Author's note: I put a post on my Tumblr (booksrockmyface) about the inspiration for the wedding bands. If you want to take a look, head over there. There are only a couple more chapters left. I'm going to try to write them today (at least one more). Thank you for reading and for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. Keep 'em coming!
Happy reading!
Chapter Thirty-Two
Adrian pulled into a space in front of the jewelry store and turned to me. He put his hand on the back of my head and pulled me to him for a kiss.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed back. I pulled away after a short time.
He rested his forehead against mine. "So this is kind of it." He said softly.
"It kind of is. These rings…" I rested my hand on the side of his face.
"They'll bind us together when we take our vows."
I kissed him once more and got out of the car. He walked around toward me and I wrapped my arm around his waist "I'm going to get a chain to wear mine around my neck during the day. I don't want to leave it in the car. And I know both of us would feel more comfortable if I didn't wear it while I work."
"We'll make sure to get a heavy-duty-won't-break-under-any-circumstance chain."
"And I will wear it under my coveralls and my shirt." I pushed the door to the store open and we walked to the counter.
"Good afternoon." A kind young man greeted us from a few feet away. He was with another customer. "I'll be right with you."
"Take your time." Adrian said, leaning over the case. "So," he took my left hand and examined the engagement ring. "Hmm."
"Hello, what can I help you with today?" The man walked over.
"We're here to find our wedding bands." Adrian announced. "Something with a similar feel to my lovely fiancée's engagement ring." He held out my hand. "We purchased it here about a year ago."
He took my hand and examined the ring. I read "Jason" on his name tag. "Oh, yes, I know this one. I have the perfect set to match it." He put my hand down gently and walked several feet away, looking down at the case until he found what he was looking for. He unlocked the door and reached inside.
We walked over and met him.
"The display is in yellow gold, but we can also have them made in white gold or platinum. Or we can even do a combination. The scroll is very similar to your engagement ring." He held out the rings for us.
Adrian took one and held it close. "I think this is pretty damn near perfect." He slipped it on his left hand. "Oh, and I guess this is my ring size." He chuckled and looked down at it. "This is weird."
I chuckled and slipped the other on. "So if we did the combination, we could have white gold on the outside?"
"If that's what you'd like." Jason said.
"Getting the feel for it?" I asked Adrian as he twirled the ring around his finger.
He laughed. "Starting to." He looked up. "Can we talk about it a minute?"
"Sure." He walked away to help a new customer who had walked in.
"I like it." He said as soon as we were alone. He picked up my hand. "It's perfect with the engagement ring. I like how it feels." He lifted his own hand and looked at the ring once more.
"What do you think about the white gold on the outside?" I stroked the ring on his finger. "Yellow inlay?"
"I think that would be really pretty."
"And the inscriptions?"
He grinned. "If you still want to."
"I do."
"Okay." He took the ring off his finger and nodded to Jason.
"Have you made your decision?"
We spent a long time talking about the particulars. We wanted to get them right. Jason was even able to open up a program on the computer and show us how the final product would look. Our rings would be ready in a few weeks.
"So now it feels weird not to have it on." Adrian commented as we walked out to the car. He handed me the keys.
I took them. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Sydney." He pressed me against the side of the car. "God, you make me so…" He chuckled. "So happy. So content. So…grounded. I am so much in love with you, Sydney. These next few months won't go by fast enough."
I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. "We'll make it. We have plenty to do to keep us busy until then." I kissed his jaw and then scooted out from under him. "We need to get the addresses for the invitations. We need to pick up the invitations. We need to get our music selections made. I think that one's going to be the hardest seeing as we both have disastrously diverse tastes."
"Our first dance will be a Cole Porter song." He got into the passenger seat.
"Is it?" I smirked. "And you're just deciding that without consulting me?"
"Of course. You like Cole Porter. You made me watch that movie." He leaned toward me and put his hand on my knee. "I think we should go home and take out our libraries and compare."
"Sounds good."
We spent a large part of the afternoon going through our music. Adrian blasted Pink Floyd and ACDC. I put on a lot of mellow stuff. The closest we got to compromise was my guilty pleasure of Pat Benatar.
"I still can't believe you like this." He said as he danced around to Hit Me With Your Best Shot.
"My mom used to play her tapes all the time." I shrugged. "It's my childhood."
"We should just do an 80s dance party."
"Dimitri will like that." I chuckled. "But if I remember correctly, you can dance for real."
"And?"
"Let's throw in a few old standards so we can have fun dancing cheek-to-cheek."
"Okay. So the first song?"
I pushed the button to change the song on Adrian's computer. Cole Porter's In the Still of the Night started playing. It was the version from the movie DeLovely that I had forced Adrian to watch. He actually liked and it and had immediately purchased the soundtrack.
"This one?"
"This one." I stood and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
He put his hands on my waist and we started swaying together. He took my right hand in his left and started spinning me around the room, barely dodging the furniture. When the song was over, he dipped me low and kissed me. He didn't break it as he lifted me upright. He mumbled against my lips, "I like it."
"Good." I kissed him again, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He led me to the couch and stretched out. He pulled me on top of him. He continued to kiss as the next song came up on the shuffle. Some heavy metal number that wasn't particularly entertaining to me. I focused on the kiss and the way his hands roamed hungrily over my body.
His phone rang. He groaned and broke the kiss. "What's up, Jill?"
I could hear her on the other end. I rested my forehead against his.
"I've got a giant final coming up next week and I need to concentrate. Could you calm down a bit?" She begged.
"You know how to block."
"There's too much going on in my head and it's still something I need to concentrate on."
"Okay. We'll just be boring tonight and put on a movie or something." He sighed. "Sorry."
"It's fine." She replied with her own sigh.
"Good luck. Don't stress, you're smart. And know that I love you no matter how good you do on your exam. You're still my best lady."
"Thanks. I love you, too. Say hi to Sydney."
"Hello, Jill." I called into the phone.
"Did you hear that?" Adrian asked.
"I did." She sighed. "Talk to you later."
He threw his phone onto the table and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "What do you want to do?"
"I'm in a mood to watch a dance movie."
"Go pick one, then." He said grudgingly.
"You know you like them." I said as I rolled off him.
"We want the standard three tiered round white cake." I explained as soon as we all sat down.
"Okay." Patty chuckled and wrote that down. She was a pleasant woman and I liked her the instant I met her. "Any other preferences?"
"We don't want anything flashy or too complicated." Adrian went on. "We like classic flavors, but we're willing to try anything you want to put in front of us. Especially me. I love sweets."
Everyone laughed.
"Well, I've got plenty to show you, then." She walked over to a counter and came back with a tray of small slices of cake enough for everyone. "We have here chocolate cake with raspberry filling. The frosting is a cream cheese."
"Not a huge fan of the frosting." Carly said, making a face and taking a gulp of water. "But the rest is nice."
"I don't like raspberries." Jill said softly.
"We better make sure you're happy." Adrian poked her arm. "It's delicious, but I guess since the maid of honor and the best lady have objections, this will be a no." He gave her a dazzling smile.
"That's fine." She took the plates away and walked out again.
We tried several other cakes. There were good points about all of them. They were delicious. I didn't think we'd ever be able to come to a decision. We had every type of chocolate and vanilla cake and even a few that were unexpected. The last was one of those.
"This is my thought on the perfect cake for a fall wedding. Apple spice cake, caramel buttercream frosting, and a brown sugar mousse between the layers. I know the caramel won't be the traditional white you're going for, but we can make it work."
"This is different." I said slowly.
"Very." Adrian agreed.
Eddie quickly cleaned his plate and ate what was left on Jill's. He'd done that through most of the tasting. He even helped himself to the leftovers on mine a few times.
"It's still kind of neutral." I said looking around the table at the appreciative looks.
"But not too sweet really." Adrian pointed out.
"I love the caramel frosting." Mom said, licking her fork.
"It's good." My sister agreed.
I looked to Adrian. "I think we need to talk about this."
He nodded.
Everyone awkwardly left the table so Adrian and I could talk.
"I really liked the lemon one." Mom said with a wink as she walked away.
Even Patty left us alone. She said she'd be back in a few minutes.
"That last one was interesting." I said as soon as they were all gone.
"But do we want interesting?"
"I don't know."
We contemplated it in silence for a while.
I finally said, "The sponge cake with the strawberries was nice."
"It was. Simple, like we wanted." He patted my hand. "Did you like that one the most?"
"That's the one that kind of stands out. It was perfect in its simplicity. And I have an idea."
"What idea?"
"I think one tier can be chocolate instead of vanilla. I know we have to know a few chocoholics on the list if invitees." I rested my head on his shoulder. "I can't believe this is all happening. This is the biggest representation of us that everyone gets to try."
"Yeah. I know. The ceremony, the meal, those are all things that people just muddle through most of the time. The cake is the thing they all look forward to."
"So, this is what we're going with?"
"I think so."
I smiled and nodded. "Me too."
He lifted my head off his shoulder and kissed me.
Patty walked back in and looked at us expectantly. "Can I come back in?" She asked with a chuckle.
"Yes, we've made a choice." Adrian informed her.
"And I have a sketch." She sat down across from us and sat down a rough drawing in front of us. "I saw your engagement ring and got inspired to throw in a few loops and swirls."
"We've got on our bands, too." My fiancé said. "I love it."
"I do too. It's gorgeous." I supplied.
"I'll sit down and do a more detailed drawing later today and you can approve it." The designer said.
"That'll be fine."
She took a few notes on the sketch as we talked about the flavors we decided on. She was very excited to be doing the cake. And for the trip to see her family. Adrian asked her a little about them and she told us, but stopped short.
"I won't bore you with it all. And besides, you have people waiting. I'll get this drawn up and give you a call. I can send it through the computer or you can come back. It's up to you."
"We'll come back." Adrian assured her. "My sister will drive us crazy soon enough." He smiled affectionately at the mention of Jill.
She insisted on a hug for us both, something I know Adrian enjoyed.
We joined the others and told them what we decided on. Carly gave us a genuine smile and said she was glad we made a choice that made us happy.
My mom hugged me close for a long time. "Your dad loves strawberries." She said sadly.
"I remember." I sighed and stepped back. "Has he said anything about changing his mind?"
She shook her head.
Adrian wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground.
I loved the sound of her laughter as she begged him to put her down.
He finally did. "You did a good job with her." He assured my mother.
"I did the best I could." She squeezed his shoulders.
He moved away, suddenly looking awkward.
I slipped my hand into his. "After all that cake, I could go for a cup of coffee. Anyone else?"
We piled into our cars and headed out to a local coffee shop. We hung out for well over an hour, talking and joking. Mom and Carly had a good time telling stories from my childhood. One story, where I had put on an elaborate play with our cats and cried when Carly told me it was the dumbest thing ever, had me wanting to crawl into a hole in the ground.
Adrian kindly reciprocated, including a tale of how he once stripped down to nothing and ran around the house. He refused to get dressed and even ran out of the house, embarrassing his harsh father far more than it embarrassed eight-year-old Adrian.
My mom got a call from my father. I could hear him screaming at her. I knew he was upset over the company she was keeping. She smiled and excused herself from the table to take it outside.
Adrian squeezed my hand and rested his forehead against mine. "I love you." He whispered.
"Me too." I kissed his cheek and then followed my mom outside.
"No, you listen, Jared." She was saying. "This is our daughter. I will spend time with her outside of work if I want to." She paused and I saw her jaw clenched. "We'll talk about this when I get home." She waited again. "Well, you have a great way of showing it." She hung up and leaned against the wall.
"Mom?" I said softly.
She forced a smile. "Yes, baby?"
"Everything okay?"
"It's fine. Your father's just being…Don't worry about it." She draped her arm over my shoulders. "I should go."
I nodded. I felt the ache in my chest that always came with thinking about my father. There was no way I could make him love me.