Lily (Suitors of Seattle) (8 page)

Daniel watched Lily not certain what he’d said wrong.  “I’m so glad I’m with you and not her.”

Lily let out a half laugh, not believing him at all.

“Really.  If I’d married her I’d have been bored to tears within a week.”
  His face was earnest as he said the words.

“You don’t have to say that, you know.  I know I’ll always be second best with you.”  She looked down at her plate as she said the words, wishing they weren’t true.

“You’re not second best with me!”  He put down his plate and scooted closer to her on the blanket.  “Look at me, Lily.”  When she complied, his hand cupped her cheek.  “I had a crush on Rose.  I love you.”

Lily bit her lip and shook her head.  “I know that’s not true, Daniel.  Really.  You don’t have to lie.”

He stared at her in shock.  Lily had never seemed insecure to him before.  He took her hand and brought it to his lips.  “You’re very special to me.”

She gave him a half smile and resumed eating, wishing she could put her worries into words without upsetting him. 

He watched her for a moment before returning to his food, but the mood was broken.  He could tell she had lost the sense of fun she’d started her day with, and he wanted to kick himself.  He needed to be more careful about mentioning Rose to her. 

*****

On his way home that evening, Daniel thought about their day together.  Lily had been happy as could be until he’d mentioned Rose, and then she’d completely shut down.  They hadn’t even kissed, but every other time they’d been together, they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other.

He wondered if maybe it was time to tell her exactly how he felt.  Monday was her birthday.  An engagement ring would be a perfect gift.  He’d talk to her father at work and make sure he agreed.

*****

As they were closing up Monday, Fred turned to Daniel.  “I assume you’ll be at the house tonight for Lily’s birthday supper?”
  The smile he gave Daniel made it clear that he was welcome.

Daniel nodded.  “I will.  And…sir?”
  Daniel wasn’t sure how to ask his question, but he knew he needed to get the words out now or it would take him a while to get up the courage again.

Fred raised an eyebrow as he looked at the younger man. “Yes?”

“I was wondering if you would mind if I gave Lily an engagement ring for her birthday.”  Daniel said the words quickly, embarrassed.  It was hard asking his boss for permission to marry his boss’s daughter. 

Fred smiled.  “Of course not.  I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have for a son-in-law.”  He clapped Daniel on the back as he locked the door to the bank.  “I’ll see you in an hour or two.”

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief, not believing how easy it had been to ask for her hand in marriage.  He wandered to the jewelry store, a new addition to the town, and looked over the selection of rings. 

“May I help you?”  The man behind the counter had a slight
English accent and seemed to look down on Daniel.

Daniel nodded.  “I’m looking for an engagement ring.”
  His eyes kept scanning the rings, trying to find one that would best suit Lily.

The salesman’s eyes lit up.  “Oh!  I can certainly help you with that.”  He pulled out a tray of diamond rings and placed them in front of Daniel who made a face. 

“I don’t want what everyone else has.  My lady is unique.”  He looked back at the glass counter.  “Maybe an emerald ring?  To match her eyes?”  He needed something truly special for Lily, because there was no one else quite like her.  He still wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so lucky as to have her interested in him.

The salesman made a face, but pulled out a different tray.  Daniel looked through the rings until he found the one that seemed to suit Lily the best.  It was a small stone, and had two tiny diamonds beside it.  It would be perfect for Lily, because she wouldn’t have to worry about snagging it when she was outside.  “I like this one.”

The salesman nodded.  “Yes, sir.  If that’s the one you think will suit her.”  He was obviously just humoring Daniel, but at that point, Daniel didn’t care.

“I do think that one will make her very happy.”  Daniel watched as the salesman put it into a small box for him.  He paid the man, wincing slightly as he did so.  He had come from wealth but hadn’t had a good deal of time to accumulate money himself.
  It didn’t matter, though.  Lily was all that mattered.

He slipped the ring into his pocket and walked toward the Sullivan house, wanting to surprise Lily with the ring before dinner.  Five years before he never would have dreamed of marrying a tomboy like Lily, but he couldn’t even remember what he had seen in Rose.

*****

Lily was wandering around the back gardens, feeling slightly blue.  She knew she was in love with Daniel, and she was thrilled that he said he loved her, of course, but she knew they were just words.  How could anyone go from loving Rose to loving her?  Rose was pretty and dressed correctly and behaved perfectly at all times.  She was just herself.  She didn’t care much about what people thought.  Well, she didn’t care what people other than Daniel thought. 

She sighed and kicked at a small rock.  It bounced against the tree where she’d been perched when she threw her slipper at Rose.   She grinned.  She was eighteen today, and a young lady, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t climb trees anymore did it?

She walked to the tree, quickly finding the knot she’d always used to get up the trunk.  Within moments she was sitting on the branch she’d spied on Rose and Daniel from. 

Her eyes lit up as she saw Daniel come into the yard.  Obviously he was looking for her.  “Lily?”

Oh, drat.  I know he knows that I used to climb this tree all the time, but I don’t know that I want him to know I’m up here now. 
What will he think? 
She thought about just not answering him, but she didn’t want to be rude.

“Lily?  Are you out here?”  He’d raised his voice to almost a shout as he searched through the large back garden for her.

“Up here!” she called down finally deciding she just needed to admit to where she was.

Daniel stepped under the tree, his eyes laughing up at her.  “Well, hello!”

She grinned thankful he didn’t seem to think she was doing anything inappropriate.  She needed to keep him around.  All of her boyish ways just seemed to amuse him, not offend him.  “Hello.”

“Happy birthday!”  He stood looking at her for a moment, before his eyes went to the trunk of the tree.  He grabbed the lowest branch and his foot found the knot she’d used.  Before she knew what to think, he was beside her on the branch, his lips brushing her cheek.  “Are you having a good birthday?”
 

She nodded slowly, her eyes twinkling at him.  “Now that you’re here I am.”  She knew she should play hard to get, but she had no desire to.  She loved him and she saw nothing wrong with showing him that love.

“I’m glad.”  The backs of his fingers stroked her cheek softly.  “You look beautiful today.”

She blushed.  “You keep saying things like that.”
  How could he say she looked beautiful when she sat there in one of her oldest dresses with her legs dangling from the tree branch?

“Because they’re true.”  He dug into the pocket of his black coat, pulling out the box from the jeweler.  “I brought you a birthday present.”
  His eyes were steady on hers as he waited for her reaction.

She stared at the little box in wonder.  “What is it?”
She hadn’t expected him to bring her anything.

He laughed.  “Open it and see!”
 

Lily sat for a moment staring at the box.  It was the first time a man she wasn’t related to had bought her a gift.  She opened it and gasped at the ring inside it.  “Oh, it’s beautiful.” 
It wasn’t the kind of ring Rose would like, she knew, but it suited her.  She loved it.

He removed the ring from the box, and took her hand in his, making sure he was steady on the branch.  “Lily Sullivan?  I can think of no woman who would suit me as a wife as much as you.  Will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?”  He slid the ring onto her finger even as he asked the question.

“Are you sure?” she asked.  She wanted nothing more than to marry him, but she didn’t want him regretting it.

He nodded.  “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything.”
  He brushed his lips across her finger where the ring connected to it. 

She nodded, flinging her arms around his neck. 
“I’d love to marry you!”  She leaned back a moment to look at him.  “Did you ask my father?”  She was certain he had, but she needed to ask.

“I did.”

She sighed contentedly, resting her head on his shoulder.  “When do you want to marry?”

“Today?”  He kissed her softly, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip. 

She laughed.  “My mama would have a fit.”  She didn’t want to wait either, though.

He sighed.  “I’m sure she would.  How about early February?  Would that give you enough time to plan it?”
 

She made a face at the idea of planning a wedding.  “I think so?  I don’t know.  I really want to get married outside, but beyond that, I don’t care much.”
  How much would she have to do to plan the wedding? 

“It’ll be cold in February.”
 

She shrugged.  “Maybe less people will come.”
  She didn’t want a lot of people that she didn’t know or care about at her wedding.  She’d have been content with just her and Daniel.

He laughed out loud.  “You don’t have a huge wedding with hundreds of guests in mind?”

“I’d rather it was small.  Just my family and yours.”  She was glad his family was small, because hers was big enough to more than make up for it.

He tilted his head to the side.  “If your mother would be okay with that, I’m all for it.”  He seemed to think for a moment.  “Could we do it faster if we do it that small?”
  He obviously loved the idea of having a wedding as soon as possible.

Her smile widened.  “Let’s go talk to Mama.  She’ll have something in mind, I’m sure.”  She looked at him, waiting.  “You have to get down first.  You’re blocking my exit.”

He looked around him in wonder.  “Are we really sitting here talking about our wedding in a tree?”  He gave a half laugh.

“Apparently we are.”

He got down slowly, half worried he’d fall.  Once he was on the ground, he watched her scramble down in no time flat.  “You’re going to have to teach our daughters how to climb trees.” 

“Daughters?  Not just sons?”

He grinned.  “I want daughters who are just like their mother, so of course they have to climb trees.”

She grinned, her hand going through his arm.  “You know just what to say to make me feel good about myself.”
  She hoped marriage wouldn’t change him.

They walked into the house and found her parents sitting together in the parlor.  Lily didn’t say anything but walked to her mother and held out her left hand, showing her engagement ring.

Mary’s smile was one of sheer delight.   “We’ll have a June wedding at the church!”  She knew Lily wouldn’t much care about the wedding planning, so she announced what would happen obviously expecting Lily to agree.

Lily exchanged a look with Daniel before shaking her head.  “We were thinking about a December wedding in the back garden.”
  She watched her mother’s face as she suggested it.

“It’s cold outside in December!  If you want an outdoor wedding, you should marry in the late spring or summer.  If you want to get married in December, y
ou should marry in the church.”

“I want an outdoor wedding.”
  Lily kept her voice low and reasonable, but made it clear she wasn’t budging.

“
We’ll plan the wedding for June then.  That’ll give us six months to plan, which is more rushed than I’d like, but we did Rose’s in a month.”  She sighed, making it clear that her daughters were making wedding planning hard on her.

“No, Mama.  I want a December wedding outside.”
 

Mary made a face.  “Well, December does give me time to plan it, I guess.  We could do a Christmas themed wedding.  Your sisters could wear red dresses.”  She seemed to contemplate it.  “Your white gown would really stand out.”  She sighed.  “I guess we can do an outdoor wedding in December.  We’ll put up a tent in case it rains or snows.”  She seemed lost in thought for a moment.  “Are you thinking the beginning of the month or the end?  I think the end would make the Christmas theme more fun.”

Lily looked over at Daniel, her eyes begging him for help.
 
When he just shrugged, she turned back to her mother.  “We want to get married this December.  Next week.”  She watched her mother, waiting for the explosion she knew was coming.

Mary’s jaw dropped as she stared at Lily in horror.  “You can’t get married in two weeks!  Everyone will think you’re expecting!”  She shook her head adamantly.