I gave Chase a confused look knowing that our anniversary was still a few months away, he raised his eyebrows at me as he took a sip out of his glass and tilted his head back towards the stage.
“Now, I know what you all are thinking,” Mary continued on, setting her glass down carefully on the table set beside her that was draped in a white tablecloth. “These two lovebirds still have a few months to go before their first anniversary, but Chase wanted to celebrate early. If you think back to this day a year ago, it was the exact day that Chase proposed.”
Everyone let out a collective ‘Aww’ and I squeezed Chase’s hand tightly, loving how sweet and thoughtful he always was. Me, I could barely remember what today’s date was, let alone the exact day Chase proposed, but now it would be forever branded in my mind.
“Chase was so nervous on that day, having just graduated, even though that’s surely not what had him set so on edge. A mother always knows these types of things. He was so worried that Leah would run the other way, but in fact she ran right into his arms just like I suspected.” She grinned down at us, winking a twinkling eye at me, just like her son did so often.
“And then the journey you two have had together in this short time. It has definitely been a bumpy experience, one that some wouldn’t be able to ride through, but they stuck it out through thick and thin. I couldn’t be prouder of far you both have come.
“We love you both so much and wish you many more years of blissful happiness. Let’s hope that the coming years aren’t as rough as a journey and your love can continue to shine.” A burst of applause echoed through the tent and I leaned into Chase’s chest as it came to an end and music began to play softly through a set of speakers.
“Thank you so much. This means a lot that you would go to all of this trouble. I can’t believe you got everyone here.”
“So, you were surprised?” he whispered into my ear as he swayed me gently to the music. “I thought maybe after the whole truck thing, it would kind of tip you off.” I leaned my head back to look up into his green eyes that were twinkling with amusement and my mouth dropped open. “You set that whole thing up, didn’t you? You seduced me on purpose, Chase O’Neil.”
“Well, yeah.” His head dipped down and he nipped lightly on my ear before pulling back. “I wanted to recreate the day I proposed to you and that was the first thing that popped into my head.”
“Of course it was,” I replied. “That’s okay, I certainly didn’t mind. So my answer was obviously yes, the party’s in full swing now. What do you think we should do next?” I raised my eyebrows at him and he gave me a knowing smile, bending down to place his hands behind my knees and scooped me up into his arms. I giggled as he raced towards the house, dodging the well-wishers. We would get to them later.
I buried my head in the crook of Chase’s neck, feeling his pulse against my lips. I loved the way my head fit perfectly in this spot right here.
Mary was right; we had been through quite the journey. And through it all, Chase had been there right along my side, no matter how much I tried to push him away. Our journey might have been a bumpy one, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Each experience we had gone through, we had went through together and I think, it had changed us for the better. Together with Caleb, we were a family and that bond couldn’t be broken.
We might have not even made it through a year of marriage yet, but I knew without a doubt in my mind that we had a lot more years ahead of us and we would only continue to go stronger each year as they passed.
Epilogue
Four years later
“Chase, how in the hell did I ever let you talk me into this?” I grabbed on to the V of his shirt, pulling his body as close to me as possible as I glared back at him so hard, I almost felt firing shooting out of my eyes. I could tell I looked scary too by the expression on Chase’s face. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had peed his pants on the spot by the piercing look I gave him.
He reached down, gently prying each of my fingers off his shirt until they were completely removed. “At least you have a nice view, right baby?” He stated in a calm, low voice. I had no clue how he was calm right now, who in their right mind could be? And who cared about the damn view?
Yes, I guess you could see a couple trees out of the wide window and it was considered a top room. But truthfully, who the fuck cared? I guess I had a little bit of pull here since I had been hired almost four years ago to the day and now I was a patient.