Hotbox (48 page)

The first thing I did when I got home was make the dinner reservation for the next Friday. The only hard part—besides actually getting the words out of my mouth when the time came—was going to be keeping it a secret. As it was I already wanted to find her and pop the question; I had no clue if I was going to be able to refrain myself. On many occasions—like at the music festival, when Jayden mentioned being married—I wanted to tell her right then and there. Having the ring ma
de it even harder to hold back.
I
tried
to be
very
careful
with the decisions I made in my life—especially th
e ones that would affect Jayd
en—so I told myself to not be i
mpulsive.

             
The next thought that came barreling into my mind was her father. I needed to talk to him first, but I had no pl
an for getting through that one. But t
alking to her father actually came quite unexpectedly, and I was somewhat pleased that I
didn’t have the time to worry before I was about
to do it.

             
We went ca
mping that weekend with our usual crowd
only this time a few others joined
us.
Tina
and
Aubrey
were there, as well as Allen
and Grace
, Chris’s friend
s
.
Ryan, Vanessa, Al
yson,
and
Camryn also came
. Jayden claimed that Camryn was a more talented musician than herself, but I found that hard to believe. But they did play together later on that night with Shawn, and although I had to admit that Camryn really was as good as Jayden said, I didn’t feel she was any better than
her
. I guess it was kind of a toss up, but I let my
favoritism
for Jayden
cast the winning vote.

             
I really could tell that Shawn was affected by Camryn’s presence, though. He seemed like his normal self around her, but because I’d gotten to know him so well, it was obvious
that he was struggling with his feelings for her. Kyle, Camryn’s boyfriend, didn’t camp with us that weekend, and I knew that Shawn was happy about that. However, I could see that he wasn’t going to use it to his advantage. He really was too afraid to ruin his friendship with her. Even though Matt gave him a hard time about it, I kind of agreed with Shawn. It was pretty apparent that Camryn was head over heels for Kyle, and because of that, I felt like Shawn was right in keeping his feelings to himself.

At least for now. 

Jayden’s dad actually came up on Saturday to go riding with us, and I don’t know what I was expecting, but I thought that
she
might tone down some of her riding antics because her dad was there. But that wasn’t the case, and as Joe and I were sitting at the top of a trail looking down at her riding with Matt, Shawn, and Chris, I casually mentioned my surprise.

             
“Are you kidding?” he smiled. He didn’t say anything for a while as we watched them ride, but after a minute he faced me again. “So… When are you going to ask her?”

             
“Ask her
what?”

             
With a smirk he replied, “To marry you.”

I was totally
taken by surprise
.
I wasn’t sure if he was curious for Jayden’s sake, or if he actually knew I had a ring. I was aware that he was displeased with the idea
that
his daughter
wanted
to move in with me, and even though I told her I’d rather she not until we were married, I wondered if it was something that Jo
e was concerned about. I guess the bottom line was that I couldn’t read him even if I tried.

“Obviously you love her
,” he continued, “and the two of you have already decided to get married
.
She seems to think you need more time…
Is something holding you back?”

             
I swallowed
and smiled uneasily
. “Uh, well…actually I wanted to talk to you about it. I have a ring and…I want to marry your daughter. So…I was wondering…
Could
I have your permission?”

             
I slowly exhaled, thrilled that the words were already out. Now I just had to deal with whatever he was going to put me through
to get an answer
. He
still had the smirk on his face; it hadn’t changed
the
entire time.
I was pretty sure he liked watching me squirm.

             
“Did you plan on asking me or did I spring it on you?” He looked thoroughly amused.

             
“I planned on asking you. But I was actually going to come to your
home
and meet with you. You kind of foiled my plan.”

             
We both sort of smiled at each other and he nodded his head.

             
“So,” I continued, “I guess this will have to do. A quiet, peaceful place to talk.”

He started to chuckle; I was being sarcastic because of the bikes reverberating throughout the mountainside.

             
“Do you expect me to say no?” he asked outright. “You seem a little nervous.”

             
“I
am
nervous,” I
admitted
. “
But
I don’t
believe
you’ll say no, being that your daughter is madly in love with me and all. I don’t think you’d want to break her heart.”

             
He actually laughed at that as he nodded his head. “Use the daughter against her stubborn, judgmental father. Very
clever
.”

             
I laughed at his humor and t
hen we were quiet for a moment.

“But all joking aside,” I continued. “I love Jayden more than anything. I want her to be happy. I want to give her whatever she
needs.
What she
deserves
.
She’s
incredible—everything about her—and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world
just
to
be able to spend time with her.
”

I already knew his answer was going to be yes,
I just had a feeling
because of his demeanor
,
but I didn’t know how much grief he was going to drag me through before we got to that point.
Finally he said, “You marry my daughter,
you get me in the deal
,
as well
.
You know that, right?
”

“Yes, I’ve had nightmares about that.”

He chuckled again,
but
I
think I crossed the finish line because he said,
“
I’m aware
of
how much she wants to marry you,
and
I guess i
f you’re aware
that I’m the downside to it all, t
hen it’s only appropriate that I consent. Yes, you can marry my daughter.”

I silently released the breath I was holding.
“Thank you.”

He nodded. “When do you plan on asking her?”

“This next Friday, I hope, if I manage to get the words out.
”

He
lightly laughed, and then
nodded
again
. “And when do you plan on getting married?”

“I really don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ll let Jayden decide that.”

“She’ll haul you to Vegas.”

“I told her that wasn’t an option.”

“That’s what she tells
me.” He looked at me carefully and said,
“I’m glad. I don’t want my daughter married in Vegas. I don’t care if it’s what she wants.
” He seemed genuinely grateful that I wouldn’t
do that. He took a deep breath and added,
“
Just so we’re clear…
If y
ou break her hea
rt, I
’ll break your
neck.
”

He smiled at me and then
took off
on his bike
down the trail.

I
finally
took
a deep breath. It was done. Her father had given me permission. Now I just needed to get through the most important part and ask the girl.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The closer it got to Friday, the more anxious I felt. My worries about
Olevsky
going back on his word had never subsided. I still feare
d that he would change his mind—
or
my father would do something stupid and I’d be pulled back in again—a
nd then my life would be completely screwed. I had already asked Joe Adams if I could marry his daughter; there
was no going back on that. But
in knowing that, I was at least sure that I would be proposing to Jayden no matter what. It’s what I wanted and I was tired of letting my worries and fears get in the way of it.

I picked
her
up around six-thirty on
Friday. I got off work
early so I would have a little extra time to prepare myself for the occasion. Jayden knew which restaurant we were going to so she was dressed accordingly. Once again her appearance just blew me away. Tonight she was wearing a
blue
knee-length dress that tied at the back of her neck.
Her hair was partially up, gathered at the back of her head, but the rest of it fell down in soft curls. Her smile dominated her entire appearance.

“You look absolutely…
”

“Hot?” she smiled.

“Yeah,” I laughed, “But I was gonna say
‘
stunning.
’
”

She raised her eyebrows
. “Hmm, I don’t think you’ve used that word before.”

“I guess I didn’t know what it meant until now.”

“O
o
h, aren’t you a charmer,” she smiled. “Step inside, let me just grab my purse.”

When I entered the house I could see her dad sitting on the couch. “Hello, Ty,” he said, giving me a tiny smile. I wondered what it felt like for him to know that his daughter was going to come back engaged.
At least she was going to be if I could actually get through it.

“Hi,” I replied
as casually as I could.

Jayden grabbed
what she needed
a
nd kissed her father goodbye. We got in
her Mustang instead of my truck; I felt the occasion deserved something less casual. She didn’t think anything of it since we took it all the time.

“You look very nice,” she smiled at me in the car.

She
leaned
close to me and kissed my neck as I started the engine. It was never in me to decline any of her affection, so I softly touched her face and kissed her.

“Mmm, maybe we should just
stay in tonight
,” she smiled.

“But you’re
already dressed up.”

“I dressed up for
you
. It doesn’t matter where we
go
.”

I
quickly
considered that, but stuck with the plan. “Let’s eat first because I’m hungry. Then we can go
casual
.”

“Okay
,” she agreed
.

The night was just as nice as the first time we came
to this particular restaurant, but
warmer.
It was August, so
the double doors at the edge of the dance floor were opene
d up
and the dancing continued on outside. I found this
to be
a lot nicer
since
we both loved to be outdoors. The patio
was also a little more romantic (I thought)
because of the plants and outdoor lighting that barely lit the scene
when it began to get dark
.

We dance
d
for a little while before dinner, and also after we’d had dessert
and the bill was paid
. After the
fourth
or
fifth
song
for the night
, Jayden
teased
that I
didn’t have to try so hard to win her over
.