Page 67 of Georgia: Britain's Story: Part 1
“Yes,” I move, straddling him, taking his face between my two hands. I kiss him hard. “All I want is fucking honesty — good, bad, or indifferent.” I kiss him again. “And I want you. I’m with you.” I release his face and pull away. He has tears in his eyes. My chest feels tight, and there’s that warmth in my belly again. “Liam, I love you.” I kiss the side of his face. “I want to marryyou.” I kiss a falling tear off his other cheek.
He doesn’t say anything, just pulling me into him tightly, burying his face against my neck and shoulder. I just sit there stroking his back until he releases me.
“Can I come with you…on Tuesday?” he asks.
“You want to come to Virginia?” I’m a little bit surprised.
“I don’t want to be away from you.”
“What about Sonoma?”
“I think it’s probably for the best if I take a step back from work and that project in particular. On Monday I’m going to start looking for a project manager to replace me. I can work remotely on the broad vision or selections, but day-to-day needs to get handed off.” He’s brushing the hair out of my face, softly.
“I want to meet my future daughters, and I want to see your house.”Crap.
“So, a couple of things: I have to talk to Damian before I introduce you to the girls. I feel like I need to give him the same courtesy he gave me about Summer. Which, I will call him today. And then, where would you stay? I don’t know how I feel about you moving in, even though I really want you to, because of the girls. They need to meet you first, get comfortable with you. I don’t want them to feel like I just asked a stranger to move in with us.” I see his face fall a bit. It was easy to forget we’ve been living in this fantasy for the last six weeks. I want to make this work, but there’s logistics and real life to deal with.
“I’ll stay in a hotel, and I’ll start looking for a rental. I can even start looking for a house, depending on what we want to do. I’m here for the long game, Britain. You don’t need to move me into your house next week, I get that. But I need to be in your life. Really that’s all I need.”Ugh, he’s perfect.
“Well…if you’re coming with me, there’s no reason we need to wait until Tuesday, is there? I mean, I love Spearhead, but I’m also excited to take you home. And the good news is you’ll only need to get a hotel for one night the first couple of weeks. The girls get out of school June 7th, and then June 8th I drive them to camp for two weeks. So as long as you stay somewhere else that night, we can buy ourselves a little bit of time.”
“Sounds perfect.” He’s smiling again.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay staying in the house I used to share with Damian? I feel like if it was reversed, I’d think it was weird staying in your ex-wife’s house.”
“Well, you’re staying in my ex-wife’s house now. Does it feel weird?” My eyes go wide, and I smack his shoulder. He just laughs. “I’m kidding, baby. It’s just a house, and if it’s where you’re at, that’s where I want to be. However, I may have already started looking for a new house or land to build on. I’m gonna need a project to keep me busy.” He pats my leg. “Also, we can’t leave yet. Sandy’ll kill me if we don’t show up at Colton’s tonight. I’ve also been keeping her at bay all morning. She wants to come see your ring.”
“You already told your mom?” I ask, unable to stop the giggle from slipping out.
“Yes.”Such a momma’s boy.
“Where’s my future daughter?!” Sandy says as she bursts into the great room. I just laugh. Gaining Sandy as a mother-in-law is the cherry on top of getting engaged to Liam. I haven’t had a mom in my life for a long time now.
“Hi Sandy,” I say as I get up from the couch. I know I have the biggest smile on my face. I’m genuinely happy, which seems crazy after the day I had yesterday. She heads straight for me, pulling me into a warm hug. I know where Liam got all his affection from. It’s a shame she’s not a grandma, she was born for it. Well, not a grandma yet…
“Okay, darling, first I need to see this ring. Second, we toast.” Jim walks in behind her, carrying a fancy bottle of champagne. I show off the ring. I can’t believe how much I love it. It’s unique and big, but I love that it’s old most of all. Somehow Liam knows exactly what I like, it’s mind boggling. I know he said the emeralds match my eye color, but when I see them I think about the foothills turning green. It’s such a beautiful transformation that happens once a year, and it’s fleeting. You have to soak up the green hills for that short time before they turn to gold. I always loved it as a kid, and somehow this ring is a permanent reminder of them. It’s perfect.
“Oh, bubba, I must say, you did good.” Sandy has tears in her eyes when she finally looks up.
“Thanks, Mom. I just picked the ring I felt most drawn to, one that reminded me of Britain.”
“I’m not talking about the ring, honey.” I blush. Sandy just pats my hand, giving me a wink. “Okay, now a toast, and then I promise we’ll leave you two alone, okay?” I just nod in acknowledgement. Liam already has the champagne open and four glasses set out.Shit.
“Um, I’ll just toast with ginger ale.” I think Sandy and Liam may have strained necks tomorrow over how fast they both whip their heads around to look at me. Both of them are wearing the same wide-eyed look.
“Migraine medicine…doesn’t mix well with alcohol. Sorry for the scare.” I let out a small laugh, trying to wash that moment away. Both parties relax, lowering their shoulders, releasing their breath.
“Oh, honey, don’t be sorry, but do be careful. I almost just died and went to heaven. It’s been a big day!” She’s laughing, and when I turn to look at Liam, he just offers me a half smile. He passes Sandy and myself a flute. Going back for one for him and Jim.
Once we’re gathered in the great room, Sandy clears her throat and begins. “Well, I can’t believe this is finally happening.” She pauses to release a laugh, “But here we are, and I couldn’t be happier than if I’d planned this myself.” She looks up. “Georgia, baby, you’d be so proud of our Britain. I know you’d be so happy, too.” She looks at me. “She always loved Liam.”
I can feel the tears beginning the silent run down my face. Sandy turns to look at Liam, “Son, I maintain, if you mess this up, I will disown you.” Liam just nods his head in affirmation. “To Britain, sugar, I’m so glad I get to finally call you one of my own. And to the both of you, I wish you many years of happiness.” She raises her glass, but adds one more thing, “Thank heavens there’s no such thing as chance, cheers!”
We all clink glasses and take a sip. Before I can even put my glass back down, Liam is ushering Sandy and Jim back out the door. I laugh, but he’s lucky to have them. Sandy calls back to me, “I’ll see you tonight, darling!”
“Sounds good,” I call back as Liam shuts the door. As soon as he turns around, I recognize the look on his face and my skin instantly heats. My cheeks go red and I get wet. He’s stalking towards me, “Baby, again? Already?” I ask. He just nods, silently, a smirk on his face. Oh my god, this man is insatiable. He picks me up, fireman style, throwing me over his shoulder. I yelp at the surprise.
“Where are you taking me?!”
