Beginning with Forever (51 page)

“Carson, you
can’t greet them in your robe. They’ll know that we’ve been doing
you know what
,” I panic, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“We’re both consenting adults.
They know that we do
you know what
, and I hope they know that we do
you know what
a lot of times.” He laughs.

I jump out o
f bed and rush to his closet. Thank goodness Carson still has clothes hanging in here for me. I feel terribly guilty as I run my fingers through the many outfits he’s made room for in his personal closet. My judgment of him was completely wrong. His commitment to our relationship never once faltered while I allow my insecurities of Bianca tear us apart. I vow that I will never let that woman come between us again.

What should I wear?
Dang it, here I go again stressing about what to wear to impress his mother. I grab a pair of skinny jeans, but they’re too skinny for this pregnant girl. I see a suede button down dress, this will do. I pull my hair back into a sloppy wet bun, apply a thin layer of mascara, blush and lip gloss. It’s the best that I can do in five minutes. Carson casually strolls back into the room. He walks into his closet and pulls out a dark pair of denim jeans and a long sleeve cotton shirt. He finger combs his wet hair and is effortlessly handsome.

“Lily, are
you ready to face my parents?” God knows I’m not, but I agree to follow him into the living room anyway. His father throws his arms affectionately around me and pats my back with military strength. I wince and flinch unexpectedly from the hard blows, but try to maintain an embracing smile.

“Lillian, how are you, kiddo?” Carson’s father genuinely asks me while Kat keeps her distance.
Her eyes follow my every move, glaring at me. The heat in her stare causes me to sweat nervously.

“I’m fine, Mr. Bradley, and how are you both doing?”
I attempt to include Kat into my weak greeting.

“
Mom, dad, Lil and I have something we want to share with you both.” Holy crap, what is he doing? What’s his rush? I’m not ready for this yet. I give Carson a pleading look, but he doesn’t see it. He walks over to me and grasps my sweaty hand. The moisture from my palm seizes his attention. He looks into my eyes and delays our trip down the hallway. “Mom and dad will you please excuse us for a minute?” We rush over to the kitchen. I reach in the refrigerator for a cold water bottle and pour it down my dry, choking throat. “Angel, let’s break the news to them and deal with the consequences together. Whatever it may be, it won’t change us, I promise.”

“Your mother doesn’t like me.
I can sense her animosity as soon as I entered the living room.”

“I’ll
handle my mother. You don’t need to stress about how she feels about you. I’ve already told you that stress isn’t good for our baby.” He intertwines our fingers and leads me back to his parents as I drag my feet.

“Will
you both please come with us?” He reaches for his mother’s hand with his free one. The length of the hallway stretches endlessly as we walk down it with tension and hesitation. Carson releases his mother’s hands to open the door and reveals our secret.

“Oh my heavens
, son, is it true? Are we officially going to be grandparents?” His father is the first to excitedly appreciate our news. His mother is still in shock, I think. She doesn’t utter a single sound or word. “Kat, my dear, you will finally have a grandbaby to spoil.” She still refuses to make any sounds. Am I possibly seeing tears in her eyes? Carson was right. I’m hoping she’s crying tears of joy.

“
Mother, please say something,” Carson pleads for a response.

“
May I have a word with you, son?” she bluntly demands.

“Y
ou can talk to the both of us. Lil and I have no secrets between us.” I squeeze his hand, signaling him to stop antagonizing her. It’ll only make matters worse, especially for me. Kat isn’t accepting our news well.

“Carson, I’d lik
e to catch up with your father.” I create an excuse for him to speak with his mother and figure out what’s upsetting her.

I
lead my mother into my office and slam the door shut. My voice is abrasive. “Mother, I can’t understand why you can’t accept Lily into your life. She is and will be forever a part of mine, so you’ll have to figure something out or we’ll have more issues to deal with. I thought our baby news would make you the happiest grandmother in Boston, but I was wrong.”

“If the baby is really yours, than yes, I
’d be exceptionally happy.” She narrows her eyes; purses her lips tightly and crosses her arms defensively in front of her chest.

“
And what are you implying mother?” I angrily question her.

“My sources tell me that she’s involved with another man
. This baby could be his.”

“And did your source offe
r you incriminating pictures?” Her blue eyes grow surprisingly large. She’s alarmed that I know who her source is. Bianca is really digging a deep hole for herself, but I’ll deal with her later.

“Yes, a
picture is worth a thousand, even a million words. She only wants your money, she doesn’t love you.” She grumbles her angry words at me.

“Have you shown D
ad these pictures? I’m guessing not, since he’s still cordial with Lily.”

“Your father refuses to listen to anything that I have to say about Lillian, so I didn’t show him those disgraceful pictures. He prides himself in being a good judge of character. Well
, personally, I think he’s way off about her. She’s not what she seems.” She narrows her sneering eyes and breathes faster.

“Mother, it hurts to hear you say these
awful things about Lily. Like you, I was also deceived. Lily hid her pregnancy from me until I damn near beat it out of Richard.” She rolls her eyes at me in disbelief. Her body language tells me she’s going to fight me to the end about Lily’s innocence.

“
He could be lying to you, too. They’re scheming together to get your money,” she haughtily retorts.

“Richard comes from an
exceedingly wealthy background. He doesn’t need to scheme for money,” I counter her arguments. She looks puzzled, not sure what to believe anymore. “I think you just fell for one of Bianca’s schemes.”

I hate to
expose my personal details to her, but it’s necessary to substantiate the absolute truth. “I took Lillian’s virginity. It was my recklessness that has put her in this predicament, interfering with her schooling and goals. I’ve turned her innocent world upside down, and I’m struggling to make amends.”

“Y
ou took a young girl’s virtue? What were you thinking?” She turns the table around, implying that it’s my entire fault now. I can live with that as long as she welcomes Lil into her life. This is all that matters to me. “How far along is she?” Her temperament goes from cold to warm. I think she’s on the fence.

“
Lil is about five weeks along. We have ultrasound pictures of your grandbaby if you’re interested.” She attempts to fight back a delightfully huge grin. I’ve cracked her hard shell.

“Finally, I’
ll have a beautiful grandbaby to spoil and brag about.” She pulls me into her arms and emotionally embraces me while tears spill down her cheeks. I believe I’ve successfully convinced her. “We have a lot of baby shopping to do. This grandma is more than ready to spoil her grandbaby rotten.”

“Maybe you can take Lily
with you. This will give you two an opportunity to start over fresh, but just to forewarn you, she’s very frugal and doesn’t enjoy spending my money.”

“I’ll use this t
ime to make it up to her. I haven’t been kind to her since we first met. She probably thinks I’m a nasty old biddy.” She playfully winks her eye at me and walks over to the mirror to check her makeup, my mother and her vanity.

I
’m not sure what Carson told his mother, but it changes everything between us like heaven and hell. She returns to the room happier and uncharacteristically pleasant with me. “Lillian, I would love to take you shopping for baby gifts after lunch today.” I shoot Carson a skeptical look. He shrugs his shoulders and smiles innocently at me.

“
Sure, I’d enjoy that very much,” I respond politely with subtle hesitance in my voice. In actuality, I’m terrified to death to be alone with her. We haven’t had much luck bonding. What will we talk about for several hours?

Carson must’ve read the wo
rrisome expression on my face. “Mom and dad, lunch will be here in half an hour, make yourself at home. I need a word with Lillian.” He takes my wrist and leads me to his bedroom. He sits down on the edge of his bed and pats his lap for me to settle on. I yield to his request and snuggly straddle his waist with my thighs and place my arms around his neck. He’s instantly aroused with our closeness, but remains focused on my anxiety.

“Carson, what’s going on? One minute your mother can’t stan
d me and the next, she wants to take me shopping and buy me baby gifts.”

“Lil, please
give her a chance to make it up to you. She feels bad for treating you unfairly. She can hardly wait to spoil her new grandbaby with a few gifts. Can you graciously accept them?” he pleads for me not to be stubborn with his mother.

“Yes
, but I’m still apprehensive about her liking me.”

“Trust
me, you’ll have her eating out of your hands by the end of the shopping trip.” He taps the tip of my nose with his index finger.

“I hope you’re right.”

“I have one last request from you for today.” He lifts me off his lap and sets me on the bed. I watch him disappear into his closet. What else does he have up his sleeves? He comes back with a brown box of chocolates in his hands. He settles down on one knee before me. Hmm…he’s offering me candy. I’m smiling hopelessly, wondering what he’s up to.

“Lily,
ever since you entered my world, my life is sweeter and more wonderful. I’m happier than I’ve ever been because of you. I can’t imagine sharing desserts with anyone else, but you. Forever true is what I promised you from the beginning to the end, so please allow me to pledge my love to you with this ring.” My pregnancy hormones kick in, making me emotionally unstable. Joyful tears fill my eyes till they overflow down my face. He lifts the lid open to reveal a glimmering pink diamond ring set in the center of perfectly hand-crafted chocolate truffles. It’s exquisitely beautiful. I remove the box from his hand and set it aside. I embrace his face between my palms and seal his proposal with a kiss.

“Yes, I agree to be your wife
and share desserts with only you for the rest of our lives.”

“Mrs.
Carson Michael Bradley…I like the sound of that.” He reaches around me for the ring. “May I have your left hand, soon-to-be Mrs. Bradley?” He slides it proudly on my ring finger. “Promise me you’ll never take it off.” It’s obvious that he noted his lotus ring is missing from my middle finger. Guilt tugs at my heart as I realize that I’ve hurt him by removing it.

“I promise
it’ll never leave my finger for doubting your love.” I look down at my hand and see a large diamond overpowering my slender finger.
Carson, will you ever agree to curb your spending with me?
I shake my head to myself. “We need to seal your proposal with dessert.” I reach behind me for a white chocolate truffle. My teeth bite through the hard outer shell to expose a soft ganache center. I bring it to his mouth; he licks it with indulgence and then enters my mouth with sweetness that only he can offer me.

“If
my parents weren’t sitting in the next room, I’d enjoy this entire box of truffles with you. I guess we’ll have to save them for tonight.” He pulls his lips away from me and interrupts our dessert bond. “We better not keep them waiting any longer. Let’s go, babe.” Where does he find his will power?

Carson’s parents
are settled comfortably on his leather sofa, drinking white wine when we enter the living room. I ask Carson to keep his parents company while I set out the plates and utensils for lunch. “Here honey, let me help you with that.” Kat walks over to me and considerately offers.

“It’s no trouble at all. Please enjoy your wine.”
I’m still not use to her being cordial with me, but I’ll take this kindness over her hostility towards me any day.

The doorbell dings
, and Carson runs to answer it. For a split second, my heart jerks out of my chest, thinking it could be Bianca, but it’s the concierge instead, delivering our food from a local Italian bistro. My heart settles down immediately. The pasta smells delicious, and I can’t wait to dig in. It’s great to be able to eat again without feeling sick. I’ll never take the simple pleasures of life for granted again. Carson insists that we have lunch in the formal dining room since it’s never been used before. Kat is actually quite enjoyable to talk with, now that we’re beyond the trust issue. We have several unique things in common; she’s left handed and also enjoys dabbling in photography and abstract art. In fact, those original pieces hanging in her dining room that I admired are hers. And to think, I thought she spent a fortune on those incredible original artworks.