House of the Scotts

No idea what I had expected. Maybe that he would show up here and apologize? Probably that was just wishful thinking on my part. But at least I had expected him to come, especially when Justin had even announced it. But so far I had searched for Davis in vain under the guests who had come to Sawyer's birthday party. So he was really avoiding me. As much as I felt glad for her and Justin, that they were officially a couple now, I was sad that my relationship seemed broken. I couldn't bear to stand among the happy celebrating people and sneaked upstairs to the guest room, where I then lay down on the bed and let my tears run free. It wasn't long before there was a tentative knock on the door. Apparently, Sawyer had noticed my disappearance.

"Lydia? Is everything okay?"

I hastily wiped the tears from my cheeks and sat up. "No, but that's not your fault," I said quietly. "But I don't want to talk about myself right now. What about you? Are you happy?"

"You mean because Justin is back for good?"

I nodded. "That's what you always wanted, isn't it? He left L.A. - for you. Isn't that the most wonderful thing a boy can do for a girl?" I suppressed a sigh as I felt tears rising up again, I tried hard to keep them down.

"Yes, it is," she admitted, smiling blissfully. "I still can't believe it, it seems so unreal to me. I mean, I was surprised how cool my parents reacted about the fact that I have a boyfriend now. They haven't even said anything about the age gap of 5 years."

"Justin is a nice young man. And besides, he is very handsome," I said with a smile. "I know he and the twins aren't blood related, but somehow the good looks run in the Baker family."

"Which only plays a minor role for me," she said with a grin. "I love him, because he has such a big heart, is helpful, generous, tender..."

"... and not as stubborn and unforgiving like his brother," I added, rolling my eyes. "Davis promised he would come to your party. And now it's almost midnight." Sighing, I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "I don't think he'll come."

"Just be patient."

I looked surprised at Sawyer. "You really think he will come?"

"As long as the party isn't officially over, anything can happen," she said, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

Somehow I couldn't do anything with her cryptic hints. "Would you be mad if I stayed up here?" I asked softly.

"No. If something interesting happens, I'll inform you right away."

I kept watching her confused, when she winked at me and then left the room. Then I sank back and put my hands on my belly. A few days ago, I felt my baby for the first time. As if butterfly's wings gently touched the stomach from the inside. But today I couldn't feel any movement. Disappointed, I rolled onto my side. Maybe my baby felt that I wasn't feeling well and wanted to leave me alone. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Apparently, I had fallen asleep when Sawyer touched my arm gently.

"Lydia, wake up!"

I stretched and then yawned. "What's up?"

"He is here."

I didn't immediately understand what she meant. "Who's here?"

"Davis. He is waiting for you downstairs."

Suddenly, all the fatigue had gone and I sat up. "He's here?" I echoed as I felt my heart beat faster.

Sawyer nodded, smiling. "But you can't go down like that. Your make-up is totally ruined. Let's go to the bathroom. There you can wash your face and refresh your make-up."

I got up from the bed, straightened my blouse and followed her into the bathroom. It didn't take long for Sawyer to make me presentable again. When refreshed and newly made-up, I followed her to the stairs and looked down. And there he stood and looked up at me, immediately my knees went soft.

"Go ahead!"

As Sawyer nudged me slightly, I slowly walked down the stairs. Only then did I realize that all the other guests had made room for him and stood around him in a semicircle looking expectantly at me. "What's going on?" I whispered to Sawyer, who accompanied me.

"You'll never know if you stay up here," she smirked.

Only then did I realize that I had stopped and just stared at everyone. The whole situation seemed unreal to me.

"Keep going!" Sawyer urged.

Mechanically, I continued my way downstairs and then stopped in front of Davis, who looked at me full of expectation.

"Sorry if this isn't going to be a perfect speech, but I'm lacking practice with this," he said with a grin.

Confused, I stared at him. What was he talking about? When he reached for my hand and looked deep into my eyes, I reflexively held my breath.

"I asked you that question a few months ago and you said no. I know now that I asked you for the wrong reasons. But now I really mean it. The few days without you were terrible. Nothing made sense anymore. I have become aware that I would rather argue with you than be separated from you. And when I told you that I wanted to wait until after the birth to know the baby's gender, I just wanted to say that I don't care if it's a boy or a girl because I already love it. And that's exactly how I feel about you, too. So I'm asking you again in front of all our friends... Will you marry me?"

When he knelt down I couldn't keep my emotions at bay anymore. Sobbing, I dropped in front of him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Yes, I will!" I said in a choked voice, then pressed my lips onto his. As we kissed, cheering broke out all around us. Some clapped enthusiastically, others called our names in approval, and I felt like I was floating on a cloud of pure happiness.

"Phew, that was a hard delivery," Sawyer said, smiling at Justin, who was standing next to her. "Where is the ring?"

I carefully freed myself from Davis' arms and noticed him fumbling in his trouser pockets before he revealed a ring.

"I told you that I don't have much practice with this," he said, grinning sheepishly. "I almost forgot to give it to you."

As he slipped the ring over my finger, a simple one made of gold, tears came to my eyes again and I looked happily at my hand. We were really and truly engaged now!

"Congratulations!"

Sawyer pulled me into a tight hug. "I knew it all the time," she admitted. "I just couldn't say anything. Justin helped Davis to pick the ring and I filled the other guests in so that they could line up."

"Thank you so much, Sawyer!" Deeply touched, I squeezed her hand. "It was a perfect surprise. I never would have thought of something like this."

"Hey, future Mrs. Baker!"

I laughed and hugged my future brother-in-law. "I also want to thank you for helping Davis, Justin."

He shrugged. "He wanted to make a 'big gesture'. And I think he has definitely succeeded with this."

"Absolutely." I smiled. "What do your parents say about that?"

When he said nothing and looked down to the floor, I stared at him in shock. "They don't know about it?" I asked startled.

"No," he admitted. "But Davis is going to be 18 in two months and then they can't do anything against it anyway. He wants to wait with the wedding till then."

I calculated shortly. In two months I would be 7 months pregnant. Not such a tempting thought to stand in front of the altar in this condition. "Maybe we should wait until after the birth," I said slowly and looked at Davis, who stood a few feet away from me, shaking hands with some guests.

"You should talk with Davis about it. Let's celebrate now!" Sawyer laughed happily.

Infected by her good mood, I let her pull me into the crowd and enjoyed being in the focus on that special day.