So she’d been allowed to kick him out of their bedroom while she put on her gown, but that was it. They’d even slept together last night, making love and murmuring their “I love yous” afterward just as they did every night. He said it again now, as they started to walk.
Her heart swelled, moved every time he spoke those particular words, but feeling them especially today.
“I love you, too,” she breathed.
Floating candles barely moved as they passed the pool, flames burning steadily. Overhead, the sky was deepening from a pink glow to a devoted red. Potted flowers perfumed the warm air, giving her a vague déjà vu feeling, as if she remembered this moment from another life.
They reached the beach and the carpet where their guests stood waiting. It was a small wedding with only a few of her friends from Virginia and two colleagues from New York. Roman had invited a handful of people including Ingrid and Huxley—they were standing up for them—and Brenda, who smiled and dabbed her eyes as they arrived in front of the justice of the peace. Brenda had been pulling double duty as both mother of the bride and groom. Very soon, Melodie thought with secretive joy, she would also play honorary grandmother.
“Why don’t we start trying?” Roman had said one night soon after they’d set a date.
They hadn’t rushed their wedding plans, partly to give themselves time. He hadn’t cracked open like an egg the moment they’d become engaged, and it had often been a two-steps-forward-one-step-back process. “Can we talk about it later?” was one of his favorite responses, but he rarely made her wait more than a day or two before he found whatever words he needed to explain his thoughts or feelings.
A baby was a huge decision, though. “Are you sure?” she’d asked, so anxious to start a family she could hardly function, but it had to be right for both of them or it could set them back. She knew that.
“It’s all I think about,” he’d admitted sheepishly. “I’ve been thinking about it since we got engaged. I’m more than sure. I’m impatient.”
She’d laughed and they’d tried.
And earlier she’d done more than put on a gown in the short hour of privacy he’d given her. She’d taken a test. She was bursting with anticipation, eager to give him their wedding gift.
But she had to say her vows first. He knew something was up. They read each other very well these days, and his gaze sharpened, delving into hers, smiling at how widely she was grinning as they exchanged rings and clasped hands, binding themselves together with more than promises and a piece of paper. More than a new life even.
Love bound them, the kind of eternal connection that no one could put asunder.
“I do,” she said when it was time. Then “I love you,” hearing it back again in his sure timbre, just before they kissed. And when her lips were against his ear, she whispered, “We’re having a baby.”
She felt the shock go through him. He drew back and cupped her face. His expression was awed and dumbfounded, easily interpreted as he tried to assimilate this information while a huge beam of pride and excitement lit his face, no reservations and nothing held back. He shook his head, bemused and pleased. “I thought we were celebrating how happy we’ve been so far, but there’s lots more to come after today, isn’t there?”
“You’re starting to sound like an optimist,” she teased.
“That was confidence, sweetheart. I don’t hope. I know.” He stopped her laugh with a kiss.
* * * * *
Read FROM ONE NIGHT TO WIFE by Rachael Thomas Free