I Thee Wed (Wedding Dreams) (14 page)

“Are you sure, Drew?” Inside I’m
jumping up and down like a little girl.

“Yes, I’m sure. You should have
whatever you want. If these are the flowers you want, then that is what you’ll
have.” He’s smiling and I’m pretty sure my heart just skipped a beat.

Turning back to Larry, I say, “Go
ahead and order them, and I can pick them up on Saturday morning, if that
works.”

“Sure, Lily, I’ll be sure to have
them ready for you.” He has a huge smile on his face and I know he wants to ask
me what’s going on, but he also knows I’d tell him right away if I could. I
take Drew’s hand and lead him toward the car.

We make it just to the other side
of the flower shop windows, and I feel myself being pulled backward. I slam into
Drew’s chest as he wraps his arms around me, kissing me on the top of my head.

“I meant what I said, Lily.
You’re doing something unbelievable for me, and I want you to have whatever you
want to make the day special.”

Fuck me. I’m pretty sure my panties
just ignited. How does he turn me on so fast and hard? I face him and pull him
down for a searing kiss.

“You have no idea what that means
to me,” I say after I pull away from his mouth. I can feel him harden against
my stomach.

“What else do we need to get
accomplished today?” Drew’s voice is thick with desire, and I can feel myself
getting wetter.

“The only
thing
I can think of are rings for both of us. Did you plan to wear a ring, Drew?” I
don’t really care if he does, but I’m curious. The thought of him not wearing
one sparks a pang of jealousy I didn’t expect.

“Of course I’m going to wear a
ring. It would be silly not to. Why don’t we go to the jeweler who sold me your
engagement ring? The store’s just a few blocks from here, so we can walk.”

A wave of relief washes over me
but I choose not to really analyze it right now. We walk hand in hand and stop
in front of a small shop called Piper’s Jewelers. I look at him suspiciously
because this doesn’t look like the kind of place he’d go into. The outside is
plain and a bit run-down.

I’m surprised by the inside. It’s
clean and modern with glass cases forming a U around the perimeter of the
store. There are beautiful watches, earrings, and necklaces sparkling under the
lights. I see the wedding bands and head that way but Drew stops me. A
pleasant-looking woman approaches us, asking if she can help us.

“I’d like to talk with Travis if
he’s available,” Drew says in an authoritative but kind tone. The woman nods
and walks toward the back of the store. I stand speechless, just looking at
where the woman disappeared. I’m not sure what to expect next but I’m imagining
a scene from “The Godfather” to play out in front of me.

A man comes out from the back.
He’s tall and thin, and he appears to be around my age. He shakes Drew’s hand
before pulling him into a man-hug. You know, the kind where guys hug each other
while pounding on each other’s backs. This is not what I was expecting and I’m
sure my face is betraying my thoughts.

“Travis, this is Lily.
Lily, my dear friend, and jeweler, Travis.”
I look at Drew
and then to Travis again, offering my hand for a handshake. Travis smiles and
ignores my right hand, reaching for my left hand instead and looking at my
ring.

“This looks perfect, just like I
thought it would.
Great choice, Drew.”
Travis is
smiling and I feel my cheeks heating. I wonder what Drew told him about all of
this, but before I can ask Drew jumps in.

“Yes, Travis, you were right. But
now we’re here for wedding bands and I know you’ll have something special to
match this ring.”

“That I do. Why don’t you both
follow me to my office and I can show you a few options.” I’ve never been in a
jeweler’s office to shop. He must not keep everything in the cases.

We follow Travis to a small
office behind the counter. Travis motions for us to sit down and leaves the
room. Travis reappears carrying a tray with several rings on it for us to
choose from.

I take a closer look. There are
no price tags on any of the rings, which
makes
me
think they must be really expensive. Travis picks up a platinum band with small
diamonds embedded in it.

“I think this will complement the
solitaire perfectly.” I put it on my ring finger, and it slips just under the
diamond. It looks absolutely stunning. You can tell it’s there, but it doesn’t
overpower the engagement ring or my finger. I show it to Drew and he smiles.

“Do you like it?” he asks me.

“I think it’s gorgeous. Do you
see anything you like for yourself?”

Drew picks up a plain platinum
band done in a matte finish. There’s a thin line of gold running through the
middle of the ring. It’s understated but looks really good on his hand. I hold
his finger and look at the ring from different angles.

“I think it looks great,” I tell
him. He looks at his hand and back at me, not saying a word. He turns to Travis
and smiles.

“Looks like we
have winners.
Mine fits just fine. What about you, Lily? Does yours need to be sized?”

I shake my head, letting him know
it’s
fine. I can’t believe it fits so well. I can’t
stop staring at it.

Drew speaks again. “We’ll take
these, Travis. Could you please put them in boxes so they’ll stay safe until
next weekend?”

“No problem, my friend. Shall I
put this on your account or did you want to pay today?” Wait. He has an account
here? How much jewelry does he buy?

Sensing my question, Drew leans
in and says, “I put your ring on an account in case you didn’t like it and
wanted to bring it back. I don’t buy jewelry on a regular basis.”

I smile and squeeze his hand.
Slipping off my wedding band I hand it to Drew who gives them both to Travis.

“I’ll pick them up later in the
week, after you appraise them for the insurance.”

“No problem, Drew. I’ll take care
of it all and have them ready for you by Wednesday. Thanks for coming in, my
friend. Lily, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Travis smiles as he leads us out of
the office.

“Thanks so much, Travis. You do
beautiful work.” Travis nods and Drew takes me back out into the street. He
kisses the back of my hand, and we start walking toward the car.

“Okay, Lily. We have our clothing,
rings, and the flowers. What else do we need to take care of today?”

“The only thing I can think of is
that I have to tell my mother. I’ll be
honest,
I’m not
sure how that’s going to go. She’s either going to be thrilled or pissed. I’ve
been avoiding this conversation. Maybe I’ll just call her later.”

“No, let’s go tell her in person.
I’d like to meet your mother.”

He has no idea what he’s getting
himself into. My mother is six different kinds of crazy and has been waiting my
whole life for me to get married and give her grandchildren. I’m not even sure
there’s a way to explain it all to him.

“You have no idea what you’re
asking, Drew. My mother will eat you up and spit you out in ten seconds flat.
She’s been waiting for my wedding day since I was born.”

“Sounds like a challenge to me.
Let’s go and tell her our news.” He’s way too happy about this. Of course he
is; he doesn’t know the level of nuts she is.

“It’s your funeral. Let’s go.”
Drew is smiling, and I’m dreading the coming meeting.

Chapter
14

Drew

Meeting the mother; I should’ve
known Lily would avoid this. She has no idea about my skills with charming
mothers, especially crazy ones. I smile and open her car door.

“We really can avoid this, Drew.
I can go talk to her tomorrow and fill her in on what’s going on.” Lily looks
really nervous. I give her a quick kiss on the lips and ease her into the car.

After climbing behind the wheel,
I put my hand on Lily’s thigh. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. She’ll love
me, and if not, then we’ll deal with it. Okay?”

Lily looks at her lap, puts her
hand on mine, and when she looks at me she has tears in her eyes. “Do you
really promise?”

“Yes, I promise. We’ll be fine.
Now, where are we headed?” I ask with a smile.

Lily lets out a deep sigh. “She
lives just off Morgan and Baker, on the south side of town.”

I head south toward our
destination. Lily is unusually quiet and she looks like she’s either going to
be sick, or cry. I squeeze her hand and smile. She gives me a small smile and
turns back to look out the window. We continue on in silence and I figure it’s
for the best. When we get to Morgan and Baker, Lily tells me where to turn. A
few minutes later we pull into her mother’s driveway.

“We’re here. Let’s do this,” I
say as I start to get out of the car. Lily and pulls me back inside.

“I’m not ready. I’ve no idea what
to say. She’s going to flip out. You really don’t know what you’re getting us
into.” Lily’s voice is getting higher, and louder, with each sentence.

“Relax, Lily. It’s going to be
fine. It’s just your mother. She’s going to be happy for you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“What does that mean? Is there
something I should know?”

“No, I’ve already told you she’s
crazy!” Lily’s eyes are wide and she’s squeezing my hand so hard I’m afraid my
fingers might fall off.

“Okay, you have got to get it
together. Look at me, Lily, and breathe. I can handle this; I just need you to
calm down. We won’t stay long, but she deserves to know what’s going on.”

She takes a couple deep breaths
and mutters something to herself. I patiently wait until she lets go of my hand
and then I open my door. She doesn’t wait for me to come around to her side, so
I meet her at the front of the car. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I kiss her
on the top of her head. “It’s going to be fine,” I whisper.

She smiles tightly, takes my
hand, and leads me to the front door. She knocks and opens the door. “Mom, are
you here?” she shouts as she steps into the house.

“Out on the back
patio, dear.”

“She sounds pleasant enough,” I
say looking at Lily’s tense face.

“Just keep thinking that, and
maybe you won’t be totally blindsided by the crazy that lurks beneath.” Lily
squeezes my hand again and I follow her out the back door.

“
Hiya
,
Ma. How are you?” Lily kisses her mom’s cheek.

“Lily, how nice
of you to stop by unannounced.
To what do I owe the pleasure of your
company?” She hasn’t noticed me yet, since I’m standing behind her. I’m trying
to get my plan of attack nailed down. Lily looks at me and I put on my biggest
smile for her. I walk around to her side and come face to face with her mother.

Holy Mary Mother of God, I was
not prepared for this. I look down at the woman seated on the chaise lounge
holding a mirror under her chin.
No, not a cardboard thing
made for sunbathing, an actual hand mirror.
She looks up and it takes a
lot of effort not to break out laughing. This woman has drawn her eyebrows on
with a very black pencil. She’s wearing heavy makeup and her lips are outlined
in a dark red that reminds me of blood. She’s wearing a bathing suit and
sandals. Her hair is grey and pulled back into a ponytail. She cocks one
eyebrow and stares. Lily is just standing there saying nothing.

As I start to put my hand out to
introduce myself, she abruptly stands and puts her hands on her hips. She turns
to face Lily. “Are you going to tell me who this handsome man is or do I have
to just try to read his mind?”

Lily nods and says, “Mom, this is
Drew Hamilton. Drew, this is my mother, Shelby.”

I put my hand out in a greeting.
“It’s nice to meet you, Shelby.” Lily’s mother looks at my hand, then my face,
then at Lily, and crosses her arms in front of her chest. She tilts her head to
one side and asks, “Drew Hamilton, what are your intentions toward my daughter?”

Is she serious? It takes
everything I have not to laugh out loud at her behavior. I’m at a loss here,
and I look to Lily for some help. She has a slight grin on her face and a look
that says, “I told you,” but she doesn’t offer any explanation. Well, I guess
I’ll go for the jugular.

“Lily and I are getting married
next week. My intentions are to make her my wife.” I hear Lily inhale sharply
and I hold my breath, unsure what to expect next. Shelby looks me up and down
and then takes a step forward. I’m bracing myself to get punched or something,
but she hugs my waist instead.

“It’s about time she landed
herself a husband. Welcome to the family, Drew!” She’s crying now and her
makeup is rubbing off her face and onto my shirt. I look at Lily for help, but
she just smiles and shrugs her shoulders. I pat Shelby’s back lightly, hoping
she’ll let go soon.

“Thank you, Shelby. It’s a
pleasure to meet you.” I gently take her by the shoulders away from me and Lily
steps up and takes her mom’s hands off my waist. She guides her back down to
the chaise and I bring over a couple chairs so we can sit and chat.