Chapter 30 – Brandon

“Have you got everything together?” my dad asks me, sounding actually a little more nervous than I feel. “Are you sure you’re all prepared?”

I can’t help but laugh at his remarks. It’s funny, after all the years I spent trying to impress him, now that I’ve stopped we’re closer than ever. I think he actually has respect for me now. He sees me as someone worthwhile. “Yes, Dad, I’ve been preparing for this moment for over a year. Ever since I ran into Lola in that drug store. I’ve known since then that I want her to be mine forever. Now it’s just time to make that official.”

“It’s just a shame that she had the Valentine’s Day musical show case today, or you could have done this earlier. You could know now, either way.”

I don’t like the way he says ‘either way’ like the fact she might say no is an option, but I decide to let that slide for a moment. I don’t want to make myself even more nervous.

“Yeah, I suppose so.” I shrug in a blasé manner. “But I wouldn’t do anything to step in the way of her music career. She’s worked so hard for this. She deserves all these breaks.”

“She might not be our highest grossing performer but I am glad we signed her. She gets steady work and she always does what’s asked of her in a professional way. We never have any trouble with her. Not like some of the other singers that I don’t need to name.”

I smirk to myself as I think over all the stories that Dad has told me. I don’t know if he knew what he was getting himself in for when he dived into the music industry. Although I think at first he was only supposed to be a silent investor. He pushed himself further in.

“Well, I think that’s how Lola likes it, Dad. I think she likes to keep a lower profile because then she still gets to keep some of her own life. She can go back and check on her dad – not that he needs it much these days – and she can see how Tim and the other farm hands are doing. She’s happy with the level of success that she has.”

“Yeah, and she gets to spend time with you as well.” Dad nudges me and smirks. This weird friendship we have now is awesome actually. “That’s got to be a bonus, right?”

“Yeah, well it’s helped.” I half shrug as I answer him. “Especially in the beginning when things were tough, when I was setting up my business. It helped a whole lot then!”

My business that’s now going from strength to strength. It’s one of those markets that people didn’t realize had much of a demand in until I started working in it. Now it’s rolled out massively. I’m actually making more profits than I originally intended, but I put them back in to expanding it. It’s amazing how easy it is for me to get help now, it seems that everyone wants to give something back, even my dad. Working on this for myself, seeing the difference I’ve made to others lives, it makes me so happy and it also makes all the sacrifice worth it. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else in the world.

“Good, I’m glad you’ve managed to find a good girl. It inspired me to find one of my own!”

The other big news in my life is my father and his new, unexpected girlfriend. That came out of nowhere and stunned me. Sure, she’s a little younger than him, but she’s fiery and she puts him in his place which is just what he needs. She also has her own money, probably more than him, so she definitely can’t be accused of being a gold digger. Seeing my dad care about something other than the business is wonderful. It makes him happier and me too. The fact that I helped him to see that falling in love isn’t something to be afraid of is awesome.

He’s now been with her for six months, which means they might as well be married in my dad’s terms. It’s pretty much forever.

“Well, that’s great. June is awesome… you just keep taking care of her.”

I glance around the room once more, just confirming that everything is where I want it to be. I’ve hired out the entire Italian restaurant where I took her for our first proper date for calzones, and I’ve got it so there’s just one table in the middle of the room. A single candle sits in the middle of the table, flickering away beautifully, and I have a trail of rose petals leading to the table and fairy lights twinkling above us like stars. I have also brought in a couple of those cans of cider we drank while sitting on those rubber tires at ‘the dump’ in Lola’s home town. I kind of want it to be a homage to all the things we’ve been through together, while being a promise of things to come.

“It looks good, son, stop worrying.”

“Dad, I have to be honest. You’re the one who has me worrying,” I laugh awkwardly. “Now I’m second guessing everything. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked you to help me.”

“You need me here. For so many reasons… oh!” He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. “Yep, just like this one. I’ve just had a text, Lola is being brought here now.”

“And she doesn’t know?” I’m still so desperate for this to be a secret. I’ve done so well at keeping it from her so far, despite the fact that I’ve been planning it for weeks. Usually I’m crap at keeping things from Lola so this has been hard. “She’s still not aware?”

“No, the event guy just said he’s taking her to meet you and that you’re in a work meeting. You have nothing to worry about. It’s all going to plan.”

I breath in deeply and nod, trying to believe my father. After all the hardship that Lola has endured in her life, I really want this to go perfectly. She deserves it after taking care of everyone else her whole life. She needs me to take care of her now.

“Right.” Dad pats me on the back. “I’m going now. Leave you two kids to it. I have to pick up Lola’s dad from the airport then he’s coming to stay with me so we can all go out and celebrate tomorrow.”

“Great, great, that will be a nice surprise. I guess I’ll see you then. I’ll message you to let you know what happens though.”

Once my dad leaves, I’m alone and it all becomes very real. I have a ring in my pocket, all tucked away in a little box that I agonized over for absolutely ages, and the room is all set up. Much as I want this to happen, now it’s really happening. Now the moment is really here. My heart is racing, the butterflies in my stomach have turned into birds, my throat is completely dry with fear. I don’t know if I’m actually going to be able to speak once the moment arrives.

“Hello? What the hell is going on?” All of a sudden, Lola’s voice breaks through the silence and I’m filled with a powerful warmth that can only come from her. “Brandon? Why are you having a meeting here? Isn’t this a little weird… oh!”

All of a sudden she comes into view and her hand claps across her mouth in shock. She doesn’t fully look like herself at the moment with all her stage make up on and her fancy sequined dress. Personally, I prefer her all natural, but I adore her all the same.

“There’s my super star.” I extend my arms out to hug her but she doesn’t immediately step into my embrace. She pauses where she is, looking a bit confused.

“What’s going on here?” she asks desperately. “Is this for Valentine’s Day?”

“It is,” I confirm. “Because you deserve to be spoiled.”

Eventually she falls into my arms and I hold her close to me. With her head on my chest, I slide my eyes closed and I just feel her for a moment. She feels good against my body, I love holding her. She just feels so right against me.

“Champagne?” Oh, I almost forgot about the waiter who will be dipping in and out, providing us with drinks and food throughout the evening. “Or would you prefer something else to drink?”

“Ooh, that sounds lovely, thank you.” Lola takes her chair and smiles up at me. That smile that melts my heart and makes me so happy. “Are you having a drink too?”

“Yes,” I rasp nervously. “Yes please.”

“Are you okay?” Lola asks me curiously. “You don’t seem like yourself.”

I nod rapidly, too rapidly. I was planning to do this at the end of the evening, but I don’t know if I can wait any longer. The pressure is getting too much. It’s building up powerfully inside of me, sending me insane. I need to get it out my system.

I move over to Lola, I take one of her hands in mine and I bite the bullet. I drop to one knee and I stare up at her with love shining in my eyes.

“Oh my God, what are you doing?” Lola asks me. “What is this?”

I reach into my pocket and pull out the ring, just to make things really clear. “Lola Boots, you are absolutely everything. I have loved you I think from the very first moment when you were up on that stage, singing your heart out.” I can’t help licking my lips as I remember how sexy she was on that night. “You have crashed unexpectedly into my life and turned everything upside down. You’ve taught me how to be the best version of myself, you’ve made me see how I’m worth while and how I can do something with my life… basically you’ve made me a better person.”

Lola wipes a stray tear from under her eye, but it seems to be a happy one, so I take a deep breath and I carry on with my proposal. I’ve been planning this for ages, I had every single word decided, but now I can hardly remember any of them. I’m just speaking from the heart. It seems to be working. I think… I hope.

“I love you so much, more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. I want to love you in the best way possible, I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I want to share in your happiness, I want to be there to make the hard times easier, I want to take care of you when you’re sick and cook for you when you’re hungry… basically I want to make you as happy as you make me. I guess what I’m asking is if you’ll be my wife? Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Lola shoots back right away, immediately putting me out of my misery. “Of course I will. Oh my God, there isn’t anyone who can make me as happy as you do. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

“Oh thank God,” I tease. “I thought you were going to say no then.”

“No never.” She shakes her head rapidly at me. “I would never say no to you. Never.”

I take her hand and slide the ring onto her finger before I bounce back into a standing positon. Then I wrap my arms around her and I kiss her deeply and passionately. It’s taken us such a long time to get here and we’ve been through so much, but it makes me see that we’re strong enough to get through anything together. I know we can weather hard times, and I know we do well when things are good too. Lola Boots completes me and I hope that I complete her too.

I know we can have our happy ever after, I just can’t wait for that to finally get started.

*** End of Main Story ***

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