Safe With You (16 page)

A girl stumbled out of the bathroom and I slipped in pulling Wyatt with me and locking the door behind us.  We must have been on the same page, because I barely had time to turn around before Wyatt pushed me up against the wall and started roughly kissing my neck.  I moaned and fumbled with his belt buckle as his hands ran up my thighs and dragged my panties down. 
He had barely touched me and I was already on fire, panting with need.

“Wyatt, I need you
. Now.” I moaned when he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist.  “I love it when you’re demanding, baby,” he groaned in my ear as he thrust inside me.  Only minutes later Wyatt had to clamp his hand over my mouth to muffle my screams.  Apparently the alcohol also helped me not care who knew I was having sex in a club’s bathroom.

“You guys just had sex!”
Lindsay accused me when I slid back into the booth.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said smoothing down my dress and fluffing my hair.  Lindsay was glaring at me, Wyatt was running his fingers through my hair and looking very amused, and everyone else was laughing.  “Taryn,” Dominic said between laughs, “I’m going to remind you of this moment tomorrow when you’re sober.”

And he did.  When I finally emerged from my room at 11:00 the next morning, feeling like hell, the first thing I heard was
Dominic’s irritatingly cheery voice yelling, “Taryn!  Remember last night when you had sex in the club bathroom?”  I grumbled and threw a donut at his head.

Fireworks

On the 4
th
of July Wyatt and I hit the road at 7:00 am so we could get to his parents early.  They had decided it was finally time to clear out Derek’s room at the house, and Wyatt and I wanted to be there to help.  This would be a short trip and we would be coming back to the city tomorrow afternoon.  My dad’s campaign announcement was the day after, so we needed to be back to prep for that.

Anne and Robert were waiting for us when we arrived at their house by late morning.  Most of the day was spent in Derek’s room, going through his clothes and pictures and everything he had collected in his
too short life.  Tears were mixed with laughter when someone would come across a picture or memento that had a funny story attached to it.  Wyatt kept a few t-shirts that were Derek’s favorites, and the rest of his clothes were boxed up to donate.

During one especially emotional moment for Wyatt when he found a group of pictures of the two of them as kids out in the backyard, he broke down like he had when he first told me about Derek.  His parents were downstairs loading boxes into his dad’s truck, so I let Wyatt hold me on his lap until he recovered a bit. 
He dried his eyes and laughed.

“What’s so funny?”
I asked him.  He smiled sadly and said, “I was just thinking what Derek would say to me right now.”   I ran my fingers through his hair and waited for him to continue.  “He would say ‘Stop being such a pussy.  You’ve got a hot girl on your lap and you’re wasting your time crying like a baby.”  I laughed, “I think I would have liked Derek.”  Wyatt nodded, “Everybody did.”

By late afternoon, the room was clear of Derek’s personal things and it looked like a regular guest room.  It was bittersweet for Wyatt and his parents – something they should’ve never had to do, but a sign that they were moving on.  Anne had told me earlier that they hadn’t wanted to move anything out of Derek’s room until Wyatt had come home to take the things he would want, and she thanked me again for bringing him back to them.  I graciously accepted her thanks, but I know Wyatt would have made hi
s way back with or without me.

I was looking out the kitchen window while sipping a glass of lemonade when Wyatt came up behind me and brushed my ponytail aside so he could kiss my neck.  “I’m going to ride into town with my dad to drop off this stuff.  Why don’t you take a nap?  I’m sure you’re tired from getting up early.”  I turned around and slipped my arms around his waist.  “Okay, wake me up when you get back.  I want to take a shower before we le
ave for the fireworks tonight.”

“Will do.
  I love you.”  He gave me a quick kiss before leaving.  “Love you too,” I called after him.

I rolled over and
stretched, my arm landing on Wyatt’s hard stomach.  My eyes flew open and I sat up, looking at the sun setting out the window.  Wyatt was lying on the bed next to me scrolling through something on his iPad.  “You were supposed to wake me up when you got back!” I scolded him.  He set the iPad down and pulled me back down beside him.  “You looked so peaceful I didn’t want to wake you.”

“What time do your parents want to leave?  Do I still have time to take a shower?  Because I feel kind of grimy from going through Derek’s stuff all day.”  I started to rush around grabbing my clothes and toi
letries from my overnight bag.

“Yes, you have time for a shower.  We have over an hour before the fireworks start.
And…my parents already left.”

“Oh.  Are we meeting them there?”  I asked not really understanding why we wouldn’t all ride together.  He shook his head, “No, we’re going to stay here.  We can see the fireworks from the backyard. 
If that’s okay with you?”  I frowned slightly, “Um…sure.  But won’t they be upset that we’re not spending the evening with them?”

“Nope, they are totally fine.  Now go get ready,” he said shooing me to the bathroom.

An hour later I emerged from the bathroom in a pale blue sundress, my hair in loose waves, and no shoes since we were staying here.  I loved to walk in the grass barefoot.  Wyatt was on the other side of the room staring out the window, looking deep in thought.  I stood in the doorway for a moment admiring the view – his hair was still slightly damp, so I guessed he had gone into the house to shower, and he was wearing cargo shorts and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows showing off his tanned muscular forearms.

When he turned to greet me a slow smile spread across his face, and it reminded me of the nervous smile he gave me the first day he asked me to have coffee with him.  “You’re beautiful,” he breathed, crossing the room to pull me into his arms.  “
Mmmm, you smell so good,” I said sniffing his neck.

He pulled back and held me at arm
’s length, “So, I have a surprise for you, and I need you to wear this until we’re outside.”  He held up a thin scarf and stepped around me to tie it over my eyes.  I felt him take my hand and lead me carefully down the stairs and I could tell we were headed for the pond when I felt the soft grass between my toes.  His arm around my waist guided me while we walked for a while, I assumed to the far side of the pond.  The smell of Wyatt mixed with the fresh summer air was intoxicating, and I was suddenly really glad that it was just the two of us tonight.  The light breeze ruffled through my hair and I could hear the crickets chirping.

We stopped walking and I felt Wyatt’s fingers untying the blindfold.  I gasped when I took in the scene in front of me.  We were at the spot on the far side of the pond
under the tree Wyatt and Derek used to climb as kids.  There was a huge blanket spread on the ground with several large pillows, and next to it was an ice bucket with a bottle of wine and a picnic basket.  In the trees surrounding us were hundreds of white twinkling lights.

I brought my hand to my mouth and a tear fell down my cheek.  “It’s beautiful,” I murmured.  Wyatt cupped my face in his hands and wiped away the tear with his thumb.  “You’re beautiful,” he said before pressing his lips gently to mine.  “We have a little while before the fireworks start.  Are you hungry?”  I nodded and he pul
led me down to the blanket.

The picnic baske
t held strawberries, different kinds of cheeses, and some delicious looking bakery bread.  I nibbled on a strawberry while Wyatt poured us each a glass of wine.  “No beer tonight?” I asked.  “Nah, I thought I would try wine with you for a change.”  We ate and drank in silence just looking at each other and grinning like idiots.

It was moments like this that my heart swelled with love for him, and the feeling was so strong I almost couldn’t contain it.  I looked down at the cross tattoo on my wrist and smiled as I thought how I now thanked God every day for my parents
…and for Wyatt.  Soon he checked his watch and leaned over to flip a switch lying on the ground, and the lights around us went dark.

“Time for fireworks,” he explained.  I scooted over to sit in front of him and leaned back against his chest with my arms resting on his thighs.  He was right
. We had a great view of the fireworks over the trees.  It was a much smaller display than what we had in the city, but I loved it.  Probably the man I was with had something to do with that.

Twenty minutes later the finale started and the sky lit up with colors.  The very last one flashed in the sky and was a red heart with letters spelling out MARRY ME.  “
Awww, that’s so cute!” I gushed, thinking some lucky girl was having the night of her life right now.

Just then Wyatt stood up and pulled me up to stand in front of him.  Then he pulled something out of his pocket and dropped to one knee in front of me.  My eyes were wide and my mouth dropped open as the realization hit me that I was that lucky girl tonight.  He held my left hand i
n his and looked into my eyes.

His voice was thick with emotion when he said, “
Taryn, when I saw you for the first time in Starbucks, I knew you would change my life.  You were off-limits then and I tried so hard not to love you.  But a love like ours can’t be denied.  You are my heart, my soul, and my reason for breathing.  I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you and trying to be the man that you deserve, if you’ll have me.  Taryn Ross, will you marry me?”

Tears were streaming down my cheeks and I could only nod.  He opened the ring box and I nearly fainted at the gorgeous ring that lay inside.  In a second it was on my finger and I was in his arms with my lips on his.  A few minutes later I pulled away to catch my breath and wipe the tears from my eyes.  I took a good look at the ring – it was a large cushion cut yellow diamond surrounded by small diamonds, which also ran aroun
d the thin platinum band.

“Wyatt, this is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.  But it must have cost you a fortune.  I don’t need anything this extravagant.”  He took my hand and kissed the ring, “You brought color back into my life,
Taryn.  I couldn’t get you a colorless diamond, and when I saw this one I knew it belonged on you.  Don’t worry about the cost.  Private security pays very well.”  I grinned, “Well, okay then!”

I wanted to consummate our engagement right there in the yard, but Wyatt convinced me to go back to our room in case his parents came home soon.  We nearly ran up the steps and he swept me up in his arms when we reached the top, only setting me down for a moment to unzip my dress and let if fall to the floor.  I pulled the duvet cover back and crawled onto the bed.  The lights were off, but the moonlight streamed through the window and across the bed.  I licked my lips as I
watched Wyatt undress and then he was kneeling over me, his fingertips trailing fire over my body.  We spent a long time teasing and cherishing each other, and when we finally came together it was better than ever.  His eyes were locked on mine and the emotion I saw there, that was reflected back in my eyes, was indescribable and overwhelming.  I had no doubt that we would be together forever.

The first thing I did when I woke up the next morning to the wonderful aroma of coffee was to hold up my hand so I could admire my ring sparkling in the sunlight.  I twisted my hand so I could examine it from every angle, and I thought it couldn’t have been more perfect if I had picked it out myself.  Wyatt was sitting at the small table in the corner of our room sipping coffee and reading the paper.  “Did Li
ndsay help you pick this out?”

“Nope, she doesn’t know that I was plann
ing to propose.”  Oh.

“Does anyone know?”  I asked worried that my parents might be less than overjoyed since Wyatt and I hadn’t been together very long.  He smiled, aware of where my line of questioning was headed.  “Don’t worry, baby.  I asked your parents’ permission when they were in the city two weeks ago.  And my parents know of course.”
  I breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

“Wait, two weeks ago?  How
long ago did you start planning this?”  He smiled sheepishly and ducked his head, “Well…”  I walked over and raised his face up.  “Honestly, I knew I wanted to marry you after that first day we had coffee.”

“Seriously?
  Well, what took you so long?”  I joked.  He kissed me and handed me my phone.  “You’d better call your mom.  I know she’s dying to find out if you said yes.”  I leaned down to whisper in his ear, “I would have said yes after our first coffee date.”

I texted my mom a picture of my ring and she immediately called.  I had to hold the phone away from my ear, because she was squealing so loudly, which caused Wyatt to laugh at us.  She wanted all the details of the proposal, and I thanked her for being okay with this.  “I knew the first time I saw you two together that you were meant to be.  Your father needed a bit of convincing, not because he doesn’t like Wyatt, just because he will always see you as his little girl.”  We hung up quickly since I would be seeing
her when we got home later today.  I didn’t want to tell Lindsay over the phone, because I wasn’t sure how she would react since she had been so out of sorts lately.  At breakfast Anne and Robert congratulated us both, and Anne admired my ring, complimenting Wyatt’s good taste.