I Remember (Remembrance Series) (32 page)

After lunch, Gregory took me for a tour of the property, showing me the boat house, a Jet Ski and power boat in the water, as well as a small sitting area looking toward the west. . The view was amazing. I couldn’t wait for sunset.

We finished with a tour of the garage. I was surprised to see that the three car garage was anything but. While there were three doors leading to it, it was quite lengthy, holding several more cars in the back. Before I could ask, he explained that a couple of the cars were his brother’s. Plus, he had a vehicle, a deep blue Mercedes ML 350, stored here—a gift from his parents for his graduation-- but it was a bit too ostentatious to drive all the time.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Maybe you would like to drive it?” His voice was hopeful.

“I couldn’t possibly drive something so expensive.”

“I figured you wouldn’t, just thought I would ask. I hate to see it just sit here.”

He grabbed hold of my hand, as we walked back toward the house, “You ready to go for a spin around the lake and maybe a swim?”

I nodded, knowing my huge smile lit up my face with anticipation.

We quickly changed into our bathing suits and headed out to the dock, where Gregory took me for a spin around the lake on one of the jet skis. I had never been on one before, but loved how I was able to get close to him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist, holding on.

The lake was much bigger than I had imagined, it even had its own little island in the center; that looked to have a few picnic tables and an area for volleyball. To my surprise, he pulled up to a small dock on the island and climbed off.

“Why are we stopping?”

“Because it’s your turn to drive,” he said with a quirky grin on his face.

I moved forward on the seat, as he climbed back on behind me. His arms wrapped tightly around me, as he leaned in to whisper, “I love having you wrapped up in my arms. Now that I’ve found you, Jordan, I won’t ever let you go.”

To my surprise, the Jet Ski was not that difficult to drive, given Gregory’s detailed instructions. It reminded me of driving my cousin’s go-cart, as a kid.

We took a few spins around the lake before retiring to the pool, where we sunned, swam and conversed with his parents. I found myself falling freely into conversation with Lorraine, especially when we talked about history.

I wasn’t as comfortable talking with Douglas. I mainly listened to him and Gregory’s excitement as they discussed a couple of upcoming company projects.

After a while, his parents went inside, citing Gregory’s grandfather would be there soon, so they needed to get dinner prepped. I suddenly felt a little nervous about meeting the matriarch of the family.

“Maybe we should go in, too,” I suggested, grabbing my cover-up.

He could sense my nervousness. “Don’t fret, my grandfather is much easier to talk to than my parents; and they adore you!” He grabbed hold of my hand, pulling me close which immediately relaxed me.

Gregory showed me to his bathroom and insisted on drawing me a bath, after he caught me eyeing his huge tub.

“According to Mom, dinner will take some time; so enjoy your bath and take all the time you need.” He kissed my forehead and smiled in a secretive way as he turned to leave.

The water was perfect, loaded with bubbles, leaving a light vanilla scent lingering in the air. It was just what I needed. All the built up tension of work, life and everything else, just melted away.

When the water began to cool, I decided it was time to get dressed and offer Lorraine some assistance with dinner. I was surprised to see my, navy and white, polka dot sundress, along with a light weight, white bolero sweater, that wasn’t mine, laid out on the bed, and my white sandals on the floor.

I took a deep breath, to steady my nerves, and dressed in the attire laid out for me. I used the hair dryer in the bathroom to dry my hair loosely, so it would form waves and curls. I kept my make-up to a minimum, only using a little bit of blush, mascara and some pale pink lipstick.

There was a light knock at the bedroom door. “Come in,” I said softly.

Gregory opened the door, hesitantly, “Just wanted to make sure you were dressed.”

“No worries. I was just trying to put on the necklace you gave me. Whose sweater is this?”

He looked quite handsome in his lightweight, white linen button down shirt with the top button undone and the sleeves rolled up. Of course, his shorts were navy to match.

He took the necklace from my hands, “Let me help you with this, Jordan.”

I turned around, pulling my hair to the side, as he fastened the clasp at the back of my neck. He leaned into my neck delivering a multitude of light kisses. “You look breathtaking, tonight and you smell divine.

“The sweater is my mom’s. We are eating al fresco tonight, and sometimes the breeze off the lake can be a bit chilly, so she thought you might need it.”

I found myself leaning back against his chest and turning my lips upward so my lips could find his. He was gentle at first, meeting my lips with tender affection before wrapping his arms around me, drawing me into him, deepening the kiss. It wasn’t until we heard his father calling that we broke off our display of affection.

“I think your dad is wondering what’s taking us so long to join them. Maybe we should head down?”

“My grandfather likes to eat on schedule, like clockwork,” he said with a slight laugh. Gregory glanced at his watch, “It is five thirty, now; so, he should be here in about an hour for a drink and some idle chit chat. Dinner will be at seven. We still have plenty of time.”

When we arrived downstairs, Mrs. Worthington was dressed in a tan and white sundress, with matching jacket. The kitchen held the delicious aroma of beef in the air. “It smells delicious, Lorraine. Is there anything I can do? I love to cook.” I offered.

She looked up from the potatoes she was washing in the sink. “The braised beef is in the oven and I am just getting the potatoes started on the stove. I think I am good for now, but could use your help with the salad and bread, later.”

“Let me know when you are ready and what I can do.” I smiled.

Within the hour, just as Gregory had promised, his grandfather rang the doorbell. My stomach did a nervous little flip, but I soon found comfort as Gregory wrapped one arm around my shoulder giving me a reassuring squeeze.

I was surprised to see that Mr. Worthington looked very similar to both Gregory and his father; just a little older, more distinguished, and a few well-earned lines.

I stepped off my barstool in order to greet him.

Before I could stand, Mr. Worthington had made his way to me, smiling. “This lovely young lady must be Jordan.” He paused for a moment, taking in my appearance. “My grandson failed to mention just how beautiful you are.”

I could feel the redness of embarrassment spread quickly across my face.

He grabbed my hand, placing it between both of his. “Forgive me if I made you feel uncomfortable you, Dear. It wasn’t my intention. I am just so happy to finally meet you.” Before I knew what was happening, he pulled me in a gentle embrace.

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Worthington,” I responded with a warm smile.

“Jordan, please call me either Frederick or Grandpa.” He then gave his grandson a hug and whispered something to him, before releasing him and heading over to the refrigerator for a glass of tea.

I saw everyone’s eyes widen at the suggestion of me calling him,
“Grandpa.”
Something was amiss, but I couldn’t figure out what. I decided Frederick would be more appropriate.

Mr. Worthington looked over to Douglas. “Can you put that bottle of champagne in the fridge for me, Son? I would like to keep it chilled so we can have it with dessert, tonight.” He said with a wink.

Douglas smiled, before depositing the bottle in the fridge. Lorraine meandered over to Fredrick and gave him a kiss on the cheek “Hi, Dad. Dinner should be done in half an hour.”

“Hey, Lorraine,” he said as he hugged her. “What’s on the menu, tonight?”

“I have a cold gazpacho soup to start, then braised beef, mashed potatoes, a salad, some fresh bread, and a strawberry tart for dessert.”

A smile quickly lit his face. “That sounds delicious, Dear.”

“Jordan.” Lorraine’s soft voice caught my attention and I turned in her direction.

“Yes ma’am?”

“I could use your assistance, if you’re still willing.”

“Absolutely, it would be my pleasure.”

She had pulled out all the ingredients she wanted in the salad along with a salad spinner, and five salad bowls.

“Could you make our salads and warm up the French bread on a cookie sheet in the lower oven?” She grabbed a bread warmer basket and placed on the counter next to me, along with a serrated knife to cut it into pieces.

“No problem.”

Lorraine was nice enough to secure me an apron, similar to her blue one that said, “Kiss the cook,” across the chest. I looked up to see Gregory’s salacious grin as he watched me smooth the apron into place.

Despite his attempts at distracting me by “Kissing the Cook” every few minutes, I made quick work of the salads, chopping and dicing everything before placing it equally amongst the salad bowls. When I finished, I removed the warm bread, cut it into pieces, and put them into the bread basket.

Gregory and I worked diligently to set the patio table, as Lorraine finished preparing the dessert and putting it in the refrigerator to chill.

Before long, we were all sitting down and enjoying an astounding meal. The beef was the best I had ever had, fork tender and each bite made my taste buds scream for more. I would make a point to ask Lorraine for the recipe so I could make it for my mother and Gregory, sometime.

When dinner was over, the Worthington’s started clearing the table and told Gregory and I to go enjoy the beauty of the sunset across the water.

A soft twilight surrounded us as the sun cast its last rays of orange, purples, and pinks across the sky, before dipping below the horizon, letting darkness settle in.

Gregory grabbed hold of my hand. “Let’s walk a little further. I want to show you the garden at night.”

I was trying to comprehend why we would want to look at a garden at nighttime when unexpectedly, the landscape lit up with tons of lights highlighting the house, the dock, the well-manicured yard and the garden.

It was a sight to behold. In the center of the garden was a small fountain, surrounded by rose bushes and neatly trimmed hedges. As Gregory’s arm wrapped around my waist, he turned me towards the small oak tree near the edge of the garden. My breath caught as I took in the sight before me.

The tree was laced with dangling white lights above a wrought iron bistro table. In the center of the table was a vase filled with a dozen long stemmed red roses and a stuffed bear sitting beside it, also holding a bouquet of stuffed flowers with some sort of spinner attached to it.

My hand flew to my mouth, to stifle the gasp from my lips. I could feel the tears begin to well up in my eyes; my heart bursting with love and adoration for the man standing beside me.

Gregory placed his hand underneath my chin and lifted it until our eyes met, “I hope you do not mind if we sit and talk for a bit. This is the spot I come to when I have important decisions to make.”

Important decisions to make?
His words made my stomach knot up, wondering what sort of choices needed pondering.

He guided me over to one of the seats and then pulled the other chair around, to where we were facing each other. Both of his hands reached over, surrounding mine with a firm grip.

His facial expression was enthralling. “Jordan, I know we haven’t known each other very long, but there is not a moment in the day that I’m not thinking about you. From the first moment we connected on the Internet, to our first date, and even now, all my thoughts belong to you. You have stolen my heart and…,” he paused for a moment, grabbing the bear, and placing it in my lap. “I spent this whole week working on this, after hours at my Grandfather’s company. Press the button on his foot. I think the bear will tell you what I am trying to say.”