Chapter 31 Pop Goes the Question

Gabriella's eyes never left Brandon's face all through the journey back home on the train. She had returned from her meeting with Desmond the day before, stupefied to find her mother and boyfriend getting along like a house on fire, sharing good-natured laughs over tales of Gabriella's embarrassing childhood moments – something she would talk with her mother about later. Right now, she was still baffled to find Brandon in a good mood after an evening alone with her mother.

"How did you do that? I leave you for two hours with her and come back to find you both chortling over anecdotes and lemon meringue pie! Two days ago you were crying on my shoulder trying to impress her."

"We hit it off after you left," Brandon said with a secret smile, "she came around and really took a liking to me."

"I see," Gabriella said, though she wondered exactly how that happened. Brandon changed the subject before she could ask, inquiring about her meeting with Desmond.

"Oh, Desmond has gone back to the air force. We said our goodbyes."

"Really? Did he get over you that quickly?" Brandon asked in surprise.

"Well, he said he needed time but he promised to get over his – crush."

"Ah, puppy love." Gabriella nudged Brandon in the ribs.

"Hey!"

"Don't be too hard on him, he's a decent guy. He was quite broken up when I told him it would never work out."

"As long as he gets that it's over," Brandon mumbled. "Any other old crushes, exes, or lovers in your life that I should know about?" Gabriella shook her head in disbelief.

"Very funny."

"Hey, it's a valid point! I'm kind of tired of guys popping up in your life. First Archer, then Dez…"

"And now they're both history, Barry."

"Okay, okay," Brandon snuck his arm around her as he spoke, "I just want you all to myself from now on." Gabriella's expression became softer and she leaned into him.

"You do, Barry." No more was said about ex-lovers after that.

Gabriella paid a visit to Sassie the following week after she heard that Teddy was over his measles. She went laden with a stuffed Nemo doll and a box full of cupcakes she made herself for Teddy.

"Auntie Gabby!" He exclaimed with a squeal on seeing her and gave her a tight hug.

"Hello, my darling Teddy! You're looking a lot better." Gabriella hugged him and smacked his cheek with a smooch. Teddy squealed with laughter as she began to tickle him.

"Nemo!" He yelled when he saw the stuffed doll. He pounced on it at once, rolling over the floor with it. When his eyes caught sight of the cupcakes, however, his attention turned to them.

"Are those for me?" He asked Gabriella innocently. She nodded and placed them in his hand.

"All for you." Gabriella smiled at him.

"Yay! Thank you, auntie!" He attacked the cupcakes and proceeded to stuff his face.

"At least he's quieter now," Sassie told Gabriella as they sat down in the living room to talk over tea. "The scratching phase was a nightmare."

"What you and Phil need is a vacation. I could keep Teddy with me for a few days if you like," Gabriella offered.

"But aren't you staying with Brandon? Would he be alright having a toddler around the house?"

"That's okay, he won't mind. He's very easygoing that way. And I'm sure he'd love to help babysit Teddy." Gabriella's eyes flitted to him sitting on his playmat, his face covered in frosting as he devoured the cupcakes. Her eyes became wistful.

"He's gotten you all lovesick, hasn't he?" Sassie asked intuitively. "When's this boy taking the leap? I wanna catch the bouquet at your wedding soon."

"Sass!" Gabriella blushed.

"And anyone can see you can't wait to make babies with him," Sassie went on, a sly grin on her face. Gabriella swatted her arm.

"Sass, not in front of Teddy!" She hissed in embarrassment. Sassie snorted.

"He's three, he's got a long way to go before he understands the birds and the bees talk," Sassie rolled her eyes. She leaned forward eagerly.

"But honestly, Gabby, is he serious about you?"

"Well, my Ma already gave her blessing…"

"When was that?" Sassie exclaimed. Gabriella told her about her trip to Kansas with Brandon. Sassie squealed in excitement.

"I'll bet that boy is preparing to pop the question any day now! I mean, he already met your Ma?"

"And he's the one who insisted on it," Gabriella said. Her thoughts went to the pearl ring he promised to give her again… So far she hadn't seen a peep of it. She wondered if Brandon had forgotten about it, why else would he delay asking her the big question?

"Do you want me to help you hire a wedding planner?" Sassie interrupted her thoughts, "Because I happen to know the perfect—"

"Sass! Don't get ahead of yourself! Besides, Brandon likes to do things his own way. He's very independent."

"Just as long as he asks for your opinion. Because that's what marriage is all about, sharing your interests and likes. Oh, this is so exciting, I can't wait for your wedding!"

"Slow down Sass, it'll be a while before that happens," Gabriella said reasonably. "I'm still getting over the shock that my mom accepted Brandon like that."

"She must really like him."

"She does! It's so strange. I thought she was going to give him a hard time but all of a sudden, I found them chatting over pie like the best of friends!"

"He must be quite the charmer if he can win over your Ma. I remember how nitpicky she used to be about men. Think she'll let you have the wedding here in New York?"

"Sass!" Gabriella laughed at her friend's eagerness.

"Come on Gabby, these things are important! It's never too soon to plan a wedding. Remember how we used to plan everything in detail back when we were teenagers? We'd decide on the flowers, the dresses, the venue…"

"And you actually lived out your dream wedding," Gabriella said with a smile.

"Whirlwind wedding," Sassie corrected her, "I was in too much of a hurry to tie the knot before Teddy had a chance to grow in me. I wanted him to have a proper family when he was born."

"Still, your wedding was everything you ever wanted."

"True. And as your best friend, I want you to have that too, Gabby."

I know, Sass," Gabriella paused before mumbling, "but it depends on what Brandon wants too."

A few days later, Sassie was sitting on her couch at home, Teddy sprawled out on the floor sketching with his crayons in front of her. Her eyes showed that she was deep in thought as she watched him. Suddenly, she picked up her phone and dialed a number. After a couple of rings, the person picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Brandon, it's Sassie."

"Sassie, this is a surprise, hearing from you. I hope this isn't another call to tell me off about something," Brandon asked with a little laugh.

"Not as long as you've been behaving with my best friend," Sassie replied in a mock stern voice. "I was actually calling to ask about the engagement."

"W-what?" Brandon sounded surprised.

"You do intend to propose to Gabriella, right?" Brandon chuckled on the other side.

"Yes, but, don't tell her yet, alright? I want it to be a complete surprise. She already knows that I'll ask her, but she doesn't know when."

"I want in."

"What?"

"I want to help plan the reception."

"Er, what did you have in mind?"

"Gabriella's very particular about venues, she likes outdoors if the weather's fine, indoors if it's not," Sassie rattled off as if it had been the only thing on her mind. "Somewhere with a good ambiance. And it has to be memorable for both of you, but especially for her. And there should be lots of flowers. She loves flowers. And music. And then there's the menu. Gabriella hates chocolates, so go easy on the desserts. Also, there has to be a lot of vegetarian options—"

"Whoa, slow down. Am I allowed a say in this?" Brandon asked in amusement.

"I'm her best friend, I know what she wants!" Sassie said impatiently.

"I understand that, but I happen to have some ideas of my own, ideas I know Gabriella will love. And I know Gabriella well enough by now to know what she'd love."

"Really? What's her favorite flower?"

"Er… lavender."

"Wrong. She likes the scent of lavender but she likes white flowers the most."

"Okay, I'll make a note of it. But please, leave everything else to me."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Sassie said with doubt.

"I'm proposing to the love of my life! Of course I know what I'm doing! Just sit back and wait for the invitation, okay?"

"Whatever you say. Gabriella had better be impressed. She deserves it. Make her proud, okay?" Brandon chuckled as he replied.

"Trust me, she will be."

Gabriella had been working hard at the catering kitchen Brandon had given her. Ever since the idea took off, she had been practicing various vegetarian recipes, training her new assistants, and getting a feel of running the place before she would open it up officially. She had already successfully hosted a sampling session featuring all her best dishes and found that many people enjoyed them and were looking forward to more. Ecstatic that she could finally live her dream, she worked all the harder at perfecting everything before the grand opening.

She had been cooking all day and was so immersed in simmering a mushroom stroganoff with white wine that she clicked her tongue when her phone went off in her pocket.

"Must be Brandon…" She mumbled and turned off the stove before her mushrooms could catch fire. She pulled out her phone and checked it. There was a text from Brandon.

Hello, Angel. I wanted to let you know that I made plans for us tonight. Peter will pick you up as I'm a little tied up at the moment. See you soon. There was a kissy face emoji at the end. Gabriella frowned.

"It's not like him to make impromptu plans like this… What am I saying, of course it is! But I wish he'd talked to me about it first…" She looked down at her stained apron over her plain work dress which still managed to get splashes of oil and bechamel sauce. She didn't want to show up for a date smelling like sherry and onions, plus she wanted to change into something prettier. Would she have time to stop by home, shower, and change?

Turns out she didn't, because as soon as she stepped out of the kitchen at six after work, Peter's shiny red car was already in the parking lot. She said goodbye to her assistants as they went home before joining him.

"Peter, I heard from Brandon. I appreciate you giving me the ride, but I hope his plan accommodates me getting a chance to go home and change." She indicated her stained outfit.

"Nope, he said to bring you straight to wherever it is that he had plans and no stops. Trust me, you don't want to miss what's coming." He winked at her. Gabriella looked confused.

"Why? What's coming?" Peter chuckled and shook his head.

"You'll see."

He drove uptown, taking a different road from the one leading to Brandon's house.

"Where exactly are we going and why all this runaround?" Gabriella asked suspiciously.

"Brandon gave me specific instructions which included me not giving out any classified information," Peter said smugly.

"You men can be so infuriating sometimes," Gabriella mumbled huffily. She folded her arms, feeling tired and irritable. She really just wanted to go home, shower, and change and was not in the mood for games. Peter chuckled.

"I hope you're hungry."

"I'd ask why you're asking, but you'd probably give me some rigmarole about 'classified information' so I won't," Gabriella said, making quotation marks in the air. Peter was guffawed over her words but guarded his secret closely.

"You'll see." Gabriella groaned at his reply.

They arrived at an outdoor restaurant, a fancy setup with hanging blue stringed lights streaming all around and a large swimming pool beside the eating area whose blue light reflected on the tables. One particularly large table by the pool was covered with a sparkly white cloth and there was a basket of blue and white flowers in the center. The overhead lights were brightest around that table, giving off a romantic vibe around it. The place seemed empty and no one else was present.

"What are we doing here?" Gabriella asked. "And don't say 'you'll see'."

"Well… then I'm not sure how to answer."

"If this is Brandon's idea of fun, tell him to call it off. I'm not dressed to enter a fancy place like this and I'm not up to eating out," Gabriella exhaled tiredly.

"Trust me. You do not want him to call this night off. And don't worry about your clothes," Peter reassured her.

"Why?"

"Just – wait right here." Peter stopped by the decorated table.

"Honestly, it's a Friday night. All I wanted was some quiet time at home," Gabriella said to herself. "Peter, could you please tell me where Brandon is? Peter?" She looked around but he had suddenly disappeared, leaving her alone. She clicked her tongue in frustration. Now what?

She heard footsteps across the wooden floor and turned to see who it was – she felt relieved to see Brandon approaching her, surprisingly all dressed up in a shiny teal blue suit and white shirt.

"Brandon, there you are. What's with all the mystery from Peter? He disappeared all of a sudden. Was this your idea? And – why are you all dressed up?" Brandon didn't reply, but only walked slowly towards her, an ardent look in his eyes fixed on her. He stopped right in front of her and took her hands.

"Gabriella Keller," he began, getting down on one knee. Gabriella looked taken aback.

"B-Brandon, what's this all about?" She stammered in surprise.

"From the first moment I met you," he continued, pulling out a small velvet box from his breast pocket, "and every moment since I've known you, I knew you were the one for me. I want us to live out the rest of our lives together, and I want to love you for as long as I live. Gabriella, my Angel, I want nothing more than you. And I want to be yours all the days of my life. So I ask you – will you accept me? Will you be my bride, Angel?" He opened the box, revealing the pearl ring. Gabriella's mouth fell open and she looked devastated.

"No, no, no! Brandon, you can't possibly ask me… not now!" Brandon looked shocked and blinked rapidly.

"Huh? Angel, are you saying – no?" He faltered. Gabriella's eyes filled up.

"Barry, how could you do this to me?" She moaned. "I just got off work, I haven't even changed, I smell like onions and have béchamel sauce stains on my skirt… while you look like you just stepped out of a magazine… and you chose today of all days to propose?" Brandon's eyes flitted back and forth from hers for a moment before he burst out in laughter.

"Angel, darling, you look beautiful to me no matter what. Whew, for a terrifying moment there, I thought you were rejecting me!" He stood up and put the ring on her finger, a dazzling smile on his face. Gabriella whined.

"This was supposed to be perfect! I didn't want to look like this when I got proposed to! Brandon!" She cried into his shoulder. He laughed softly near her ear, hugging her back.

"You didn't say 'yes' to me yet, Angel." She punched his chest lightly.

"You impossibly attractive, lovable—" her words were cut off as his lips captured hers with enthusiasm.

"It is perfect, Gabriella. You're perfect to me. Now, are you gonna say 'yes' or not?"

"YES! YES! A million times yes! Ugh, now I have tear stains too." He wiped them off her face with his sleeve as they both fell into uncontrollable laughter, spilling over from their joy.

"Gabriella, my new bride-to-be." He kissed her again, his arms enveloped tight around her waist. They were just getting lost in each other as their kiss grew more intense when a confetti cracker suddenly exploded over them. They opened their eyes and turned around.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Three people chorused simultaneously. Gabriella saw her friend Sassie, Phil, and Peter standing beside them, with Teddy in Phil's arms. Sassie came and hugged her friend.

"I'm so happy for you, honey!" She squeaked. Gabriella hugged her back, her smile widening.

"You guys were all in on it!" She exclaimed.

"Of course! Who do you think helped him plan all this?" Sassie said skeptically. Brandon made a noise of disbelief.

"Hey, hold up, I planned and did all this on my own! Sure I got a few pointers, but—"

"Yeah, yeah. We'll let Gabriella think you planned all this for now." Peter said teasingly. Phil clapped him on the back.

"Still, you did a good job for our Gabby," he said cheerfully. Teddy squealed his approval as well and got a cheek pinch from Brandon which only made him laugh harder.

"Come on, let's go get you changed," Sassie said, pulling Gabriella away from the men.

"You brought me a dress?"

"Course! What did you think of me?" Sassie said, taking Gabriella's hand. The two women walked back together. Brandon, Peter, and Phil sat down, Peter opening a bottle of champagne.

"Dude, you're officially not a bachelor anymore," Peter said, pouring a glass.

"Hey hey, that's not for now. Wait till my bride comes back," Brandon said, taking the bottle from him. He looked put off but agreed to wait.

"Congratulations mate," Phil said as he bounced Teddy on his lap.

"Happy berday!" Teddy squealed, unable to understand what was going on but feeling excited nonetheless. Brandon smiled at him, patting his head.

"Thank you, Teddy. You too, Phil. But to be honest, I almost had a heart attack when she said no." They all laughed.

"You're a lucky man, you know that? It's not every day a girl like that comes along," Peter said.

"I know what you mean. Gabriella is one in a million," Brandon said with dreamy eyes. The two women came back just then. Gabriella was wearing a short pale blue satin dress, with a modest neckline and long puffy sleeves. Her feet were in silver pumps and altogether she looked ravishing to Brandon.

"Wow, Angel," Brandon said, appraising her. She blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Well, come on, sit down. We have to toast." Peter passed them both glasses.

"To Brandon and Gabriella, the newly affianced lovebirds," he said flamboyantly.

"Really, Pete?" Brandon asked, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you guys do make out a lot in public. I think lovebirds are a perfect example of you two."

"It's cute. I like it," Gabriella interceded with a smile.

"I'd like to say – to the new soon-to-be Mrs. Whiteley. For you guys to always have peace and prosperity," Phil said, raising his glass.

"To my best friend and her new beau," Sassie piped up. "May your love never die!"

"To my Angel," Brandon said softly, "the love of my life."

"To my knight in shining armor," Gabriella added lovingly, "my dream come true." They all clinked their glasses and the waiters brought in trays of food for their dinner.

"Are you still tired, Gabriella?" Peter asked her while they ate. She shook her head.

"Not anymore."

"Good. You should have heard her complain earlier," Peter said with a laugh, "she was going on and on and on – ow!" Gabriella promptly kicked Peter under the table. Brandon chuckled.

"You better watch out, Pete. Don't get on the wrong side of my Angel." Peter grunted, massaging his shin.

"Looks like an Angel, kicks like a—"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," Brandon warned him. Peter grinned nervously.

"Ha, ha. Yeah, it hurts too much to say it anyway. How long are those heels?" He asked Gabriella.

"Four inches. Sassie picked them out for me." Gabriella replied with a smirk. Sassie giggled.

"I knew fashion can be a weapon sometimes, but this is just hilarious."

"So when are you guys setting the date for the wedding?" Phil asked. Teddy seemed to understand that and shouted "Party! Party!" Brandon chuckled.

"As soon as possible. Right, Angel?" He asked Gabriella. She patted his hand.

"Always so enthusiastic. It's one of the reasons I love you."

"What are the others?" Peter asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"That's a secret, Pete. Only between us." Brandon said, winking.

"So when is the date?" Sassie asked. Brandon rubbed his chin.

"Hmm… Gabriella?"

"Barry, planning a wedding takes a lot of time. And we need to send invitations, see about a venue, and get a license…"

"That's my Angel, always good at making lists." Gabriella giggled.

"I can do everything in a month," Brandon said.

"A month? Barry, no one can possibly plan a whole wedding in a month!"

"Watch me. I promise I'll have everything ready in a month," Brandon said confidently. "I can't wait for you longer than a month, Angel." Gabriella smiled adoringly at him for that.

"Okay. But we'll plan it together, right?"

"Absolutely. That's already given. You and I are gonna have the biggest wedding yet!" Gabriella smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Let's not go grande-sized, Barry."

"I'm marrying you aren't I?" Brandon said, his eyes sparkling with delight. "This is going to be the wedding of the century."