It All Started With a Lima Bean (37 page)

She fell to her knees and held on to the man that she loved more than any other earthly thing. She shook while crying happy tears into his shoulder.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry. Was that not okay to do?”

Abby pulled away to see his face. “Oh Caleb I’m so happy. I can’t believe you just did that.”

“You haven’t answered my question yet though.”

“YES, of course I’ll marry you.” He brought them both back to their feet when applause broke out, and that’s when she noticed everyone standing behind them watching this all go down. Her cheeks blushed right away. When she turned back to Caleb, he had the ring in his hand. This man really did pay attention. He slid the emerald and diamond ring onto her finger.

“Is this really happening?” She looked from the giraffe to the handler then the cheering crowd and finally back to her fiancé.

“Yes, and you’ve just made me the happiest man here.”

Madison came running over to them, colliding into their legs and then wrapped her little arms around them. “Daddy, I’m so happy you asked Abby to be your wife.” Happy tears came out of Madison’s eyes as her body shook, lips quivered, and sobs broke free from her throat. They both reached down to scoop her up into a three-way embrace. “Now we have a mommy in our family.”

Abby couldn’t take it anymore, she had to look away, but what she found were the closest women in her life all in front of the crowd holding on to each other sobbing. Each of these beautiful women was aware of the journey she and Caleb had to take to get to this night. She knew in her heart and soul how ecstatic they were for her and her soon-to-be husband.

Abby still couldn’t believe she was engaged. Caleb had planned the entire event to celebrate their engagement, not for the movie series Unlawful Encounters he had in the works. Stefen and Leah were the only two that knew ahead of time what was going on, so the proposal was a complete surprise to everyone else, including her mom and Grace. When the crowd made their way back to the tents, they found framed photos of Caleb and her, placed on easels, and scattered all over the area. Instantly, her heart melted when she noticed they were the ones taken by the photographer at the observatory. Caleb had not told her that he had seen them, let alone had them printed and framed. This was such a surprise. Her favorite was of them kissing before they were even aware of being photographed. The pictures showcased the love evident in their kisses even though they had just agreed to start dating moments before the shots were taken. The same photographer, Dawn, was on hand at the party to capture the special event for them. Her fiancé was so freaking romantic.

Caleb must have had a team of people come in and change everything around while they were by the giraffes because the simple black and white decorations were transformed into a scene she could have only dreamed to see. She was curious how long he was planning this event. He’d thought of everything from the shabby chic décor she adored to the Cuban cake with tropical mango cream filling from her favorite bakery, Portos. This man amazed her. He paid attention to every detail. She wondered if that would work to her disadvantage someday.
Definitely not something to worry about now.

A few days later, Abby was still walking on cloud nine. One of the best feelings came as she walked into school. She happened to pass by a group of those cliquey moms while Sophie approached Abby to offer her congratulations. Her new co-teacher, whom she had recently come to adore, made such a fuss over the beautiful emerald and diamond engagement ring proudly displayed on her ring finger. Abby was sure Sophie did it on purpose. Of course, she did not mind, especially when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the cluster of those moms with their eyes bugged and mouths dropped as they stood salivating nearby. 
Damn that felt good.

The time came for Abby to meet Caleb’s family in Chicago. She had already come to love Bri, but was still unsure of how she felt about Stefen. He was sweet with Madison and very protective of Bri, despite being a slight flirt with every other female. He had definitely made an impression on Leah. The relatives Abby still had to prepare herself to meet were the ones she was most anxious about. The only woman Caleb had ever brought home before was Rene. According to Bri, his parents never really accepted her and this made Abby even more nervous about meeting them. Caleb had assured her that it did not matter what their opinion was, and that this trip was nothing more than a formality. He wanted everyone to become acquainted. He’d made a comment about her making sure she knew up front what she was getting into by marrying him. That didn’t make her feel any more at ease.

They had already booked their departure flight, but she had not heard what their final room arrangements would be. At first, Caleb thought they would just stay at Stefen’s apartment. Then he recognized that Abby would probably be more comfortable if they went to a hotel instead. She felt so loved by him; he always considered her well-being.

Since the shuttle was picking them up so early the next morning, Caleb insisted that Abby sleep at his home for the night. She was excited at the thought of them staying together. He was just finishing his packing while she sat back on his bed. ”Where did you end up booking our accommodations?”

“I got a couple of rooms for us at a hotel not too far from my parents’ house.” He looked up from the open suitcase, which was lying at the foot of his bed.

“A couple of rooms?” She sat up straighter pushing herself away from the squishy memory foam pillows she had been resting against.

“Yeah, but they are right next to each other like we had in L.A.” Closing the suitcase, he moved it by the door. Next, Caleb walked over to the mahogany desk, located in the corner of his room, to pack up his laptop.

She moved from the bed to join him. His eyes said that he’d noticed her disappointment. He inquired, ”What’s wrong, Love? Are you nervous about going?”

“Of course I am, but…” Her expression quickly trailed, uncertain exactly how to word it without sounding like a hussy, but she continued, ”Can’t we just stay in the same hotel room?”

“No, Abby, I don’t think it’s a good idea. You are too tempting, and I don’t want us to be intimate before we get married. It also won’t set a good example for Madison.” He sat at his desk looking up from the closed laptop he was in the process of packing up. Leaning against the small table to his side, she felt her face flush as she watched him seated in his desk chair. With shame in her eyes, she glanced downward, self-conscious. Now, it was perfectly clear, the guest bedroom downstairs was her room for this night.

He rose, coming to stand next to her. Softly, he moved her chin up with his index finger while he stared meaningfully into her eyes, “Let me rephrase that. At this point in my life, I don’t wish for an intimate relationship with you until we are married. I didn’t always believe this way, and I don’t judge you for your past. For the record, mine is more scandalous anyway. This isn’t about not wanting you, Abby. It’s only about doing what is right for Madison, and for you. I would like the first time we are together to be the best night you have ever had. You should know this by now, sweetheart.” Offering reassurance, he drew her into his arms. Embracing her body with his own, he placed a delicate and loving kiss on her forehead.

She rested her head on his chest, trying not to show her hurt and mortification. “I do, I just thought it would be nice to spend that kind of time together now that we are engaged.”

He pulled her away from his body, before he took her hand in his and led her over to the couch located in the corner of his room. Motioning with his hand toward the leather cushion, he told her to take a seat. “I want to tell you a little more about what I learned from Rene.” She eased herself down onto the soft leather sofa with wide eyes. “You know how she and I met, but what you should also know is, after chasing her trying to ‘score’, she finally relented and said she would go out with me. Of course, she had a couple of conditions.” Abby noticed Caleb had cleared his throat as if seeming to struggle through telling this to her. As in times past, she wished he would fully understand it truely didn’t bother her to hear him speak of his deceased wife. Without too much delay, he eventually relaxed enough to continue, “Rene said I had to go with her to church a couple of times. Then, another condition was that I go out to dinner with her parents before she would go on a date with me. I still don’t know what drove me to do it, but I did. Once we technically started dating, she made me wait for her. I had to earn and merit her love. We didn’t have sex until we were married. I’ll tell you, before Rene, I had gone from girl to girl, so her conditions made this ’player’ work for her love which made waiting so very special. It may not make sense now, but you’ll see. When we do finally come together as man and wife, once I’ve done everything to warrant you as my wife, it is going to be incredible. I want you, but I intend for our first physical moment of loving one another to be more exceptional than that because you are that extraordinary to me.”

This was not what she had expected. Caleb was a man; obviously, he had needs. Abby was more than willing to fulfill whatever desires he had, but he wanted to wait? To earn her? “Caleb, you have me. You don’t have to do anything to work for me.” How could he think otherwise?

“I want to declare publicly, in front of God, and everyone else that we are fully committed for life. Being intimate as husband and wife is a completely different experience. It is the only way I want to make love to you – to prove my love for you.” Just hearing him say, ’make love’, made her heart race and blood pump vigorously. ”It’s something I want us both to look forward to, not jump into, because of our intense hormones. Our attraction is evident, but I crave more for us.”

Could this man get any dreamier? “That sounds amazing, Caleb.” Her voice came out breathless. Still, she had to speak, “I actually did not enjoy sex before. Now, after you’ve shared this with me, you make me feel so special. I just assumed we needed to go there as our next step, but you’ve made me see that so much more lies ahead for us. I will admit though, despite how incredible it sounds, I still want to.” She bit her lip, self-conscious that she’d actually confessed that to him.

“I know, Sweetie. I will also acknowledge that although it’s going to be unbearable for me at times, I still insist that we wait.” He ran his index finger up her cheek before kissing the top of her head.

“We will wait then.” She would have done anything he asked of her, including wait to share their love.

Abby had a strange feeling when she, Caleb and Madison entered the foyer of his parents’ house and were greeted by a bleach blonde that slowly dragged her eyes up and down Caleb’s body. This girl was no family member, that’s for sure, so why was she here?

“Mmmm Caleb, it’s been too long. You look as good as ever.” The bimbo tried to grab his bicep when he stepped away. “Lisa.” He nodded his head politely, pulled Abby to his side, and introduced her. “This is Abby, my
fiancé
.” Emphasizing the last word, he then kissed his bride-to-be’s temple while rubbing her reassuringly on her lower back.