I'll Take a Chance (17 page)

“Are you going to tell me where we are going now?” Amelia asks excitedly.

“No, but I’m sure you will figure it out sooner or later,” I say and put my hand on her thigh as we drive out of Seattle. She’ll figure it out as soon as we hit the mountains.

Just as I thought
, as soon as we head up the mountains she got a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face. There’s about six inches of snow that fell in the last few days, but the roads are plowed and clear. I pull up the driveway and the rustic log cabin is as amazing as she described it. The big surprise though is out back at the pond.

I unload the car and bring everything inside
. Amelia hasn’t stopped smiling, and I love that I am able to put that smile there.

“I have a surprise for you outside. You can keep your coat on.” I grab her hand and head out onto the back deck.
Its pitch black outside so I pull out my flashlight and guide her down the steps.

“What are you up to?” s
he asks curiously.

With a flip of a switch the pathway lights up with hundreds of
white Christmas lights leading to the little pond. We get to the edge of the pond, and with another flick of a switch the pond is illuminated by strung overhead lights. In the center of the pond is a table set for two.

There
are hundreds of twinkling Christmas lights all over and their reflection is dancing off the surface of the ice. Amelia gasps and looks at me with complete shock. I lead her to the table and pull out her chair. She sits down and I kneel on one knee in front of her. Her hand goes to her mouth as tears stream down her cheeks.

I take her other hand and look deep in her eyes. Man
, I’m so nervous. It’s gone off perfectly so far, now let’s hope I can put two words together and ask her the big question. As if on cue, huge, fat snowflakes start to fall, turning the little pond into a winter white fairytale.

“Amelia, ever since that first day you came crashing into my life
, you turned my world upside down. I could never imagine my life without you now. You are the piece of me that has always been missing. With you in my life I am a whole man. I love you so much. Would you do me the honor and be my wife?” I reach in my pocket and pull out the little box with the ring, that from the first day it was created, was made with her in mind.

I open the box and she
starts to sob, but she has a huge smile on her face. Who would have thought asking the love of your life to marry you would involve so many tears.

“Yes, Kyle
, I’ll marry you. The ring is beautiful, I love it, and I love you.” We both stand and hug. I pull the ring out of the box and slip it on her left hand. It’s a perfect fit.

“I was planning on having dinner outside
, but wow, its cold. How about if we take this inside and light a fire in the fire place and eat on the floor in front of it.”

“That sounds perfec
t,” she replies. We head inside and the catered dinner I had delivered was just as beautiful and romantic in front of a roaring fire as it would have been in the winter wonderland on the pond.

The best part about being inside in front of a warm fire is that after we ate we started kissing
, and it soon turned as hot as the fire.

Kneeling in front of each other
, I pull her shirt over her head and remove her bra. Her long blonde hair cascades down her bare back, picking up the orange hues from the fire, she looks like a goddess. Gathering up her hair, I wrap it in my hand and around my wrist and pull her in for a fierce kiss.

I unbutton her pants with my other hand and guide my hand under her panties. She gasps and thrusts her tongue in my mouth. She reaches for the hem of my shirt and rips it off over my head.
I lay her down and kiss that amazing spot that drives her wild under her ear.

I kiss
down her neck to the hollow of her throat. I trail kisses down the center of her stomach and pull off her pants and panties in one smooth motion. Straddling her hips, I can’t help, but look how glorious she looks with the shadows from the fire dancing on her naked skin.

On my knees
, I scoot down her body, she bends her knees and places her feet on the rug. Have mercy, how in the world did I end up with this beautiful woman? I kiss up her shin to her knee and then trail down the inside of her thigh. Loving this woman is a gift I could never have imagined.

I hit my target and she
arches her back off the floor. Any man who says they don’t love doing this is a fool. She’s so responsive, it doesn’t take long before she’s coming and whispering my name. She pulls me up to her mouth, and I love that she can taste herself on my lips and it drives me crazy.

I reach between us and guide myself
inside her so slowly it’s almost torture. I continue the slow pace as she runs her nails down my back sending goose bumps all over my arms.

“Kyle, I love you,” she
whispers in my ear.

It’s torture continuing at such a slow pace
, but I never want this to end. I can feel it building up, and I know I can’t hold back much longer.

“Let go
, Kyle,” she whispers and clenches her insides around me.

It’s my undoing. I come and co
ntinue to pump in and out at a slow pace. I nuzzle her neck, pull out and flip her over so she’s lying on my side. I pull the blanket that’s draped over the end of the couch and cover us both. We soon fall asleep on the floor wrapped in each other’s arms with the fire crackling in the fireplace.

The next morning I wake up before Amelia
. I place more logs in the fireplace, she looks like an angel sleeping. I head into the kitchen to start coffee and make breakfast. The refrigerator is stocked with everything I requested. I make us an egg white omelet with spinach and feta cheese. I place everything on a tray and set it in front of Amelia. She looks at me with those amazing blue eyes and killer smile that send my heart racing.

I love the look she has in her eyes that’s only for me. We eat o
ur breakfast in front of the fireplace, I have another surprise for her that I know she’ll love. We clean up the breakfast dishes together then shower together, we have the rest of the day to just be alone and celebrate our engagement.

“I have another surprise for us today. I need to go get it out o
f the car. I’ll be right back.”

I bundle up and get the large square box out of the trunk and place it in front of her. She opens it and
her face lights up.

“Are we really?” s
he asks as happy as the little girl I imagine she once was.

“Lace
up, honey, we’re going ice skating.” I pull out my own skates from behind the couch and wiggle my eyebrows at her. She squeals and claps her hands with excitement. She get’s bundled up and we head out back to the frozen pond.

I have only been skating a few times in my life
, but she takes to the ice like a pro. I skate on shaky legs as she flies around the pond twirling circles around me. She looks so graceful, it’s hard to believe she’s the same person that is so accident prone on dry land. She twirls around in a big circle that gets tighter and faster as she spins, she finishes with a grand gesture that would bring all tens in the Olympics.

I skate off to the side and sit on a bench. I could watch her for hours
, she’s so graceful and beautiful. I can just imagine her teaching our little son or daughter how to skate on this very pond sometime in the future. She sees me sitting on the side and skates over to the edge of the pond and holds her hands out for me to come back out.

I could never say no to anything she asked of me. We skate hand in hand
in silence as the cold wind stings our cheeks. I understand now why she spent endless hours out here as a little girl. She’s so at home and loving every minute of it. When she’s out skating gracefully on the ice it’s such a stark contrast to her normal klutz prone tendencies. I can see how relaxed her face is, and I can’t help but think this is good for her with everything that has happened to her recently.

Amelia

Kyle and I skated for hours
, and I felt so free it did wonders for my soul. We head inside to make a late lunch and I catch the sparkle on my left hand. I’m engaged, it’s so hard to believe I’ve found the love of my life and soon I will be Mrs. Amelia Peters. Kyle catches me staring at my ring and smiles at me.

“I guess we should talk about setting a
date. What were you thinking?” he asks me and brings my engagement ring to his lips and kisses it.

“I was thinking about maybe this summer. Nothing too big, just family and close friends. What about you?
What do you think?”

“I think a summer wedding sounds perfect
,” he says. We take our sandwiches and sit in front of the fire to thaw our frozen bodies.

“I know my sister and Willow will go crazy with planning
. I was thinking of asking Ava to be my maid of honor and Willow, Chloe, and Amanda to be bridesmaids. What about your side?”

“I think I’ll ask Spence to be my best man and ask Asher
, Aiden, and Adrian to be groomsmen,” he says counting them on his fingers.

“That works out perfectly. I can’t wait to get home and tell everyone. Are we going to make it home in time to go to family dinner tomorr
ow? I don’t think I can stand to wait and tell everyone.”

“We can leave after lunch tomorrow and head straight to your parents house for dinner.
How does that sound?” he asks.

“EEE
K, I’m so excited. Wait, what about my Dad? How do you think he’s going to react to all of this?” I ask, suddenly scared of his reaction.

“I asked you
r Dad and your brothers last Sunday if I could have your hand in marriage. I have all of their blessings.” He tilts my chin with his finger and smiles at me then kisses me warmly.

“You did?” I don’t know why
, but I’m suddenly choked up. He already asked my dad and all my brothers? How old fashioned and romantic is that?

“I did. Your d
ad was a little concerned it was too soon to be engaged, but I assured him my love for you now is the same as it will be for the rest of my life. Your brothers were all on board and assured him that I am worthy to be your husband.”

That did it. Tears fall down cheeks and Kyle wipes then
away with his thumbs.

We spent the rest of the day inside wrapped in each other in front of the warm fireplace. Kyle didn’t even get to see any of the bedrooms
, we never made it past the family room and the kitchen. We did test out the shower in the hallway a few times though.

That night we slept on the floor by the fireplace again
, and it was absolutely perfect. The next morning we didn’t even get dressed until it was time to leave. We held hands all the way to my parent’s house. He played with my engagement ring with his thumb, and he kept looking at me out of the corner of his eye every so often with a smile.

We arrived at my
patents early, which was perfect because I wanted to tell my mother first before my brothers and sister arrive, and to show them both my ring. I didn’t even make it two steps in the door and my mom pulled me in for a big hug with tears in her eyes which only made me cry. My dad shook Kyle’s hand and congratulated us both.

I help
ed my Mom make dinner while my dad and Kyle relaxed in the study. Soon my brothers, and sister, and Chloe arrive for dinner and I can’t wait to make the announcement over the meal. We all gather around the table, Kyle and I stand holding hands, and Willow winks at me.

“I wanted to make an announce
ment before we all begin to eat,” Kyle begins and looks at me with a smile.

“All
of you know except for Chloe…” he begins again.

“Actu
ally Ava told me, sorry brother,” Chloe tells him.

“Well
then, I guess all of you already know that I planned to ask Amelia to be my wife. I wanted to tell everyone she has made me the happiest man in the world and has accepted.” Everyone claps and says their congratulations. They all raise their glasses and toast.

“I
also want to ask Ava if she would do me the honor of being my maid of honor and to ask Chloe and Willow if they would be so kind as to be two of my bridesmaids.”

I barley get the words out of my mouth and they are
all attacking me from both sides with hugs and screams. Asher stands and raises his glass again.

“Congratulations
, Amelia and Kyle, I know you two will be forever happy. Since everyone is making happy announcements, I too have something I would like to say. This weekend marks the one year anniversary for Willow being cancer free. I promised her that every year I would add to her charm bracelet.”

He pulls out a small box from his jacket
pocket and hands it to Willow. She instantly starts to cry and takes the box.

“I wasn’
t expecting this, I’m so sorry I’m crying. Thank you, Asher.” She takes the box and holds it with both hands and takes a deep breath. She ever so carefully removes the wrapping paper and opens the lid with a gasp. She looks to Asher, stands and gives him a hug.

“Don’t keep us all
in suspense, show us what it is,” I say.

She passes
the charm around, and it’s just stunning. It’s a platinum breast cancer ribbon, and it’s studded with tiny pink diamonds. It’s passed all the way around the table, when it gets back to Asher he takes it out of the box then removes her bracelet from her wrist, and adds the new charm to the one he gave her just a year ago. He kisses her on the cheek and the look in his eyes is such a familiar look. I see that love and devotion in Kyle’s eyes every time he looks at me.

Not another tear is shed during dinner. After dinner the girls sit around the table and discuss wedding plans
. The men all disappear to my dad’s study for an after dinner scotch. So many different ideas are tossed around for a location. Willow suggests the beach where they got married, and I did love their wedding. I have always dreamt of having my wedding at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel though, they have this amazing staircase that I have always imagined myself standing at the top of wearing a princess wedding gown.

“Earth to Amelia,
” Willow says snapping her fingers.

“Sorry, I was dreaming about my perfect day. I already
know the perfect wedding place. I just don’t know if it will be available on such short notice,” I say sadly.

“You leave all that to me. Asher will pull all the strings necessary
to make your perfect day happen,” she assures me. If anyone can make it happen it would be Asher.

The rest of the planning seems to fall in
to place from there. My mom, Ava, Willow, and I are going to make appointments to go dress shopping this weekend.

The next
two months fly by and almost everything is planned for the wedding. I found the perfect dress. It was the very first dress I laid my eyes on. I knew it in my heart when I first saw it that it was the one from my dreams.

The guest list is short
, but meaningful. All the catering has been arranged and the cake ordered. I found the perfect bridesmaid dresses. They are the same style, strapless chiffon dresses in different colors. Of course Willow’s is a soft pink, Ava chose a light purple. Chloe chose a pale mint green, and Amanda chose a baby blue. Each of their accompanying groomsman will have the matching bow tie. Everything is perfect.

Until the day I realized that I am late. In a panic I count the days on a calendar and I don’t know how I mis
sed it, but I’m not only late, I’m extremely late. I have been so preoccupied by planning this wedding. I didn’t realize that I not only missed one, but I have missed two periods.

Kyle

Today was a wonderful day
, I delivered three healthy happy babies. I stop at the florist and pick up orange roses for Amelia. She has been working so hard on planning our wedding. She seems to have completely moved on from the trauma involving the kidnapping.

She still goes to a therapist once a month
, but shows no emotional or physical issues anymore. Putting my key in the front door, I call out to her.

“Amelia
, I’m home.” That’s strange. I know she’s here. Her car is in the driveway. I start to search downstairs and call out to her again. Then I hear her. I hear a muffled crying and my heart sinks in my chest. Oh God no. Please don’t let her have had a setback. I take the stairs two at a time and find her sitting on the bathroom floor curled in a ball rocking back and forth crying.

“Amelia, what’s wrong
, honey, what happened?” I scoop her up in my lap and hold her tight. She hasn’t said a word and I’m really starting to get scared. The last time I had to sit her in my lap like this is when I scared her in her apartment after the attack. She sniffs a few times and screeches an unintelligible reply.

“Honey
, please calm down, tell me what’s wrong.” I never would have guessed the next words out of her mouth.

“
Our wedding is ruined. I’ll be too fat to wear my wedding dress. I’ll be eight months pregnant in August on our wedding day,” she sobs.

My mouth falls
open as I comprehend what she’s telling me. Oh my God. We’re going to have a baby, Amelia is pregnant.

“Honey
look at me this is the best news I have ever heard. Please don’t cry, I’m sure there is a way we can work this out. Our wedding will not be ruined. We can move the wedding up,” I say and try to calm her down.

“We can’t move the date up. The venue is booked solid for years. Asher practically had to give his fir
stborn to get us a date this summer,” she says crying hard again. She’s so upset she’s hiccoughing and snot is running down her nose.

“Amelia honey
, we can work this out. I promise you. I’ll talk to Asher and see if we can move the date up if that’s what you want, or we can still keep the August date. You will be the most beautiful bride in the whole world.” I reach for a tissue and wipe her tears and nose.

“Really, y
ou’ll talk to Asher? Everything has already been paid for and arranged for this summer. It’s going to be awful to try and rearrange everything,” she says a little calmer.

“Leave it all to me, don’t you worry one bit about it. I will take care of everything. Ho
ney, we are going to have a baby,” I say and smile at her. She starts to smile and nods her head.

“I’m
already 9 weeks pregnant, here,” she says and hands me a sonogram picture. I touch the perfect little image of our baby. Of our baby, Amelia and I are really going to be parents.

“
We’re going to be parents,” I tell her something she already knows. I bring babies into this world almost every day, but nothing compares to the feeling of knowing that one I helped create is growing inside the woman that I love. One day very soon we’ll have a son or a daughter that’s a part of me and a part of Amelia.

I pick her up and carry her to our bed. I make love to my beautiful pregnant fiancé. We talked late into the night and agree to tell the family this Sunday at dinner. We plan on talking to Asher tomorrow to see if he can work his magic and get the wedding
day moved up.

Amelia is nervous that he won’t be able to keep this
big of a secret from Willow, but I don’t think she’s giving him enough credit. Oh, he may be in big trouble, but I’m guessing he can pull it off.

Every Sunday her parents keep telling us to invite my parents
to dinner, and this Sunday I think is a special occasion to do just that. My parents have been seeing each other on a regular basis now and their relationship seems to be stronger than it ever was before.

Sunday
at Willow’s parent’s house with our entire families sitting together gathered around the dinner table, I stand and lightly clink my wine glass with my fork.

“If I could have everyone’s attention, Amelia and I have something we would like to say.
”

I gaze lovingly down a
t Amelia and reach for her hand, “First I want to thank everyone for all the hard work they have put into planning this wedding in August. But, it’s not going to happen.”

Everyone is completely sh
ocked and not sure what to say.

“Amelia and I will
be getting married in two weeks.” That got everyone’s mood turned upside down.

“With the help of Asher, Amelia and I needed to move the wedding up because this September we are
excited to tell everyone that we are expecting a baby.”

Willow s
tands and yells, “What!” She punches Asher in the arm hard then rushes over to hug Amelia. Asher rubs his arm and gives Amelia the look that says she’s going to pay for that.

Both my m
om and Amelia’s mom are in tears, Chloe comes to me and gives me a big hug.

“I’m so happy for you
, Kyle,” Chloe says.

“I want to say a big thank you to Asher. None of this would be possible without his help. I was really upset when I thought I couldn’
t still have my fairytale wedding, but he really came through for us. Thank you so much, big brother.