Say No To This

15

Lin's POV

I paced. Back and forth. Two in the morning, thinking about the one thing in my life that I knew I wanted to do. But was I ready? Was I really ready to ask Pippa to marry me?

I did love her. Of course that was a given. We had an apartment together, a child together, everything together really.

I sat on the couch, thinking everything over. I heard a door open and looked to see Scarlett walking out of her room.

"What are you doing up?" I asked her quickly. She jumped at the sound of my voice and walked over to me.

"I peed." She frowned. I let out a small sigh and helped her undress and take a quick bath. I changed her sheets while she sat in the tub. It had been a while since she had wet the bed.

Once she was done with her bath, I helped her change into pjs and brought her into mine and Pippa's room.

Pippa stirred slightly, giving me quite the look when I set Scarlett down on the bed in between us. The look faded when Scarlett curled up next to her. I didn't know what she dreamt of, but it seemed to me that Pippa made it better for her.

The next morning I woke up with Scarlett's stuffed elephant on my face. I set it down next to me and realized the girls weren't in bed anymore. I walked out to see them both sitting on the terrace wrapped in a blanket. As I walked closer, I could hear them talking.

"I don't want that to happen." Scarlett sniffed.

"It won't sweetie. I promise." Pippa whispered.

"How do you know?" Scarlett cried.

"Because." Pippa sighed. "Mommy knows everything." She lied. Granted, Pippa did know a lot, but definitely not everything.

"Okay." I couldn't help but smile. Pippa knew exactly how to handle every situation Scarlett threw at her. Just watching her handle Scarlett was enough for me to know that I wanted to marry this woman.

I decided not to intrude and begin making breakfast for them.

Pippa's POV

I sat at the dance studio watching the little kids learn their routine for the recital. I let out a small sigh, I didn't really want to be here. I wanted to go run errands but Scarlett insisted I stay. It sucked.

"You look down Pippa." One of the mothers frowned.

"Just the clingy stage again. Thought she outgrew it." I groaned.

"Oh. Again?" She chuckled.

"Yup. All of a sudden she has to be attached to me all the time. Before she was so independent." I explained.

"Maybe she hears other kids and sees them acting like that. And she wants to fit in?" She questioned.

"I have no idea." I shrugged.

The rest of the hour class dragged on for what seemed like days. When they were finally released, Scarlett came bounding at me with her dance bag in hand.

"Hi mommy!" She giggled.

"Hi honey. Let's go. I have a ton of errands to run." I sighed.

I was exhausted for some weird reason. I hated being out now. It seemed as if everything was just overwhelming to me now.

I quickly ran all of my errands, making sure to stop to find something to eat for Scarlett. Once we got home, I had to make sure she was bathed and changed to get ready to meet Lin at the theatre.

"Mommy why do I have to go?" She pouted.

"Because we're going out for dinner." I sighed while brushing through her hair. I was mentally cursing at myself for letting him talk me into this. I didn't even want to go out. I wanted to lounge around and binge watch my horror shows when she went to bed. Not be out and about in the city.

We eventually got to the theatre, meeting Lin backstage. He gave a big smile when he saw us. I sat in one of the open chairs that were away from everyone and just watched.

When it finally came time for us to go to the restaurant, I noticed Lin was talking a lot more than normal. Which usually meant he was nervous about something.

"Nervous?" I asked him.

"Yes. The show is coming along so smoothly. I'm afraid." He fired off quickly.

"It'll be fine. We all wish shows would go without a hitch." I winked at him.

Dinner went smoothly. Scarlett didn't fight me too much on dinner choices either. When it was finally time to go home, Lin looked disappointed with something. I didn't ask, to avoid making a scene. It wouldn't have, but Lin didn't like to talk about things in public. Just to avoid any public to hear.

When we got home, I quickly put Scarlett to bed and found him sitting at the edge of the bed fiddling with something in his hands.

"What's that?" I asked. He jumped at the sound of my voice, and the little object fell out of his hands. Hit the carpet, and wobbled closer to me. I bent down to pick it up and realized it was a ring.

"I.." Lin started.

"Why?" I asked.

"We've been dating a while now... And... I really do love you. I... I thought tonight... I could make you mine forever." He frowned.

"Lin..." I started.

"I know! We talked about it. But I wasn't going to do it at the restaurant I swear on my great grandmother." He immediately jumped up and started to defend himself. "I was going to ask you after Scarlett went to bed." He continued. "But... I got really nervous. I saw that distant look in your eyes again at the theatre. So I hesitated..."

"Hesitated?" I frowned.

"Wrong words." He pointed. "I. I didn't hesitate on my love for you Pippa. I swear. I hesitated on asking you because I didn't want to put my feelings first. I wanted to talk with you and make sure you were okay. To let you know that I'm still here for you." He added.

I just stared at him. My fingers still held the ring in my hand. It wasn't anything flashy. Just a small band. He knew me so well.

"Pippa.. You haven't been talking to me lately... It really scares me." He whispered. I watched as he got closer to me. His hand outstretched. I took a step back and placed the ring on the dresser before heading out of the bedroom.