Chasing Love (Dark Love 1)

“Marry me, Charlotte.”

Stunned, I move my body to face him. His face is deadly serious, and maybe my clouded head is imagining things. He can’t have just asked me to marry him. Did he?

“Lex, um… what did you just say?”

“I said… marry me, Charlotte. Tonight, here, now.”

“But… we can’t just get married. Are you crazy?”

“I’ve never been this sane in my life,” he answers calmly.

“It’s not even possible. I mean, even if we wanted to.”

“Nothing is impossible.”

He throws me the helmet, motioning for me to put it on. Jumping on the bike, he starts the engine. Taking out his phone, he types something really fast. I have no idea what he’s doing. It isn’t like we are in Vegas.

We drive to the next town over as I clutch onto him in a slight panic. Suddenly, he stops in front of a building, jumps off and tells me to wait by the bike. As I wait, I can feel the panic rising and the uncertainty of the situation which is making me start to sweat. A lot.

Trust him, Charlie. Go ahead and trust him, the voices in my head sing.

Lex walks down the path and knocks on the door of the fancy house. A man answers in his robe, taken aback by Lex standing on his porch. He talks, and I can’t make out a single word. The man holds his hand up almost like he’s refusing to hear something until they both stop, and the man closes the door. Lex continues to wait on the porch, turning around to smile back at me, almost like the smile is saying a thousand words I need to hear right now to ease the trepidation. The door opens again, and the man points to something out back. He closes the door again, and Lex comes running to where I stand.

“Now… will you tell me what’s going on?” I ask, panicked.

He grabs my hand and pulls me back toward the house, except we turn the corner, following the rose bushes until we find ourselves standing in the backyard, a few feet away from a gazebo where the man stands, and an older lady beside him.

“Charlotte, marry me. Here. Now.”

“Lex, come on… you’re joking, right?”

“Marry me, Charlotte,” he repeats the words.

I look at the man and woman waiting. Without thinking, I pull Lex toward them until we’re standing under the gazebo. I turn to look at the man, Lex giving him a nod before he begins to speak.

“We’re gathered here today…” he continues speaking as I stand there dumbfounded, unable to comprehend this moment.

What the hell is happening?

Is this for real?

“Alexander Matthew Edwards, do you take Charlotte Olivia Mason to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold till death do you part?”

“I do.”

The lady hands him a gold band, and slowly, he slides it on my finger. It’s slightly tight, but he still manages to get it on. How on earth did he get rings in five minutes?

“Charlotte Olivia Mason, do you take Alexander Matthew Edwards to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold till death do you part?”

Holy shit! Someone pinch me now.

“I do,” I blurt out. “I really do.”

I let out a sigh, and at that moment, peace has finally found me.

The lady hands me another gold band, my fingers trembling as I slide the ring onto Lex’s finger.

“By the authority vested in me by the State of New York, I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”