Mending (25 page)

“Where are you taking us?” Gabby asked.

“Yeah, Mr.
Moneypants
.
  Where are you taking us?” Sam chimed in.

Bradley smirked as he looked at Ryan. “Should we tell them?”

Ryan bobbed his head from left to right, “Hmmm. 
Nah.”

The girls both n
udged their guys simultaneously.  “Not fair.”

Gabby had gotten excited as they approached
Hopeland
Garden’s in Aiken, but slouched when they passed the entrance.  She had hoped that was where he was taking her ever since they had taken the Aiken exit.  She wondered where he might be taking her if not there. 
What else was there to do in Aiken that would be so special
, she thought?

When the limo pulled into the parking lot of the old shopping center next to the Applebee’s, she remembered that you have to take a shuttle to
Hopeland
Gardens at Christmas to see the lights.  She and Sam made eye contact and beamed at the realization he had made arrangements for them to come together to see the Christmas lights. 

Bradley placed his hand on
Gabby’s
leg.  “Hey, I thought it was time to make some Christmas traditions.  I know how special this was to you and Sam last year.”

A tear streamed down
Gabby’s
face and she was unable to speak.  She just shook her head and cupped his face in her hands.  He leaned over and kissed her, whispering, “I love you, Gabby Girl.”

He had told her he loved her at Thanksgiving.  The past couple of months had been the best in her life.  She couldn’t believe they were actually true.  “I love you, too.”

Sam and Ryan watched on and Sam just rolled her eyes.  Ryan’s hand was resting on the side of his leg barely touching Sam’s leg.  She moved her hand closer, and then slowly threaded his fingers through hers.  Neither looked at each other, but both were blushing.

Bradley pulled away, “C’mon.  Let’s get in line.”

“Oh you mean you didn’t pay someone off to get us to the front of the line?” Sam winked.

Bradley gave her a condescending playful look. “No, I didn’t think all these sweet people with children would appreciate that.”

“Awe, Bradley.  You’re so sweet,” Sam teased.

The wait for the shuttle had not been too long.  The ride to there was only a couple of minutes.  Gabby felt like she was in high school riding on a bus with her boyfriend, hands threaded together laughing with her sister and Ryan.  She smiled at the couples with children and prayed that one
day,
these traditions would evolve into their family traditions.

“The lights are beautiful, aren’t they?” Gabby asked Bradley.

He leaned down and kissed her.  “They are, but not as beautiful as how you look with the lights bouncing off of you.”

Gabby couldn’t do anything other than grin like a fool.  She shook her head and finally found words.  “You’re so smooth, such a charmer.”

Bradley shrugged his shoulders, raising his eyebrows, and said, “Hey, what can I say?” 

Gabby nudged him. “Let’s get some hot chocolate.”

Ryan motioned for the opposite direction.  “We’re going to go to the dollhouse thing over there.  We’ll catch up with you two later.”

Bradley smiled a wry smile.  “Sure, man.”

Bradley

Everything was going as planned.  He and Ryan had already talked and planned for him and Sam to give them some space.  He just needed to wait for the right time.  His palms were sweaty even though the temperatures were just above freezing.  He was thankful for his gloves so that she couldn’t tell just how nervous he was. 

It didn’t matter what she said, even though he wanted her to say yes.  He just needed to finally ask her, get it off his chest.  Her staying with him had only made him want it even more.  It was the next logical step in the relationship. 

“Bradley?” Gabby nudged him.

He shook his head trying to snap out of his nervous thoughts. 
“Yeah, sorry.”

She handed him his hot chocolate.  “Do you want to go into that Racing Hall of Fame or do you want to just walk around?”

Bradley smiled, “Let’s just walk around.”

Bradley held his hot chocolate with one hand and put his other around her back, bringing her close to him to keep her warm.  She walked with both hands on her cup, blowing and sipping her drink.

When they got to a bench overlooking one of the big ponds that went in front of the stage, Bradley motioned for her to sit down. 

“This is so pretty.  I love this place at Christmas.”  Gabby squeezed her shoulders in trying to stay warm.

Bradley put his empty cup down on the bench.  He turned towards her and shook his head, “You really don’t even have a clue how gorgeous you are,
do
you?”

She shook her head smiling.  “No, I don’t see it.  But, you say it an awful lot.”

“Gabby…” He ran the back of his fingers down her face.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t freak and run away when I ask you what I’m about to ask you.”

Gabby’s
brows furrowed with concern.  She looked around.  “Where exactly would I run?  We took a shuttle and a limo.  I’m
kinda
stuck and at your mercy at the moment.” 

“I just mean from us, from this.” He wanted her to know it didn’t really matter what she said.  He knew she would immediately think that what they were wasn’t enough if he didn’t clarify. “Gabby, I need you to know that no matter what you say, I love you and I want you any way I can have you.
  I still mean that.”  He leaned in and kissed her.

“You’re rea
lly making me nervous.  Just ask whatever you need to ask
already.”

“Did you know there’s an all-girls school in Gainesville?  It’s about an hour or so north of Atlanta?”

Gabby shook her head.  “No.”

“Please just think about this before you answer,” he hesitated, “I am willing to pay your tuition if you’ll transfer there next semester.”

Gabby’s
mouth gaped open.  “Why would I do that?  I don’t even know if I can transfer that fast.”

He shrugged his shoulders.  “Because I’ve already started looking for a house closer to there so we can live together
.  So we can be together, Gabby.
”

She swallowed and whispered, “You want us to live together?”

“I do, Gabby.”

She kissed him softly.  “I love you.  This is a huge step, though.”

“I know.  It is for me, too.”

She nodded, “Yeah, I guess it is, isn’t it?”

“Huge.”

“Can I think about it?  I will need to see if I can even transfer this late.”

He pulled her into a hug because she was shivering.  He kissed her on the head.  “If not this semester, then please tell me you’ll do it this summer and transfer for fall term.”

She pulled back.  “I think if things are going well, summer seems a little less scary and overwhelming to me.  This has moved so fast, Bradley.”

“So, you’d agree right now to summer?” His eyes beamed.

“If things continue to go well, yes.”

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately.  “I love you so much,” he whispered.

Chapter 1
7

January, 2011:  The Present

Bradley

When he got back to his car he punched his fists against the steering wheel.  Taking a deep breath, he realized he had to get out of there.  He couldn’t give her the opportunity to see how much pain she had caused him.  He pulled out and went about a mile down the road to a gas station.  He pulled over and just hunched over the steering wheel in despair. 

After a few minutes, he realized he had to talk to Gabby.  He searched the floor board for his phone that he had so carelessly thrown across the car in anger.  He had hoped when he looked there would be a missed call from her or something, but nothing.  There were multiple missed calls and texts from Sam demanding to know what had happened and to let him know she had also been unable to reach Gabby.

He tried to call Gabby.  It went straight to voicemail.

Bradley: 
2:34pm

“Gabby, I know you’re upset with me.  Will you please call me
back.
  Let’s talk this out, please --- I love you.”

He tried again in a couple of minutes.

Bradley: 
2:38pm

“Gabby, even if you don’t want to talk, at least
text
me back and let me know you’re ok.”

He filled his tank up and decided that if he couldn’t get her on the phone, he’d just drive to Columbia.  He headed to his place to grab an overnight bag and while he used the voice command to call Sharon.  When she picked up, he barely gave her time to say hello. “Sharon,
It’s
Bradley.”