Let them watch.
All I care about is this man. The love of my life and the future we’re going to make with each other.
“I’ve got to tell Kerry,” I say.
“She knows.”
“What?”
“I already told her I wanted to marry you, and she gave me her blessing, not that it would stop me. I fucking love you, and nothing was getting in my way.”
I can’t help but chuckle.
In a matter of minutes, I’ve gone from feeling so afraid to joyous that I’m his. I belong to him, and no one is taking him away from him.
“Your meeting,” I say, remembering we’ve got responsibilities that don’t include making out or marriage proposals.
“Make them wait. I’m kissing my fiancée, and I’d much rather be doing that than sitting with a bunch of men.”
He pushes me to the desk, and I wrap my arms around him, holding him close as his kiss consumes me.
This is what I’d been hoping for, and never in my wildest dreams did I think it would actually happen.
Epilogue
Chase
Two years later
Marrying Faye was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t think there was anything that could top that. Watching her walk down the aisle dressed in white, I remembered walking into the bedroom all those months ago. The way she looked, her nerves, and then how she felt when I put my hands on her.
I’d fucking loved every second of taking her virginity, and as she came to me in front of our friends and colleagues in a church, I knew this moment would stay with me forever. Moving in together was another on the list of our shared moments. She went back to college, at my request, and I shared guardianship of Kerry, who in the last two years has grown up considerably.
Now as I sit in the hospital room, waiting for the doctor to come back, this is going to be another of those shared moments I’ll never forget. Faye’s stomach is already nicely rounded, and the test she took had surpassed the happiness we experienced at our wedding. She’d been sick several mornings, and I’d finally bought a test.
She’d looked nervous, and I’d stayed with her even as she peed on the stick. Together, we’d held hands and watched as the test confirmed we were expecting our first child.
Today we find out exactly what the sex is.
I don’t care.
Boy or girl.
So long as my baby and my wife are healthy, I’ll be happy.
The doctor returns, and Faye holds my hand even tighter.
“I can see this is your first baby.” The doctor smiles, and I wait patiently.
Hearing that heartbeat floors me every single time. This isn’t our first ultrasound, but on the last one our baby didn’t want to show what she or he was.
He moves the device around her stomach, and my throat clogs up as I watch our baby wriggling.
“Ah, would you look at that? You are going to be parents to a little baby girl.”
I stare at Faye and see the tears in her eyes.
“Are you happy?” I ask.
“Yes. So happy.”
“Me too, baby. Me too.”
****
Faye
Ten years later
“My daughter hates me.” Chase picks up the dolls and trains that were left in the doorway of the kitchen.
I laugh. We’ve been married nearly twelve years now, and we have four beautiful children. Lily, our oldest, is in that stage where she’s not yet a teenager or a child. So, she’d gotten angry when Chase refused to let her go for a sleepover.
“She doesn’t hate you. She loves you, but right now, she doesn’t like you.” I walk up to him, wrap my arms around his waist, and smile. I know he loves it when I do.
“Do you think I should let her stay over at a friend’s?”
“I think you should follow your own thoughts and feelings, and if you don’t want her to have a sleepover then it doesn’t happen. Simple as that.”
He pushes some of my hair aside, cupping my face. His thumb traces across my lip. “I love you.”
“You’re still happy you married me?”
“I’m still happy that I went to Cherry all those years ago. I had no idea I’d meet the love of my life, but I have and you’re fucking perfect.”
Chase never fails to make me feel loved, and my feelings for him have only gotten deeper and more intense. He is the perfect man for me, and I love him more than the world.
As he kisses me, I feel complete.
With his arms wrapped around me, I’m home.
And safe in his embrace, I’m free.
The End