Choosing You

Chapter 1 TarynI shivered, and then the warmth of Jeff’s arm closed around my shoulders. By June, the weather should cooperate more. However, standing in the nearly flowerless Chapparal Estate and Gardens in Napa Valley, I had to use my imagination as a bride-to-be to see the extravaganza I expected for my wedding. My fiancé and I had flown in from Dallas to finalize the details of our destination wedding in northern California. “Not the wedding choice for January, huh?” Jeff asked. “No, but it will be amazing by summer. I still can’t believe we’re able to snag it in high season. You’ll have to thank Brad again for connecting us with his Silicon Valley friend.” Brad was one of Jeff’s partners in his software company. “It’s too bad the woman had to cancel her wedding, but I’m glad we could grab the date. I was beginning to think we’d have to get married at the VFW in Lawton. Now, I’m thanking God and doing a happy dance.” “Happy dance? I thought maybe you were just cold.” I laughed. “Am I cold or am I trying to sucker you into cuddling?” “You don’t have to sucker me into touching you.” Jeff pulled me around to face him and kissed me. My lips warmed with the touch of his, and I lifted to my toes and pressed closer to him. The difference between us was almost comical. I stretch my barely five feet, two inches every day to wrangle people for my corporate event planning job and somehow found myself matched up with six feet, four inches of methodical, taciturn computer programmer. I brought Jeff out of his shell. He kept me grounded—mostly. I had fallen in love with a man I could count on. Jeff had fallen in love with a woman who introduced passion and spontaneity into his life while keeping him organized. If I didn’t know Jeff was so perfect for me, I’d feel lucky. But our connection didn’t feel like luck. It felt like kismet. A rush of cold air blew up my back. The hem of my jacket lifted with my arms as I wound them around Jeff’s neck. A tremor flowed up and down my spine now with the sweet pressure of Jeff’s tongue against mine. The close crop of his sandy hair prickling my fingertips. He bent his knees and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me up until my chest was even with his. My n*****s hardened under my sweater. He might be a quiet, endearingly goofy, and even nerdy guy who spent most of his life hunched over his electronics, but the man could melt a glacier with his kiss. I couldn’t wait to become Mrs. McConnell. The crunch of tires on the tree-lined gravel road rolled up behind us. I brought my arms down to Jeff’s chest and pushed back. Jeff groaned and stared down. The softness of his light brown eyes sharpened with desire. I reached up and dragged my thumb across the full bow of his lips. He flicked his tongue against the pad of my finger. “Chill out, man. Someone’s coming,” I drawled with a giggle. “You’re the one rubbing my lips.” “You’re wearing my lipstick. Hold on, I think I have a tissue in my purse.” I cleared the shimmering pink evidence of our kiss from Jeff’s face just as the property’s wedding coordinator, Alison, jumped out of her Jeep and strode toward us. Earlier in the morning, she gave us a tour, showed us the catering menus, and recommended local flower shops and photographers before leaving us to wander on our own. Afterward, we explored the property to get a feel for the place where we’d be getting married in six month’s time. We strolled through the estate house and its expansive grounds, which promised fields of daffodils by spring. Weather permitting, Jeff and I planned to marry outside under a canopy of sycamore trees in the sunken garden, highlighted by a pond encased in stones and dappled by lilies. The wedding would take place on one side of the pond in a large circular lawn carved out of the garden. We had the option of installing a gazebo for the day, but Jeff thought that was over the top. Over the top didn’t bother me at all. I intended to run wild implementing all the grand ideas I ever had about a wedding. But whenever Jeff expressed a sincere opinion about something, I gave in. “I see you’re soaking in the atmosphere.” Alison waved a hand at the gorgeous scenery around us. “Chaparral is idyllic, isn’t it? It’s even better in the summer. You’ll see. We’re well away from the city, so you can see the stars. Inside or outside, we can create the perfect launching point for your life together. What did you say your daughter’s name was?” “Olivia. She’s six—almost seven,” Jeff answered. I squeezed his hand as my heart squeezed in my chest. Olivia’s mother took off before she turned two and hadn’t seen her since. I planned to adopt the little girl after the wedding. At one time, the thought of an instant family would have made me run the other direction from any guy with kids. Then, I met Jeff. From minute one, I felt differently about being a stepmother. Having the curly-haired angel in my life was as meant to be as falling in love with Jeff. I could see Olivia skipping down the aisle in her flower girl dress. We hadn’t picked it out yet, but we both knew it would be pink and she’d have bright Gerber daisies in her hair. Like every little girl, Olivia was fascinated with the idea of a wedding—the fancy dress, the party, the food, and the dancing. Every day we were gone, we called Jeff’s parents to give Olivia an update. “It will be wonderful, I know. I held a corporate event here some years ago. Once everything is set up, it’s absolute magic.” Taryn’s voice bubbled with excitement. I had earmarked the Chapparal Estate as a potential wedding venue before I’d even had a candidate. Planned marketing events was my bread and butter—first at an agency and now at Azur, a technology company in Dallas. Work got crazier by the day since the company announced a merger with another firm, Midsummer Technologies. Luckily, the merger was expected to close in the fall, which would give me time to get married and honeymoon before numerous events kicked off in October. Lately, I wondered how much longer I’d work in corporate events. I loved traveling and visiting new venues. I loved planning parties. I didn’t love the corporate part quite as much as anymore. “Taryn is in love with the place. It is fantastic,” Jeff agreed. “So what else do we need to do? You already got our deposit, right?” I suppressed a laugh. That was Jeff. Right to the point. “Yes, we have your deposit. I’ve got the date on hold. We can head back to the office. There is some additional paperwork for you to sign. We can take care of that now since you’re here. You’re in town for the next couple of days, right? If you want, I can squeeze you in with the caterer. He’s doing a tasting for another couple the day after tomorrow in the morning—dinner and cake. Since you’re out-of-towners, he said he could add you to the tasting, and you can take care of the menu while you’re here.” “As long as it’s in the morning, we should be okay. Taryn and I need to drive back to San Francisco for our flight in the evening.” Alison nodded. “Perfect. You can take a look at the menu and see if there’s anything in particular you want to add to the tasting.” A surge of anticipation hit me as we read through the contract. Each decision brought us closer to becoming the family I wanted. Each new moment with Jeff produced surprises and a life that was more than I could have hoped. I paused and thought of Jeff’s uncharacteristically romantic proposal. One Friday last summer, I left a lunchtime nail appointment, and when I got to the parking lot, my car was nowhere to be found. What I did find was a shiny black limousine and a chauffeur named Mark, who held a sign with my name on it. “Mr. McConnell asked me to give you a ride.” “To my office?” I asked, starting to give the man the address. “I’m not sure where you’re going ma’am, but I know it’s not back to your office. He told me to give you this and you’d know where to go.” The driver handed me a folded note. You have the afternoon off. Don’t worry about work. Tell the driver you want to go to nerd heaven. Your next clue is waiting at the point of no return. I thought for a moment and grinned, directing Mark to Fry’s Electronics. Before dating Jeff, I had never heard of Fry’s—let alone visited it. The massive electronics, computer, and gaming store had everything from stuff you could use to build a computer from scratch, to every cable you could ever need to connect anything with a microchip, and every computer game under the sun. The first time Jeff dragged me there, I wandered the aisles amazed, confused, and in shock. “So this is nerd heaven.” On another trip to Fry’s, when I no longer viewed it with any judgment or suspicion in my heart, I helped Jeff return some equipment the store didn’t want to take back. “The sign says, ‘Returns,’ not the point of no return. Although you and I might be getting there, I want to speak to your manager.” I blasted the pudgy clerk who patronizingly told me that I clearly didn’t understand electronics if I thought I could return whatever it was Jeff had purchased. I didn’t even remember what odd object I’d flung down on the counter while glaring, but they’d taken it back. When I was on a mission, I didn’t take no for an answer, and I loved missions. Upon reaching Fry’s, I headed straight for the customer service desk and gave the guy my name. “Is there something here for me?” The man behind the desk raised his eyebrows. “You’re Taryn? Lucky guy,” he said, handing me a wrapped gift. “You’re supposed to open it.” Inside the heavy package was a small combination safe. The safe was locked and had a note taped to the top. Today, I’m full of bribes. That one had required no thought. If Jeff ever wanted to bribe me to go to Fry’s or a superhero movie with alien explosions, he took me to a café midway between my office and his. The café had the best crepes in the Dallas and the best peach cobbler—served up with a cold and creamy scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. I climbed back into the limo and directed Mark to the café. When I got to the restaurant, a sign on the door read, “Closed for private party.” But then the door opened and there he was, looking nervous and adorable, which I found sexy in its own way. “You found it. I hoped you wouldn’t have any trouble. About half an hour ago, I had some serious regret about the whole idea.” Jeff shifted his feet, with one hand in his pocket. “Of course, I found it. I’m the queen of scavenger hunts. I hope you have my car.” I hugged him. Jeff assured me that one of his friends had driven the car back to his house. “Fun, but what’s the deal? I can’t imagine what you want that you brought me here and bought out the whole place. Who knew they even did that? You’re not going to ask me to go to Comic-Con are you?” I had my limits. “No. I…” Jeff stuttered, pulling a small box from his pocket and turning it over and over in his hand before he got down on one knee. “I’m not sure whether I’m bribing you with the promise of pie or the promise of the ring, but I’m hoping I can convince you to marry me. You put up with all my insanity, and I love you like I’ve never loved any woman. I want you to be my wife, and I want you to be a mother to my daughter—as if you aren’t already practically both of those things.” Even though we’d talked about getting married, it was still a surprise. The best surprise. I’d, of course, said yes. Yes, to being his wife. Yes, to being a mother to his daughter. The wedding picture would be different than one I’d envisioned when I was a kid, but it couldn’t be more perfect. Jeff tapped me on the hand with his pen and brought me back to the paperwork in front of me. I swept my signature right next to his on the dotted line of Chapparal’s contract. He grabbed the catering menu. “This is the part that’s ultra important. The food.” I smiled and scribbled “Menu” on my notepad. I would make sure Jeff got exactly what he wanted—at the wedding and forever after.