehead as his fingertips glided down my cheek.
“I can’t wait long, Natalie,” he said softly. “I can’t wait to call you Mrs. Saben. I’d marry you yesterday if I could.”
“That’s an awfully bold statement,” I said with a light laugh, but Drew’s face remained serious. “I hope I don’t end up disappointing you.”
“You could never disappoint me,” he replied, brushing his lips gently over mine and then scooped me up and lay me down on the bed as his lips started dancing across my skin.
The Heart of Tomorrow (Book Two) (The Tomorrow Series 2) Page 17