Better Late Than Never: Chapter 15
Sydney looked at the clock on the bedside table. With five minutes to go before Gage's estimated arrival time, she made one final adjustment to the jeweled comb that held her hair in place and stood back to assess her reflection in the dresser mirror.
Except for the shoes, which she swore she would never wear again after Saturday night, she had on the exact same ensemble that she wore to the governor's mansion – the copper velvet dress, the hair comb, even the same eye shadow and lipstick and, of course, the same vanilla body spray. Rather than wear different shoes, she had decided to remain barefoot and had painted her toenails a deep shimmering copper that matched some of the sequins on the dress.
"Whatever magic this dress worked once, please let it work twice," she whispered, eyes closed, just as the doorbell rang.
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Gage arrived almost five minutes early, which gave him a minute or two to just sit in the car and stroke his nerves. He took a few deep breaths and debated whether or not to wear the tux jacket, finally opting to toss it into the back seat. At last, he gathered up the bags of Chinese food from the passenger seat and made his way up the front walk on quivery legs.
"Here goes…everything," he whispered to himself as he mounted the front steps and rang the doorbell. He tugged at his collar, hoping to loosen the bow tie a tad, just as Sydney opened the door.
"I think this is exactly where I came in the first time," she said, smiling.
One look at her and all his carefully laid plans and well-rehearsed speeches suddenly seemed so unimportant, so ridiculously unnecessary. What was it he had thought to himself when he'd seen her for the first time in that dress? Something about how he'd rather walk through all the fires of hell than go on pretending he was 'just friends' with her, because, after all, he wasn't stupid. Yeah, that was it.
The food containers he was carrying made it impossible for him to act instantly on his first impulse, which was to grab her, yank her into his arms and kiss her right there on the front porch. So, he did the next best thing, which was to step inside at her invitation, set his packages carefully on the floor and then grab her, yank her into his arms and kiss her in the living room.
Sydney's head was spinning. One second she was answering the door and the next an incredibly handsome man dressed in a tuxedo and bearing a strong resemblance to her partner took her in his arms and proceeded to kiss her like his life depended on it. She hadn't even had a chance to close the front door.
"I remember, Syd. I remember. I remember…" he whispered over and over as he continued to kiss her between the words, finally stopping long enough to look into her tear-filled eyes and tell her, "I remember everything."
"When? Just now?" Sydney asked, ready to believe in the magic of a wish made on a velvet dress.
"No, it was this morning, when I saw our portrait at Mr. Rhyme's studio. It was just so real – it even smelled like you – and suddenly I remembered dancing with you at the party and singing to you. And then it all came flooding back." As he spoke, he moved away from her and closed the front door. Then he carried the food bags into the kitchen and set them on the breakfast bar.
"So, it worked after all," Sydney mused, not realizing she was thinking out loud as she followed him into the kitchen.
"What worked? Oh, you mean, the mysterious 'car trouble' designed to lure me down to the studio so I could see that amazing picture and be drenched in that incredible smell?"
"Yeah, that," she said, sheepishly, wrapping her arms around him and looking up at him. "I'm sorry for lying to you. Do you forgive me?"
By way of response, he hugged her close before he said, "Only if you forgive me for letting you think it didn't work so that I could play out this whole reenactment scenario. I'm sorry, Syd."
"You're forgiven."
"So are you," Gage replied, kissing her sweetly on the lips and then trailing kisses along her jaw line to the soft spot behind her ear. He took a deep breath, drinking in the scent that awoke a thousand memories, and then she was kissing him again, clinging to him like she was afraid if she let go he would disappear.
"Oh, Syd, I was so stupid about all this," Gage confessed, still holding her in his arms. "I should have known why you were so upset all the time, but it took until Juliet referred to you as my girlfriend at the courthouse this morning for me to finally begin to put it together."
"Gage, I'd say you had a few things on your mind besides what was bothering me, like the fact that six months of your life just vanished and your weapon was stolen…"
"None of which matters to me as much as you do, Syd. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Before I ever saw the portrait, before my memory came back, I realized that the memories aren't important. Good or bad, they're the past. It's the future that matters now, and even if I forgot my whole life up until this very moment, I would still know that my future is you. I love you, Sydney Cooke. I will love you forever."
Another long, passionate kiss followed his declaration, cementing the bond between his heart and hers.
When they moved apart, Sydney reached up, straightened his tie and used her thumb to wipe a dab of lipstick off his lower lip.
"I love you, too, you know. I think I have almost from the moment I met you, but I thought you would never feel that way about me, so I hid it, or at least I tried to. But ever since we got back from that movie set in Mexico, I had the feeling that something was different, that all that flirting was based on something…I don't know…something real."
She paused, gathering her thoughts and her courage. She had promised herself that if she ever got the chance she would tell him that Saturday night was no accident, at least not for her.
Gage knew she was working up to something, but he had no idea what. He just held her gaze and smiled encouragingly.
"And?" he prompted.
"And I decided that a formal black-tie party would be the perfect occasion to conduct an investigation into whether or not I was right. What I'm saying is, this little number was no accident," she volunteered, indicating the dress by doing a quick twirl, causing the garment's skirt to fan out and reveal her bare thighs.
"So you're saying you set out to seduce me?" Gage asked, unable to suppress an ear-to-ear grin.
"That's not exactly how I thought of it, but now that you mention it, yes, I did," Sydney admitted, biting her lower lip and looking down at her toenails.
Gage put a hand under her chin and directed her face toward his. Good Lord, how he loved this woman!
"Sydney, please do not tell me you were about to apologize to me for going to such lengths to finally get my attention," he scolded jokingly. "I'm the one who's sorry it took me so long to let you know that I love you…for real. And as a way of begging your forgiveness, I suggest we have an egg roll toast before our dinner goes from room temperature to stone cold."
The sudden shift in the subject caused Sydney to stare at him quizzically.
"Trust me?" Gage posed as he removed the egg rolls from the Golden Moon bags, hers in one small wax paper bag and his in another. He laid them on the plates Sydney had set out before Gage arrived.
"Should we nuke them first?" Sydney asked, heading for the microwave with her plate.
"NO!" he yelled, stopping her in her tracks.
"It…um… makes the wrappers really tough, don't you think?" he stammered, trying to justify his outburst.
"Whatever you say, babe," Sydney replied as she returned to stand beside him at the breakfast bar, adding, "What shall we toast to?"
"Well, since we both have admitted to wasting lots of time denying our feelings for each other, and since I was supposed to bring dinner last Saturday but didn't get here 'til now, how about 'better late than never'?" Well, OK, maybe one well-rehearsed speech. Or two.
"OK. Here's to 'better late than never'," Sydney answered and they 'clinked' their egg rolls together.
Gage held his breath as Sydney broke hers in half and watched a diamond ring fall out of it onto the counter top.
"Oh!" she squeaked, dropping the pieces of her egg roll onto her plate as the ring bounced a time or two before she slapped her right hand on it. Before she lifted her hand, she stared wide-eyed at Gage, and then slowly moved her hand just enough to peek beneath it before slapping it down again.
"Is this what I think it is?"
"Well, that depends. What do you think it is?" Gage countered as he carefully laid his still intact egg roll on his plate.
"It looks like a diamond ring," she said shakily, as she picked up the ring and gave it a close inspection.
Ready to plow ahead with planned speech number two, Gage was halted by the frown on Sydney's face. Before he could ask what she so disapproved of, she grabbed a napkin from the stack she always kept on the bar and wiped the ring clean of egg roll residue, bringing it back to its original brilliance. When she smiled at her handiwork, Gage forged ahead.
Taking her left hand in his and looking into her deep, brown eyes, he recited, "Ah, but not just any diamond ring. This one comes with a promise that I will spend every day for the rest of my life finding new ways to show you how much I cherish you. I love you, Sydney, and you will make me the happiest man alive if you say you'll be my wife."
Without a word, Sydney presented the ring to Gage, who took it from her trembling fingers, a lump of fear beginning to form in his throat. Was it too late? Too soon? Why was she so quiet?
He saw the tears spill from her eyes and just as an icy panic began to sink into his soul, she finally whispered, "Yes, I will be your wife."
"Oh, Syd, you scared me!" he almost shouted as he pulled her to him and held her tight.
"I'm sorry, but there for a minute I couldn't breathe. I couldn't get the words out. Oh, Gage, yes, I want to be your wife more than anything in the whole world."
He took her left hand in his again and slid the ring on the appropriate finger. And with that, she kissed him ferociously.
Sensory overload struck again, but this time he was able to relish each element of the experience as it presented itself. Her lips assaulted his and he responded by tasting not just her lipstick, but her. His hands caressed the sleek back of the velvet dress and then moved slowly along the skin of her upper back, pausing briefly on her bare shoulders before weaving into her silken hair. Gently removing the comb, he ran his fingers through the soft black waves and then let them fall around her face. The smell of her shampoo brought a replay of his fantasy about her hair dancing across his naked skin and it was all he could do to not rip his shirt off on the spot.
Sydney was amazed, even a little frightened, by her body's response to his touch. Every inch of her begged for his attention, longed for the feel of his gentle hands, his strong arms, his hungry mouth. She pressed herself against him, crushing her breasts against his powerful chest and discovering, a little farther south, the unmistakable evidence that his desire matched her own.
Realizing that the moment of truth was upon them, they both eased the intensity of their embrace until at last they looked into each other's eyes.
"Gage, there's something you should know…" Sydney began, but stopped, unsure of how to share something so private, even with the man she loved.
"Syd, what is it?" he asked, his voice soft, his eyes searching hers for some clue as to what she was so reluctant to reveal. A moment ago, she'd been as aggressive as a lioness on the prowl, but now she was as timid as a mouse.
"It isn't that I don't want you, because I do. I want you so much it hurts. It's just that…I…I'm…" she fumbled, unable to meet his eyes, silently kicking herself for even starting this conversation. What did it really matter anyway?
Gage rewound the previous three minutes in his head and after going over it once more, the reason for her behavior hit him like a freight train.
"Syd, look at me, please?" he begged. She looked up at him, so fragile, so…innocent.
"Sydney, I won't deny that if you had said the word just now, I would have scooped you up in my arms and carried you straight to bed, but I want you to know that nothing, and I mean nothing, will ever happen between us that you don't want to happen," he pledged as he gathered her gently in his arms and held her to him.
"It isn't that I don't want it to happen, it's just that it hasn't yet…ever…to me," she whispered against his chest.
So it was what he thought. Would she ever cease to amaze him?
"Oh, Syd, I don't deserve you," he said, smiling in spite of himself. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but my first question is, why not?"
She looked him straight in the eye and stated, without hesitation, "It's a gift I can only give once and, until now, no one has been worthy of it."
If she'd sneezed just then, she'd have knocked him over backwards.
"And by 'until now', you mean me? You think I am worthy of it…uh…of you?"
"Of course. I wouldn't have agreed to marry you if I didn't."
He was simply overwhelmed. Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her ever so gently on the lips. He waited for her to open her eyes before he spoke.
"I am honored, Syd, so deeply honored, that you would deem me worthy of the most wonderful and precious gift that I have ever received or will ever receive as long as I live. Would it be all right with you if I waited until our wedding night to accept it?"
"Yes, I think that would be perfect," she answered, adding, "as long as you're not planning on a long engagement."
"What are you doing this weekend?" he asked, without so much as a grin.
Sydney laughed at first, but then realized he wasn't laughing with her.
"Uh, are you serious?"
"Deadly."
Her eyes flew open and her mouth worked, but no sound came out.
"Hey, you were the one who just said you didn't want a long engagement," he reminded her.
"Yes, I know. But I don't consider three days 'long', do you?"
"Maybe you're right. What about the weekend after that?" he offered, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her again, just because he felt like it.
"How do you feel about New Year's Eve?" she asked, trying to stay focused on the task at hand.
"Not as good as I feel about next weekend, but…"
"OK, let's split the difference. It's almost Thanksgiving. What about the first Saturday in December?"
"Done," Gage declared, feeling like an auctioneer who just completed a hotly contested sale.
"Good. Now that that's settled, I'm starving. Is it safe to put the rest of the food in the microwave?" Sydney asked, half-afraid he might have stashed more jewelry in the moo shoo pork.
Gage laughed out loud. "And you think I'm the one who's always hungry."
"Well, there's hungry and then there's hungry," she purred, sliding her arms around his neck and kissing him senseless. Dinner, it turned out, could wait.
End Chapter 15.