Obsessed With You (21 page)

“
I would think you would
remember something like that,” Cathy said, looking at Aaron with
narrowed eyes.

“
But I didn’t!” he said. “I
had put it totally out of my mind, that’s how unpleasant it all
was. I thought it was inconsequential.”

“
But it was the opposite,”
Cathy said.

“
The polar opposite,” Aaron
agreed. “The good news is that I didn’t sleep with her. I tried
to—I’m sorry, Cat—but it didn’t happen. Marsha confirmed that
when I confronted her at the office.”

“
How’d she take that? The
confrontation?”

“
She freaked out and ran out of
the office. But not before I told her I was going to sue her.”

Cathy sat up and looked at Aaron,
taking his hands in hers.

“
I know you dated people before
me,” she said.

“
I was searching for you the
whole time,” Aaron said. “Except that one stupid night when I got
too drunk and caused all these problems.”

“
Too drunk just like Zachery
out there,” she said. “I know we have a lot to sort out, but Neil
and Lindy will be here any minute. We’ve got to deal with Zachery
first.”

Aaron pulled her to his lips,
only pulling away when there was a knock at the door.”

“
Come in,” Cathy called.

“
Looks like he’s out for the
count,” Neil said as he came through the door.

“
Who did it?” Lindy asked.
She seemed unconcerned about Zachery.

“
Babe, that’s none of our
business,” Neil admonished her. She ignored him.

“
So, who was it?” Her eyes
sparkled. “I’ll bet it was the secretary,” she said. “There
was something about her eyes I didn’t trust. And that dog!”

Cathy and Aaron looked at each
other and laughed.

“
You’re right, Lindy, it was
the secretary,” Aaron said. “Maybe I should’ve hired you as my
private detective.”

“
I think we need to deal with
Zachery out there,” Neil interjected. “We can finish this game of
Clue later. I think he’s starting to come to.”

“
Cat, Neil and I can take care
of this,” Aaron said. “You and Lindy should get yourselves a big
glass of wine. You deserve it.”

Lindy sat down at the green
Formica table and Cathy poured two glasses of wine. She was beginning
to tell Lindy all about everything—there was no point in being
secretive with her—when Neil and Aaron came back in.

“
We’re going to put Zachery
in his truck and Neil’s going to drive him home,” Aaron said.
“I’m going to follow him in his truck.”

“
If you know how to drive a
shift,” Neil said.

Aaron swung his head around
toward Neil. “I grew up on a farm, man,” he said.

“
Okay, okay,” Neil said.
“Anyway, we’re leaving now. We’ll be back soon.”

After they left, Cathy continued
telling Lindy all about Marsha. When she was finished, she took a
long sip of wine.

“
Are you going to marry him
now?” Lindy asked.

“
You bet your ass,” Cathy
said. “Just as soon as he asks me.”

They talked for the next hour
about Marsha, the house in Buckhead, the Victorian next door,
Zachery.

“
I feel bad for Zach,” Lindy
said. “I could tell he really wanted to get something going with
you.”

Cathy agreed that she felt bad
about it too. “But what can I do? I love Aaron and I’m going to
marry him!”

“
Just as soon as he asks,”
Lindy said laughing.

Neil and Aaron got back close to
midnight. “We managed to roll him inside and get him in bed,”
Neil said. “I doubt he’ll remember anything tomorrow.”

“
I hope not,” Cathy said.

“
Babe, let’s leave these
people to themselves,” Neil said to Lindy.

“
Before you go,” Aaron said.
“I’d like you to be witnesses for me.”

Neil and Lindy looked at each
other. “Okay,” Neil said. Lindy looked at Cathy and mouthed,
“He’s asking.”

“
Cat,” Aaron said. He pulled
her up from her seat at the table and looked into her eyes. “I know
we’ve got a lot of talking to do, but I can’t go another second
if you won’t agree to marry me again.” He pulled his keys out of
his pocket and started taking the sapphire ring off of the key ring
he had kept in on all this time. Around and around it went, until it
fell off in his fingers.

“
Will you?” he said, holding
the ring out. But then he pulled it back.

“
Before you answer,” he said.
“I need you to know that I spied on your house a few times. Just to
make sure you were all right!”

She laughed.

“
And another thing,” he said
still holding the ring away from her. “I don’t want to go back to
Atlanta or start my own company. I want to stay here and maybe
sometimes near my family.” He started laughing then. “I guess we
can work all of that out later,” he said.

“
You’ve got two seconds to
put that ring on my finger before I change my mind,” she said
holding her hand out. He slipped the ring on her finger for the
second time in their relationship.

“
I love you,” he said. They
began to kiss, oblivious to the fact that Neil and Lindy were still
standing there. Cathy finally realized it and pulled away, laughing.

Lindy clapped her hands, her
blonde hair swaying and shining in the kitchen light.

“
But I can’t wait for any
plans,” Aaron said. “I don’t want to wait another day. Will you
marry me tomorrow? At the courthouse?”

Cathy nodded.

“
No!” Lindy said. “You
can’t do it at the courthouse. Do it in our courtyard. I’ll take
care of everything.”

Aaron grabbed Cathy and swung
her around and around.

*************************

They were married by two the next
afternoon. Eileen, as a notary, was authorized in the state of
Florida to perform the ceremony. She also provided a carrot cake with
cream cheese frosting, an assortment of appetizers, and several
bottles of champagne, which Lindy put on a table in her little
courtyard. Cathy’s expensive wedding dress was in storage, but she
didn’t want the dress anyway. She found a long white dress in the
closet that had belonged to her mother, and carried a bouquet of pink
and white roses from the grocery store in Fort Walton that Lindy
picked up. Lindy put a pair of aquamarine earrings in Cathy’s ears
and hung a matching necklace around her neck.

“
That’s your something new,”
Lindy said. “Your dress is your something old and your ring is your
something blue.”

“
What’s my something
borrowed? Cathy asked.

“
This courtyard, of course!”
Lindy said.

Grandpa escorted her to the back
of the courtyard, down the brick pathway that Lindy had marked with
white and baby-blue ribbons. Aaron and Cathy spoke the vows of
marriage and exchanged wedding rings they’d picked up in a little
jewelry store after they got the license. The rings and the license
were the only costs of the wedding, a far cry from the one they had
planned in the gardens near Atlanta. It was a quickie wedding, and it
was beautiful. The only thing missing was Aaron’s family.

Aaron had called his mother first
thing in the morning to tell her they were getting married and he was
sorry they couldn’t be there. “I can’t wait any longer, Mom,”
Aaron told his mother. “Not one more day.”

“
Go,” his mother said
tearfully. “Go for it.”

He went for it.

Jennifer
Ransom is the author of
Runaway
,
Love
Weaver
,
Hand-Me-Down
Love
,
Come
Down in Time
, and
Serena’s
Choice.

This
is a work of fiction. References to actual people, places, and events
are used to lend authenticity to the novel and are used fictitiously.
All characters, dialog, and events are from the author’s
imagination and are not real. Any resemblances to real people,
places, events, or dialog are coincidental.

This
book may not be copied, scanned, or reproduced in any way without
permission from the author.