“Okay plus you might think about putting on some pants that cover more of your delectable legs than what you’ve got on right now.”
“We’ll see…” she teased bending over to take the muffins out. She put them on the counter and smacked his hand as he tried to take one. She kissed his cheek as she passed him by and when she returned fifteen minutes later dressed in a summer dress from the Angels line that suited her perfectly and a pair of wedge sandals, she was happy to see that none of the muffins were missing.
“Will this do?” she inquired giving a little spin.
“It’ll do,” he agreed with a smile. “I called the car service they should be here in about ten minutes.”
“You’re not driving?”
“We’ve got a bit of a crowd outside; I figured it’d be safer to go directly to the car and not a cab to my place to pick up mine. Stupidly when I came over, I didn’t think about a bazillion other people seeing the paper and showing up.”
“Well then I guess we have time to decide if the muffins stay or go,” she said as she headed over to the window to see the crowd below.
“Go, we can munch on them on the way up…and you know how much I love your muffins,” he added grabbing her playfully and then for the benefit of the crowd, who could potentially see them, leaned in for a kiss as he pulled the blind shut.
“Masterful,” she laughed as they closed before his lips could touch hers.
“I try,” he stated. “Now about these muffins, they’re not the same as the ones you made for me on New Year’s Day, are they?”
“Oh, you mean when you passed out on my couch destroying any hope of me sleeping in because no matter what you’re always up by six a.m.?”
“Yeah, those ones.”
“Yes, they’re the same ones, is that a problem?”
“Not at all,” he said as she placed the last one on the plate and covered them. Once they reached the door of the lobby the photographers and reporters swarmed forcing the security team into action and she couldn’t help but feel thankful that Tyler was with her, his arm wrapped protectively around her as the other shielded her from the cameras clicking off pictures. He helped her into the car, and they sped away giving her time to relax before facing his parents.
“Tyler, I know you and Bella must be upset but please remember she is your mother,” Steven said the moment they got out of the car and began walking up the sidewalk.
“Did you know about this?” Tyler asked heading into the sunroom where his mom was sure to be this early in the morning.
“Not until I opened the paper and saw it, Bella, honey I’m sorry, Vivien should never have done this…”
“It’s alright Uncle Steven,” she said putting her hand on his arm and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I was a bit mad at first, but Ty and I talked about it, and we’ll deal with it.”
“Mother what the hell possessed you?” Tyler asked as they entered the room. “Do you know what you’ve done? Not only to me, but also to Bella and everyone else? There are photographers outside my building, outside Bella’s building, outside the gate here…”
“Tyler, you and Bella have been together for five years, oh I know you’ve both dated other people in there but you both know that this is the right thing for you,” she scoffed.
“That’s our call not yours but now thanks to your announcement we have no choice but to go through with it,” he stated.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t want to marry Bella,” Vivien said standing up. “If you do that then I’ll go out there and tell them that I put the story in the paper because I want you to marry her but you two haven’t made a decision yet.”
“You should have waited,” Tyler told her.
“She should have,” Steven agreed, “but since she hasn’t, what are you two planning on doing?”
“There’s only one thing to do,” Bella stated with a shrug and a frown.
“Bella no honey we want you to marry Tyler,” Vivien said as her face crumpled.
“Then it’s a good thing she’d already said yes,” Tyler said as he moved behind Bella and put his arms around her. “You jumped the gun a bit there, Mom but I suppose it’s for the best, though you could have waited until I had the ring bought.”
“You proposedwithouta ring?” Vivien cried in horror.
“It wasn’t planned,” he assured her, “it just seemed like the right thing to do in the moment.”
“When?” Steven asked.