You'll Say Yes Read online

  Copyright

  Author

  Tri Amutia

  Copyright © 2014 Tri Amutia

  This book may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online edition is also available for this title. For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: [email protected]

  While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

  Chapter 1

  The Memories and The Beginning

  I’m Abigail Annabel Bennett, but please call me Abby.

  I didn’t consider myself beautiful or popular in high school or in college, but I did have some good friends. I had blue eyes and dark brown hair, my skin was pale no matter if I was in the sun or not.

  When I was six years old, my parents divorced, so I spent my childhood with my mother. When I was in high school, she had gotten remarried; a football player, Steven Thompson. And so, as the selfless person that I am, I decided to give them some privacy; I moved in with my father. I lived with him until I graduated high school. I then moved to Long Beach, Washington.

  I thought moving back to my childhood town would be good for me, but I was wrong.

  Yes, I had my best friends, Melinda Reyes and Stella Miller. Melinda was brunette just like me while Stella had dark hair. I knew Stella and her boyfriend, Evan Wilson, since our childhood. Evan was a handsome man with light brown hair. They were really good friends of mine. But Joshua Walsh, one of Evan’s friends, was not a friend.

  The whole population at Long Beach High knew him.

  He was gorgeous with brown, reddish hair, a perfect body, and hazel eyes. His father was a doctor in the local hospital, his mother was an architect. He was smart, but had a reputation for having a different girl on his arm every week. How the girls would end up on his arm, I would never know.

  When I started my first year of high school, Joshua followed me around for a week. I didn’t know what his problem was. During that time, he started asking me questions about things like my favorite childhood game or my favorite cookies. Sometimes he looked at me deeply, like he was trying to decipher my thoughts or memorize my face. It was creepy.

  I tried to be polite, even though I received a lot of glares from some popular girls because he was following me around.

  All hell broke loose when I refused to be his date to the Spring Dance. I refused him because I saw him making out with some blonde bimbo in the hall just before he asked me.

  He avoided me, after the refusal, then spread rumors and lies about me. Do you think that was the worst part? Of course not! He spread the worst part of my secret. He said I was a sleep talker. How he found out, I would never know. Only my parents knew about this, and there was no way Joshua would of ask my parents. I didn’t date in high school, especially not after my fight with Joshua. That was seven years ago.

  I went to Dartmouth after I graduated high school and received a degree in English Literature.

  I didn’t see or hear about Joshua since high school. Stella, Melinda, and I remained best friends and kept in contact. Stella worked as an editor for a fashion magazine in New York and Melinda worked as a teacher in Long Beach.

  I walked to my office on a warm Monday morning--not that I didn't have a car--I did. My old black Honda, it still worked. I never used it for work, but I did use it on the weekends to the grocery store, to the bookstore, or just hanging around at the park. I worked at a local publishing company in Seattle as a junior editor. I really loved my job because I had a chance to read new books before they were published and I had opportunities to meet with some outstanding authors. I hoped I could be like them someday.

  My office was a second home for me. I spent the majority of my time in front of my computer; to the point that I had to use my reading glasses to prevent my eyes from being exhausted.

  My phone started ringing as soon as I sat down in my chair.

  "Abby Bennett. How may I help you?"

  "Abby, honey. How are you?" My mother's voice chimed in from the other side of the phone.

  I smiled. "Hi, Mom. I'm fine, just arrived at my desk. How are you and Steven?" I started my computer and began to open some files.

  I heard her laugh. "Oh, Steven is fine. He says hi. Um…Abby, do you think you could visit your dad this weekend?"

  I stopped what I was doing and furrowed my eyebrows. "Is there something wrong with Dad?"

  "No, no, there's nothing wrong with your father, honey. It's just...there is a thing that we as a family have to settle."

  "A thing? Mom, can you be a little more specific?"

  "Well..." she sounds nervous.

  "Mom, what is going on?"

  She exhaled. "Abby, you’re getting engaged."

  I nearly fell out of my chair. "Mom! What did you do? What is this? The 18th century? I can find my own husband!" My outburst gained some glances from my co-workers, but I didn't care.

  "Abby, please calm down, this is not your father's intention or mine, but it was the boy who asked your father to marry you when you turned twenty-eight years old."

  I slapped my forehead with my free hand. "Fantastic. A boy asked to marry me when I turn twenty-eight. Great. Do I know this boy?"

  My mother cleared her throat. "Yes, you do, honey."

  Silence.

  "Who is he then?"

  "Joshua Walsh."

  Chapter 2

  The Story and The Profile

  My jaw dropped hit the floor.

  "Joshua Walsh? The Joshua Walsh from grade school? You have got to be kidding me, Mom. That guy is a player," I nearly shouted, again.

  "I've talked to his parents, Abby. Joshua hasn't dated or seen any girls since he graduated high school. He’s been waiting for you."

  I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry. "Mom, he was a player when we were in high school. He spread nasty rumors about me when I refused to go to the Spring Dance. Do you want your one and only daughter to marry a player? Mom, I thought you were better than that."

  "So, you accept his proposal?"

  I fumed. "I didn’t say that!"

  My mother sighed. "Will you please listen to my explanation first, Abigail? No interruptions!"

  I clamped my mouth shut. When my mother used my full name, she was in a serious mood. "Alright, so what is the explanation?"

  "Do you remember your friends when you were four or five years old?"

  "Huh?"

  "Your childhood friends, do you remember any of them?"

  I racked my brain for the answer, trying to reboot all my dim childhood memories. I remember a girl with dark hair, a girl with blond hair, a boy with light brown hair, and a boy with a red brown hair. And something clicked!

  Oh My God!

  Could it be? Some random memories attacked my brain. Now I knew why Joshua was looking at me in a weird way and asked me questions about my childhood. He thought I would remember him.

  I gasped.

  "Oh, no..."

  "Yes, honey," My mom said. "You knew Joshua since you were a little girl. Don't you remember him at all?"

  How could I remember him? He hasn't spoken to me since he introduced himself. He just looked at me and answered my question if I asked, but never talked with me in the normal way.

  "But..but..what does it have to do with the engagement?" My whole body began to shake, either with fear or anger I wasn’t sure.

  "When we moved from Long Beach, Joshua came to your father's house. He said he wanted to marry you when you turned 28 years old. Your father just laughed it off; he thought it was some kind of a kid's joke. But, when Joshua knew you were moving back to Long B
each, he came to your father's house again, asking for your hand in marriage. And this time your father knows Joshua is serious."

  My head spun. How was this possible? How could he do this to me? "And what did Dad say?"

  "Your father gave Joshua a chance for the Spring Dance to escort you, but then you refused, so Joshua was kind of...mad. That was why he spread the rumors to cover up his hurt from your rejection."

  I snorted. "That's stupid. Did he know why I refused him? He had different girls attached to his arm every week, Mom. Then I saw him making out with some dumb, blond bimbo in the school hall the morning he asked me to the dance. I didn't want to be his victim and I didn't like him. He might have been handsome, but he treated girls like trash."

  My mother sighed. "He just did that for your attention, Abby."

  I clenched my teeth. "Oh, so you're on his side now? No. Absolutely not! I won't accept this engagement. He could marry one of his girls in high school, but not me."

  "Abby, his parents already agreed to this."

  "What?" I nearly lost my temper. "What the hell-"

  "Language!"

  "I don't care. Look, Mom, I'm busy so please, call me again later. Love you." I slammed the phone back on my desk and rubbed my temples. I dialed the front office and asked the reception to hold all my calls and take messages.

  "Geezz...what happened to you?" Camila Stevenson, my co-worker greeted me with her nasal voice.

  "My mom," I answered her shortly. She didn't have to listen about the gory details of my 'engagement'. She was a bad enough gossiper already.

  I had kind of on-off friendship with Camila. She was nice enough to be your friend, but far from the ideal type of a best friend. Camila has dark eyes and brown hair; her posture as small as I am, but her personality is 180 degrees different from me.

  She just shrugged and sat next to my office cubicle.

  I was starting to edit some of my author's works when she popped her head on the top of the cubicle. "So, who is this Joshua Walsh guy?"

  "Who?" I asked nonchalantly without removing my attention from my work. From my peripheral vision, I could see she was rolling her eyes.

  "The guy you were talking about with your Mom on the phone?"

  I stared at her. "Will you stop invading other people's privacy?"

  "Hey, don't be so defensive, baby. I was just asking." And then she disappeared to her cubicle. Ten seconds later, she squealed. "Holy, he is gorgeous!" She appeared again. "Hey, Abby. You have got to see this!"

  I rolled my eyes and rose from my seat. I popped my head into her cubicle and there...on the computer was...Joshua Walsh's Facebook profile. Man, he was gorgeous! His hair was still unruly red, his body was perfect and those hazel eyes...I drooled mentally to the image, but I wasn't stupid enough to fall for him so easily. I had never had a good relationship record. I just didn't trust men. What I had seen in high school with Joshua was enough for me to guard myself for being a player's victim. I had to thank Joshua himself for becoming the worst role model of the male kind. The profile said Joshua was a doctor for the Seattle local hospital. Well, that didn't surprise me.

  Wait...Seattle local hospital? Here?

  My eyes widened.

  Damn! He was closer than I thought.

  "Are you sure you don't know him, Abby?" Camila asked me, but her eyes were glued to the computer.

  Man, she was drooling too.

  I sighed. "He was my friend in high school," I answered her in a bored tone and sat back in my seat.

  Apparently Camila wouldn't give it up, yet.

  "Was?"

  "We haven't seen each other since our graduation."

  "So, just a friend or was he a special friend?" She asked again eagerly.

  "Just a friend." Or not..

  "Do you know where he lives?"

  "Just read his profile."

  "But, does he know where you work?"

  "If he looked at my Facebook account, maybe."

  Camila huffed after listening to my answer and went back to her seat. I exhaled. Finally...

  Thankfully my work that day was full so I almost forgot about my mother's phone call and about the forced engagement. I said almost because I received some notes from all of my phone calls for the day and looked at a message that turned my day to hell.

  From: Joshua Walsh

  I'll visit you tomorrow at your office.

  Chapter 3

  The Phone Call and The Reunion

  I went home exhausted; exhausted from work and from the stupid engagement thing. I flopped down on my couch in my apartment and exhaled. I removed my shoes and turned the TV on. A cheesy sitcom appeared on the screen and for a moment I tried to adjust my brain to understand the story, although it failed miserably. Suddenly, my BlackBerry vibrated and with slow motion I picked it up.

  "Hello."

  "Hi, Abby."

  I smiled. "Hi, Stella. How are you, girl?"

  I heard Stella giggle. "Oh, I'm fine. Hey, guess who called me this morning?"

  I yawned. "Who? Evan?"

  "Duh, of course not, Abby. If he called, why should I tell you?"

  Hmm…good point there.

  I rolled my eyes. "Then, who was it, Stella?"

  "Joshua Walsh."

  I nearly dropped the phone. "What?"

  "I know. Isn’t that strange? Suddenly he called and asked me if I could come back to Long Beach this weekend."

  A shiver ran down my spine. I remembered my mother also asking me to come home to Long Beach this weekend. What was that guy planning anyway? "And what was your answer?"

  "I haven't given him my answer yet, but he really expected me to come. He called Evan too by the way."

  Damn! What the hell did he want? "So...you called me to ask if he called me too. Is that right?"

  Stella laughed. "Ditto!" And then her tone became serious. "Did he call you, Abby?"

  I played with my fingers. "No, he didn't. But, he called my Mom."

  "What?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Geez...Stella. It's not a big deal. Perhaps he didn't know where I am."

  "Oh, please, Abby. Don't play smart with me. He could see your Facebook profile or ask your parents or maybe track you with Google Earth. Speaking of Facebook profiles, I looked at his’ this morning. Wow, he's still gorgeous. If I didn't have a relationship with Evan, I’d probably stalk him around."

  I burst out laughing. "Careful there, Stella. Evan will kill Joshua if you really did that." Honestly, I didn't mind.

  Stella laughed. "Just kidding, Abby. There's no man that can compare to Evan."

  I smiled hearing her words. I knew Stella and Evan loved each other deeply, even after all these years. I just wished I could have the same bond with my other half someday.

  "So...are you going to Long Beach this weekend?" Stella asked, cutting my daydreaming.

  "Um...I haven't decided yet. It's still Monday, though, so I'll call you on Thursday to let you know either way." I paused. "Hey, Stella. Do you remember a boy with reddish hair that used to play with us when we were kids?"

  Stella didn't answer for a moment and then I heard her gasped. "Hell, no!"

  "Yup, that was Joshua."

  Stella sighed. "How come I don't remember him?"

  "Trust me, girl, you're not the only one who asked the same question."

  Stella scoffed. "So, all of my time in high school, I didn't recognize him."

  I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean? Did Joshua ever move from Long Beach?"

  "I don't really remember, Abby. All I know is Dr. Walsh moved to Long Beach in my junior year. Perhaps they lived in another town before moving back."

  I sighed. "What about Evan? And I also remember the blond girl, what was her name?"

  Stella chuckled. "Evan was moving out of Long Beach, too; when he was in elementary school. I guess, I was lucky when his parents decided to return. That town is holding a lot of interest. The blond girl is Kimberly Miles. She moved to New York when I started high
school. That's why you didn't see Kimberly at school."

  "I see."

  "Hey, Abby, do you know that Kimberly was jealous of you?"

  "Huh?"

  Stella giggled. "She was jealous of you because Joshua paid more attention to you than her."