He gives a husky chuckle.
"That's actually why I wanted to talk to you. I know Piper's father has been gone for several years now."
"That's right," he says. "I don't think she ever got over it. It was hard for me, of course. That was my son, my only son. Losing him, it was like losing a piece of myself. But to be honest with you, I was able to move on. I had other things I needed to keep living for. Watching Piper try to get through it, though, was the worst part. It was harder watching her grieve than it was to grieve myself."
"She said it was really hard on her," I say.
"Piper just completely fell apart. He was her whole world. Even when she was growing up and so many of her friends were getting that rebellious streak where they don't want to spend time with their parents, she never did. Her Daddy was her best friend. They did everything together. When he died, it was like a piece of Piper went with him. I don't know if you can really understand what I mean by that unless you've seen it, but it was awful to watch her try to move on, and never quite figure out how."
"She says that's why she started doing so many humanitarian trips."
"I believe that," Grant says, nodding. "Going off on those trips meant she didn't have to be here. She didn’t have to see all the places she used to go to with Robert, or his grave, and she didn't have to live in his house. I think there's more to it than just that."
"What do you mean?"
"There are so many other things she could have done to get away from here. She could have gone and studied at another college, or lived abroad, or worked a different job that let her travel to more desirable places. But she didn't do any of that. She specifically chose to do these agricultural trips."
"Well, she's passionate about helping others—"
"I think you're right about that, but Piper doesn't just want to help people. I think part of her is paying penance for her mother. Even if she doesn't really realize she's doing it, I think a small piece of her feels guilty."
"Why would she feel guilty? She was just a little girl when her parents divorced."
"That's true," he admits. "But it's not that she feels guilty over her parents splitting up. Did she tell you what happened to her mother?"
"Just that they got divorced. She says she was really young, and that she doesn't know why it happened. She doesn't have any memories of her mother."
"I'm sure she doesn't know why," Grant says. "That's not really something you talk to a little girl about. But I venture to say she knows more than she's telling you. The best way I can put it is her mother made some decisions that she shouldn't have. Just going to keep it at that, because I think it's Piper's place to tell you. But I feel like knowing that has impacted Piper her entire life. I think she feels guilty for being the daughter of someone capable of doing those things, almost like the negativity stuck to her, and now it's her responsibility to make up for it."
"So, she does humanitarian work as some form of penance?"
He nods.
"I truly believe she cares about people and wants to give them the best life possible. But she also wants to get rid of some of that bad energy her mother sent out into the world. Have you heard about things like that? Energy? That's another one of those things my wife used to talk about. She did say there was energy in everything, and that you had to feel it to really understand it. I heard it all the time, but I guess I didn't feel it enough, because I definitely didn't understand it. When I think about Piper’s situation, though, I feel like I might understand it, at least a little."
I sigh. This is more complicated than I was anticipating. "Well, I know she's done a huge amount of good in my life. That's why I want to talk to you about her. If Robert was still alive, I'd ask him. But since he's not, I hope you'll give me the honor of permitting me to propose to your granddaughter."
"Aren't the two of you already married? I don't keep up on the news all that much, but I feel like I heard that the two of you got married in Cambria."
"We did," I say.
"Then why are you asking if you can propose to her? Aren't you going about this a bit backwards, son?"
"Yes, sir, I am. I'm not going to deny that. Pretty much everything about Piper and me has been backwards. We are already married, but she didn't get the experience she deserves. I want to fix that."
"By proposing to her?"
"Yes."
"I can't say I understand what you're doing, but if you're doing it to make Piper happy, then you certainly have my permission."
"I hope I'll make her happy," I say.
"I'm sure you will. I've never seen her look the way she did when she came to visit me last year. When she started talking about you, I saw in her eyes everything I needed to know."
"What did you see?" I ask.
"She was devastated," Grant says.
I blink. That really wasn't what I expected.
"Devastated?" I ask.
"Yes. She came here just a few days after you left, and I've never seen her look like that before. Like you ripped her heart right out of her chest."
I feel awful hearing that comparison, even if it is symbolic.
"What did that tell you?" I ask.
"It told me that she loves you," he says. "Nobody looks that brokenhearted unless their heart is actually broken."
"I don't ever want her to look like that again. She won’t."
I'm reminded of what my father said when Piper and I realized the wedding was real. He said he could see how the two of us look at each other, and that we were stupid for not acknowledging it. I wonder if everyone else around us could see the same thing. I wish both of us would have been able to see it sooner.
"How are you planning on proposing to her?" Grant asks.
"I'm not entirely sure yet," I say. "I'm still working on coming up with that. I want it to be perfect."
"You should talk to Tabitha," he says. "She knows our girl better than anyone else."
"Thank you," I say. "I'll do that."
I stand and extend my hand to shake his again.
"Thanks for coming by to see me," he says.
"I enjoyed it," I say. "I can stay for a while longer, if you'd like."
"Oh, no," he says, waving me off. "I'd love to chat with you another time, but there's a heated Monopoly tournament going on down in the game room. It's been going on for three weeks straight. It's almost time for me to rotate in for a while. You come back soon, though. And bring Piper and the baby with you. There's still a lot of cuddles left in that baby before she becomes a kid, and loses it all, and I want to get my fair share."
I laugh and nod.
"That's a promise," I say. "You have a good day, and good luck with your Monopoly game."
He waves at me as he heads towards the game room. He goes a few steps before he turns around to look at me.
"Piper can be a little rough around the edges," he says. "She tries to be strong and tough. Don't let her fool you, though, in her heart, she’s still that little girl who wants to be a princess."
He winks at me, and we go our separate ways. Before I make it back to my car, I’ve texted Tabitha. I'm not going to ignore Grant's suggestion to talk to her and get ideas about Piper. Within twenty minutes I'm sitting in her house, eating a slice of blueberry cake while she tells me all the Piper stories she can think of. Considering their long history, there are a lot. I lap up every one of them. With her intensity, courage, and dirty mouth – not to mention what we’ve done together – it's easy to think of her as always being an adult. Imagining her as a child is much more difficult to me, but I love hearing the stories about her childhood. Even the smallest details from Tabitha provides me with a greater insight to this woman, the love of my life.
By the end of the day, I finally feel ready.
* * *
Piper
Christian is exactly on time to pick me up for the date he’s planned for us this evening. Which, of course, means I'm not ready. I snatch up my phone and call him.
"I
told you I was going to need an extra fifteen or twenty minutes," I tell him.
"That's fine," he says. "I got here on time on purpose."
"Why?"
"Because I feel like waiting for you will make the evening even better. Every lady should have a man wait on her every once in a while. You're more than worth it."
This manages to both put me at ease and make me feel indescribably treasured. I finish getting ready and go into the bedroom to kiss Aurora good night. It still feels strange and uncomfortable to leave while she’s sleeping. A date scheduled before seven in the evening, and with a baby as the third wheel, however, might lose some of its romantic appeal. Tabitha squeezes my hand as I walk past her and out of the house.
"Don't hurry," she says. "I'm fine here with Aurora as late as you need me to be."
"Thank you," I say.
I walk out of the house, and my hand flies up to cover my mouth. Sitting on the street in front of me is an elaborate horse-drawn carriage. I've never seen anything like it in Westover. In fact, the only time I've ever seen a horse-drawn carriage this decorative was in Cambria on our wedding day.
Christian steps down from the carriage and walks toward me holding a single pink carnation in his hand.
"How did you know that’s my favorite flower?" I ask as I accept his gift.
"I might have done a little asking around," Christian says. He takes my hand and leans in to touch a kiss to my lips. "You look beautiful.”
"Thank you," I say. "Where are we going tonight?"
"You need to learn to let me surprise you," he says. "You don't always have to know everything going on. Just let it happen."
I nod and let him help me up into the carriage. I settle on the bench, and he rests a blanket over my lap. The end of summer has arrived, and there's a briskness to the air that makes me excited for fall and pumpkins and reminds me Christmas will come soon. It will be my first Christmas with Christian.
He sits beside me, and I cuddle up beside him. The distinctive smell of his aftershave surrounds me as I rest my head on his shoulder. I've missed being close to him. As the carriage carries us through the city, I notice that people I know are standing at their doorways, waving as we pass. It seems like a coincidence at first, but then I slowly realize this is part of whatever he has planned.
We arrive at Grimsley Park, a sprawling expanse of walking trails, woods, and idyllic fields dotted with picnic areas. The gates stand open, and the driver brings the carriage through and onto one of the main paths. The sun has set now, and lights glow around us. They coil up the trees on either side and pass through the intertwined branches overhead to create an illuminated tunnel. At the end of the path, we reach a wide creek with a tumbling waterfall. An arched bridge connects one bank of the creek to the other, and I see rose petals strewn across it.
The driver stops the carriage, and Christian gets down before reaching up for me. Rather than taking my hand, he holds my waist, picking me up and swinging me in the air toward him. He lowers me to my feet, close enough to him that my body slides along his, and I feel my heart pound in my chest and my hands tremble. My eyes meet his, and he leans down to brush the tip of his nose against mine. Grabbing my hand, Christian leads me away from the carriage and toward the bridge. Lights have been tucked under the bridge, creating a glow that reflects on the water, illuminating the space softly. As we walk across it, the lights brighten slightly, and shift from white to soft pink. By the time we get to the other side of the creek, the bridge is surrounded in a warm pink glow.
On the other side of the bridge, Christian guides me to the center of a circle of flower petals and candles. Music suddenly rises up around us and he turns me sweeping me up close to him, bringing me into the dance position he taught me when I was first learning to be a princess. That day we danced alone in one of the smaller ballrooms of the palace, and now we are in our own world again, swaying in the gentle breeze and soft light.
When the song ends, Christian steps back just enough to where he can look down at my face.
"I have never stopped thinking about you," he says. "Not from the first moment I met you. Right then, I needed to know the woman with the lacy pink panties laying on the airport carpet." I laugh softly. "I didn't follow you out to your rental car just because the storm stranded me and I needed a ride. I could have arranged for someone to pick me up if I really wanted to, but I was too drawn to you to just let you disappear. The first night we were together, I wanted you more than anything before. I didn't intend to spend more than one night with you. I also didn't plan to fall in love with you, but I did. I fell in love with you before I left for Cambria. I just didn't get the chance to tell you. I wanted you to know who I was, and that never seeing you again after those two weeks wasn't going to cut it for me.”
"I wish you had woken me up before you left."
He nods.
"I do too. But it's been worth chasing after you. There is nowhere you could have gone that I wouldn't have found you, Piper. Even if you rejected me and things were over between us, the chase would still be worth it. You took your place in my heart as soon as you forced me onto that stupid log ride." He pauses and reaches into his pocket, pulling out the keychain I hid in his luggage. I haven't seen it since that night. "I want you to know that I haven't let go of that moment since. I carry this with me every single day. It was in my pocket during our wedding."
"I had that made for you, so you wouldn't forget the day we spent together at the amusement park. I didn't want to just hand it to you, because I thought you'd think it was ridiculous. Hiding it in your luggage meant you could find it later, and even if you tossed it away, I would never have to know."
"I would never do that," he says. "This thing kept me going through some really difficult times, up until I was able to reunite with you. But our story isn't complete. There's something I never got to do." He tucks the keychain back into his pocket, then reaches into the other one. Lowering himself to one knee, he opens a blue velvet ring box. "Piper Ashcroft, will you marry me?"
My breath catches in my throat, but a shaky laugh somehow pushes past.
"We're already married," I say.
Christian nods. He climbs to his feet and steps up close to me again, taking both of my hands in his large ones.
"I know," he says, "but I never got to actually propose to you. I never got to ask you to marry me. You’re such an incredible woman, Piper. You deserve a real proposal. I wanted to do this for you. This is why I asked you to wait a couple of days before you gave me your answer about moving forward. I wanted to give you this moment. Whatever your decision is, I still want to be the man who gives you one perfect magical princess moment.” He kneels again. "So, will you marry me? Will you stay married to me?"
I am overwhelmed with emotion and choking back tears. I already made my decision, but if I hadn't, this would have cinched it for me. This is exactly what I needed to confirm that I am doing the right thing. I didn't want to make the decision that seemed logical. I wanted it to be my heart saying yes, not my mind.
"Yes," I say. "Yes, I will marry you. Yes, I will stay married to you."
Christian stands, sweeping me into his arms, and sparklers burst around us. I gasp in surprise as the night sky fills with fireworks.
"How did you do that?" I ask.
He smiles at me.
"The little magical creatures who make things happen," he says. Leaning down slightly, he winks. "I made sure to leave them extra toaster pastries during the Summer Festival this year."
Chapter Nineteen
Christian
One month later…
I know every face sitting on either side of the aisle this time. There are fewer than fifty chairs set up in a slight curve in front of the altar, making it easy for me to see each and every guest. They smile at me familiarly, a refreshing change from the first time I stood at an altar waiting for Piper. Rather than being in a massive, ancient church, we are tucked away in a private ballroom of a hotel. It's
perfect.
To be honest, I hadn't really thought about holding another wedding ceremony when I proposed to Piper. That evening was all for her. I wanted her to have the memory of me on one knee in front of her, asking her to marry me. Nothing else after that mattered. A few days after my proposal, however, we started talking about the possibility of having a wedding just for the two of us. Piper was so excited at the prospect of being able to have Tabitha, Grant, and Piper's other relatives and friends in attendance, that we decided to go ahead with it. I invited a few friends I stay in contact with from the States and other countries around the world, and in a matter of days, our second wedding seemed to form around us.
Part of me hesitated when it came to inviting my parents. I'm grateful for what they did, pushing us together in a way that forced us to acknowledge each other, and the unspoken love growing between us. But there's still an awkwardness around them, a constant reminder that they lied to us. Without Piper's grace and willingness to go along with it, that situation could have ended horribly. In the end, I decided they should be here. Regardless of how Piper and I feel about each other now, and even how we felt about being married back then, that first ceremony wasn't for us. Neither one of us thought it was real, and when we said our vows, there was nothing behind them, no emotion or promises of love. But that's not the foundation either of us want for our marriage, and I want my parents here with me to witness me openly and honestly commit my heart and life to Piper.
Frederik shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot beside me. I know it feels strange for him to be here at all, much less standing next to me, at our second wedding. He doesn't understand why we aren’t satisfied with the first. Part of me thinks it’s because he's embarrassed about the advice he gave me about Piper. If it had been up to him, we never would have made it to the first wedding, much less this one. I would have just pushed her out of my mind, and never gone after her or our daughter. That was never an option for me. There was nothing that could keep me from her or the family we created together. I hope one day he finds someone who makes him want to do completely illogical, irrational things that makes sense to no one but him.
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