An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Cliff's heart raced in his chest, the same as it always did in anticipation of seeing Hannah. She opened the door and greeted him. No smile. She always smiled to see him. What was wrong?
"Hey, is everything okay?"
"Cliff, I...I." She turned to look away toward the interior of the house. Finally, the smile came. "Come in."
He followed her to the kitchen carrying a bouquet of flowers and handed them to Hannah's mother. "For the lady of the house." He often brought flowers which pleased Mrs. Blessing.
"Thank you!" She dumped the old flowers into the trash bin and replaced the vase with his fresh ones.
Hannah looked around as if hunting for something. "Mom, where is Dad this morning? He always likes to chat up Cliff before we leave." She regarded him. "Cliff, what are our plans for the day?"
Mrs. Blessing said, "Don't worry about your father. He had to go out to run an errand."
Hannah continued to look at him intently.
"What?"
"I asked you what our plans are for today."
Cliff sighed and hung his head. Things were not going as planned. "I don't want to say here what I have to say."
"Why can't you look at me?" She asked.
The timing was all wrong.
"Look at me," she demanded.
He met her gaze. Her beauty always stole his breath, but why were her eyes rimmed with tears? "Hannah, what is wrong?"
She shook her finger at him. Her voice cracked. "I don't need you to take me someplace to tell me you want to break up with me. Why waste time? Look me in the eyes and tell me you're ending things, and then tell me why."
Cliff recalled that first meeting at the dealership and how flabbergasted he had been over Hannah's reaction when he tried to help her. He felt the same way now, totally gobsmacked.
Mrs. Blessing raised her voice. "Hannah, you're a stubborn fool."
Cliff had never heard Hannah's mom raise her voice which only added to his bewilderment.
Before he could speak, Hannah prattled on. "Is it because of my ultimatum to you? Well, I'm sorry if you can't respect my principles or have empathy because of my experience with James and how I never want to be hurt like that again."
Would she ever take a breath? "Hannah, stop."
"Just because I'm no longer a virgin and no longer have my honor to protect, all because of James, it doesn't mean I'm going to give it up again to any man who doesn't value me enough to commit to me—"
"—Hannah, please—"
"—So, just go ahead and get it over with. You know what? Don't bother, I'll be the one to say it. I won't allow you to be the one to hurt me—"
"—Hannah, will you please just shut the hell up!" He hadn't meant to be so harsh, but he had to snap her out of it. It worked because she stopped talking and glared at him. He hoped his outburst hadn't frightened her mother.
Cliff sighed. "I didn't come here to break up with you. I'm here to ask you to marry me!" He pulled the black velvet box holding the ring from his trouser pocket. "I've been acting secretive because I wanted to take you to Hershey Gardens to a romantic spot to pop the question."
She looked at him dumbly. "What?"
He took her hand and placed the box in her palm. "You want a ring. I totally understand. Of course, I respect your principles and the stand you've taken. I admire you for making me wait, even if it was sexually frustrating for me to do so." Maybe he shouldn't have said that last part in front of her mom.
Hannah looked stunned.
"Open the box," her mother prompted.
Cliff saw Hannah's eyes come back into focus. She opened the box and gasped.
The gold band held a large center diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds set in a channel.
Hannah plucked the ring from the box and slipped it on. She looked at him with large, round eyes. "How did you know this was my favorite setting? It fits perfectly. How did you know my ring size?"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Cliff looked at Mrs. Blessing. She remained in the kitchen but had faded into the background.
Hannah followed Cliff's gaze. "Mother?"
"Cliff and I have been shopping this week while you were working."
"Wait...You knew? You let me wallow in my insecurity and then allowed me to make a complete ass of myself in front of my fiancé without warning me what was coming?"
"Your fiancé?" Cliff interjected. "You just said your fiancé. Does that mean you'll marry me?" His heart hammered in his chest. "I didn't exactly go through the motions and get down on my knee and—"
She didn't let him finish. She grabbed him in a tight embrace. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you." She pulled from the embrace and made eye contact. "I love you, Cliff Ortega." She turned to her mom. "There. I said it."
Mrs. Blessing winked at Cliff. "Then I suppose we should get going."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Things may not have gone as Cliff planned, but he got the job done.
