A month later I was sitting up in Nick’s tree looking at the view while he and the guys went into the studio for a while. They had been getting pressure to record again as the fans expected a new album before the year’s end. After assuring him I would be fine alone since I had been before meeting him, he climbed into his car and left for the studio.
That was two hours ago and I had been up in the tree ever since. Forever in a single view. I could see the world and felt the world could see me. That branch in that tree where Nick I had sat the day we met had become my place. If ever he couldn’t find me he knew I was in that tree. He called it my tree, had even had a tiny brass plate engraved with Riley’s Tree screwed into the trunk.
It was there that I was sitting when a car pulled into Nick’s driveway a little while later. I watched in silence as a tiny red-haired woman climbed from the automobile and headed for the door.
“He’s not home,” I called out then had to force myself not to laugh when she jumped.
“Who said that? Where are you?” she asked, looking around.
“Up here,” I answered, climbing down slowly then dropping myself the last few feet.
“Good Lord, what were you doing in that tree? Never mind I don’t want to know. Can’t be any weirder than some of the stuff my son has done. I’m not looking for Nick. I’m looking for Riley O’Brien,” she said.
She was so tiny and cute I had to smile at her. “I’m Riley.”
“Well of course. Who else would be in Nick’s tree? I mean Riley’s Tree,” she corrected upon seeing the tiny brass plate. She smiled and held her hand out to me. “I’m Denise McLean, Alex’s mother.”
“You’re A.J.’s mom? Well no wonder he’s such a cutie, gets his looks from his mom,” I said, shaking her hand as I smiled at her.
“Now I see why Nick is so crazy about you. You’re a real charmer, Riley,” she said, laughing. “I’m here to pick you up.”
“Me? Why?” I asked, confused.
“Nick has a surprise planned for you. That’s all I know. He asked me to pick you up and take you to the appointed spot,” she said, grinning at me with a grin much like the one A.J. flashed. “Oh and I’m suppose to tell you to wear this,” she said, running back to the car and getting a box.
“What is it?” I asked.
“One way to find out. Now hurry honey so we aren’t late. Go, go, go,” she said, urging me into the house.
I walked back to the room Nick and I shared and placed the box on the bed. Gently lifting the top, I gasped in surprise and joy at what greeted my eyes. I lifted the dress and held it against my body. I had never seen anything like it before. It was floor length with a slight up the side that would stop mid thigh, the back was open expect for the laces that held it together, and it was strapless which explained the sheer wrap that lay in the box. It appeared almost white save the tiniest hint of purple in it that would bring out my eyes. It was gorgeous and I rushed to show just so I could put it on.
Forty-five minutes later I reappeared in the living room in front of Denise.
“Oh, honey! You look beautiful,” she said when she saw me.
“It’s the dress,” I answered. “Thank you.
“It’s the woman in the dress,” she stated. “Nick is one lucky young man. Now why can’t my Alex find a girl like you?”
“Well, I’ve got a sister,” I teased. “But I think she’s a little young for him.”
“Oh well. We’ll just keep looking. Come on, darlin’. Nick’s waiting and he’s been patient long enough.”
Fifteen minutes later we were pulling up outside the hotel where Nick and I had met. I smiled at the sight of the fountain where we had fallen in love.
“Have fun honey and give my love to Nick,” Denise said. I promised I would then smiling I waved and watched her leave. Turning, I walked into the hotel.
Nick stood at the bottom of the large staircase looking nervous as he tugged on his sleeves and readjusted his tie for what I guessed to be the thousandth time. Slowly I walked toward him.
Suddenly, he caught sight of me and straightened as he stared at me across the lobby. When I got to him he still hadn’t moved.
“You can’t be real,” he whispered.
“Why not?”
“Because angels like you only live in heaven,” he answered. “Riley, you defy words. Beautiful doesn’t even begin to touch you.”
I smiled and gently kissed him. “Thank you.”
“You look ethereal. Thank you for coming,” he said, smiling as he offered me his arm. “Ready for dinner?”
“A date? You mean a real date?”
Our relationship had been so unusual, so unique that we had never actually had a real date.
“A real date,” he answered as I took his arm.
He led me into the hotel restaurant and I noticed it was empty of other patrons.
“Food must not be too good here if no one else is here,” I whispered.
“The food is excellent. I rented it out for the night so it’s all ours.”
“Oh, Nick!”
Dinner was beautiful, the food amazing, and the company… Well, I was with the man I loved so you can imagine how the company was. The night was perfect. I couldn’t have imagined a more wonderful evening if I had tried. Candles, flowers, soft music. He held me in his arms and danced with me in an area that had been cleared of tables. It was all like a dream, a perfect, beautiful, magical dream, but it was all real and it was all because of Nick.
As the clock struck midnight he walked me outside to the fountain and gently lifted me so I stood on the edge. It was the same place I had lost my footing and fallen into his arms. I smiled down at him.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Riley, I’ve been around the world to places I can’t even pronounce. I’ve been lusted after, stalked, mobbed, seen things that I can’t begin to describe, heard songs I’ll never forget, laughed, cried and honestly believed I had lived it all. I was never alive until the day you came into my life though. You have shown me what it means to be really alive, to see magic, and to feel love. I can’t imagine a single moment you aren’t part of I love you so much. I’ve loved you since you fell into my arms and proclaimed me your hero. I will love you till my last breath and for lifetimes after that. My life is nothing without you, but I don’t care how long you are a part of it. If we only get another day or week or month or years that’s fine. I don’t care. All I care about is knowing that for every single moment you are alive you are mine. Riley O’Brien, will you marry me?” he asked, pulling a jeweler’s box from his pocket and opening it to reveal the most beautiful ring.
I stared at him, the image of his blonde beauty blurring in the wake of my tears before.
“Goldie Locks?” he urged.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Yes?”
“Yes,” I cried, falling into his arms again.
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