Ten months later
I traveled to Memphis again in Mid-October the following year. It was my fourth trip, and I loved the city more and more with every visit. Liam and I took turns traveling to see each other, and we tried not to let a month go by between visits. It was increasingly difficult to leave each other each time we got together. As the months went by, the duration of our trips seemed to get longer. We would now stay at least a week, knowing that it would be extremely hard to leave once the time came.
Vera and Victor were almost as pitiful as we were, so for the last few months, Liam had just left Victor with me so they could be together. He and I were both really busy with work, but with every passing month, we realized that something had to be done to close the distance between us.
I hired two new master tailors to work at my store so that I could set myself up to spend less and less time in Los Angeles. I figured I would need to be present at the store at least one week a month just to make sure things were running smoothly and put my personal stamp of approval on the orders that were being filled.
During the past few months, I had been working towards making this transition. It was scary for me because owning the store was something I had worked so hard for, and I didn't want to jeopardize it. But not being close to Liam was much scarier than losing the store, and once I put that into perspective, I started taking real, practical steps toward spending more of my time in Memphis.
Liam had offered to split his time between Memphis and Los Angeles, and he had even looked into ways he could continue working for Alpha while living in Los Angeles full-time, but I didn't want to ask him to do that. I loved his family, and I knew how close they were. It would be hard for both of us to live so far away from them.
We had talked a little about me trying to open a store in Memphis eventually. It seemed like a viable option since I would be spending most of my time there, but at this point, I had so much tied into my Beverly Hills store that I had to remain focused on that, even if it was from a distance.
I knew we would sort some things out during this next visit to Memphis. We had been discussing it during the past few months, and I knew transition was looming; I just didn't know exactly what it would look like. We had talked about getting married, but we hadn't set a date or made anything official. This would probably be a key factor with me moving, however, because we had already decided not to move in together until we had taken that step.
In the back of my mind, I thought he might ask me to marry him on this visit. More and more, our conversations had been centered around making plans to be together full-time, and I could just feel by the way he spoke to me that he thought the move would take place sooner rather than later.
Liam picked me up from the airport.
It had been nearly a month since I had seen him, and I collapsed into his arms, feeling desperate and needy. I already dreaded the time a week from then when I had to say goodbye. I was tired and it was difficult traveling with both dogs, so the whole exchange at the airport felt fast and chaotic. I didn't even get to appreciate my man until we made it to his house and let the dogs outside.
I closed the door, watching through the window as the hounds ran toward the back of his yard. I turned with a sigh to find that Liam was standing in his kitchen, propped against the counter, smiling at me.
He was a sight for sore eyes. He had on jeans and a nice button down shirt layered with a jacket. I had sent him care packages with clothes from Los Angeles, and these were some that I had picked out. He was casual, masculine, and yet completely fashionable. I smiled and shook my head as I slowly walked toward him.
"I missed you," I said.
I moved so slowly and deliberately that he smiled and flexed his hand, encouraging me to come quicker. It was with pleasure that I obliged. I came to stand right in front of him, gazing up at his handsome face, and taking in the clean smell. I reached up and tugged on the lapel of his jacket.
"I like your clothes."
"My girlfriend got me these."
"She's got good taste."
"She's a professional."
I glanced downward. "I like your boots, too."
He moved his foot, showing them off. "She got me those, too."
"I did?" I asked tilting my head at him and looking genuinely confused.
He laughed. "Last winter," he said. "They were in that first box you sent."
"Oh yeahhh," I said. "I did great on those. They look good on you."
"Thank you." He touched the side of my face. "I missed you, baby girl."
"I missed you too. So much."
I held on to him and started to kick my own shoes off so that I could get comfortable, but Liam stopped me, saying that we had somewhere to go that couldn't wait. He was smiling wryly at me and acting like he had something up his sleeve when he told me we needed to go, so my first thought was that he was about to propose.
I got nervous and excited, and suddenly, I was nowhere near as exhausted as I had been a moment earlier. I told Liam I needed to freshen up, and he said he would stash my luggage and get the dogs squared away while I did so.
Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way to some unknown location. It was mid afternoon, so I was relatively certain we weren't going to a restaurant. For whatever reason, I assumed Liam was going to propose to me at a restaurant.
I had imagined the scene countless times.
At first, I thought he might take me somewhere fancy and propose to me at a candlelit table for two, but the more I got to know him the more my theory changed. Now, my imaginings were different. Now, I thought he would take me to some location with his whole family. I imagined there would be about twenty of us, and that Liam would surprise me by whipping out a ring and saying something funny and touching in front of everyone. For whatever reason, I still pictured it happening at a restaurant. Maybe it's because that's how they did it in the movies.
"Where are we going?" I asked as we drove.
"Downtown."
"What's downtown?"
"You'll see."
Liam had gotten a new truck a few months back, and I had forgotten that there was an option to push up the center console and make it into a bench seat. I did that so that I could sit next to him, and I rode the rest of the way pressed against him like we were stuck together with glue. His big hand rested comfortably on my thigh, and I rested my head on his shoulder, relishing in the feeling of being next to him.
We kept in close contact over the phone, so we knew everything that had been going on in each other's lives, but I gave him some more details about my work, telling him how relieved I was with the skills and personalities of Edward and Ross, my new tailors.
I trailed off once I became distracted by the view outside. I had been to downtown Memphis twice before, and I thought it was so charming. I looked out the window, trying to guess where he could possibly be taking me. Liam parked on the side of the street, and we got out and took off walking on the sidewalk. I looked around at all the old buildings.
On the next block was a beautiful theater called The Blackbird. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of it. Liam had taken me there once before to see one of my favorite bands. It was originally an opera house, but it had been in disrepair for years before someone bought it and restored it to it's former glory. They had done an immaculate job. Everything was beautiful and vintage, and when you entered, you felt as though you had truly been brought back in time. I remembered thinking that it was one of my all time favorite venues.
We crossed the street, headed toward The Blackbird, and I stared at the neon sign, continuing to admire what a beautiful job the owner had done with the restoration. I didn't know for sure that we were headed for the theater, but I thought it would be a pretty cool place for a proposal, so I started getting anxious as we approached.
Liam stopped walking before we made it to the front. He turned and smiled at me as if we had reached our destination. I couldn't even imagine what was going to be inside. It crossed my mind that maybe he would take me up on the stage—maybe his family would be sitting in the audience—or maybe we'd be all alone. Maybe he would just do it out front, and we wouldn't even go into the theater at all.
He took a hold of my hand with his left hand and reached into his pocket with his right. My heart pounded. He smiled at me as he fished around for something, and I swallowed hard as I waited to see what he would pull out. I was insanely nervous, but I just gave him a calm but curious look.
He came up with a key.
It was one single key on a silver ring.
Nothing else.
Not even a keychain.
And definitely no diamond.
He held it in the air in front of me, and I instinctually reached out to take it from him as I gave him a curious expression.
"It's not much to look at yet," he said. "But all the women in my family agree that it's got a ton of potential. Everyone came by to see the inside, and they said I'd be crazy to pass it up. It used to be a dry cleaner, so it's got this big machine where you hang clothes that goes from the upstairs to downstairs. It's like seventy years old, and it still works."
I was expecting a proposal, therefore I was confused and lost until Liam glanced toward his right, causing me to look that way as well.
"Plus, it's got these cool checkerboard floors that I think you'll really like."
I stared into the window of the narrow storefront that was right next door to the theater. The windows were dusty, and I could hardly see inside.
"I just signed on it yesterday, so I haven't had the chance to do any cleaning," Liam added apologetically. "I probably should have waited until I could clean it up a little bit, but I just couldn't wait to show yo—"
Liam stopped talking when I whimpered and held my hand over my face, instantly crying. I pointed at the storefront, squinting with tears and hiding my face from him.
"Is this mine?" I asked, feeling completely overwhelmed.
He nodded. "It doesn't look like much right now, but there's a lot of room, and it's really cool on the inside. I think that once we've had a chance to restore it, you'll—"
"Liam is this place mine? Is this for me?"
"Yes."
"This right here?" I asked, pointing.
"Yes," he said, laughing a little at how stupefied I was.
"Did you buy this?"
"Yes," he said. "It helped that it belonged to Owen's wife and she gave me a great deal. It also helped that my family was willing to help me invest… but yes. I bought it—the whole building. It's yours if you want it. If you don't, I could probably sell it in about three seconds and make double the money that—"
"I want it," I said. "I want it, I want it, I want it!"
"You haven't even seen it," he said, grinning at my excitement.
"I know, but I already know I want it. I can tell. I can't believe you did this! I can't believe you got something right next to The Blackbird. I didn't even realize this place was here."
"I know; it's easy to miss. But once we get you a new paint job and a cool sign, you'll be making a statement of your own down here."
I took a step toward the windows so that I could peek inside, but I changed my mind, opting to hug Liam first. I stretched up, wrapping my arms around his neck and beaming at him.
"I can't believe you did this," I said. I kissed him right on the mouth, and he kissed me back, grinning at my excitement. "I'm shocked," I said. "I thought you brought me down here to propose."
"You did?" he asked.
I nodded.
"I did," he said.
"You did what?" I asked.
"I did bring you down here to propose."
"With a store?" I asked. "That's pretty romantic, if you ask me."
"Thank you, but I wasn't proposing with a store. I was just giving you that to make you move to Memphis. I'm proposing with a ring."
"What ring?"
"The one that's in my pocket."
"You're lying."
He shook his head.
"Are you?" I asked.
"Am I lying, or am I proposing?" he asked, smiling at me.
"Either. Both. Are you serious right now? Do you have a ring?"
He nodded.
"Where?"
"In my pocket."
I took one hand off of his neck and gingerly slid it into the front pocket of his jeans. I took my time, doing it slowly and carefully, and he smiled at me the whole time.
"Other pocket," he said, finally.
I scoffed at him. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"
He shrugged, giving me a sly grin, and I reached down with the other hand, gently sliding my hand into the other front pocket of his jeans.
Then, it happened.
My fingertips hit a small piece of metal that I knew, without a doubt, was a ring.
"It's in here," I said with wide eyes.
He smiled. "I told you."