Author's Note: Woop, woop. It's 2014. First update in the new year. Kisses from the Big Apple. XOXO
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Spencer looked around the room uncomfortably. She could feel her mother scrutinizing her.
"Mom, I need to tell you something really important, but you need to promise not to freak out when I tell you about it," she began, grasping her left hand more tightly, as if to protect the ring from being seen.
"I'll be fine. Spencer, just tell me," her mother urged.
Spencer sighed, wondering how she would say all of this. "I didn't want you and Dad to flip out the other night at dinner, so I sort of lied about my relationship with Toby," she began. When she didn't seem to get any reaction, she continued. "We've been dating for a lot longer than six months. We've probably been going out for sixteen months, at least," she confessed.
"And you never thought to introduce us?" her mother asked.
"I was scared you'd ask that the other night at dinner and things would get awkward from there," she replied. "And I also wanted to wait to have this conversation in private with you, without Melissa and her husband being there."
There was awkward silence before Spencer decided to finally just be out with it. "Mom, Toby proposed to me six months ago, and…I said yes," she announced.
Silence.
"We're getting married at the end of September. I was just scared to tell you and Dad because I didn't know if you'd approve or if you'd even like Toby compared to Andrew…"
"Spencer, Spencer. Slow down," her mother urged. Spencer stopped talking. "I think that Toby is a very nice boy and that you both make a good couple," she began. "But aren't you nervous that this is a bit…fast? You were only dating for ten months when you got engaged?"
Spencer sighed. "Yes. But I don't feel like we've been dating for that long. I just feel ready to get married," she answered.
"I just don't want you getting hurt again."
She got a bit agitated, not necessarily at her mother, but at this whole concept in general. "Toby is nothing like Andrew, Mom! He's not going to cheat on me or disrespect me like Andrew did," she exclaimed. She had forgotten her parents knew nothing about Andrew's indiscretions.
"What?"
Spencer bit her lip. "Um…Andrew…Andrew cheated on me several times while we were together. That's why I broke off the engagement and our relationship," she said quietly. It still hurt a bit when she thought of being betrayed like that.
"And Toby really helped me heal and I'm forever thankful for that. I want yours and dad's approval, but even if you don't support it, I'm going to marry him," she added firmly.
Her mother nodded. "If you feel that strongly about it, I'll support you, Spencer," she answered.
Spencer smiled before hugging her mother.
Spencer walked arm-in-arm with Hanna to the upscale cake shop in Philadelphia where they would be trying wedding cakes.
"Where is Prince Charming?" Hanna asked as they both sat down and Spencer smoothed out the cloth napkin on her lap.
Spencer took a sip of water from the clear water glass. "He's coming. He had to meet someone, then he said that he and Caleb were coming," she answered.
"Have you thought at all of what kind of cake you want?" Hanna asked.
Spencer shook her head. "I probably won't care as much as Toby. He's going to enjoy it a lot more than me."
"Okay. After you taste all of the flavors, you and Toby are going to go look at the displays that the store designed for me. Keep in mind the aesthetics for the date, Spence," Hanna reminded her.
Spencer was about to reply, but before she could, Toby and Caleb entered. She immediately got up to hug Caleb and give Toby a kiss. Hanna hugged Toby and kissed her boyfriend before they all sat down again.
"Did we miss anything?" Caleb asked, looking around at all of the displays.
"No, Caleb. You didn't miss any cake," Hanna answered with a slight eye-roll.
Before any more snide remarks could be exchanged, a petite brunette who Spencer assumed was one of the bakers came out with the first round of cake. She handed out four small plates to the four of them.
"This is the regular white cake," she explained.
Spencer lifted a small piece of the cake to her lips. She tasted it. It was delicious.
"What do you think?" Hanna asked.
"It's really good," Spencer offered before finishing the small portion of cake.
A younger boy who looked about in his teens came out carrying four more plates and handed them to the brunette. He took their plates as they finished.
"Okay, now the next one is the dark chocolate cake," she said.
Spencer took a bite. She thought that if heaven had a flavor, this was it. "This is amazing," she commented.
"I love it," Hanna agreed.
About three rounds of cake later, they were finished.
"Which ones did you like the most?" Hanna asked curiously. Spencer turned to Toby.
"I liked the chocolate and that French vanilla cheesecake one," she said. He nodded in agreement.
"They told me that they can make a layer cake with multiple flavors," Hanna told them.
"Really, Hanna? That's perfect," Spencer said without thinking about him for a moment. "Toby?"
He nodded again. "Whatever you want, Spencer."
"Cake is cake," Caleb chimed in from behind Hanna.
"Men are so easy," Hanna mumbled under her breath so only Spencer could catch it.
"Would you like to come look at the displays now?" the brunette inquired before leading the four of them to an adjacent room, where there were several displays of fake (but exquisite) cakes.
Spencer looked at all of them, and suddenly, she got this nostalgic feeling, bringing her back to when she was about nine years old, walking in front of bakeries and being amazed at the flawless, colorful displays in the front of the small stores.
Almost immediately, she was drawn to one beautiful display in particular. She led Toby over to this beautiful three-tier cake. It was covered in chocolate fondant, hand-painted with a beautiful silver design, adorned with white edible ribbon. The most marvelous thing, however, was the beautiful red rose on the top of the cake. There were small silver edible pearls near it, but the color of the cherry red rose was the star of the cake.
"What do you think of this one?" she asked.
But really, she didn't have to ask. Her pleading, large brown eyes said it all. How could he say no to her?
"It's beautiful. I think we should get it," he said, knowing that was what she wanted to hear.
She broke out into the widest of smiles before kissing him on the cheek. Hanna and Caleb quickly walked over.
"So is this the one, then?"
Spencer sat in the small spare room of the apartment, which housed all the beautiful things Toby had made, specifically, his paintings. She sat, staring and admiring all of them. Suddenly, she realized she was looking for one in particular, but couldn't find it anywhere.
"Toby?" she called out, hoping he'd hear her, wherever he was in the apartment.
"Yeah, Spence?" he replied a moment later.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked when he opened the door to the room.
He sat down next to her. "What is it?"
"What happened to that painting that you made on the scene from Paris?" she inquired quietly.
He was silent for a moment as he thought of it. "I'm sure it's around here somewhere," he said.
She shook her head. "I looked for it everywhere."
He looked away from her. His guilty face would've said it all. "Hey, do you want to do more wedding planning?"
"You want to do more wedding planning?" she asked, genuinely surprised. "And stop avoiding the subject. What happened to it?"
He bit his lip. His phone rang in the other room. He immediately took that as an opportunity to avoid Spencer's question.
She shook her head, thinking about it. She tiptoed around the room, looking at everything once more.
She knew she shouldn't, when she came to a painting of many pretty orchids, but she just had to reach out and touch it. It was like some sort of first. She remembered going to the National Gallery when she was younger and visiting London for the first time. Oh, how she just wanted to reach out and touch Monet's oil paint! The ridges over the canvas fascinated her. She imagined that it would feel kind of like a bumpy scab on the skin, rough and out of place, but oddly fascinating. And then, she wondered, how weird was she?
Still, now, as she was touching the painting, she felt like it was her own personal Monet. But this was much better. She felt like the patron of this painting, in a way. Though she didn't commission it, per se, she was the reason this painting was created. And it was created by someone she loved dearly. Yes, this was certainly better than any Monet, or Rueben, or Manet. This was hers.
Spencer sat, scrutinizing the bouquets and centerpieces Hanna had given her pictures of. It was amazing how perfect the flowers were. She remembered there was a reason that she had put Hanna in charge of this all.
Just as she was getting lost in her own thoughts, she felt strong arms wrap around her.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking at the pictures Hanna sent me of the centerpieces," she answered. "What do you think?"
"I think…Hanna's doing an amazing job," he answered. "And I think that maybe we can take some time off from thinking about the wedding," he said.
I looked at him with a small smile. "And how do you suppose we do that?" she asked, flirting innocently.
"I have a few ideas."
She couldn't help but smile brightly. She let him bring her back to the bedroom.
She slid back onto the bed. Toby kissed her on the cheek tenderly. She smiled before kissing him on the lips. She could almost feel color rise to her cheeks. She just felt so beautiful around him in a way nobody ever made her feel before.
He unzipped her dress achingly slowly. As she watched the white gauzy material fly to the ground, she felt freer.
She unbuttoned his shirt while kissing him gingerly on the lips. As she pushed the material off of his body, she began to blush at the sight of his half-naked body.
Before she could comment on anything, he kissed her on the lips. She began to pull of his pants, even though she found it rather difficult considering how preoccupied she was.
As soon as she was lying down on the bed, she pulled away for a minute so she could look into his beautiful blue eyes.
His thumb brushed her cheek very softly. "I love you so much," he said.
"I love you, too," she said before pulling him closer to her once more.
QueenSpoby: Thanks! And how do you figure on Andrew? I'm just curious :)
AL3110: Aw, cute, tired AL. It's okay.
FabsirellaPrincessOfPopcornia: Toby Cavanaugh is so flawless...ugh, everyone deserves a Toby. Thank you, though there's not much more to develop (except for possibly setting the story up for a possible threequel? *hint, hint*).
bluebird10023: I feel like Spencer would help Andrew with this. I mean, he has helped her in the past (even though he's hurt her). In Part III of Begin Again, I tried to develop that, but it seems like some readers have forgotten it.
mickeymack16:Okay, thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter.
eveningshades1107: I'm really happy with the compromise, actually. I think Spencer is doing the right thing. And I got the inspiration from this notorious bird in the cage in my family which certainly caused an uproar. Apparently, it was my grandma's and was supposed to go to her only daughter, my aunt. But when my dad's younger brother got married, the necklace apparently looked "so gorgeous" with my aunt's dress that she just had to give it to my aunt (but this aunt isn't biologically related to me) and my aunt (my grandma's daughter) HAD A FIT. And now I can't bring it up because it's still a touchy subject with my (biological) aunt (even though this happened about 15 years ago). To make things worse, this aunt my uncle married is now going through a really ugly divorce from him. I think it's been going on for over two years and my poor little cousins are oblivious to everything, which really bothers me. But my grandma says that my aunt can rest assured; the necklace will go back to my family (my grandma is getting her boss, a lawyer, to write up an order or something so my soon-to-be ex-aunt will give the necklace back. Considering this is a family heirloom that's been in my family for generations, the judge has no reason to refuse it). I personally am crossing my fingers that the necklace will eventually be mine because it sounds really, really pretty from how my grandmother described it. Of course, since Spencer is a Hastings, the necklace has to be super-blinged out. Nothing less for a Hastings. My own familial stories and troubles aside, I think someone should haul Chanel off to Radley and I hope you liked this chapter :)
Vexrll: I need to go work out now. I've been eating horribly. Hopefully things will be a bit better when I go back to school next week.
Guest: Thank you very much!
spobylover1237: Well, I'm so glad you really like it! I hope you liked this chapter!
vondydora:I don't think this will really cause any problems with Spencer and Toby. I think Andrew kind of needs this. I feel like a child will really make him grow up. However, Spencer and Andrew really should not be allowed to have children together. I have a feeling that the child they have together...hmm...anal retentive and very OCD.
Okay, so spoilers for next chapter...out of town. Boo hoo. You're all going to hate me. Too bad. You'll get what you want. You guys know how I love to mess with you. You'll forgive me by the time this story is over.
So before I go, I would like to tell you all that I have given Ravenswood a chance and I would like to share with you all the things that I learned while watching that show.
-Luke is basically Ravenswood Toby
-Olivia can't use her arms or legs
-I ship Hanna and Olivia or Miranda, all day, every day
-Even if someone is dead, I can still talk to them
-I ship Luke and Toby. OTP forever
-Toby should come in and guest star and crash the Ravenswood haunted party just so he can bromance/OT3 with Luke and/or Caleb
-Remy and Luke (Lemy, I guess) are basically the Ravenswood version of Spencer and Toby (possible OTP alert)
-Any creepy little girl who wears a red coat and acts really shady is related to Alison. I'm sorry, but just #factoflife
-I might die by chandelier if I play Ouija again (so I'd better hide the Ouija board next time all my BFFs come to my house)
-My life revolves around ships basically.
I hope I shared a little bit of wisdom with you guys today. And happy 2014! -Kayson