Nineteen
Graham
Every time I saw her my heart filled with joy. Libby had just hit her six-month mark, and she looked fabulous. Officially into her third trimester with the most incredible baby bump, I loved taking care of her. She was still insistent on staying in her apartment even though I was vehemently against it, but she stayed over on the weekends and came over every night for dinner. I was beginning to see how fiercely independent she was despite her quiet demeanor, and there was something incredibly alluring about that. Never once had she ever asked me for money, though I knew she was struggling. She wasn’t tutoring the further along she got in her pregnancy, and I knew it was taking a chunk out of her monthly finances.
So every once in a while, I’d draw cash out of the ATM and stick it in her wallet without her noticing.
Every day was a new experience with her. Lizzie was bouncing off the walls and constantly asking when her newest sibling was coming. She was convinced it was going to be a girl. That she was going to have a younger sister to go along with her two younger brothers. And sometimes, I caught Libby saying ‘she’ instead of ‘it’. Whenever we went for our ultrasounds we tried to figure out the gender, so we would know how to plan things out for a nursery, shower, and clothes. But every time the ultrasound technician went to zoom in on our little one’s body parts, that kid would burrow so far back into Libby’s spine it would bring tears to her eyes.
I didn’t have the heart to let the ultrasound technician press any harder into Libby, so we always stopped the process there.
Whenever I was lucky enough to wake up with her in my arms, I couldn't stop staring at her. The way the light streamed through the windows of my home and bounced off her luscious features was something that set my veins on fire for her. More than once, I’d woken her up with my kisses on her beautiful skin.
I loved mornings like that.
Mornings where the kids slept in and I could have her properly.
But every time I fell asleep without her there, my heart ached. Every time I walked into my home and didn’t see her smiling face waddling around, it chipped at a piece of my heart. I wanted her there. Needed her there. After a long day at work, she was the first person I wanted to call. If we hit a milestone with one of the kids, she was the first person I wanted to celebrate with. She was the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last thing on my mind before I went to bed, and I wasn’t willing to live another second of my life without her.
So, I started planning.
“Where are we going?” Libby asked.
“You’ll see. I thought it would be a nice surprise,” I said.
“Why are the kids with the nanny again? They could’ve come with us. It’s Friday night. We always go out on Friday nights.”
“Don’t worry. I ran it by Lizzie and she said it was just fine,” I said with a grin.
“She’s the one that really runs that house, isn’t she?”
“Now you’re catching on.”
I pulled up into the parking lot of the Stan Mansion and Libby gasped. She whipped her head over at me and I took her hand within mine. Bringing her knuckles to my lips, I kissed every single one of them. She looked beautiful in the dress she had picked out to wear, and I couldn’t wait to get it off her.
But first there was something I had to do.
“Come on. Dinner’s waiting for us,” I said.
“I didn’t know the mansion did dinner service like that,” Libby said.
“They don’t, but I called them up and they made an exception for us. Come on. I think you’re going to like what we’re eating.”
I helped Libby from the car and held her hand as we walked in. There was a line of waitstaff and cooks waiting to greet us as we walked in. I led her to one of the reception rooms and it was dark. The only source of light was a spotlight on a table in the middle of the room.
“Graham? What is all this?” Libby asked.
“Just take it all in. I wanted us to have a special night together.”
I pulled out her chair and helped her to sit down. She was getting to that point in her pregnancy where she required a lot more help to do basic things, which was why I was so adamant about her moving in. Whenever she was with me, I listened to her struggle to get out of bed sometimes. My greatest fear was that she would be alone in her apartment and take a tumble and not be able to get herself back up.
“You look worried,” Libby said. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” I said.
“Shouldn’t we have menus?” she asked.
“I already put in our order for the evening.”
“What are we having?”
And right on cue, our waiter for the evening appeared with two full plates of food.
“Duck confit for the father, and a toasted banana, marshmallow, and mustard sandwich for the mother.”
“You did not,” Libby said with a giggle.
“Oh, I did,” I said.
“I know you hate it, but it smells wonderful.”
“I’m glad. I wasn’t sure what you would like as a side, so I went with crisp vegetables and a cheesy risotto.”
“It smells heavenly,” she said. “Thank you so much.”
About halfway through the meal I smelled it, the cake I had ordered. I watched the waiter move cautiously in the shadows and I prepared myself for the inevitable. Everything was out of my hands now. I eyed the waiter as he approached the table, coming into the spotlight and catching Libby’s attention.
Then, I watched her expression fall.
“I think someone might’ve messed something up, Graham.”
“Why?” I asked.
“This is a wedding cake.”
“It is.”
“What did you tell them to do for dessert?” she asked.
“I promise, this cake is for the two of you,” the waiter said.
Then I nodded at him before he bowed and walked away.
“I can go back and talk to someone if you want me to,” Libby said.
“Why don’t you take a look at the cake first? Maybe you might like it,” I said.
I watched her eyes fall to the cake as I clenched my fists in my lap. I waited for her eyes to catch it. To scan the top of the cake and take in what was there. I watched her eyes journey up the intricate piping and graze past the fondant flowers. I watched her finger dip into the icing before she popped it into her mouth, moaning with delight. Her eyes crept farther and farther up the dainty cake made especially for two, and when her eyes stopped at the top I did what I needed to do.
I slid out of my chair and got down onto one knee.
“Graham? What is that?”
I reached up to the top of the cake, plucked the ring from its stand, and took hold of her left hand.
“Libby, from the moment I laid eyes on you at that wedding eight months ago, I thought you were beautiful. I saw you struggling with your parents, trying to bat them away, and all I could think about was helping you. I had no idea why I felt that pull towards you, to help you and rescue you when you needed it the most, but I did. And ever since that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
“Graham,” she said breathlessly.
“The more I got to know you, the more I enjoyed the woman you were. Despite our differences in lifestyles, you understand me better than anyone I’ve ever come across. Now more than ever, I know that you’re the woman for me. I know you’re the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to raise my family with you and I want to wake up to you. I want to help you through all the good times and the bad ones and stand by you, even when no one else will. I want to give you everything, Libby. Everything I have is yours if you want it. And if you don’t, then we’ll give it all away and go find what is it you truly want. All I ask is that we become a family. Together, forever, no matter what. Libby Tressler, I love you. With every fiber of my being and every atom of my soul. Will you marry me?”
I watched Libby’s eyes well with tears as she dipped her lips to mine. The kiss was soft. Kind. Sensual… just like her. I felt her hands cup my cheeks as I stood up, clasping the ring tightly in my hand. I felt her stomach pressing into mine as she stood with me, her hands wrapping around my neck and pulling me as close as she could get.
Then she answered.
And tears of my own sprang to my eyes.
“I love you, Graham,” she said. “All I’ve ever wanted was a family to call my own. Someone to love and cherish for the rest of my life. I’ve been so scared to tell you how I feel because I was terrified that you wouldn’t feel the same way.”
“I love you, Libby,” I said. “Please marry me. I don’t want to do this life without you.”
Libby pressed a kiss to my ear before she pulled back, her dazzling eyes dripping with tears of happiness.
“It would be an honor to marry you, Graham Alexander.”
The music started as I slid her engagement ring onto her finger. Despite the swelling in her hands, it still fit her beautifully. The music was low and the reception room was empty, and as I pulled her into me and started moving her across the floor my heart exploded with joy.
I finally had everything I could’ve ever wanted.
And I saw my future blossoming in her tear-stained eyes.