22
Spencer unlocks the SUV, opens the back and sets down the three bags he carried out of the store. I walk toward the back of the vehicle to put the other two bags in, but he turns around and takes them from me. I wait until he closes the back and turns around. I put my hands on his waist and smiles at me.
“What?” he says.
“Thanks for the clothes… you really didn't have to do that.”
“I know… but I wanted to buy them for you.”
“You're so good to me.”
Spencer puts his arms around my waist and kisses me, right behind the SUV and in full view of everyone around us. I feel a little twinge of embarrassment at kissing him in public, but it quickly fades as I think about how much I enjoy the feel of his lips on mine. He eventually pulls away and I actually feel a little disappointed. He winks at me and we get in the car.
“I like spoiling you,” he says, as we buckle up.
“Hmm… I think I like it, too.”
He shakes his head and laughs as he pulls out of the parking spot and does a quick u-turn on the empty road. I didn't think we were shopping that long, but the sun is behind the mountain now and it's starting to get dark as we head back to the house.
My mind flashes back to Spencer handing over his credit card and signing the receipt for the clothes and two pairs of shoes he insisted on buying me—just over four thousand dollars. I guess there's a side of me that's still practical and spending that much money on clothes just doesn't make sense, but I'm glad he wanted to because I love everything he bought me… and I can't wait to wear all of it.
Spencer pulls the SUV back into the garage and I reach for my seat belt, but he puts his hand on my leg and I stop. I look up at him as he leans closer to me. We share a brief kiss and he continues to look me in the eyes as he pulls away.
“What?” I say.
“I love you.”
I feel my heart race as his words echo through my mind. I've been dreaming of him saying that to me, but I was content to wait until he was ready to say those exact words. I feel myself melt and I smile at him.
“I love you, too.”
He runs his hand up and down my leg while he smiles at me. We just sit there in the car, not speaking for a few minutes… we don't break eye contact. I feel like if I died right now I wouldn't even care… I've never been this happy in my life.
We both turn our heads as the door leading into the house opens. Brenda is standing in the doorway and she smiles at us before turning and walking back into the house. Spencer and I both laugh… busted by his mom.
“I guess we should go in,” he says.
We grab the bags out of the back and head inside. Brenda is sitting on the couch when we walk in.
“Good shopping trip?” she says.
“Yeah,” Spencer says, “we found some good stuff for Amy.”
“Not to change the subject, but what are we doing for dinner?”
“I made reservations at SevenC.”
“Fancy,” Brenda says.
“I'm going to go put these in the bedroom,” I say.
I head to the bedroom with the bags I'm carrying and I hear them talking as I head back to the living room.
“I dunno,” Brenda says, “I think you should talk to her about it to make sure it's OK.”
I walk in and they quickly change the subject.
“I guess we should change and head to dinner… it's only forty minutes until our reservation.”
I'm kind of curious about the conversation they were having, but I don't feel like getting between them and pressing to see what they were talking about. I'm sure Spencer will tell me about it later.
“Sounds good,” I say.
Spencer grabs the rest of the bags and we head for the bedroom. We take all the clothes out and hang them up in the closet. Spencer lays the dress out on the bed and puts the patent leather flats next to it. It's a cute outfit that I'm looking forward to wearing it tonight.
I kind of expect Spencer to tell me what he was talking about with his mom, but we get changed in silence. I put my dress on and slip my feet into the dreamy flats. I stand up and walk over to the mirror next to the closet to look at myself. Spencer walks up behind me and rests his chin on my shoulder while putting his arms around my waist. I close my eyes and just lose myself in the moment.
We stay like that for a few minutes until Spencer kisses me on the back of the head and finally pulls his arms away. I turn around and look at him as he puts on his suit jacket. I guess I was too consumed by my own outfit to notice he had put on a black suit with a white shirt under it. He keeps the outfit a little casual by not wearing a tie, but he looks quite dashing.
“You ready?” he says.
“I am. Nice suit, by the way.”
“Thanks… it's a big night… but it pales in comparison to what you're wearing.”
I smile at him as we walk out of the bedroom and head back into the living room. Brenda is already waiting next to the door to the garage. She looks at Spencer and then smiles as she turns her gaze to me.
“You look lovely, Amy.”
“Thank you.”
“What a beautiful dress.”
We head into the garage and I head for the rear door.
“Amy,” Brenda says, “you can sit in the front.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes… I don't mind sitting in the back.”
I smile at her and hold the door open for her as she climbs in. I close it and get in the front seat as Spencer starts the SUV. He turns on my heated seat for me and it's already warming up by the time he pulls out of the garage. I sink into the seat… it's chilly enough outside that I wish I had a coat, but it's worth it to wear this dress.
We head back to downtown Aspen and Spencer stops the SUV in front of the restaurant. A man wearing a suit opens my door for me and hurries to the driver's side once I'm on the sidewalk. He hands Spencer a valet ticket and jumps into the SUV. Fancy… although I'm kind of glad because I'm already cold by the time we make the twenty foot walk into the restaurant.
“You OK?” Spencer says, as he holds the door open for me.
“Yeah… just a little cold.”
Spencer holds the door for his mom and we wait for him as he walks up to the hostess podium.
“Reservation for Thomas.”
“Welcome, Mr. Thomas… please follow me to your table.”
We follow the hostess to the back corner of the restaurant where there is a round table, set for five. I frown as Spencer holds my chair for me and pushes me closer to the table. I wonder why the table is set for five… I guess it could just be the table they had for us and they misheard how many people the reservation was for. Spencer sits on my right and Brenda on my left… leaving the other two chairs across from me open.
The hostess sets menus down in front of us and walks back to the front of the restaurant.
“Weird….”
“What?” Spencer says.
“Why did they give us a table set for five?”
“We are waiting for two more.”
“Who?”
My mind races as I try to think who could possibly be joining us. I guess it could be Dex, but I can't imagine he would come all this way for dinner… that and not say anything to me about it. He's the only person that makes sense, but who could he possibly bring with him?
“Who's coming?” I say, asking again since Spencer didn't answer me the first time.
“Jess.”
“Wait… Jess… like my Jess?”
“Yeah.”
A smile crosses my face. Spencer is so good to me. I'm not sure how he managed to get her here, but I'm glad… it'll be awesome to celebrate my good news with her here. I'm also excited for her to meet Spencer… especially now that I'm starting to feel like our relationship is continuing to grow.
“Wait,” I say, realizing that's still only one person, “who is coming with her?”
“Um… her boyfriend.”
“She doesn't have a boyfriend,” I say, with a certain tone to my voice.
I just saw her a couple of days ago and she never mentioned a boyfriend to me. Jess is basically my best friend in the world and I can't imagine her not telling me she had a boyfriend if that were true.
“Amy!”
I turn my head and see Jess. A smile crosses my face as she waves and walks toward our table. Then I see who's with her… it's Logan. Is this real life? Is Jess dating Logan? I feel like I'm not in my body as Jess wraps her arms around me and hugs me… then says something. I'm in shock and I have no idea what she says. I manage to turn my head and look at her and Logan as they sit down in the two empty seats.
Spencer puts his hand on my leg and leans his mouth close to my ear.
“Baby? Are you OK?”
I nod, but I'm not sure what to think. Logan and I didn't exactly break on the best of terms and Jess showing up here with him… I'm not even sure what to think.
“Amy?” Jess says.
I blink a few times and nod as I look at her.
“Is everything all right?”
“I… sorry… I'm just surprised.”
“I feel really bad,” Jess says, “I really wanted to tell you about Logan… but I just didn't find the right time. We've been dating for about a month or so… and I wasn't sure what you would think about it.”
I guess this must have been what I heard Brenda and Spencer talking about when we got back to the house after shopping. She's right… he should have said something to me. I'm not upset with Spencer, just a little surprised by the whole thing.
“I'm sorry,” Spencer said, “I should've asked you about it.”
“No… it's fine,” I say, “I'm just a little surprised.”
“We didn't plan for this to happen,” Logan says, “it's just one of those things. We kept seeing each other during out morning runs… and then we started running together… and it sort of progressed from there. Neither of us ever thought this would happen, but we can't help how we feel about each other.”
Things I thought were strange when I was hanging out with Jess suddenly make sense. She seemed kind of surprised when I showed up at her house… Logan must have been inside and she didn't want me to know what was going on between them. Then I ran into him at the bar she worked at… a bar I didn't think anyone his age would ever set foot. He didn't seem that surprised to see me because she must have told him I was in town. He was going there to visit with her… but didn't expect me to be there.
“I think we should go,” Jess says.
She and Logan stand up from the table.
“No,” I say, “I want you to stay.”
“Are you sure? I totally understand why you're a little upset.”
“Please… stay.”
They sit back down. I'm not that upset… and I'm not sure why I should even care. She's my friend… and I want her to be happy, whatever that takes. If that means her dating my ex, then I guess that's what she should do. I smile at them and put my hand on Spencer's leg. It was sweet of him to invite Jess here… I'm sure he wasn't crazy about having Logan come, but I feel like at the same time it shows that Spencer is confident in our relationship and the direction in which it is heading.
“I should have said something,” Jess says.
“It's totally fine,” I say, “I get why you didn't. I just want you both to be happy… and if you find that by being together… then I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
Things mellow out and we order our dinner. Everything on the menu costs about what a meal would at most restaurants, but the moment the first bite is in my mouth I totally get why—the food is on another level than anything I've ever eaten.
Our server comes back to the table once he's cleared the dishes from our main course.
“Any dessert tonight?”
“We need a couple of minutes,” Spencer says.
Our server nods and walks away from the table. I turn to Spencer with a questioning look on my face.
“What is it?” I say.
“I need to do this before I run out of time.”
Spencer stands up from his chair, pushes it in and stands next to me. I turn sideways in my chair just as he kneels down on the floor next to me and reaches into his pocket.
Is this really happening?
My heart races as he holds out the small black box and flips the lid open. Inside is a beautiful engagement ring—a massive yellow diamond in the middle surrounded by two rows of small diamonds. It's absolutely stunning.
“Amy… I know we haven't really known each other for that long. At the same time I think you already know how I feel about you. I called my mom the first time I met you… I told her that I met the girl I was going to marry. Every moment since then has been leading up to this. I love you with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you… and I hope you feel the same way about me. Amy… will you marry me?”
Tears roll down my cheeks as I start to nod.
“Yes… yes… a thousand times, yes.”
Spencer takes the ring out of the box and slips it onto my ring finger. He stands up and leans down to kiss me. I'm lost in his touch, completely forgetting that we are kissing in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
Clapping. Spencer breaks the kiss and I look around. Everyone in the restaurant is looking at us and clapping. My face turns red and I look at Spencer.
“She said yes!”
A couple of men in the restaurant whistle and I turn around to face our table. Jess and Spencer are smiling at me. Brenda looks about as happy as I feel. Now I understand why Spencer wanted his mom and my best friend to be here… he wanted them to share this amazing moment with us… and I couldn't be happier.
“Welcome to our family,” Brenda says.
Those words from her mean almost as much as what Spencer just said to me. It's not a big family, but moving forward it's nice to know Brenda will be there since I can't imagine talking to my own mother ever again.
Spencer sits back down next to me and puts his hand on my leg. I put my own hand on top of his and squeeze it. I can't believe this is really happening. I was starting to feel like our relationship was growing, especially as of late, but I had no idea that he was planning this.
“Well,” Jess said, “dessert suddenly seems kind of trivial.”
Everyone at the table laughs. She's right… dinner was amazing, but nothing can compare to how happy Spencer just made me.
I put my head on the pillow and raise my hand to look at the ring again. It still doesn't seem real… I keep expecting that I'll look at my finger and the ring won't be there, but it still is. I'm so happy… happier than I've ever been about anything in my entire life.
Jess and Logan came back to the rental house with us. I still haven't come down from the high of Spencer asking me to marry him. I'm really glad that Jess was there to share this with me… it was nice of Spencer to invite her and pay for their flight. My mind drifts to my mom… it's sad that I feel like I can't share this with her, but I'm not sure if she would even be happy for me.
Spencer hops into bed next to me and puts his arm over me. I stop thinking about my mom and instead focus on him. He's smiling… and it's infectious. I smile at him and then lean in to kiss him.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you, too… thank you for being you.”
“You made me the happiest girl in the world.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah… I wasn't expecting this at all, but it's perfect.”
“Do you like the ring?”
“It's gorgeous.”
“Because if you don't love it we can get you a different one.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head, “it's perfect. I love everything about it.”
We sit there for a few minutes, just looking into each other's eyes. It's an amazing moment… one that I know I will never forget for as long as I live. Not to mention I'll hear the words that made up his proposal every time I look down at my hand.
“I guess it's sort of a silly question,” he says, “but will you move in with me?”
“I would love that,” I say, nodding me head.
“Good… because I want to spend as much time with you as possible. I know it might sound silly, but I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life.”
A tear forms in the corner of my eye as I look at him. Spencer reaches his hand up and wipes the tear away as it begins to roll down my cheek.
“What's wrong?” he says.
“Nothing… everything is perfect. You make me so happy… it's just hard to believe that everything is so perfect. I love being with you… and I wouldn't want it to be any other way.”
“I feel the same way,” he says. “I was happy before I met you, but now… now I feel like you make me feel whole. I've never felt this way before about anyone. I just love you so much.”
“I've never felt so sure about anything in my life,” I say, “I love you and can't wait to spend my whole life with you.”
He presses his lips against mine. I know things in life aren't always easy, but I know that whatever challenges we face we will now face together and I truly believe there's nothing we can't overcome as long as we have each other… and now we get to be together forever.
Thank you for reading Real Love. I hope you enjoyed the story and that you will want to read the next book. If you want to join my mailing list, I will send out an email when I release new books.
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