Elia
“Come on, get up.”
My eyes open to the voice, and I groan and roll onto my stomach.
“Just a little longer…”
There’s a chuckle, a thick sound that never fails to make my body shiver, even in my half asleep state. I shudder as soft, wet kisses are pressed from the nape of my neck, going down my spine. Eric’s lips linger a little longer at the base of my spine, and I arch for him, wanting him to continue. But there’s another chuckle, and he pulls away.
“Breakfast in twenty minutes, or I’m leaving without you!”
He pauses as if he’s going to say something else.
“Or have you forgotten what day it is today?”
My eyes flutter open as I hum. Then I move so I’m sitting up and facing him. “No, I remember. What time is it?”
“Time for you to get up or we’re going to be late for our grand opening. I’m serious about leaving you behind.”
I roll my eyes behind his back as he leaves the room. I know he doesn’t actually mean it. After all, he’s letting me host the whole thing, even if I felt that it was too much responsibility at the time.
We’ve waited for this day. All the renovations took over six weeks, and as much as I loved all the relaxation and spending time with the girls, really getting to know the women that I work with, while Eric’s at work and even going to some business seminars, I’m ready to put what I’ve learned into action.
I shower quickly then join him in the kitchen for a quick breakfast. I’m the one rushing him to get out of the door, now.
“Come on,” I whine, tugging on his arm.
“Let me put on my tie,” he says, laughingly in protest.
I growl, “I can’t eat, I’m too nervous. I thought that this day would never come.”
I’m dressed in a long, dark red dress that would probably be more appropriate for a luxury evening out than an opening of a bookstore. I don’t care, because it’s a big day to me, and I wanted to go all out and dress up for a change.
“Go out to the car, and I’ll come right after you. I forgot something in the bedroom.”
I sigh and turn to leave. I don’t ask what he could possibly have forgotten. I have my clutch purse in hand with my iPhone, and that’s all I need for now. I slowly head to the car and hope that he’s not long and this isn’t one of his little surprises. We don’t have time for that. It took me a lot longer to get ready than I thought that it would, because I was half awake. Now, I’m fully awake, and all I want to do is get going.
“Here we go,” he says as he gets in on his side, and I roll my eyes at him. I know by his resulting chuckle that he noticed.
“Would you just drive?”
“Of course!” he says, reaching across to take my hand. He kisses it and then starts the engine, and we’re on our way. There’s hardly any traffic, which is another good reason we decided on doing this at ten rather than nine in the morning.
The drive doesn’t seem to take that long especially because I’m too nervous to chitchat. If we talk about the opening, I’ll start thinking of something and decide that I must have forgotten to do it and start to panic.
Eric parks the car against the curb, and we step out not too far from the corner of the store. Outside on the curb are the girls and the one guy who’s now going to be working for me. I still can’t get over the fact that I’m going to have staff and people will be working for me.
I can’t believe that for the first time in a long time, we have potential customers lining up, something that the marketing team have been working hard on achieving over the last few weeks.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” a coworker yells out, to excited shouts from the crowd.
As Eric and I step up to the ribbon, Rebecca hands me a pair of scissors after a short hug. I hold it for a few seconds, just for the suspense. I can hear the audience take a collective breath as I snip the ribbon, and they become a very excited crowd.
“This is amazing,” I tell Eric as we start to head inside and mingle with the crowd.
Jessica helped plan some of it, and it’s perfect. I can't stop smiling, especially as I look at both the customers and staff smiling and laughing. Others are moving with some books to the new area we closed off where people can relax at the comfy sit-down area.
“This place looks really good, but I want to tell Jessica. I just can’t find her.”
Eric shakes his head. “She’s probably checking on something. She’s a perfectionist. You’ll see her eventually!”
I still can't believe that so many different classes of people are here tonight and just to see the opening of the store. It’s so damn impressive.
His arm tightens around my waist. “I have another surprise for you.”
My eyebrows jump up. “We’re not done with those?”
“I’m hoping you’ll let me off the hook for this one.”
Then he goes down on one knee, and I feel like I can't breathe. The room quietens down pretty quickly, and I know the focus is on us.
“Elia,” he starts, and I’m hanging on his every word. “We haven’t known each other very long, I’ll be the first to admit. But… in the three months I’ve known you, I’ve felt so much more than I ever have with anyone else, and I know you’re the one for me.”
A smile is playing on his lips, he knows how cheesy his lines are. They still bring tears to my eyes.
“Elia, will you marry me?”
That’s when I see my parents in a corner. They told me they couldn’t make it. And by their side is Jessica. That’s where she went to make sure that my parents were okay. Damn! I was really wrong about her.
I suck in a shaky breath, blinking my eyes free of tears so I can see his eyes as a trembling smile spreads on my face.
“Yes! I’ll marry you, Eric.”
He surges up, and I squeal before laughing as he lifts me up in a spin, clapping and congratulating shouts surrounding us. I can’t believe that in the span of three months, not only am I a manager, but I’m getting married, too.
Life couldn’t be better and every single time that I think it can’t happen, Eric makes it happen. I love him, and I know that we’re going to be happy together. I just love him too much for us not to be anything but happy.
Just then, Virginia shows up!
Yes, there’s more. Like this happy ending seems to have a bonus round. When I see Rose, I know. I know right away what’s coming next. I know this is the secret that Eric had her keeping. I can’t hold back the tears welling up in my eyes. She’s holding a manila folder and walking towards me with a bit smile on her face.
“Lee-ya!” She calls out and wraps her arms around me. “Will you be my mommy?”
Through my sobs, I manage my answer. “Yes, baby girl, I would love to be your mommy.” I pick her up in my arms, and Eric holds us both tight. He kisses us both and I’m crying so much that I can’t even see. I have never been so happy in my life.
And yeah I should have known better when Eric told me earlier that Virginia was taking Rose to a movie.
I can’t believe how perfect my life is. I’ve read a lot of books, but for me nothing will ever compare to my own story.