Chapter 13: The Engagement Party
Susan’s hand went to heart when she arrived on Derrick’s arm at Hank’s and found all of their friends sitting at a long table decorated with floral arrangements of pale pink and white roses and silver buckets of champagne. It was an evening filled with glitz and glam with sparkling chandeliers and the ting of crystal flutes as the bubbly champagne flowed. Waiters stood at their beck and call.
After a dinner of tenderloin and all the trimmings, they served strawberry cake and coffee. Susan sipped her champagne and looked up into Derrick’s adoring dark eyes. “I’ve never been happier,” she murmured.
“Would you mind standing?” he asked, his expression serious.
Susan looked at Derrick, puzzled.
Max rang a bell, and a hush settled over the room.
“I fell in love with you the first moment I met you,” Derrick said, getting down on one knee, his tone serious. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Susan’s eyes glazed in tears, then widened when he opened a small black box that held a ten-carat sparkling diamond.
“Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me, Susan?”
Through a veil of tears, Susan managed to say ‘yes.’ She felt as if she were in a fairy tale as Derrick slipped the massive diamond on her finger. They kissed a long, lingering kiss. She thought him loving, romantic, and intense. After that, it was a blur as the guests surrounded her with hugs, kisses, and congratulatory wishes.
Later, at home, they went to the pool and danced to old Frank Sinatra songs under a starlit sky. It was as if Derrick’s love shielded her from the grim reality that Blaine was hunting for her, like a cougar on the prowl for a kill.
As the weeks passed by, Susan fell deeper in love with Derrick. Finally, the divorce was finalized—and Derrick began to pressure her to set a date for their wedding. His insistence on marriage without a prenuptial agreement was flattering. For her—it wasn’t about money—it was about being with the person she loved and making each day extraordinary. She couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Blaine had agreed to everything she wanted, which was the house and furnishings, and the inheritance her parents had left her. It was a sizable inheritance—several million. It was in the bank growing interest except for the eighty thousand she’d brought with her. She was relieved that Blaine had not put up a fight.
The holidays in Henderson had left her nostalgic and wanting to go back to her family home even though she knew her life was with Derrick. Susan was accustomed to snow, and it didn’t seem like Christmas in Henderson, though she put up many decorations, two big trees, and shopped until she dropped. One of the Christmas trees was in the bedroom, and she decorated it with pink bulbs and white lights. They’d spent hours in the bedroom, admiring the tree and making love.
There were gifts under the tree in the living room for everyone exquisitely wrapped with enormous bows and colorful paper. They’d had a gift exchange at the Christmas party. At a loss as to what to give Derrick for Christmas because he had everything, she finally settled on golf shirts and new golf clubs that Max helped her pick out. Derrick had given her a black Toyota SUV, sexy underwear, and a new iPhone. She felt positively spoiled.
It had been months since she’d gone anyplace alone. The New Year would be coming, and Susan exercised her independence by driving to The Ranch and using the gift card she’d received from Bruce—a day at the spa.