Beautiful Dreams (The Beautiful Series) (12 page)

“Oh,” I said while sitting up, still wrapped in the sheets. “I didn’t know you were going to get them.”

“Yes, I have to pick them up from the airport. I’m pretty sure Jason will be pissed if I’m not there on time.” Kyle laughed. He kissed me sweetly and then rose from the bed. He quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a navy blue dress shirt.

I lifted my hand, feeling the heavy weight of the exquisite diamond on my left ring finger. I smiled in pure bliss.

Kyle walked over to the bedside and bent forward. “Now that is a sight to behold,” he said in regard to me staring at my new ring. “But I don’t want your cousins to kick my ass, so I better go.” He was unable to resist kissing me once more. “See you later, beautiful. I’ll call you when we are on our way back.”

I nodded while still staring at my shiny new ring as he reluctantly made his way out of the bedroom. Eyes beaming and smiling brightly, I got out of bed and walked over to the closet to dress for the day. It felt so surreal to be engaged and happy. It was the best day ever.

By ten in the morning, my scattered mind didn’t allow me to get much work done. I needed to start my plot for my next novel, but it was pointless since I could not seem to concentrate.

I sauntered into Kyle’s office, and I began to unpack the remaining boxes. It was mostly miscellaneous items that had been randomly stuffed into packages on the last day of moving.

I finished shortly after eleven thirty. My phone rang from my back pocket, and I pulled it out to answer. I smiled at seeing Kyle’s name across the screen.

“Hello, handsome,” I greeted him.

“Well, hello there, beautiful,” he replied, his tone matching my light mood. “I just wanted to let you know that their plane was delayed. We are just now leaving the airport, so we should be there in twenty.”

“Okay,” I answered.

“See you soon.”

“Bye,” I said.

Then, he ended our short phone call, and I was sure it was because my two cousins were in the car with him.

I went into the kitchen to make everyone some ham sandwiches. I smiled, remembering at the last minute that Jason hated ham, so I pulled out some turkey for him. With every turn of my hand, my ring distracted me. I chuckled while wondering how long it would take me to get used to seeing its new place on my finger.

The back door to the mudroom opened. I set down the last plate on the kitchen table before heading to greet them at the door. Jason walked in first. As soon as he saw me, his expression split into a grin. He opened his arms, and I smiled fondly, knowing I was about to get squeezed to death from one of his famous bear hugs.

“Hey, Lily,” he said as he hugged me hard. “Missed you.”

“Hi, Jason!” I exhaled on a rush as he forced the air out of my lungs. “I missed you guys, too.”

“Hey!” Damon exclaimed as he stepped into the room. “Move over, so I can hug my favorite girl,” he said while playfully nudging Jason out of the way.

“Hi, Damon.”

I beamed as he embraced me gently before kissing the top of my head.

“I’ve missed you, and it’s only been a few weeks,” Damon said.

“I know,” I said, shaking my head and pulling back to look between my two cousins. “I didn’t realize how hard it would be to leave everyone again.”

“Well, your man over there,” Damon said, gesturing to Kyle, “and the two of us are working hard to change that minor detail. Just think of how awesome it would be to see us every day.”

I chuckled and then raised my eyebrow at him while imagining all the times he used to torment me as a kid. “Maybe not every day.”

Jason lifted his hand over his heart. “That hurts,” he said with humor as he shook his head. “And here I thought you were our favorite girl.”

Kyle and Damon chortled in the background.

“How about a peace offering of sandwiches? I even remembered to make yours with turkey instead of ham,” I responded as I pointed to the table where all of our plates were sitting.

“That sounds great. I’m starved.” Jason beamed and then tilted his head in Kyle’s direction. “Kyle was in such a hurry to get home that he didn’t even stop to feed me.”

Kyle rolled his eyes at Jason’s theatrics as we all sat down at the kitchen table.

“Well then, this should make up for it,” I said to Jason.

The four of us started to eat our sandwiches while making small talk. It sounded like Jason and Damon had just finished up a large job, so it was perfect time for them to visit California. I informed them that I had just finished unpacking, and I was relieved to have that overwhelming process finally come to an end.

It wasn’t until I stood with my plate in hand that Jason’s and Damon’s eyes widened at exactly the same moment. My face instantly turned pink, knowing that they had noticed my new accessory.

“Is that what I think it is?” Jason asked in shock.

It was all so fresh in my mind, so I hadn’t really even thought about sharing our engagement news to anyone yet. Not to mention, I was not sure how my overbearing cousins would react.

“Yes,” I answered.

I exhaled in relief when Kyle cut in, rescuing me, as he came to stand at my side.

“I asked Lily to marry me just last night, or we would have told everyone sooner,” he explained.

Damon smiled while Jason sat in his chair. He was apparently stunned into silence.

Damon rose and strode toward me, smiling broadly, as he embraced me. “Congratulations, Lily. I’m so thrilled for you guys.” He thoughtfully kissed my cheek.

“Thank you, Damon,” I replied, pulling back to look at him. “Your blessing means so much to me.”

“Of course, Lily. We just want you to be happy,” Damon said. Then, he stepped over to congratulate Kyle.

My attention turned to Jason, who was now standing. His expression was unreadable. I held my breath while silently praying that he would accept this. Out of my three cousins, he had always been the most protective of me.

Jason closed the few short steps between us, and he hugged me tightly. “Congratulations, Lily,” he said, speaking at last.

In a rush, I let out the air I had been holding in. “Really?” I blurted out. I had thought he was going to disapprove.

He leaned back, glancing down at me. “Yes. As shocked as I am, I truly am happy for you,” he said while looking back and forth between Kyle and me. “I think you guys have what it takes for the long haul.”

Kyle outstretched his hand, and Jason turned to shake it.

“Thank you for your blessing, man. It means a lot to us both.”

“Of course,” Jason responded.

“And we’d appreciate it if you would keep this between the two of you for now,” Kyle said to Damon and Jason. He turned to look at me. “I’m sure Lily wants to tell Lucie and Dan.”

Jason and Damon nodded in agreement.

“Mom will be excited for you guys,” Damon said. Then, he shook his head. “She will be thrilled to finally get to be a part of a wedding and all that stuff.”

“Yeah, so don’t you two lovebirds plan to run off to Vegas or anything. She would be pissed as hell, especially having three boys and all,” Jason added.

We all chuckled.

“Yeah, she would.” I smiled fondly, thinking about how fun it would be to go shopping with my aunt. I missed her already, too. I was relieved that California and Colorado weren’t that far away from each other.

“So, we have about an hour before we have to leave for our meeting. Anything you guys want to do in the meantime?” Kyle asked Jason and Damon.

Jason’s eyes roamed around the kitchen and then into the living room. “How about a quick tour of the house?”

“Of course,” Kyle answered. “Follow me.”

Kyle took the two of them around the house while I cleaned up our lunch and loaded the dishwasher. After I finished, Kyle and my cousins walked back into the kitchen.

“The basement is this way,” Kyle said while leading the way. “You can come, too, if you want, Lily. You haven’t seen it yet either.”

“Sure, I’d love to see it,” I replied, following behind Damon.

As we went downstairs, I noticed the dark-stained wooden stairs and matching handrail. We all stopped at the bottom of the stairs, taking in the open floor plan. There were so many possibilities of how the basement could be designed.

“This is still unfinished. I wasn’t sure what to do down here, so I left it alone for the time being,” Kyle said as he gestured around the room. He turned to look at me. “We can do whatever you’d like down here.”

“I vote for a great big theater with surround sound,” Jason joked.

I was sure he was actually serious. That was totally a guy thing to say.

“Or a future playroom,” Damon teased while grinning at me.

“Ha-ha.” I laughed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.”

Kyle chuckled under his breath as he lifted his hand to hide his grin.

The three men started to talk construction lingo that was foreign to me, so I made my way around the large open space. A patio door led to the backyard and various windows on the far wall allowed natural light to enter the area.

Once we finished looking around, we walked upstairs, and the men continued to chat about future remodeling plans. I was amazed at how many different and unique ideas they each came up with. Kyle questioned me about my thoughts on the basement rooms and furniture, and it made moving in to his home that much more real. I wasn’t quite ready yet to make those decisions. It still felt so new.

As we reached the mudroom, Kyle told me they were going to head out early just in case. He asked me if I’d like to join, but I politely declined. I wanted Kyle to make his own judgments about his construction company without me interfering. And if I hardly understood any of their remodeling plans for the house, I surely wouldn’t be able to partake in the business aspects of his career.

Kyle told me that they would probably stop at the bar near the building to have a few drinks with the owner afterward. I remembered that when we’d had dinner at Kyle’s parents’ house, Abbey had asked me to go out with her, Kristen, and Gail. Kyle thought it was a great idea for me to spend more time with his sister while he bonded over drinks with my cousins. We agreed to meet each other back at home later on in the evening. Although, I was instructed to call him for a ride home if Abbey or I began to drink too much.

After a quick kiss good-bye, Kyle, Jason, and Damon left. I pulled out my phone and decided to send Abbey a quick text to see if I could still tag along tonight.

Hi, Abbey. It’s Lily. I’m so sorry I forgot to get back with you! Would you mind if I still joined you and the girls tonight?

She texted back within seconds.
Dang, she is fast!

Hey, Lily! Of course! I was beginning to think you forgot about me! LOL! Actually, I’m about to head out and do some damage control in the mall first. Want me to pick you up?

Shopping sounded excellent. It was therapy one oh one.

Shopping? Say no more. I’m in!

I was thrilled to spend more time with Abbey. She seemed really down to earth, and I already knew from experience that she was fun to be around. Not to mention, I had been cooped up in this house for days, and I was more than ready to go out, let loose, and have some well-needed girl time.

My phone chimed in my hand, and I saw Abbey’s reply.

Great! I’ll be there in twenty. ♥

Twenty minutes?
Shit!

I ran into the bedroom to get ready since we probably would not be coming back here before heading to the bar. Once in the room, I rapidly began stripping my clothes, tossing them over my head. I took a record-breaking fast shower of only five minutes. I dried off and did my hair and makeup at the counter.

In the closest, I quickly skimmed through my wardrobe. Settling on one of my favorite black dresses, I decided it was only fair to match it with my favorite black Louboutin pumps. They were broken in, too, so I would not get blisters from dancing.

Precisely twenty minutes after receiving Abbey’s last text, the doorbell rang, and I had to laugh at her promptness. Being the businesswoman that she was, it was so like her.

I strode into the foyer and opened the door.

Abbey’s eyes widened, slowing going from my dress to my shoes. Her lips twisted into a grin. “Hot damn, woman. You look gorgeous!”

My cheeks flushed at the compliment. “Thank you.” I smiled as I noticed Abbey was wearing a flaming red dress and matching heels. “You look pretty hot yourself! Love your shoes!” I beamed.

Abbey gave a little sashay of her hips as she entered the house. She kicked up her right leg, so I could catch a better glimpse of the killer pumps.

“I thought you would appreciate these! It was my Christmas present to myself last year,” she chortled.

“And every penny was well spent,” I said appreciatively. “No one should ever interfere with a woman and her shoes.”

Abbey snorted. “I’d have to have a man to tell me no first.” She paused. “And if he actually told me I couldn’t buy more heels, I’d have to kick him to the curb anyway.”

I laughed at her serious tone. “That sounds like a great rule to live by,” I joked. “So, which stores do you have in mind for today?”

“As many as we can go to within”—Abbey glanced at her watch—“five hours.”