The Harder They Fall Page 13

  Isaac and I had been spending every possible moment together during the last few weeks, but I slept at my house and he slept at his hotel. I thought I was hearing him correctly, and it seemed like he was assuming Patrick and I would stay at his place in Chicago starting as early as next week.

  "Were you thinking Patrick and I would stay with my grandparents?" I asked. "Or with you?"

  He tilted his head at me as if I knew better than to ask, and I widened my eyes at him.

  "That's basically moving in together," I said, shaking my head a little. "I mean, I know you said it wasn't permanent or whatever, but I'm not sure if I would feel comfortable doing that before we—"

  "Marry me," he said. "You'd have to marry me first. I'm completely prepared for that. I want that."

  "Marry you before you go to Chicago?" I asked, clarifying.

  He nodded.

  "That's next week," I said.

  "I know. Is it too soon?"

  I looked around, feeling a bit like I was on a hidden camera show. "Are you serious?"

  "Yes," he said. "I've never been more serious about anything in my whole life."

  I stared at him, feeling like I've never been more stunned about anything in my whole life. This was honestly the last conversation I expected us to have over dinner. Of course, I wanted to marry him. But neither of us were the type to jump into something like that. It seemed crazy that we were even having this conversation, and yet at the same time, it seemed altogether natural.

  "Look," he said, seeing my wheels turning. "I know it's a lot to take in. I just thought it was good timing to think about quitting your job." He smiled and gestured with a flick of his chin in the direction Cindy had gone. "Let's enjoy our meal. No pressure. I don't want you to feel like you have to say 'yes' or 'no' to anything right this second. I just wanted to bring it up to you because I had been thinking about it, and I know next week is going to sneak up on us."

  Isaac gave my hand one last little squeeze before turning his attention to his meal. We spent the next few minutes eating. It was really delicious, but I had a hard time fully appreciating it because my thoughts were running wild. I thought of about a million reasons why I couldn't or shouldn't drop everything and rearrange my life to marry Isaac, but then my thoughts would always return to one simple truth that would outweigh any doubt I could come up with.

  I loved him.

  I loved Isaac.

  I loved Isaac.

  I can't marry someone I've only known for a month.

  But I love him.

  I can't do something crazy like quit my job and follow him to Chicago.

  But I love him.

  Patrick.

  But I love him.

  My family.

  But I love him.

  And so on and so forth.

  Every fear I could possibly come up with was outweighed by love. Everything kept coming back to one simple truth and that was that I loved Isaac Charles.

  I watched him cut his steak and take bites of it, and I even loved that. I loved the way his jaw worked and I could see the muscles up by his temples shifting as he chewed.

  I loved the way he held his fork.

  I loved the way he held his shoulders.

  I thought about him at the jobsite—how competent and in control he was with his work. I wanted to see his office in Chicago and more of his other projects.

  Everything about him was right.

  He wasn't perfect. Nobody was.

  I didn't expect perfection from him—it wasn't that. It's just that he was perfect for me.

  He was the one.

  "Isaac, I don't think I have to think about it," I said.

  "What's that mean?"

  "I just want to be where you are," I said. "I don't have to think about it. My answer is 'yes' to whatever you're asking. I don't want you to leave without me."

  Chapter 19

  "Y'all are what?" my mom asked.

  I rushed it, I knew I did, but I was so excited that I could barely contain myself.

  Mom, Dad, Liam, and Taylor were already at the venue when we got there. They had already found our seats, and Isaac and I stepped sideways through the other people in the row to get to them. My dad was at the far end, and next to him was my mom, followed by Taylor and then Liam. I filed in first, taking the seat next to my brother and letting Isaac sit on the edge.

  I had announced, "We're getting married," in an excited rush as we made our way to our seats, but no one had really heard me on account of the crowd noise.

  My mom must have really been focusing on my face and reading my lips because she was sitting far away and she was still the one to ask, "Y'all are what?" as we sat down.

  "There's an opening act," Liam said right when I sat down.

  He obviously hadn't heard me at all.

  "It's some singer-songwriter guy named Ben Miller. Have you heard of him? I heard he used to play guitar in Sting's band."

  "Isaac, is the theater in Courtney's building gonna look like this one?" Taylor asked, leaning over Liam to speak to Isaac.

  "Something like it," Isaac said, nodding and looking around as if he was impressed.

  "What'd you say when you first came in?" Mom asked with a curious expression, peering at me over Taylor and Liam.

  "I was telling her about the opening act," Liam said, having no idea what she was talking about.

  "No, Shelby was saying something," Mom said, staring at me with her eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration.

  Liam turned to look at me, and so did Taylor. Dad was even curious enough to lean forward and stare in our direction. Isaac was settled in next to me by now, and I reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it over and cradling it to my chest without even looking at him. I was holding his hand protectively to my body as I scanned the faces of my family. I stopped when I looked at my mom.

  "We're getting married," I said.

  My mom's face instantly crumpled like she was about to cry tears of joy, and she put her fist in front of her face. "Oh, baby, really? When did he? Did he propose tonight?"

  My brother, who was sitting closest to me, reached out and patted my thigh a few times before reaching behind me to slap Isaac on the back. Everyone reacted all at once, so it was a bit chaotic for a moment. My brother slapped us both, Taylor smiled and leaned over my brother to congratulate us, my mom began tearing up and continued asking questions, wanting details about the proposal, and my dad got a curious look on his face, sitting on the edge of his chair and trying to figure out what was going on.

  "What happened?" Dad asked.

  "Isaac and Shelby are getting married," Liam announced more loudly so that my dad could hear.

  "Did he propose at the restaurant?" Mom asked.

  My hands were still near my chest, clutching Isaac's hand, and I noticed my mom's eyes go directly and by instinct to my left ring finger. Taylor's eyes did the same thing, and suddenly my hand felt bare, like I had no physical proof that he had actually asked me to marry him.

  "It wasn't really official, like, a get on one knee proposal," I explained, feeling suddenly nervous.

  Isaac heard the tentative tone in my voice, and he adjusted to sit on the edge of his chair, leaning forward. The six of us huddled together as much as we could in theater chairs. Isaac looked straight at my dad.

  "I was hoping to talk to you about it first and tell you about my intentions to ask Shelby, Mister Kennedy, but tonight just sort of snuck up on me. I didn't even have a ring with me when I asked her, so she's right, it wasn't a typical proposal." He paused and glanced at me with a precious, regretful smile. "Sorry about that," he said.

  I smiled at him and cradled his hand closer to my chest, and he focused on my family again.

  "I leave to head back to Chicago next week, and I honestly don't want to go unless I can take her with me."

  "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a second," Mom said. "What about Chicago? Are you taking a trip? Did you say next week?"

  I smile
d and rolled my eyes and my mother, knowing that was the only part of that statement she would hear.

  "Next week?" she repeated. She looked at me. "Are you going up there with him when he goes back? Like taking a trip?"

  I could tell she was confused and thought this bit of information was unrelated to us getting married.

  "I'm trying to marry her before we go," Isaac said, cutting through the confusion.

  Everyone snapped to attention, and Taylor gasped and put her hand over her mouth like it was the most romantic thing she had ever heard.

  "I know she ultimately wants to be close to you guys. I'm sure we'll end up living in Memphis in the long run, but I've still got a home and business in Chicago. There's still a lot to sort out in that regard. All I know is that I want Shelby with me." He glanced at me. "So, the plan is that she'll come with me next week, and we'll start figuring things out."

  He looked at my parents and shook his head with a little reluctant smile. "I'm not sure about all the timing. I'm open to living in Memphis, and I'm gonna try not to take her away from you guys for too long, but at this point, that's all I can promise."

  "So you're planning on going with him next week to stay?" Mom asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

  I smiled and nodded. "Not forever, but yeah. Like he said, we're gonna work on getting back here."

  "So, you're moving?" Mom asked, still clarifying.

  I nodded with a little shrug. "I guess you can look at it that way. Moving with the intention of moving back."

  "What about your house? Your job? Patty boy?"

  "I'm quitting the station, Patrick's coming with us, and I really don't know about the house. We haven't really talked about that." I glanced at Isaac with a questioning expression and then back at my parents. "I guess we'll either try to sell it or hang onto it. We haven't really had the chance to talk about it."

  Everyone was quiet for the next few seconds.

  The seats around us were filling up, and the noise of the crowd had grown louder, but we just sat there and stared at each other in spite of the ruckus. I smiled at my dad who was on the end, looking thoughtfully at me like he was taking it all in.

  "Do you think it's a little soon?" Mom asked cautiously. "I, I'm really excited to hear that y'all got engaged. I just didn't want you to think that you had to hurry up and do a wedding just because he is going back next week."

  She didn't mean it that way, but my heart took it as a form of disapproval, and I began to feel a little nervous. I acted calm and collected on the outside, though. I smiled.

  "I don't think we have to hurry," I said. "Neither of us feels any pressure to hurry."

  "So, what's that mean?" Mom asked. "You're gonna wait?"

  I shook my head. "No," I said, calmly.

  I felt Isaac squeeze my hand, and it gave me strength and confidence. "We're still gonna do it before next week, but it's not because we're in a hurry. It's because we want to."

  Mom looked at Isaac as if to ask if he was in agreement with this. I turned to glance at him.

  He was looking at my parents when he said, "I knew I was gonna marry her after spending one day with her." He pulled back to focus on me. "Do you remember that? Do you remember me telling you I was gonna marry you?"

  I nodded. I heard Taylor let out another gasp that made me smile.

  "It seems like this all happened so quickly," my dad said, chiming in for the first time.

  We all regarded him.

  "But really, it didn't," he added. "Shelby's been nothing but patient. She's waited almost thirty years, and to me, it seems like—she knows it when she knows it, you know?"

  "Yeah, I knows it," I said, causing everyone to laugh.

  "Aww, baby," Mom said, with her face crumpled by the sweetness. "I'm so proud of you."

  She held out her arms and motioned by flexing her fingers for me to come over there and give her a hug. It was a slightly perilous maneuver for me to make, and I basically had to stretch out over Liam and Taylor to do it, but I managed. I hugged my mom, and my dad smiled at me and nuggied my head while, at the same time, my brother gave a couple of hard, unapologetic smacks to my rear end, which was basically across his girlfriend's lap. I was still laughing and shaking my head at them as I clumsily crawled back into my seat and got settled next to Isaac. It was perfect timing because the house lights began to go down just as I got into my seat.

  The murmuring of the crowd got quieter, and then everybody cheered as the curtain opened, revealing a man sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar and a microphone. There was a spotlight shining on him, and he smiled and waved as if he was thankful for the crowd's reaction.

  I was nervous and jittery, but wasn't because the show was beginning. It was because of the man sitting next to me, and the fact that we had just told my family of our intentions to get married and start a life together. It seemed even more real now than it had when we were talking about it at the restaurant.

  I reached over to grab Isaac's hand again, but rather than give it to me, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I glanced down, fiddling with the armrest that was in the way between us. I was delighted to figure out that it could be moved and put it in its upright position. I quickly got it out of the way and snuggled up next to Isaac. He pulled me into his embrace, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  The guy on stage had introduced himself and said a few things into the microphone, but I hardly paid attention to him. I was overwhelmed with love and excitement and my senses were buzzing from having Isaac next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder.

  The first song was a simple, sweet love song that could have not been more appropriate. My heart was so very full in that moment. It was truly astounding how it all worked out. I had been able to share my excitement with my family and then, sit back and luxuriate with a love song serenade while Isaac held me closely.

  I saw God's hand in moments like these and knew in my heart that while He also cared about the big things like marriage and jobs, He also had the ability and interest to orchestrate the small things like adjustable armrests and perfectly timed love songs.

  I sat there, basking in the truth that every good gift came from above—even tiny things could easily be passed off as coincidence or good timing. I glanced at Isaac and gave him a little smile before looking at the stage again.

  He leaned down, and putting his mouth next to my ear, he whispered, "Are you happy?"

  I smiled as I stretched up, putting my mouth close to his ear. "So happy," I said. "I think everything is perfect and just how I want it to be."

  He smiled, staring at the stage while I gazed at the side of his face. I stretched up to put a kiss on his cheek. "You're my man." I whispered.

  This caused him to pull back and look straight at me. Our gazes held for a few seconds as he looked at me like he was deep in thought.

  "I never dreamed I would love someone like this, Shelby. I absolutely can't wait to make you my wife. I wish it were sooner than next week. I wish it were today, right now. I can't wait to take you home and do husband stuff to you."

  I giggled with delight as I reached up and placed my fingertips on him, leaning up for a kiss. My lips softly touched his, and I realized that I, too, wished we were married today so that he could take me home and do this so-called husband stuff to me. "I can't wait either," I whispered.

  Chapter 20

  The following day was Saturday, so I had the day off work. Isaac, however, had so much going on at the project site that he had to go to work first thing in the morning.

  We had gone to my house after the concert, and Isaac didn't end up going back to his hotel until after 2am. We stayed up until the middle of the night, talking about the ins and outs of getting married and leaving for Chicago.

  Neither of us cared about a big wedding, and we talked about asking my uncle Jacob to just get us a marriage license so that we could do something private, but ultimately we decided to have a little ceremony and party to celebrate.


  I knew I would have about fifty or so people present once I invited our family and closest friends, and Isaac said he would likely just invite his parents, grandparents, and his brother. He said no more than six or eight, and maybe not even that on such short notice.

  We even touched on the topic of having a celebration in Chicago once we got there. He planned on talking to his family the following day and said we would know more once that happened.

  So, we talked and talked that night, and it still felt like there were more unanswered questions than answered ones afterward. All I knew was that we were planning a party the following weekend and that, in the meantime, I had to quit my job. The station had been good to me, and I really hated to leave them high and dry, but there was just no way I was putting off our plans so that I could give them two weeks notice.

  It would make for a crazy hectic week, but I decided that I would work my normal Monday through Thursday and that we would get married on Saturday before leaving for Chicago on Sunday. Isaac had work plans the following Monday, and Sunday was the absolute latest he could leave.

  I went to the station the very next morning while Isaac was at work. I almost composed and sent an email knowing that neither Ann nor Paul would be there on Saturday, but I just didn’t feel right without talking to someone face-to-face.

  I ended up talking to a guy named Bill who was the weekend director. I told him that I would finish my shifts next week, but it would be my final days with the station because I was moving to Chicago the following weekend.

  He was nice enough about it, but he didn’t try to hide the fact that it would put them in a bind. It was because of this that I told him I had a couple of friends from hair school that worked in local salons and might be a good fit. I gave their numbers to Bill. He thanked me for that and said they hated to lose me, and then on my way out, I heard him calling Paul on his day off to let him know that he should start looking for replacements.

  I only stayed at the station long enough to tell Bill that next week would be my last, which was about five minutes. And it wasn't even five minutes after that when Paul's assistant, Barb, called my cell. I recognized the number and I honestly didn't feel like picking up, but I did. I was driving and I talked to her through the speakers of my car.