Protective Love (Hidden Secrets) (31 page)

After parking and giving myself a little pep talk, I walked into the building and my stomach wanted to lurch when I tried to speak.  I swallowed hard.

“Good Morning.  I need to speak to Mr. Larry Williams.”

“Sure.  Go on in, what do I care.” She snapped.

“Ooookkkaaayyy…”  I turned and walked toward his office.

The door was open and he was at his desk
, writing and going over files.  I knocked on the door frame and waited for him to look up.

“Jason, so nice to see you
,” he smiled.  “Is Kayla with you?”

“No, Sir.  I needed to talk to you.”  I pushed past my nerves.

“Okay, come in and shut the door.”

We moved to the sitting area and he stared at me.  I know he was waiting for me to speak and I just couldn’t get my mouth to open.  I had never been this nervous before in my life.

“Go on, son.”

“I love your daughter, Sir.”

“I know you do.  She loves you.”

“Yes, Sir.  I came here to ask for your permission to ask her to marry me.”

Suddenly my nerves gave way to defensiveness and I found I needed to defend my wanting to marry her. 

“I thought that after what happened a few years back that having another relationship was out of the question for me.  I thought that I was meant to be alone.  Then I met Kayla that day at the party.  I can’t tell you how much she has changed everything around me.  I love her.  She’s it for me.  My everything.  I want to marry her
, and maybe someday start a family.  I just want to be with her.”

Larry sat quietly for several minutes.  It caused me to shift in my seat nervously. 
The man was a lawyer - he knew how to make you sweat without even saying anything.  It was working overtime right then.  I wanted to jump to the other couch and shake him until he gave me the answer, but instead I sat there, not making a sound.

“Jason, I can’t tell you how thankful I am for everything that you have done for my daughter.  You
brought her smile and laughter back.  I can’t thank you enough for that.”

Oh Shit!  He’s telling me no.  He doesn’t want me marrying his daughter…

“…to be a part of this family.”

“What?”  I shook my head.

“I said I would love for you to be a part of this family.  You can marry my daughter.”

I actually jumped up and yelled “YES!” right in front of Larry.  Just the thought of him possibly saying
no made me realize exactly how important she was to me, and would always be to me.  She was and would always be
my
sunshine!

“Thank you, Sir.  Thank you so much!”

He hugged me, and I ran out the door to go order that ring that I had seen the other day.  Once I had the ring, I stopped by the station to turn everything in and clear my desk out.  It had only been two hours, but I already missed Kayla and the light she added to my life.  I thought about the ring that would be in soon and hoped I picked the right size ring.

Once that was settled,
it was time to get my plan in action to propose.  I prayed she said yes because I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life loving her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

~KAYLA~

I was a ball of nerves.  Jason told me that he had a special evening planned for us.  When I begged to know what it was he wouldn’t tell me.

“Come on.  Tell me,” I whined.

Yes, I
whined.  I wanted to know.  How was I supposed to dress for a date if I didn’t know what I was dressing for?

“Sunshine, I want to surprise
you.  If I tell you where we are going and what we are doing, it won’t be a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises
,” I whispered.

Surprises
had never been a good thing for me.  The surprise was walking into my room and being attacked, walking out of a building and being attacked.  The surprise was threats, nightmares, cuts, bruises, and panic attacks.  No surprises and I do not go well together.

“Baby, this is me you’re talking to.  Have I ever done anything that would hurt you or scare you?”

“No, but-”

“No buts.  Please just dress nice
, and I will be there to pick you up around six, okay?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, don’t sound too happy about it,” he chuckled.  “I love you, Kayla.”

It
hasn’t gotten old yet.  He loved me.  It was still hard to believe even though he had told me countless times since our first time.  It was just unbelievable to think that someone could love me even with all the baggage I carried with me.  He loved me despite all of that.  I smiled.

“I love you too
,” I whispered.

“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.  See you later tonight.”

Later, I stood in front of my mirror wondering if what I wore was nice enough or too nice.  On a break from her tour, Mary helped pick out my clothes and dolled me up.  I didn’t like make-up so she went light on it.  Looking in my mirror, I didn’t even recognize myself.  I was wearing one of Mary’s dresses.  It was strapless and fitted at the top, but flared out at the waist. It ended just above the knees and showed far more cleavage than I had ever shown before, but Mary insisted it would drive Jason nuts. 

It wasn’t that I was aiming to drive Jason nuts, but
, well, we hadn’t done anything yet.  I mean we’d had oral sex, but I thought I might be ready for more. 

When getting ready for
the night, I mentioned to Mary that I thought I might be ready, and she tailored my outfit in a way that would drive Jason nuts enough to forget to proceed with caution and just—in Mary’s words—take me.  He had been giving me an out and if he kept doing that I was never going to push it there.

To complete the makeover, Mary pulled my hair off my neck
, leaving a few of my curls down around my face, with a little make-up.  I wasn’t sure if I liked the makeover.  Jason had been so damn patient with me that it was even beginning to piss me off.  When I heard the door, I gave myself one final pep talk.

It’s time to en
joy the man you love and show him how much you love him.  He deserves this, and so do you.

I took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom and down the short section of
the hall until Jason came into view.  He hadn’t noticed me yet, so I took a moment to take him in.  He was wearing black slacks with a button up white dress shirt and a suit jacket with no tie.  He looked sexy as sin, and I could feel that familiar tingle starting to build.  When he still hadn’t noticed me, I started to wonder if I looked horrible.

Just as I was about to step back, he turned and looked at me
, the smile dropping from his face and a shocked expression taking its place.  My body heated as his eyes moved down my body taking me in.

Let him like what he sees
, or this whole night will be ruined.

When his eyes met mine
with his mouth hanging open, I saw the fire in his eyes.  Mentally, I breathed a sigh of relief.  I smirked at him and held my arms out.

“Is this nice enough?” I said as I spun around in a
slow circle. 

His throat bounced as he swallowed and nodded his head.  His mouth still hung open.  His reaction made me smile.  He cleared his throat.

“You look… you’re…” He sighed.  “Wow,” he breathed.

“Thank you.  You look pretty
… wow, yourself.”

I didn’t know who this woman was talking.  I sound
ed so much more confident than I actually was.  Inside I was literally shaking in my boots.  We needed to get away from prying eyes.  Jason must have been thinking the same thing, because he grabbed my hand and asked if I was ready to go.  Nodding and telling my sister good night, we walked downstairs, hand in hand.  Neither of us spoke.

When we got to the car, I was so nervous you would think it was our first date.  He reached for the door
, and then I wasn’t really sure what happened.  Suddenly, I was against the car and his mouth was on mine in a rough, breathtaking, soul breaking kiss.  His tongue pushed into my mouth with none of the gentleness that he usually used.  It was almost like he was starving.  Starving to kiss me, to touch me, to claim me.  I grabbed his shirt holding on tight as he kissed me hungrily.

Pulling back he rested his head against mine.  Both of us were breathless, I kept my
eyes closed.  I wasn’t sure what happened and I definitely didn’t want to see the look of regret on his face.

“Kay…” he breathed.

Keeping my eyes closed, I waited for his apology.  Not for kissing me, but for the way he kissed me.  Ever since meeting Jason, I could tell that control was vital for him, as it was for me.  So for him to lose control the way he did meant I was close to what I was realizing I wanted…badly.

“You look
… you’re driving me insane.  I need you more than I need my next breath.”

My eyes flew open and I
was immediately caught up in his eyes.  They burned with an intensity I’d never seen before.  It caused my breath to catch.  He smiled down at me.

“Jason
,” I breathed.

“I love you so much.  Tonight is all about us. Just us
,” he said as he cupped my face tenderly in his hands.

With
that, he stepped back and opened my door.  When I got in, I brushed against him as Mary had told me to do.  It worked because I heard him try to muffle a groan.  As I sat in the car and watched him walk around the car to the driver’s side, a laugh escaped as I watched him adjust himself in his pants.  I was still laughing when he sat down.  He smirked at me and shook his head.

“You find that funny, do you?”

When I nodded my head, he laughed.  He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.  As we drove along, my nerves began to get the better of me.  We were leaving town and headed more into the countryside.  It scared me being so far away from my comfort zone.  Jason reached over and took my hand.

“Sunshine, you are safe with me.  I promise you, baby, I am not taking you anywhere that isn’t safe.”

I nodded my head, but kept quiet.  He squeezed my hand and soon we were pulling up in front of a beautiful wrought iron gate.  Jason rolled down his window, pressed some buttons on a keypad, and drove through.  He paused only for a few moments to allow the gates to close.  The road was lined with trees of different colors and sizes.  Wherever we were, it was peaceful.  He pulled over to the side.  I could almost be certain that the drive led to a house, but I couldn’t see it, and Jason had pulled the car over to the side.

Moving around to my side of the car, he opened the door and helped me out.  It was absolutely beautiful out
there.  There was a point in time I wanted to live out in the middle of nowhere like that, but anymore, I wasn’t sure I could.  The thought of what could happen without the risk of being overheard by neighbors scared the shit out of me.

“Almost there
,” he said as he walked me to the side of the road in the direction of the trees.

“Almost where?” I laughed nervously.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.  I promise.  Just let me show you, and if you do not feel comfortable, we can leave and go back in town, okay sunshine?”

That
was what I loved about him.  He just genuinely wanted to make me happy and because of that, tonight I was going to make him happy.  I would push past my fears and make him happy.

What if he leaves once he gets what he wants?  What if that was all he was waiting
for?

Mentally, I shook my head.  If that was all he wanted he certainly wouldn’t have waited this long for it.  He ha
d said he loved me, and I believed it.

We walked through the trees until we came to a clearing.  It was the most beautiful
, picturesque view.  There was a huge lake with a picnic blanket, candles, and covered platter.  A radio sat next to the blanket with a bucket full of ice and a wine bottle resting inside, but what made the view over the top was that the sun was starting to set and it just amped up the romance factor.

“Surprise
,” Jason quietly spoke in my ear with his arms wrapped around my waist from behind.  “Is this okay?”

“Wow
,” I breathed.  “Where are we?”

He chuckled.  “This is mine.  I bought it a few years back and built my house.  I own it all as far as the eye can see
, and even beyond that some.  I wanted you to see it.”

“Oh, Jason.  You did this?”

“Yes, I wanted to show you how special you are to me, and I thought I picnic at sunset by a lake with dancing would be a good way to give you a glimpse.”

“You
… this…. it is so amazing!” I walked out into the clearing and did a little spin and took a deep breath. “It is so beautiful out here.”

He le
d me over to the blanket where we dined on pizza and wine.  I laughed.  They didn’t exactly go together, but I loved it.  That night was amazing.  I was certain nothing would ever top this moment.  Just then he turned on the radio and stood, holding out his hands.

“May I have this dance?”

I giggled as I said, “Yes, you may.”

After the
dance, we sat down and finished our food and wine, talking about his property and what made him want a house this far out of town.

When we finished eating, we walked along the edge of the lake hand in
hand, talking about anything that popped into our heads.  We danced to several songs.  He softly sang the words to Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do (I Do it for You)”.  I giggled when he got confused with the words.  He turned me around with my back to his front and we danced close.  I leaned my head back against his shoulder and crossed my arms with my hands resting on his arms.  He kissed my neck.  The feeling made me shiver, but not from being cold. 

“Cold?”  He asked against
my neck. 

I shook my head but kept my eyes closed.  At this point, I didn’t trust my voice.

“Sweetheart, do you know how much you mean to me?” he asked as he kissed my neck again, followed by my shoulder. 

The music stopped playing and I opened my eyes. The view above me caught me and held me.
 

“Wow
, you can see all the stars out here.  You can’t see them in the city,” I laughed softly.

“What’s so funny sunshine?”

Turning so I could look at him, “I was thinking about when I was little.  I would love to go camping just so I could look up at the sky and see all the stars.  I loved camping.  It was peaceful.”  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “One time I got my brother Eli to take me camping and we saw a shooting star.  He told me to make a wish, anything at all and it would be mine.”

“What did you wish for?”

“A fairy tale happy life.”  I sighed and turned and walked away a few steps and looked up at the stars.  “About six months later is when Alex came into my bedroom.  Some fairy tale, huh?”

“You could still have it.  It’s never too late to have a happy ending.”

The conversation basically ended there.  He knew I didn’t believe that.  An argument would have surely followed if I had kept going on that path and I don’t want that.  I wanted the night to be perfect.

We danced for a few songs under the stars and then walked along the edge of the water.  He pulled me into his arms again when “Love of a Lifetime” by Firehouse started playing.  He danced me around and suddenly dropped down to one knee.  My hands flew up to my mouth and I could feel the burning starting in my eyes.

“Kay, I love you.  I have from the moment I saw you.  Over the past several months, I have watched you start to come out of your shell and become the woman you would have been had all that horrible stuff not happened to you.  I fall in love with you more and more each day I am with you.  I think about you all the time when I am not with you and when I close my eyes at night to sleep, my dreams are of you.  I cannot remember what my life was like before you.  I do know that it was not filled with love as it is when I am with you.  I do not want to imagine what my life would be like if I had to live without you now.  I got a glimpse of that already
, and I don’t want it to happen. Will you make me the happiest and luckiest man alive, and marry me?”