Obedience No More He's the One I Deserved novel Chapter 177

"When Ethan was little, he used to pee in his grandpa's teacup. That's when I knew that this kid was gonna grow up to be a hopeless romantic ... He really is my son!"

Hannah sniffled, turned to her, and said, "Mrs. Jackson, I don't think those two things are related."

"What not?"

Tara pouted, her eyes actually glistening with tears. "He kept aiming at the same spot every time—doesn't that show loyalty?"

Excuse me?

That connection made no sense at all.

Hannah was about to say something when her eyes flicked toward the door and caught sight of two young people coming in. She quickly whispered, "Hurry, hurry ... Before they notice us!"

The two of them crouched behind the couch, keeping the lights off. Since Dawn and Ethan went straight upstairs, they didn't notice anything unusual.

Once the sound of footsteps faded completely, Tara rose thoughtfully to her feet.

"Hannah."

"Yes?"

"Given the way things are now, don't you think it's time we started preparing for a wedding?"

Hannah nodded in agreement. "I think so too. It's about time the house had some real celebration."

The next morning, after breakfast, Ethan headed out first. Dawn was asked to stay behind by Tara.

"Mrs. Jackson, did you need something?"

Tara glanced out into the yard to make sure her son was gone, then smiled warmly. "Oh, nothing serious. I just wanted to ask if you had any thoughts about the wedding. Where should it be—indoors or outdoors? Traditional or modern?

"Oh, and the jewelry, too. Do you want diamonds, or maybe emeralds?

"We'll also need to visit the Osbornes to make things official. It's been years since I've seen your adoptive parents.

"But weddings are a lot of work, so we really should start preparing now. You—"

"Mrs. Jackson." Seeing how carried away Tara was getting, Dawn couldn't help but cut in with a helpless smile. "I haven't given it much thought yet. If you already have ideas, I'm fine with going along with whatever you like.

"That won't do."

Tara shook her head firmly. "Dawn, a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event. It should be however you want it, but you can't not think about it. You'll regret it later if you don't."

Dawn knew she had good intentions. She thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I understand."

"That's more like it."

Tara's face lit up again. She rattled off several different plans in one breath before adding, "I know you two are busy with work, so if you have any ideas or don't like something, just text me directly, okay?"

Dawn stared at her in surprise. "When did you come up with all this?"

What did he mean by do them all? A giant mash-up?

She let out a long sigh and sent another message. "Mr. Jackson, if we do that, we'll probably end up being everyone's dinner table gossip. That's way too abstract. We can only pick one."

She followed it with a pitiful little emoji, perfectly capturing her struggle and helplessness.

Ethan replied, "It was Mrs. Jackson's idea. I'm sure she'll come up with the perfect solution."

And just like that, they were right back where they started.

Dawn rested her chin on her hand, looking troubled. She went through the pictures in the proposals again and again. The more she looked, the more she realized that Tara was a very creative person, and her taste was so modern that it was no different from a professional's.

Janice walked by with a cup of coffee and happened to glance over.

"Planning the wedding already?"

Dawn absentmindedly nodded. "Just looking for now."

"This is awesome—lawn and poolside, beach ... Wait, even on a mountaintop? Who came up with this wedding plan? That's so cool." Janice's eyes practically sparkled.

"Ethan's mom."

"Wow. The queen mother's got taste."