Handsome and Haunting

Chapter 20

One year. Three hundred and sixty-five days. Fifty-two weeks. Sunday night dinners with Isabella's parents. Wednesday night Chinese take-out and movie at home dates. Friday night dinner and movie dates. Saturday fun, exciting dates. Several Gemma family dinners. Thanksgiving with the club. Christmas with Isabella's parents who had decided to spend the holidays at a ski resort in Colorado. Still no sex. Every so often Happy would show up at her office to bring her lunch. Sometimes she'd surprise him at the shop with lunch. Things had been going well between Happy and Isabella. So well, in fact, Michael thought it might be time to take the next step if Happy truly thought his daughter was compatible with him.

Seeing a BMW pull into the lot made everyone groan. Until Happy noticed it was Isabella's father who had shown up. He wiped his hands on a grease rag and walked out to meet the older man. The pair shook hands as they stood next to Michael's car. The older man told Happy he wanted to talk to him about Isabella. Happy's heart rate sped up as he wondered what Michael wanted to talk to him about. Had he found out what he did for the club? Had he found out what the club's real way of making money was?

"Listen Happy, my daughter is more than enamored with you. It's been over a year since you started courting my daughter. How do you honestly feel about her?" Michael asked.

"I...I feel the same. We get along so well. She compliments my personality better than I could have ever hoped. She somehow knows how to calm me down when I'm angry. I love the time I get to spend with her." Happy stated, "Why?"

"Have you thought about marriage?" Michael asked making Happy's eyes widen.

Marriage was the goal of courtship, after all.

"I hadn't." Happy truthfully confessed.

"Maybe its time you did. Clearly the two of you love one another. I see it when she looks at you. I can tell you do by the way you treat my daughter and the way you look at her." Michael explained.

"I...I will definitely think about it." Happy told the older man.

"I will say this. She'll want to marry in Texas. It's where all her family is at and where she feels most comfortable. Can your club members make the trip?" Michael stated.

"I'm sure they could." Happy replied.

"If not, I can provide transportation for them. If you decide to marry my daughter, that is." Michael smiled as he held his hand out for Happy to shake once more, "I'll let you get back to work now. I just wanted to have this little chat with you."

"Thank you." Happy replied as he firmly gripped Michael's hand.

He stood there and watched the older man get back into his car and leave the lot. He hadn't been thinking of marriage but it was what courtship was all about. Finding out if the one you were courting was compatible with you for marriage or not. He thought Isabella was more than compatible with him and his lifestyle. Could he honestly get married? He'd told Michael he was interested in marriage. Was Isabella? He sighed as he stood there contemplating the biggest decision of his life. He'd have to find the perfect ring for her if he was going to do this.

Happy began to wonder if she'd let him ink her or not. He'd already explained about being an 'ol lady and what the significance of the crow tattoo meant. She had no tattoos of her own, her skin was unmarked by anything, but would she allow him to place his crow on her body? He knew he'd get a lot of shit from his brothers for having their wedding in Texas and for letting her dictate most of their wedding plans but he didn't care. He'd do whatever she wanted him to just to make the day memorable and special for her. He did love this woman. Over the course of the past year, he had slowly fallen in love with her and never realized it until now.

With a heavy sigh, he turned to head back to the car he'd been working on. His mind raced with figuring out what kind of ring she would like as an engagement ring. It would have to suit her personality. She wasn't overly flashy but she liked cute things. Something slightly different than your typical diamond would be best for her. Sighing again he knew he'd have to browse jewelry stores to find the right ring before he popped the question. The next thing was figuring out how to do it and where. It had been a long while since they'd gone on a picnic so he thought perhaps doing that, being out where they were secluded, would be the best place to ask. He wouldn't have people looking at him as he stumbled over his words making him even more nervous.

Now it was just finding the right ring. Chibs watched later that afternoon as Happy immediately left the lot after work. It wasn't a Wednesday or Friday so he didn't think he was heading to Isabella's house. Besides, he hadn't even washed up from working at the garage. He wondered what the assassin was doing but figured he'd find out in time if the Killah wanted anyone to know. Happy had gone to several jewelry stores in Charming but nothing seemed to jump out at him. He groaned as he hopped on his bike and made his way back to his house. He wanted to talk to his ma and didn't want anyone bothering him while he did. She should be the first to know he was planning on asking Isabella to marry him.

As he rode to his home, he thought about the first time he'd brought Isabella to his mother's house. The pair took to one another instantly. His ma loved Isabella and quickly told him to marry her making Isabella blush. When they returned to her condo, Isabella told him how much she liked his mother and that she hoped he'd take her to see her again. It eased some anxiety about how the two most important women in his life were going to take to one another. Isabella even did a lot of baking and wanted to take some of her baked goods to his mother when she found out his ma had fallen ill again. It made him happy to know that his girlfriend was thinking of his mother.

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