A Prior Engagement

by S. L. Scott

  “Why would I get upset?”

  “Sometimes you seem to have issues talking about money.”

  “I don’t have issues talking about money. I have issues wi—”

  “Just let me get this off my chest, okay?” She turned to face him, crisscrossing her legs in front of her. “I have a trust fund. My grandparents set up a trust on my behalf.” He could see how nervous she was, so he took her hand and held it in his lap as she spoke. “Audrey has one, too. We both do.”

  “All right, so you have money you’ll get one day.”

  “Exactly. When I’m twenty-five, I’ll inherit it. But, I thought you should know it might be a lot.”

  “Have you always known about it?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Okay, one day we’ll get a few thousand. It’s rightfully yours to do with as you please. Do you want me to sign a pre-nup?”

  “No, no. That’s not why I’m bringing it up. The money is ours. I don’t want a pre-nup and it might be more than a few thousand.” The last few words rushed from her mouth.

  “Do you know how much it is?”

  “No, it’s supposed to remain sealed until received so my life path wasn’t altered by it, but they were wealthy.”

  “Okay, a hundred thousand or so.” He had a great idea. “That will help with our retirement fund then.” William leaned over and kissed her.

  Evie didn’t have the heart to tell him it would be in the millions because she didn’t want to overwhelm him. She had three more years before she had to deal with it anyway.

  A few days before Christmas, William and Evie exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony inside the New York Public Library Genealogy Room. Once married, the doors opened and they ran out hand-in–hand, and were greeted by their families, including Dallas and Audrey, who had become attached at the hip, Bobby, Tracy, Professor Lang, and Walter. Flower petals rained down on them as they jumped into a waiting taxi and headed to their favorite park wanting to spend a few minutes together there alone. On the ride over, she picked a lone pink petal off of his hair and smiled. The petal reminded her of how much her life had changed from that first defiant act of visiting the park last spring. Remembering the blooms she saw that day in the park to the flower petal she held in her hand, she felt her life had come full circle. Her happily ever after was as real as the rose petal she now cherished. She tucked it inside her small clutch, planning on saving it forever.

  Evie leaned against her husband and kissed him over and over on his lips and chin and jaw and cheeks. William used the large tree, their tree, as support, holding his bride in his arms and enjoying her mouth on him and affections.

  He stopped her before she pulled away. “Please don’t ever stop kissing me, Mrs. Ryder.”

  After placing one last quick peck on his lips, she said, “I will kiss you forever, my dear husband. You have made me the happiest woman in the world.”

  “Words can’t describe the happiness I feel. I love you, my beautiful wife.” He smiled, cocking one eyebrow up, and added, “I really like this wife business. You are officially my wife.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  A few minutes after they strolled through the park, they caught another cab and headed to Pizzeria La Cucina for their small reception. Everyone cheered as they entered and greeted them with hugs and kisses. Champagne was served and then William dragged his new wife over to the cake, but Evie started tearing up as soon as she saw there was no cake. Instead, there was a table full of blueberry muffin tops and no bottoms. “I made the decision that you should have all the best things in life on this day and that means just the tops for you, my love.”

  “You are the most wonderful man.” Evie stroked his cheek then joked with him. “Did it hurt to know that all those bottoms went to waste?”

  “I couldn’t bear it.” With his hand over his heart, he pointed with the other to the miniature cake boxes at each place setting. “Everyone is going home with a muffin bottom as their favor.” They both laughed then kissed, which would have been inappropriate if she had invited her high society acquaintances, but she didn’t and their guests, family and real friends, enjoyed seeing the display of love and cheered some more.

  After dinner and the toasts, the minister approached. “We need to make it official before you go running off on your honeymoon.” He flattened their marriage certificate on the table and held out a blue ink fountain pen.

  William was quick to correct the situation as Evie looked on in horror. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” He pulled a black-inked pen from his suit pocket and her face softened into a smile. They each signed their names and sealed the deal with a kiss.

  By the end of the festive afternoon, a car awaited the newlyweds in front of the restaurant. They hugged everyone good-bye, grabbed their suitcases, and hopped in. Richard Wright handed William an envelope as they shook hands once more and patted him on the back. “I know you’ll take care of her and I’m proud to call you son.”

  William thanked him and slid closer to Evie. As the driver pulled into rush hour traffic, William turned to his wife, feeling all the love they had ever shared. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive. Thank you for marrying me.”

  She couldn’t resist him. She pulled his face toward her and kissed him deeply, letting him know exactly how she felt.

  A few hours and a lot of snuggling and making out later, the couple pulled up to the Wrights’ Hamptons beach home. William carried his bride over the threshold and they rushed to the kitchen, starved from their day’s festivities. They found a mini buffet set up by her family, and each made a plate. Sitting at the bar together, still in their wedding attire, they didn’t want to be apart from the other even for a second.

  After eating, Evie put a CD on as William poured the whiskey. He handed her a glass to toast. “Bottoms up, Mrs. Ryder.”

  “Figuratively or literally?”

  “Both.”

  “Whiskey, though?”

  “Yeah, whiskey,” he replied with a sexy smirk.

  Another shot later they made it half way up the stairs before their clothes went flying. Evie tripped in the high heels, landing on her bottom on the top step.

  William climbed up, stalking, until he was hovering over her. “This will work.”

  The newlyweds spent a blissful weekend together making love, teasing, and loving each other completely.

  On Sunday morning, they discovered a fruit tray left in the fridge for them. Picking out a strawberry and biting into it, Evie saw the envelope from her father on the island. “What’s this?”

  William eyed it before remembering Richard giving it to him on Friday. “Your dad gave it to me when we were leaving. I forgot about it.” She handed it to him figuring if it was given to him, he should be the one to open it.

  William slipped the flap open and pulled what appeared to be a large contract out. Confused and curious, he looked it over for clues to what it was exactly. His eyes settled on his address, but he didn’t understand why his address was listed.

  He flipped to the title of the document again then back to his address. In a whisper, still not fully comprehending, he said, “I think your parents bought our apartment and gave it to us as a wedding gift.”

  Evie jumped up, grabbing the document from his hands, and exclaimed, “What?” She skimmed the main parts of the front page and gulped. “No, William. I don’t think so—”

  He pointed to the line where it listed the building’s address. “Yeah, I think so. It says something about ‘titles to said listed properties’ right here.”

  “No, I mean, I think they bought the whole building.”

  His jaw dropped open just as Evie rushed him, almost knocking him off the barstool. “They bought the building! Your parents bought us the building?”

  She smiled, rubbing soothing circles on his back as she held him. “Yes, they did, babe.”

  They spend a good portion of the ride back to the city going over the document in full, line by line and
making sure they understood it.

  When it finally sunk in, they realized they were now the proud owners of a four story worn-down pre-war building in a relatively safe part of Manhattan.

  When the newly married couple returned to their apartment, they found a pile of mail stuffed in their mailbox. “Wait here,” he said, dashing up the stairs with their bags and dumping them outside the apartment door. He ran back down stairs, kissed her on the forehead and they continued up the stairs together, this time William insisting he carry his bride up to the second floor. As he acted strong and brave, she could feel his arms starting to shake a little below her and hoped he could make it to the landing before dropping her.

  Holding her while she worked the keys and unlocked the door, he ran in, setting her down in the middle of the room. “There,” he announced, proudly. “Welcome home, Mrs. Ryder.”

  “Who’s my big strong husband?” Her words were laced with sarcasm, but it didn’t shrink his ego. He turned back and grabbed their suitcases out from the hall. When he re-entered, Evie was holding an envelope between her fingers “What’s this? It’s from Pepperdine. That’s in California.”

  He rushed toward her, almost knocking her over while grabbing it out of her hand. “Um, I don’t—”

  “Um . . . hmm. You must really want it if you’re tackling me for it. Well, open it.” She started unpacking her bag leaving him alone with his precious envelope.

  After he read over the letter for the third time, he stood up. “I got in.” He looked at her and said, “I got a job, too, babe.”

  She reached out and took the letter from him, reading what it said. Her eyes darted up, meeting his eyes in astonishment. “You got into Pepperdine in California?”

  He nodded. “Lang wrote a letter on my behalf recommending me for the job after I told him I wanted to get away and do my Master’s degree there. I kind of forgot about applying there last summer with all we were going through.” Excitement brightened his eyes. “What do you think?”

  She read over the letter before giving her opinion. “I think it’s an offer we shouldn’t refuse. I mean it’s a Teaching Assistant position with a stipend and you’ve put it off long enough. I’ve graduated now, so there’s no reason not to follow your dream.”

  “You’d move to California? What about your family?” William looked around his apartment feeling a bit emotional. “What about the apartment and building? We now own them.”

  She held her hand up, flashing her wedding ring, and said, “This says I go where you go. I can get a job in publishing out in California. There are some great companies there and you can’t pass up this opportunity. My family can visit us. We can visit them.” She sighed, feeling a little nostalgic over the tiny apartment. “We can keep the building, rent it out.”

  “We only have three weeks. So, California, huh?”

  “California, here we come.”

  Chapter 37

  Within two weeks of ownership, they changed the building to be rent-controlled and Dallas moved into their studio apartment. Their families got together and threw a huge going away barbeque at his parent’s house on Staten Island and they didn’t let winter dampen their party.

  Four days later, William and Evie walked into their new home, a small one bedroom bungalow on the beach in Malibu. Her parents offered to pay the rent while he finished school to give them one less worry, and they accepted.

  He started school the next day. At five o’clock, he walked through the front door to find Evie making the bed. She stopped and turned, jumping up on him and wrapping her legs around his middle while covering his face with kisses.

  Slamming the door shut behind him, he flopped with her still attached, onto the bed.

  They made out for a few minutes before he caught a breath of air. “I see the bed was delivered, but why is it in the middle of the living room, baby?”

  She straddled him, grabbing him by the lapels, and said, “We’ll get to that. First, welcome home, Mr. Ryder. How was your day?”

  He took the strap of his messenger bag, a survivor from the move from New York, from over his head and let it land on the floor next to the bed.

  “That’s sexy.”

  “The mister part or me?”

  “You calling me that.”

  He pulled her down on top of him then rolled over on top of her, settling between her boy-short-clad legs. They kissed passionately and laughed hard.

  “I thought we could christen the new bed before dinner.” She sat up, stripping his shirt off and working on his pants.

  “Sometimes, I think you only have a one track mind, Mrs. Ryder, and I like it. Actually, I love it.”

  They made love, making a mess of the newly made bed. Afterward, they were lying together looking at the ocean through the huge sliding glass doors a few feet in front of them. He kissed her on the head and nodded, smiling. “Now, I understand why the bed is in the middle of the living room.”

  She kissed him on the shoulder where she was tucked, his arm secure around her. “I loved our apartment and wanted to create the same cozy feeling here; just one main living space. So the bedroom is now a walk-in closet. I brought way too much stuff from my bedroom at my parents’ home. Oh and it’s here because of how amazing it will be to wake up to that view every morning.”

  William could never tell her no. “Sounds like a brilliant idea, although it might get awkward when we have friends over.”

  She laughed. “Eh, we’ll figure that out. Anyways, the weather is perfect here. We can entertain on the deck.”

  He never minded giving into her. He loved all her sides and moods, and wanted to support her being her, which at this moment meant making a living room into a bedroom and a bedroom into a closet to store her massive amount of clothes.

  Within a month of their arrival in California, Evie found an entry-level job at a local publishing house. She loved it. It paid almost nothing, but she still loved it. William had settled into his job and used his time between classes and some evenings to work on a book he began writing because he still had goals of being published one day. By July, he typed ‘The End’ on his manuscript.

  Lying next to his wife at sunset, William lifted her shirt and kissed the bump. “How are you in there, sweet baby? Can you hear daddy?” He kissed her belly one more time and rubbed soothing circles with his hand flat against her skin as she looked down at her adoring husband. “I love you and your mommy with all my heart, baby.”

  Evie ruffled his hair and smiled at her beautiful husband. Falling back onto the pillows next to him, they spent the remainder of the day in bed, loving their life.

  * * *

  A year and a half later, Evie rushed into the bookstore in Century City grasping a tiny hand in hers. She didn’t expect all the challenging tantrums she had to deal with that morning. When she entered, she saw William at the podium reading an excerpt from his book. Picking her son up, she whispered, “Look, there’s daddy.”

  “Daddy!” the child screamed, causing William to look up, temporarily making him lose his place. He saw the two of them at the back of the bookstore, and smiled. After a few glances from customers who were sitting in the audience waiting for him to continue, he looked back down at the overly highlighted text and continued reading where he left off. The night before, Evie teased him about his highlighter habit and jokingly suggested he seek professional help once again for his addiction. The memory made him chuckle and stumble over his words. She still didn’t realize that she was his only true addiction. Well, she and their son to be more accurate.

  After the reading, Evie and her son reached the front of the line and she set her purchased book down on the table, and asked, “Will you make it out to Max please?”

  William laughed. “I have ten copies at home. You didn’t need to buy one, baby.” He stood up, walking around the table, and kissed his wife then rubbed the top of his son’s head. He was tempted to pick him up, but he knew he needed to get back to his book signing.

&n
bsp; “I wanted to buy one and I want it personalized to ‘my handsome son’ from his ‘daddy.’”

  William sat back down, opened the jacket of the hard bound book, and wrote:

  To my son, Max. You are the light of my life and your mother is the guiding path I travel. I love you always, Daddy.

  P.S. Don’t forget to floss and brush your teeth every night.

  P.P.S. Hey look, your mom will be so proud, I used black ink.

  Evie smirked at William then turned to Max. “Your daddy is a very smart man, baby boy.” She nuzzled him quickly, and took the book. “So, you’re going to the book party after you finish here?”

  “We have a babysitter, right?”

  “Yes, I’m taking Max home now. The sitter will be there in half an hour and then I can join you.”

  “I have a better idea. There’s this restaurant I’ve been wanting to try with an inn located right next store. What do you say we skip the party and try those out instead tonight?” William used his most charming smile as he asked his wife out on a date.

  She shook her head, and laughed. “You are going to miss a party being thrown in your honor to hang out with me?”

  “I’m hoping to do more than just hang out, baby. Anyway, I’m here now. I can only handle so many accolades before they start going straight to my head, feeding my ego,” he teased.

  She laughed again. No one made her laugh or as happy as her husband did. “Okay, Mr. Ryder, but we still have to be home by eleven.”

  “I think I can handle that.”

  “We’ll see how much you can handle later.” She winked at him.

  They sealed their plans with a kiss before she took their son and left the bookstore.

  Almost two hours later, Evie and William sat across from each other at a very intimate bistro. She smiled as she handed him a letter. “This came for you today.”

  He quickly examined the return address and glanced back up. “Our alma mater, huh?”