"And I did."
"Can you forgive me?"
"I forgave Brian so I can forgive you also, and I trust the two of you when you say there's nothing going on between you."
"Thank you."
"Now, about that husband of yours.”
"We're working on it. We're seeing a marriage counselor twice a week."
"Good, because the two of you have too much history to throw it away. I gotta go. We moved into a new house and I need to get some things taken care of around here."
"You got a house? Where?"
"Not too far from where we were. I'm still not familiar with the area. I think we're only about ten minutes from Dallas. It's a great house, lots of space and a huge backyard. We're renting it from a friend of Brian's. Well, not really renting it, he told Brian we didn't have to pay him rent. He's letting us stay here as long as we want."
"That's great! Now all you have to do is get married!"
"I'm working on it, believe it or not."
"Really? Has he asked you?"
"Yeah, but the last time ended up in an argument. I am hoping he does again soon. You'll be the first to know, after me, of course."
"I'm so happy for you! You deserve this!"
"Okay, I really gotta go now, Katie. I've got a ton of things to do around here."
"So, are we good?"
"Yes, we're good. Love ya, girl!"
"Love you, too!"
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A few weeks had passed and I spent every day helping Annie with Avon and spending time with Adam. I’d occasionally head over to Freeman's to take Brian out to lunch or we'd head home for a quick fuck before he had to go back to work. Everything was perfect again.
It was the end of another busy day and Annie seemed more excited and happier than usual all day, especially on the ride back to her house. I couldn't help myself, I had to find out what was going on. As I began to ask, she interrupted and blurted out she’d spoken to Brian a few days ago and he was asking her help about engagement rings.
I wanted to drill her about the details of their conversation, but before I could ask she went silent, covered her mouth.
"Oops, I wasn't supposed to say anything."
I helped Annie carry in the undelivered orders and supplies, said goodbye, then headed home. About half way home, my cell phone rang. My caller ID revealed it was Brian.
"Hi sweetheart."
"Hello, beautiful. Where are you?"
"I just left Annie's. What's up?"
"Are you heading home?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I've got a surprise for you when you get here. Hurry home! Love you!" He hung up before I could say anything more.
I pulled into the driveway and nearly ran into the house. Brian met me at the door, kissed me passionately then told me to close my eyes.
"What's all this about?" I asked as he walked behind me, his hands over my eyes.
"Just walk to the bedroom.” He remained behind me with his hands over my eyes. We got to the bedroom and I felt Brian move away from me then heard the door close. I turned to look at Brian and he was wearing khaki pants, a pale blue shirt and a dark blue tie.
"You look hot!"
"Get yourself more beautiful than you already are, then come into the kitchen." He backed out of the room.
I found my sexiest outfit and put it on. It was a simple black sleeveless dress which stopped just about mid-thigh. I pulled my hair out of the ponytail and brushed it out, letting the waves fall past my shoulders and down my back. I dabbed some perfume on my neck and touched up my make up.
I opened the door of the bedroom and noticed there weren't lights on in the rest of the house except for the faint glow I saw coming from the kitchen. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw Brian standing next to the table. There were two wine glasses on the table and two candles in the middle, flickering softly. Shadows of flames danced upon the walls.
"You look absolutely stunning!" he said as he walked over to me.
He held out his arm and led me to the table. He pulled my chair out and I sat down. He lingered at my neck, placed a soft kiss there, and then sat down next to me.
He’d cooked a large pot of spaghetti, sliced some bread and made a salad. I gazed lovingly at him as he poured us both a glass of wine. He reached for the salad, put some on my plate, and then reached for the spaghetti. I reached for a slice of bread and placed it on the smaller plate to the side.
"Okay. What's all this for?"
"Nothing! Can't I fix a romantic dinner for my woman?" His green eyes sparkled and danced in the soft candlelight.
"You're the most wonderful man in the world!" I leaned in to kiss him.
We sat silently and ate, staring into each other's eyes and drinking in the moment. My heart raced, knowing where this night was leading. I could see myself married to him and I was an idiot to think he'd ever leave me because I couldn't have children. When I looked into his eyes, I knew no matter what, we'd be together forever.
We finished our meal and he took our plates to the sink. He had a strange look on his face as he walked back into the bedroom and told me he'd be right back. I cleared the rest of the dishes off the table and poured us both another glass of wine while I waited for him to return.
He came back out and had his hands behind his back. I had a pretty good idea what he had behind his back thanks to Annie, but I played along not wanting to ruin the moment. He quickly slipped something into his left pocket and sat back down at the table. He held up his glass to make a toast.
"To you, my love, the most beautiful woman in the world. You're my heart and my soul. I promise we’ll never be apart again.” He clinked his glass to mine. I felt tears in my eyes as I slowly took a sip of my wine.
It was my turn to make a toast. "To you, my love, the most kind, caring, warm, loving, considerate, gorgeous, gracious man in the world. You're my heart and my soul." We clinked our glasses again and drank.
He stood, took me by the hand and helped me to my feet. We walked hand-in-hand toward the back entrance and he flipped the switch on the wall. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The trees, the fence, the small gazebo, everything in the backyard was covered in sparkling white lights. The illumination in the yard highlighted a path of red and ivory rose petals. I wondered when he’d found the time to do this without me noticing.
He led me along the curving path to the gazebo and sat me down on one of the benches. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box then got down on one knee. My heart raced when he took my hand in his and looked deep into my eyes.
"Katherine Marie Hanson, I've never felt more complete than when I'm with you. I want us to be joined forever as husband and wife. Will you marry me?" He held my gaze while he opened the ring box.
Without hesitation, I said yes. He put the ring on my finger and kissed me. Cradled in his arms, he carried me to our room. Slowly and seductively we removed each other's clothing and we made mad passionate love for hours. I woke up during the night feeling his arms around me. I held out my hand to look at the ring with tears of joy in my eyes.
It was a simple but elegant ring and the diamond in the center looked as though it was shaped like a heart. There were smaller diamonds encircling it and even in the moonlight, they sparkled and danced. My future husband kissed me on the neck and I nestled closer to him. As I fell asleep in his arms it felt as if I were sleeping on a cloud.
* * * *
The next day we discussed when we should get married. He said he didn't want to wait any longer than we had to and I agreed. We called our friends and told them the good news and when Brian called Ron, he had a sad look on his face when he hung up the phone.
"What's wrong?"
"Dad's so happy for us he wants to pay for the wedding and the honeymoon." A huge smile crept across his face.
"Both?"
"Yep! He said it's not every day his only son gets married and he wants a big shindig."
"Are we getting married here or in Mi
chigan?”
"If it's okay with you, I don't want a big church wedding. Our yard here is plenty big enough, bigger than the house in Michigan. I think we should have it here."
I agreed with him. We set the date for October first which didn't give us much time to prepare. Annie was anxious to help with the arrangements. I called Katie and Rose and asked them to both be my matrons of honor. We called caterers, florists and DJ's. We had about six weeks to pull everything together. Brian and I didn’t get a lot of alone time. No matter, we'd be alone plenty after we were married.
I found the perfect dress, it was white with a short train and a sheer nylon jacket. The back swooped low and the jacket, although sheer, did a good job to conceal areas not needed to be seen by everyone. It had sequins all over and sparkled as I moved. The sequins had a slight greenish tint to them and when they sparkled, they reminded me of Brian's eyes.
Rose called Annie and they asked Brian for Katie's number so they could call her to help plan a surprise bridal shower for me. I didn't have a bridal shower before Bill and I got married, so Katie was anxious to help make things perfect. I went over to Annie's house one day and as I walked in, I overheard Annie on the phone talking about it. When she hung up, she turned around and was startled to see me standing there.
"How much did you hear?"
"I heard enough. Now spill."
"We wanted it to be a surprise, Kathy! You weren't supposed to know! We got Katie's number from Brian and called her. She'll be out a few days before the wedding. It's going to be the five of us, nothing fancy."
I walked over and hugged her. "Thanks for thinking of me, Annie. None of you have to do anything for me, really. Helping with the arrangements is more than you should’ve ever done. Planning this shower with Katie, it's too much."
"Katie told me you'd never had a bridal shower, so we wanted to do something special. Like I said, it's only going to be the five of us. You, Me, Jennifer, Rose and Katie. We're having it here."
"I don't know what to say. I've got some of the best friends in the world!"
I headed back home to tell Brian and he was sitting at the kitchen table staring out the window. He looked as if he wanted to tell me something but didn't know how to say it.
"What's wrong?”
"Dad wants to throw a bachelor party for me.” He didn’t look at me, instead he kept staring out the window.
"Really? When?"
"A few days before the wedding. I told him I didn't want one, but he insisted. He said I gotta have one."
"So why not have one?" I put my hand on his chin and turned him to face me. "I trust you. Every guy needs a bachelor party before he gets married. If your dad wants to do this for you, I say go for it."
"Well, he said something about hiring a stripper.” He shifted nervously in the chair and broke eye contact with me.
"A stripper? Really? That's interesting. Are you gonna let him?"
"No. I told him the only person I want to see stripping is you. He got mad and hung up."
"That's sweet, Brian, but why don't you let your dad do this for you if it's what he wants? Annie, Rose and Katie are planning a bridal shower for me, which I'm not supposed to know about, so why don't you go out with the guys? It sounds like it'll be fun."
"I know, Annie and Rose called me asking for Katie's number and they told me why. You're okay with it if I have a bachelor party?” He had a hopeful look in his eyes when he looked at me.
"Yes, I am. I trust you, Brian. Call your dad and tell him you'll let him throw a bachelor party for you."
As Brian got up to make the call, the phone rang. It was Gordon. He told Brian he had four tickets to go see the Texas Rangers a few days before the wedding and asked Brian if he wanted to go. Brian asked him if he could invite Ron and Mark, Gordon told him he could. He called his dad and they made arrangements for the game. Ron told Brian if he wanted, they could make the baseball game his bachelor party. Brian agreed.
* * * *
Everyone arrived a few days before the wedding for the bridal shower/baseball game/bachelor party, and when Katie got here, we hugged for a long time. She cried into my shoulder, but I reassured her I’d forgiven her. Ron helped Brian find a tuxedo before the guys headed for the game and the girls headed to Annie's house for my bridal shower.
Annie, Jennifer Rose and Katie all chipped in and bought some sexy lingerie for me to wear on my honeymoon. Brian went to the game with Gordon, Mark and Ron and came home a bit tipsy.
I modeled the lingerie for Brian, even though I was supposed to save it for the honeymoon. He said I looked beautiful and when I went into the bathroom to change, he’d fallen asleep—more like passed out—right in the middle of the bed. I came out of the bathroom and got into bed next to him. He moved over a bit to let me in and I felt his arm go around my waist. I snuggled closer to him and we drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
The big day had finally arrived. I chose all different shades of blues and greens for my colors. Katie and Rose picked the perfect dresses to compliment each other and the decor of the wedding. Ron and Gordon stood up for Brian and Adam was the ring bearer. He was so adorable in his little tux, it brought a tear to my eye watching him practice in the backyard before the ceremony.
The weather was perfect. The temperature was a comfortable seventy-five degrees with very few clouds in the sky. The caterers were busy setting things up for the reception while Katie helped me finish getting ready and Rose made last minute tweaks to the decorations on the gazebo which was to serve as our altar.
Everything was set and it was time for the big march. I was nervous and couldn't stop shaking. Katie's husband, Mark had agreed to walk me down the aisle and we stood inside the door waiting to hear our cue. As the music started, we watched the rest of the wedding party make their way up the aisle. Then the wedding march began.
I was in a haze while we walked slowly down the aisle. All I could see was Brian with the biggest smile on his face. The look of love in his eyes made my heart race even faster than it already was. As I approached, he held out his arm, I took it and we took a few steps up to the altar. We turned to face each other and the pastor went through the normal routine wedding stuff and we said our "I do's" but Brian and I had written our own wedding vows. When the pastor gave his go ahead, I recited mine first:
"Brian Adam Anterra, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. My life was empty and unfulfilled before I met you. You taught me how to love and be loved. Now I have more love in my heart than I ever thought possible. When I look into your eyes, I see my soul. You're my life, my heart, my soul. I’ll love you for all eternity." I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. Then it was Brian's turn.
"Katherine Marie Hanson, you are my life, my heart, my soul. I was never truly alive until I met you. I've never felt more loved than I have when I'm with you. I can't remember my life before you were in it and I don't ever want to have to imagine it without you. You're my best friend and my lover. I’ll love you for all eternity." He reached out and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"By the power vested in me by the state of Texas, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The pastor smiled at both of us and watched as Brian pulled me to him and we shared a slow, lingering kiss, our first as husband and wife. We then turned to the onlookers and the pastor announced us for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Brian Anterra. Hoots and hollers rolled through the crowd as we walked down the aisle and headed back into the house.
Our guests partied well into the evening while Katie and Mark kept things orderly. Katie had asked us if she could pick the song Brian and I would dance our first dance to as husband and wife. She told us she had one in mind perfect for the two of us. We agreed to let her pick the song. As we headed to the dance floor, From This Moment by Shania Twain & Brian White started playing. Brian pulled me close and kissed my neck. While we danced, Brian sang along with the song in my ear and I felt tears in my eyes.
&
nbsp; I glanced over at Katie and mouthed, "Thank you." She smiled and winked. It was the perfect song and every word of it was exactly how Brian and I felt about each other.
Things seemed to move in slow motion as we danced and saw others finally coming onto the dance floor. Brian pulled back and kissed me with happy tears in his eyes. Shortly after our first dance, Ron and Rose supervised the tossing of the bouquet and garter.
When we weren't dancing, we mingled with our guests. Then I danced with Ron and Brian danced with Rose. We switched partners and Brian and I held each other tight while we floated around the dance floor, unaware of anyone else around us. As the evening progressed, many of our guests said their good-byes and things were beginning to wind down.
Jennifer took Adam home. Annie, Gordon, Katie and Mark got our bedroom ready for our first night together as husband and wife. They sprayed the room with jasmine and vanilla and placed lit candles all around. Brian and I were still dancing when he pulled me into him and kissed me.
"Let's get out of here," he whispered into my ear. I motioned to Ron and Rose and told them we were heading inside. They started getting the party wrapped up while Brian and I said our good-byes to the remainder of the guests then headed into the house.
He carried me through the kitchen to our bedroom, laid me down gently on the bed and turned to close and lock the door. He was already removing his jacket, tie and shirt when he returned to the bed. He leaned in to kiss me. I pulled him to me and rubbed my hands on his chest, gently caressing each nipple. I felt his body tremble under my touch.
He gently removed my dress, kissing every inch of my body when more and more skin was revealed. He laid my dress gently over the chair in the corner, walked back over to me and continued to kiss up and down my entire body. I could feel familiar desire wash over me. I longed to feel him inside me for the first time as my husband. He slowly penetrated me and, as always, found the perfect spot, sending my whole body into ecstasy.
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