“You’re the best at that sort of thing,” I said and settled against Charlie as he rested his arm around my shoulders. “Think you can help a girl out?”
“Anything to help you two stubborn-ass lovebirds move things along,” she said and patted my hand. “Oh! And I’ve got this great idea for an ice sculpture!”
“We only have a week, Tammy.”
“What!? Oh my gosh! In that case, I’d better start moving my ass.”
I smiled as she grinned. She then hurried out of the room to go get my parents.
“Well, that settles it,” I said.
“What?” Charlie asked.
“We won’t have to make any formal announcements. Before she even gets to her car, this whole town will know we’re engaged.”
Charlie laughed. “You’re probably right. We should consider it tweeted and posted, shared, liked.”
“She’ll probably take an ad out in the local penny saver too,” I joked.
“Wouldn’t surprise me.”
I closed my eyes as my future suddenly fell into place.
Charlie kissed my lips. “I’m so damn happy, baby.”
“Me too! Why did we wait so long?”
“Like Tammy said, we’re stubborn,” he said before his lips crashed into mine in a passionate kiss.
“Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind,” I thought, recalling some of my favorite words from one of my favorite movies. “Wove, twue wove…” I said with a smile.
“You got that right, Buttercup,” Charlie said with a wink.
He kissed me again and again, and I knew his kisses couldn’t lie. He poured every ounce of himself into them, all the emotion he’d felt, all the things we’d both waited far too long to say. Finally, Charlie was mine, and he would be mine forever.
Chapter 23
My wedding gown was perfect in every single way. Beautiful. Simple. Magical. Romantic. I wore a white, full-length, mermaid gown with a sweetheart neckline and delicate beading.
Tammy helped place my veil on my head, then tears welled up in her eyes.
“Hey! Don’t you dare start that,” I said, sniffling and softly wiping at my own eyes. “You’re going to give me raccoon eyes.” It was bad enough that my mom hadn’t stopped blubbering since that morning, but crying was better than the yelling we had to deal with when we explained the deadline to her. Of course she assumed I was pregnant, but I quickly shot that down before my dad ran off to find his shotgun.
“I can’t help it,” Tammy said, voice wavering. “I’m just so happy for you.”
Music began outside the door, and Tammy glanced up when someone knocked. “That’s your cue, Cinderella,” she said.
I followed her out the door and found my dad waiting for me at the back of the aisle, holding his arm out to steady me. He smiled proudly down at me and tried to speak but couldn’t get the words out; it didn’t matter, because I knew exactly how he felt.
The music changed, and I laughed along with the crowd when my four babies, including Max, happily trotted down the aisle of the small chapel, looking adorable with bowties around their necks. They plopped their butts down one by one next to Charlie before Dad escorted me down the aisle runner.
Charlie’s eyes met mine, and he sucked in a breath. The tears in his eyes were visible from the very back of the church, and I could no longer hold mine back; they fell down my face as my dad handed me over to him.
“Ready for this?” Charlie asked quietly as the pastor told everyone to take their seats.
“I think I can handle it, for at least a couple years,” I whispered with a grin and a wink, garnering a smirk from my groom, that smirk that always drove me wild and send my mind into a whirlwind of fantasies I knew it wasn’t proper to have in a church.
We held hands throughout the whole ceremony, and as I glanced down at our entwined fingers, I knew it would always be that way. I knew we would always hang on to one another, that Charlie would never leave me again, and I would never abandon him. We were stepping into forever together, and we couldn’t have been happier.
After we said our regular, standard vows, all that bit about sickness and health and death doing us part, Charlie looked at the minister. “Can I add a few words?” he asked, with a bit of a tremor in his voice.
“You certainly may, son,” the smiling minister said, then nodded. “Go ahead.”
Charlie peered into my eyes. “You were my childhood friend, Jaime. We played tag, hide-and-seek, and got into lots of mischief along the way. In high school, we looked up at the stars together while we shared our secrets and dreams, things no one else knew. You meant the world to me then, but I just… I couldn’t stay in this small town. I had to leave, to go conquer the world, to travel every single inch of it. I took you for granted and left without so much as a goodbye, but even while we were apart, I never forgot about you. Years passed, and fate brought me back here to you. Even though we both fought it, it’s our destiny to be together. It was my destiny to come back to Blue Ridge, to marry you and make a life and business here with you. The day you said yes, you made me the happiest man on the planet. I can’t imagine life without you in it, Jaime. You have given me a whole new reason to breathe. I didn’t think love existed, didn’t even think it was real, not until I met you. Forever had no meaning for me till now, because now I have something that truly is forever, a forever to share with you. I promise to be a loving, faithful husband, a good father to our children, and your best friend in the whole wide world.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled at him. I knew he meant every word he said, and it touched me to my core, rendering me speechless. I thought I had outgrown Cinderella stories, but staring at Charlie as I stood there in my big, fluffy gown, I knew I had found my own personal Prince Charming, and I was never going to let him go.
Epilogue
5 years later…
Charlie and I were still going strong after five years. We had three beautiful girls and decided to try one more time to see if we could have a boy. But we’d be happy whether we had another girl or a boy. The only thing we cared about was having a happy, healthy baby. We’d be ecstatic with four girls. Our big house was perfect for our children and our dogs.
It was funny… Everyone assumed I was marrying Charlie for his money. But after two years, there wasn’t a divorce.
Ha! I wanted to shout in their faces! Stop the gossip because we’re the real deal and here to stay!
I was happy to prove everyone wrong. Charlie had finally found the love of his love, the woman who could make him settle down.
“I was just waiting for the right girl,” he told everyone.
Yeah, that line always made my heart melt.
Charlie loved the family life, and adored me and our children. I couldn’t ask for a better father and husband. He never strayed or cheated and shocked everyone. We had the most amazing sex life and we never got tired of each other. We had this intimate connection and I never felt more comfortable with anyone in my entire life. We had a busy life but we didn’t forget about each other and always had a date night every Friday. I knew we needed that to keep that spark in our marriage.
I still hung out with my girlfriends and we still kept in contact. Marlene moved away when she got pregnant by some rich lawyer and I haven’t heard much from her. It’s just as well. She was always a gold-digger, so good riddance.
Charlie just loved Blue Ridge. He bonded with all his family and friends, and fit right in. He joined the bowling and softball league and even coached Little League. He loved his hometown more than anything. And me too. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Our business was thriving and with Charlie’s inheritance; we even opened up a few more clubs around the state. We’re hoping to expand our business even more around the United States. His father would be proud to see Charlie settled down in Blue Ridge with a wife and kids, and a thri
ving business expanding every year. He always wanted to see Charlie succeed in life. I know his dad is smiling down at us. His dad also played a big part in getting Charlie to come back to Blue Ridge. Without making that crazy Will, he would’ve never came back home. So I can’t thank his dad enough for bringing us together. If we have a son, we want to name him Albert after his wonderful father.
I still have my four dogs and Charlie just loves them. And Max is doing great! He’s even running now. So he beat the odds! I knew Max was something special from the second I saw him.
Charlie shocked us all and paid double what he owed to everyone he borrowed money from in the past. I was so proud of him.
We tucked our last daughter into bed. She was fast asleep and Charlie covered her up, then looked at me.
“What is it?” I asked softly.
Tears welled up in his eyes as emotion overwhelmed him. “I have the perfect life, the American dream. I can’t believe I’m the luckiest man on the planet.”
“And I’m the luckiest woman on the planet,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around him.
He gazed deeply into my eyes. “I have my beautiful wife, my wonderful girls, our house, our dogs, and our business. What more could a man ask for? I’ve never been this happy.”
“See? You should’ve married me after we graduated from high school.”
“I was an ass.”
“True. But you weren’t ready to settle down.”
“But I came back…and fate brought us together. After kissing your sweet lips, I never wanted to kiss another woman ever again. When I told you that, I meant every single word.”
My heart melted at his precious words. Yes, everything was absolutely perfect. And for the first time in our lives, Charlie and I both had our happy ending, our happily ever after.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too.”
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