The Proposal
Page 5
* * *
Jacqueline put the last few Christmas decorations on her artificial tree while she waited for Tyler. Last year she bought an expensive tree after Christmas at a big discount. Even though she hadn’t originally planned on putting it up the day after Thanksgiving, she had the day off, so decided to start Christmas decorating early. When Tyler called to see if he could come over, she was thrilled.
At the sound of his car in the driveway, she went to the front door and opened it. After Tyler stepped inside, he gave her a hug. “You had a rough Thanksgiving.”
“Brad did too.”
“He left this morning to go home. He said that he didn’t feel like sticking around any longer.”
“I put the Christmas tree up early to keep busy. I feel guilty about everything. When he told me all his plans for us, I realized we don’t want the same things in life. I hated hurting him but I had to end it.”
“It’s my fault. I should have said something sooner, but you were so happy when Brad asked you out on the first date. I figured you’d only see him a few times, but I was wrong.” He put a strand of hair behind her ear. “It was a wakeup call when you started talking about getting married to Brad. I love you, Jacqueline. Can you give me a second chance? Do you think you can love me again?”
“I never stopped loving you. I was born to love you.” She covered his mouth with hers and felt his arms around her. How had she ever survived without her best friend’s kisses? His tongue slid inside her mouth and she clutched him tighter. A soft moan escaped her mouth as the taste and force of his tongue excited her. At the sound of footsteps, she stopped kissing Tyler.
Alex laughed. “You two are still in the foyer. I came in to tell you to come look at the gazebo.”
“Give me a kiss for the road,” Tyler said.
“I don’t think so,” Alex said with a straight face.
Jacqueline giggled. “Give me a moment with my man.”
Alex looked pleased. “Geez, when you see the gazebo, you’ll want to kiss again.”
“We better get out there then.” Tyler grinned. “I’ve never kissed your sister in a gazebo before.”
Grabbing a jacket, she followed the guys to the backyard. She ran into Tyler’s back as he suddenly stopped before the steps of the gazebo.
“Man, you did a great job out here.” Tyler patted Alex’s back.
“It’s so romantic. I love the red velvet bows all around. I see you put the lights to good use that I didn’t need this year.” Her artificial tree was loaded with tons of pre-lit miniature lights so Alex strung rows of last year’s lights all over the gazebo.
Tyler walked to the middle of the porch where Alex had put a small tree with more white lights. “I was going to just throw a wreath above my fireplace.”
She sat on the inside bench, admiring the beauty that Alex had created. “Dad just built this for Mom three years ago. It was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.”
Tyler nodded. “I remember. My mom hinted she’d like one. Your dad was great at building things.”
“Hey, you two lovebirds, I’m going to a basketball game with Sam and his parents.”
Both said in unison, “Bye, Alex.”
With Alex’s exit, Jacqueline kissed Tyler passionately.
Tyler ended the kiss and laughed.
She gave him an indignant look. “At least, Brad never laughed at my kisses.”
“I adore your kisses. I’m laughing at your brother. Don’t you hear him? He’s whistling the song, Here Comes The Bride. He’s not too subtle.”
“What can I say? Talent runs in the Andrews family.” Thank you, Alex, she thought. Her brother always had her back. Although Tyler had mentioned that she should marry him instead of Brad, that wasn’t an official proposal. Well, if Tyler doesn’t propose, I’ll just do the proposing.
Chapter Seven
So many gorgeous rings. Which one should I buy? Tyler sighed as he looked at another tray of rings in the store. This was his third trip to the store and now it was Christmas Eve. At least he knew Jacqueline liked silver instead of gold. Maybe he shouldn’t surprise her with the ring, but propose first, then bring her to the jewelry store to choose it herself. He was sure of one thing. He wanted everything to be perfect when he proposed to Jacqueline. She was the love of his life. All those months when he was afraid of losing her to Brad were over. Having Jacqueline love him was a wonderful gift and he’d cherish her forever. He finally chose a princess-cut diamond ring and was happy it was in her size. If she didn’t like her engagement ring, they could come back together and exchange it. Okay, next stop was to pick up the flowers that Jacqueline wanted to put on the tables.
Thirty minutes later, he was at Jacqueline’s house. He carried the bouquets of mixed flowers into the house and found her in the kitchen. She looked terrific in black pants with a red satin blouse. She gave her mega smile when she saw him. “Hi. The flowers are gorgeous. Thank you for getting them.”
He put them on the counter and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful and all Christmassy. I’ll let you arrange them in the vases.” He eyed the lasagna. “I can’t wait until we can eat.”
She snipped the ends of the stems before placing the roses and the various assortment of flowers in the vases. “I’m glad your family is coming here after church. And it’s sweet of your mom to bring chicken alfredo and salad.”
“Mom loves to cook for holidays. And Stephanie’s fixing the salad.” His family knew he planned on proposing after Mass, so they loved being included in the engagement celebration.
Alex entered the kitchen, wearing dress pants and a gray sweater.
Jacqueline stopped filling a vase with water to look at her brother. “You clean up nice.”
“I figured you wanted me to dress up when I saw these clothes on my bed.” Alex grinned. “And I decided to impress my new girl.”
Jacqueline looked from Alex to him. “You’ll get to meet her. Katie’s going to church with us and coming here afterwards.”
“How far away does she live?” Tyler asked. They needed to allow enough time to pick up Alex’s girlfriend and their grandma.
“Katie’s on the way to church.” Alex grinned. “I picked a girl living close by so it’s convenient to see her. Especially since neither of us drive yet.”
“I better warn her about you.” He couldn’t resist teasing Alex.
Jacqueline pointed a flower at Alex. “All I can say is that at age fifteen, you better not get serious.”
“I can’t wait for Katie to see the gazebo I decorated.” Alex winked at him.
“Not before dinner, I hope.” He’d wring Alex’s neck if he took his girlfriend out when he was proposing to Jacqueline.
Alex shook his head. “I have a job to do when we get home. I’m the official candle lighter. I don’t know if we need candles, though. That Christmas tree has so many lights that the dining room looks bright.”
Jacqueline nodded. “It has over seven hundred lights. I think another reason it’s so bright is because of the glitter on the branches.”
Glancing at his watch, he saw it was four-fifteen. “We better leave soon or we won’t get a seat. You don’t know more might decide to go to the early Mass. It’s going to snow tonight.”
* * *
After church, he took Jacqueline to the gazebo while everyone else went into the house.
“Tyler, it’s a beautiful winter night, but I need to go inside soon. I have a houseful of people waiting to eat.”
“I just need a few minutes alone with my beautiful girl.” He looked directly into her brown eyes and said, “I love you, Jacqueline, with my whole heart. I want to make babies with you and to grow old with you. Will you marry me?”
She gave a delighted laugh. “I was hoping you brought me out here for that very question. Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you so much.”
He pulled the small box out of his coat pocket and flipped it open. “If you don’t like the ring, we can exchange it. I want
you to have the ring you want.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at the ring. “I don’t want another one. It’s gorgeous. I love it.”
He slid the ring on her finger.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so touched that you proposed to me out here. My dad built this gazebo because he loved my mom so much. I want a love like my parents had for each other. And your parents too.”
White-hot heat shot through him as he kissed her with all the fervor he felt. She returned his kisses with hot urgency. Despite the heat they created, he noticed that she shivered in his arms. “We better go inside. You’re cold.”
“I don’t want to go in yet.” She leaned against his chest. “I’m glad you proposed to me on Christmas Eve. I love Christmas.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Since we know each other so well, how about a short engagement? I don’t want to deprive you of a big wedding, but I don’t want to wait too long for you to be my wife.”
“The shorter, the better because I don’t want to wait either.”
Recipe for Snickers Cake
That Alex made for Jacqueline’s Birthday
I chocolate cake mix
Snickers
Heath bars or health chips
whipped cream (Cool Whip) or can of frosting
Make cake according to directions.
Put Snickers and Heath Bars into a food processor and grind into little chunks. Stir 1 1/2- 2 cups of pieces into cake mix. Or use a knife to cut up the bars
Bake according to mix directions in a 9×13 pan. After cool, top with Cool Whip or frosting. Then sprinkle with pieces of snickers/heath bars. YUM. The cake is very moist and all those candy bars are soft and chewy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diane Craver met her husband while teaching at an orphanage. While raising their six children in southwestern Ohio, Diane started writing nonfiction. Several nonfiction articles of Diane's have been published in Woman’s World Weekly, The Catholic Telegraph, Virtue, Down Syndrome Today, WritersWeekly.com, and several other publications. Later, she decided it would be a nice escape to write fiction.
Diane has published through a variety of houses, including Samhain, Whimsical Publications, Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery, Booklocker.com and Victory Tales Press. She writes fun and inspiring stories filled with memorable characters. Diane gives thanks to God daily for all her wonderful blessings.
Other Books by Diane Craver
Inspirational Romance
A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters, Book One)
No Greater Loss
Marrying Mallory
Chick-Lit Mystery
A Fiery Secret
Contemporary Romance
Whitney in Charge
Never the Same
Your Place or Mine
Historical Fiction and Inspirational
A Christmas Gift
Visit Diane online!
Website and Blog:
http://www.dianecraver.com
http://www.dianecraver.com/blog
http://www.jewelsofthequill.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Diane-Craver/153906208887
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Recipe for Snickers Cake
ABOUT THE AUTHOR