Questionable Love (A Love Beyond Labels #2)

by Danielle Rocco

  Shay,

  Eight years ago on this day, you walked into my world. On Wednesday, October 14th I met my soul mate. It’s the first day I ever really felt like I was living. It’s the day I found a purpose. Every single breath I’ve taken since that day has been for you, only ever you, Shay. I’ve pictured this day so many times, in so many moments we’ve shared. First looks, first kisses, first touches—every single moment we’ve ever shared, I’ve longed for this day with you. Loving you has always been and will always be the only thing I will ever need, and I promise you, our love will always be everything to me. I just want you to know how I feel, pretty girl, on our special day. Happy Anniversary and Happy Wedding Day. Now, come make your boy the happiest boy in the world, and bring those pretty pink toes through our sand and let me finally marry my girl. I’m waiting for you…

  Love

  Your forever boy, Jace

  I stare at little pink hearts drawn all around his words and bite down on my coconut-glossed lips to hold back emotions desperate to surface. I fold all his heart- shaped love perfectly back in place and set it inside my pretty wedding wardrobe box Jules bought me to house all of our memories of our special day and smile. I’m marrying my forever boy today.

  “Your dad is waiting outside the door,” Mom says. I turn away from the pink heart-shaped box and face my mom. “Jace is going to cry when he sees how beautiful you look, sassy girl.”

  “Let me gloss your lips again,” Jules says, shaking her head. She swipes a coat of pretty pink shimmer onto my quivering lips and opens the door to the man who taught me to love unconditionally.

  “Wow, I pictured this moment when you were a little girl,” he says as the door opens slowly. I stare at my dad who is already drying his eyes.

  “Isn’t she a vision, Steven?”

  He glances at my mom and shakes his head. “So beautiful, Shay, and you have a boy out there who is ready to come in here and get you.”

  “Such an alpha!” Jules yells from behind as she fixes her hair to perfection. My dad laughs.

  “Put it this way. He’s ready to take you away from your old man,” Dad says, making me giggle.

  “Okay, I’m going to sit down, Shay,” Mom says, scooting past us. My dad stops her.

  “Melody?”

  “Yes, Steven?”

  “Our girl looks just like you.”

  She smiles and walks away with a sniffle. Jules leaves next and says, “I don’t have to stand across from Beau, do I?”

  “No, you’re paired with Landon.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Is my girl ready for this?” Dad asks. I look up at him after taking a deep breath.

  “I’ve been ready for this moment since I was twelve years old and first laid eyes on Jace,” I reply. Nodding with glossy eyes, he smiles and kisses my nose.

  “Well, here’s your moment.” He stares at me and takes a strand of my hair out of my lightly glossed lips. “I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become. As your father, I couldn’t be happier with the boy you’ve chosen to spend your life with. I only ever wanted you to have happiness in this life and…” He trails off, looking out to where Jace stands. “That boy right there… Your happiness is all that matters to him.”

  “I know, and he is the only one that could ever make me happy.”

  “Then let’s go get you to your boy.”

  After all the years of calling Jace “my boy,” even my dad calls him that. One more step, then my pink toes sink into the warm sand. My eyes widen, and I suck in the sweetest bit of ocean-filled air when I see a trail of little pink hearts scattered in the sand, making a perfect path to the most perfect boy. My boy made me hundreds of heart-shaped love on our wedding day. I immediately start to cry the happiest tears.

  I’LL ALWAYS WAIT

  I INHALE THE BIGGEST, deepest, clearest breath I’ve ever pushed through my lungs when I see the prettiest girl in the world step onto the sand. Shay’s reaction when she sees all the pink hearts I made her will forever be engrained in my mind. I can still remember the first heart I ever made her for Valentine’s Day at the center and how she held it to her chest. She stares at them for a moment, then follows them through the path I made that leads her to me. All in white, long, dark, wavy hair hanging down her back, she walks over our love in the most beautiful dress, exposing little pink toes through each step she takes.

  With my mind swimming in memories of the first time I saw her, I drop my head and slowly take in that very moment that changed my life. Not wanting to miss anything, I run my fingers through my hair, pale blue eyes staring straight into her dark blue ones, and I start to cry.

  “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Shay.”

  “You can have the other half of my heart.”

  I try to wipe the tears, but they’re endless. As Steven places my girl’s hand over my arm, I can only mouth “thank you,” too emotional to speak to him.

  He nods and sits with Shay’s mom who’s in tears. Grace sits across from her with my dad’s hand in hers.

  “You look so beautiful, baby,” I say, putting my free hand to my mouth. Shay reaches up with her left hand and wipes tears off my cheeks. I lean into her hand and close my eyes as she cups my cheek. Placing a soft kiss in the center of her palm, I say, “I’m so incredibly in love with you, pretty girl.” I lean to press my lips to hers.

  “You can’t do that yet,” Jules whispers across from me. Shay smiles.

  “Give me your lips,” Shay says. I bite down on only hers and grin at her.

  “I’ll wait… I’ll always wait for you, baby.”

  THE TIME-STOOD-STILL MOMENT

  “I KNOW YOU WILL ALWAYS wait for me. You always have. Every single moment we’ve ever shared, you have always waited and made it the most special moment ever for me.”

  Jace looks down at our joined hands and brings them to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the top of my hands.

  “And, every single moment we share as husband and wife, I will continue to make special for you,” he says as a tear rolls down his beautiful face. “Always, baby. I will always make every moment count. I promise you that.”

  A throat clears, and Jace and I look over at the pastor that I grew up listening to at the local church I attended when I was younger. He knows that Jace and I want a simple ceremony, so he starts by opening in prayer. My boy holds on to my hands, and instead of bowing his head, he gazes into my eyes the entire time.

  “Jace?” the pastor says. I squeeze his hands, taking him out of his thoughts.

  “I’m sorry,” he says. “Everything kind of falls away when I look at my girl.” I hear Jules sigh, and Landon’s shoulders lift from his chuckle.

  “Would you like to say your vows?” he asks, finally getting Jace’s attention. Jace nods with that boyish grin that makes my heart skip a beat.

  “I’ve been waiting to say them since I was thirteen,” Jace answers, making everyone sigh, but he doesn’t lose focus. Those eyes stare deep into mine. “Before I met you, I never felt sure about anything, and I never thought I was good at anything either. But then, you walked into my life eight years ago…” He stops and breathes in deep. Lowering his head and shaking it slowly, he makes all that jet-black hair fall into his face. He lets out a big, shaky breath and lifts his face, throwing back his hair. I start to cry, because he looks just like he did the moment he walked up to me that very day he’s talking about.

  “But then, I saw you standing under that tree, and I was completely mesmerized by everything about you. The way you stood with your little pink painted fingers firmly resting on your hip, your long hair, your mouth, your smile—it all devastated me in the very best way. You smelled like a summer day, and your voice…your voice was like the most beautiful sound I ever heard. When you looked up with your dark blue eyes, that moment when our eyes connected, I was never more positive of anything in my entire life. I knew with complete clarity that I had just looked into the eyes of the girl I would love my entir
e life.”

  I can’t help it. I pull him into me and place a sweet kiss to his freshly shaven cheek. “I love you, Jace James.”

  “Every single thing about you has touched my soul. I love you, too, baby,” he says, as I let my tiptoed feet sink back into the loose sand. “You are the most loving, sweetest, and the most caring person I’ve ever known, and in a life full of struggles you have always shown me the most important things aren’t what you have or don’t have, but who stands by your side through it all holding on tight, never letting go. You have always shown me love, and you’ve always held me close and my hand tight. I’ve never been perfect. I’ve made some mistakes, but the one thing I’ve always done with everything I am is love you with my entire heart.

  “I just want to tell you the way I feel, Shay. I always want you to know what you mean to me, and you mean everything. I promise to always love you deeply and protect you fiercely and passionately. It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted, and I will give you everything I am for the rest of my life. No matter what obstacles we face, we will face them together, with our hands entwined tightly, always by each other’s side.” A tear drops out of his soulful eyes. “No days apart,” he adds, getting in that little vow of no separation. “My love for you is forever, absolutely endless. My heart belongs to you, Shay. Only ever you.”

  “Shay, are you ready?” the pastor asks.

  “Yes, I’m ready,” I answer, clearing my tear-filled throat and looking up into my boy’s sweet face. “Jace, the moment you walked up to me at the community center and I looked into your eyes, I thought they were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. I kind of thought you looked into my soul,” I say, earning a kiss to my forehead.

  “I did look into your soul. We’re soul mates,” he softly says against my skin.

  “It was that time-stood-still moment. I thought you were the cutest boy I had ever seen. You were tough and strong, but you had the sweetest voice. When I got home that day, October fourteenth, eight years ago today, I went straight to my room. With a pink colored pencil, I drew the biggest pink heart around Wednesday the fourteenth and wrote inside a cursive J and S with the words ‘the day I fell in love.’” Jace smiles and then bites down on his luscious lip. “I couldn’t wait to go back to the center to see you again. I called you my future husband.

  “I just knew when I looked into your eyes that I wouldn’t want anyone but you. You’ve always shown me true love and patience with the kindest, most loving heart. The way you’ve always looked at me, the gentle touch of your hand from the moment you placed it in mine, will always be what makes me happy. You are the best person I know, and the love you have always given me I will forever cherish and be so thankful for.”

  “I need to kiss you,” he says, quietly leaning into me.

  “I promise you, I will always love you with my whole heart, and I will always…” I start to cry hard. “I will always stand by your side, hold on tight, and be your girl no matter what we face. I will stand strong by your side, and I will always have faith in our love.” He wipes my tears as I say, “No days apart, ever. My love for you is forever. It’s endless. My heart belongs to you, Jace James. Only ever you.”

  “That was so beautiful, Starkie,” Jules whispers, handing me his ring. Landon hands Jace mine, and we slide on forever while looking into each other’s eyes.

  I become Shay James.

  “You can kiss your bride,” the pastor says.

  YOU WROTE OUR NAMES IN THE SAND?

  WITH SALTY TEARS ON our lips, I cup her face just like the first time I kissed her. Shay pulls me into her, and after a hundred clicks of the camera we had in place to capture the moment that my girl will want framed, I slide my tongue into my wife’s mouth and let everyone fall away. She cries, and I grip her tighter. When we break our kiss, I look deep into her eyes.

  “Hi, Mrs. James.”

  “Hi, Mr. James,” she says in that voice that brings me to my knees.

  “Okay, lovebirds, walk down your little heart-shaped walkway,” Jules says excitedly. We smile at each other, and I start to lead her. “Wait, I need Shay’s train perfect from behind.”

  The photographer friend of Jules makes his way behind us to capture another moment for my girl. Instead of stopping and letting our family hug us, I look at Shay’s dad who looks so damn happy and tell him, “I’ll have her back in a minute.” He nods, and as the sun starts to disappear on the horizon, they all gather under the white tent that Jules and our moms decorated.

  Yes, even Grace helped. She’s so damn thrilled. I got a peek, and it looks really pretty, but my girl still hasn’t seen it. They took care of everything for her.

  “Where are we going?” Shay asks, holding my hand tight as I escort her away from everyone.

  “I want you on the very spot in the sand where we became one.” A bright smile and the clinking of her charm bracelet have my heart full of happiness. “It was right here in this exact spot that I made you completely mine,” I tell her, stopping at our place. She gasps when she looks down and sees the huge drawn-out heart with our names in the middle. Jace and Shay forever are written in the sand.

  “Jace, you wrote our names in the sand?” she asks sweetly.

  “I told you a long time ago I was going to write our names in the sand. I knew the exact moment I wanted to write them.”

  “When?” she says, looking down into the sand again.

  “When your prom dress fell off your body and gathered around your cute feet and I finally made love to you, I knew then that I would write our names in the spot your body became mine. I’ll never forget our first time, Shay.”

  “I love when you say my name,” she says as tears slide down her face.

  “You do?”

  “Yes, I do. It’s just you’ve always called me pretty girl or baby. I love your sweet endearments, but when you actually say my name, it just sounds so sexy coming from your lips.”

  “Maybe I’ll just start calling you Shay.”

  “And not call me baby or your pretty girl? No way! I always want to be your baby.” She pouts.

  “You will always be my baby.” I chuckle and pull her white lace dress against me. “Jace and Shay always sounded so perfect together.”

  “Made for each other.”

  “Yeah, baby, we were made for each other. And, when we finally joined together, I just couldn’t wait to have you in this spot in a white dress one day.”

  “Really?”

  “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “Looks like you got what you wanted.”

  “Yeah, pretty girl, I did.” I reach into the pocket of my slacks. “I have something for you.”

  “I didn’t get you a wedding gift, and the beautiful wedding day love note and all your pink heart-shaped sweetness leading me to you were already so special, Jace,” she says. A perfect pout has me smiling.

  “You are my gift, Shay.”

  YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY MOON AND STARS

  JACE PULLS OUT TWO charms and places them in my hand. “Oh my God, Jace,” I whisper and look up at him.

  “The last charm I gave you was the moon and star the night that I was taken away from you….”

  “Jace…” I say, tilting my head.

  “I knew the next charm I gave you would be on our wedding day. Give me your wrist, so I can put it on.” I lift my wrist, and he unclasps my bracelet. “This charm means the world to me and signifies so much meaning for us, Shay.” I watch as he slides on a J and an S that look to be handmade and perfectly made to be side by side together. “The day we met and you told me your name, I remember saying our names together to myself, and I swore I had seen my fairy tale. I knew our names belonged together. So all these years later, in our special spot where I wrote our names in the sand, I wanted to give you a charm with our initials. You have so many special moments on your bracelet, and you needed our names wrapped up in all that love.” He clasps it quickly, and I dangle it from my wrist.

  “Th
is is our place. This is where we’ve spent so many days in the sun, and so many nights waiting for the sun to set. It’s where we made the most perfect first-time love, and now where we became one as husband and wife—all right here, under our moon and stars, baby.”

  “It’s so beautiful, Jace.”

  “I want you to always look at those charms, and just like our song is a reminder from you to me of our love, I want you know that you’ll always be my moon and stars, too.”

  I get on my tiptoes and pull him down to me. “Give me your lips, husband.” He smiles, leaning down and picking me up, and we kiss slowly. “I wish I had my phone. I would take a picture of our names in the sand.” I sulk and land one more peck to his perfect lips.

  “Hang on.” He walks away from me and waves his hand. I turn around, and the photographer walks over to us. “I knew you would want a picture of this, so I had him take one before the wedding. I was afraid someone would ruin it…”

  “It looks perfect.”

  “Yeah, it does,” he says, throwing his hair back and pulling me into him. “Can you take some pictures of my wife and me?” Jace asks the photographer.

  “That’s what I’m here for,” he replies cheerfully.

  “Thanks for waiting until I waved you over,” Jace tells him.

  “You are a sneaky boy.” I turn to the photographer. “Can you please make sure you can see our names in the sand and the entire heart Jace drew?”

  “He will, baby.” Jace chuckles.

  “I just want to make sure,” I tell him, looking up at him as he looks down at me. Of course, the camera starts clicking, and I know I’m going to get my very favorite pose. Jace leans down and kisses my lips as the last of the setting sun shines around us and bright pink lights the sky. “Thank you for giving me the most calendar-worthy wedding day ever.” I press against his lips.