“Don’t expect me to know any of the artists. Take me to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I’m your man.”
She snuggled into him on the short ride to the top of the hill. “The art isn’t what makes this place special for me,” she told him. “It’s the building I love.”
And she did. Arched ceilings, verandas, and endless angles and curves that highlighted whatever art the museum wanted to display. She dragged him from one end to the other, pointing out everything her eyes saw that his didn’t.
The sun was starting to set and he pulled her toward a single table with two chairs that overlooked the city.
“What’s this?” she asked.
He pulled out one of the chairs, removed her purse from her arm, and set it down. “I might not have any idea about art, but I do have some class.”
“This is for us?” She looked around and saw a waiter standing close by. The sun was low, but not quite setting.
“We know some powerful people, babe. I for one am not opposed to asking them to pull some strings.”
The waiter approached and filled their glasses with sparkling wine.
Rick lifted his glass to hers. “To us.”
She smiled, clinked his glass . . . but didn’t drink. “Rick?”
He placed a finger in the air, quieting her. “It’s taken me all day to work up to this moment. So I need you to just listen.”
He was fidgeting and set his glass down.
She set her glass down, folded her hands in her lap. Rick nervous was a delight to watch. The man always had such confidence in everything he did. This side of him made her think of young boys handing apples to their favorite teacher.
His green eyes met hers. “I love you.”
The giddy smile on her face fell and tears welled.
“The thought of my life without you makes me ill. I’ve almost lost you twice and . . . I can’t. I can’t lose you again.”
She swiped a tear from her cheek, kept listening.
“I want my ring on your finger, and everything that comes with staying your husband for life. I want the good times, the bad times . . . though a few less bad times might be nice for a while. I want a mortgage and a family car. I want all of that with you.”
It took both hands to clear her vision. “Oh, Rick.” She walked around the table and sat in his lap, melded her lips to his, tasted her tears in their kiss. “I love you, too. After everything we’ve been through, not a lot scares me . . . but thinking of my life without you leaves me empty. I want to show you the ridiculously small town I grew up in, introduce you to all my crazy relatives.”
“Crazy?” he asked with a silly grin.
“Eclectic might be a better word.” She thought of her aunt Belle. “Well, maybe a little crazy.”
Rick laughed. “I’ve met your parents. I’m not scared.”
“Me either. Not with you . . . not about us.”
His arms wrapped around her. “Is that a yes?”
“Was there a question?” she teased.
“Marry me.”
“Still not a question.”
He found a sensitive spot on her waist and tickled her.
She squirmed in his lap.
“Will you marry me?”
With hands framing his face, she stared at her future. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
He tossed his head back and laughed, picked her up and swung her around before kissing her again.
Epilogue
Snowcapped mountains made a perfect backdrop for the sunny Saturday following Thanksgiving.
Hannah rushed into the room; her floor-length dusty rose gown hugged her model-perfect body like a second skin. The college boys wouldn’t stand a chance. “They’re all ready. Dad’s on his way up.”
Judy adjusted the half sleeve of her wedding gown and tugged on the gloves that ended at her elbow as she stood. Meg pulled the train out behind her and Rena handed her the flowers.
Her mother kissed her cheek. “You’re lovely.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“I’ll see you down there.”
From the looks of the packed parking lot, everyone in Hilton, Utah, was packed into the pews below. She did love her hometown, couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else . . . but living there wasn’t something she wanted. Thankfully, Rick wanted to stay in LA for a while, see where it took both of them. Secretly, Judy knew Rick was hoping she’d take the job at Benson & Miller Designs. Judy wanted to wait for the new year to make that decision. Right now, she wanted to exchange real vows with the man she loved in front of everyone important in her life.
“Are you nervous?” Hannah asked.
Judy placed a hand over her stomach. “Excited.”
“I almost fainted when Joe and I got married,” Rena told her.
“Don’t tell Aunt Belle that, she’ll really think you were pregnant when you said I do.”
A knock on the door made her stomach flutter. Maybe she was a little nervous.
Her father, dressed in a sharp black tux, his hair combed back and his chest puffed out like the proud man he was, entered the room. One look at her and some of that pride shifted. She saw tears behind his eyes and had to open hers wider to avoid tears of her own.
Meg handed her a tissue. “None of that. Oh, jeez. Stop.”
Judy fanned her face and blinked away the moisture.
Sawyer moved to her side, took the tissue from her hand, and patted the corners of her eyes. “Guess this means my little girl is all grown up.”
Judy offered him a smile. “Yep.”
Sawyer tossed the tissue aside, offered his arm. “That sucks.”
She laughed, leaned into him. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too.” The wedding march filled the hall and the girls lined up in front of them.
The good people of Hilton loved a good party, and weddings were at the top of their list.
Rick stood in a formal black tux, his parents, who she’d met over the Thanksgiving holiday, sat in the front row to watch the ceremony. They’d welcomed Judy with a wariness to them that she was determined to overcome.
Judy looked past her in-laws and found Rick’s gaze as she walked toward him. In front of the minister, she kissed her dad’s cheek before taking Rick’s hand.
“Wow,” Rick said under his breath when he stepped next to her. “You’re beautiful.”
“You clean up well yourself, babe.”
Rick laughed at the nickname. “A lifetime of calling you babe. Love it.”