I take a deep breath and ponder how lucky I am as I stand under an archway of evergreen boughs dripping with mistletoe and white orchids—Chloe’s favorite flower. I know I’ve chosen the perfect place. It wasn’t even a choice, really. This is where I asked Chloe to marry me.
Well, the first time.
I asked her again a few days ago. But that Christmas morning proposal was more of a formality. I was pretty sure by surprising Chloe with a wedding, I’d found the perfect Christmas gift ever. But still, I wanted to be sure.
Thankfully, she’d said yes—again.
We’d been engaged since college . . . but it was worth the wait.
For Chloe, I’d wait forever, but I’d realized I didn’t have to. That’s what today was all about.
I want her to know that I’ll always love her like I do today. That for the rest of our lives, she’ll be my best friend, my family, my number one.
It wasn’t too long ago that I would’ve laughed at the idea of a love like this. But meeting Chloe changed everything. She taught me to open my heart and that even though I’d lost my family, that didn’t mean I would never find a place where I belonged again. With her I had found that place—by her side.
She gave me a new home, a new sense of the word family. And after losing my mother, that meant everything to me.
I knew I’d always have Owen, but I wanted a family of my own. And I knew Chloe would give me that, too. She already had. Our pup, Darcy, her sister, her parents who trusted me enough to let me not only marry their daughter but help run their business.
Sometimes I can’t believe how blind I was before I met Chloe. I thought I had it all—money, looks, the ability to travel the world . . . But in all my wandering I never found happiness. Not like I’ve found with this incredible woman whose kindness unlocked my heart.
Chloe is priceless. And I can’t believe in a few minutes, she’ll be joining her life with mine.
As if on cue, the doors to the lodge swing open. It’s a beautiful backdrop to our wedding venue, but I only have eyes for the woman slowly walking in my direction.
I can’t see her yet. Not fully, anyway.
Margot loads into the horse-drawn sleigh first, then Mr. and Mrs. Price.
My nerves come to a head as the sleigh drives my bride the short distance from the lodge to the pond where I’m waiting. I can’t hear anything over the sound of my heart hammering in my chest. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.
Actually, I do. It’s because all of this feels too good to be true.
And maybe it is. Because no one man deserves this much happiness. I feel like it’s bursting from my pores like sunlight as the bridal party approaches.
Margot walks down the aisle first, grinning from ear-to-ear. She looks beautiful in her sleek wine-colored gown. My niece, Ava, is by her side in a matching dress, tossing rose petals as she walks. Owen points to his watch and winks at them. Margot’s triumphant smile makes me laugh, easing a bit of the tension in my chest. But then I see her . . . Chloe . . . and my breath lodges in my throat and my heart stops beating.
When it picks up its rhythm again, it’s different, forever changed because now it beats only for her, for the woman who from this day forward will be my wife.
Chloe moves toward me, nestled safely between her parents. She has an arm linked through each of theirs until she reaches the dock. That’s where she’ll have to leave them and make the rest of her journey on her own.
She pauses to let her parents kiss her on the cheek and when they take their seats, she stands there for a moment and I’m so damn thankful she does, because I need a moment. Hell, I might need a hundred, because the way she looks right now . . . her white dress, her long brown hair spilling over her fur wrap . . . She’s so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes.
The string quartet music swells and Chloe begins to move toward me.
I know I’m supposed to wait here at the end of the dock for her to reach me, but I can’t. My feet are moving of their own accord and before I know it my hands are in hers. We both laugh and I’m grinning so wide it hurts.
“Hi,” I greet.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “Have you been waiting long?”
I want to tell her I’ve been waiting my whole damn life, but I only take her hand kissing the back of her knuckles with my lips. “For you, I’d wait forever.”
Chloe Hall
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
A surprisingly loud roar erupts from our small audience, but I’m too enamored by my new husband to notice. Husband. I have a husband!
One who’s kissing me quite thoroughly, I might add.
My toes curl in my boots. With Ethan’s arms around me I don’t even notice the chill of the winter air. I only have eyes for him.
My heart is so full right now. As the officiant announces us, we turn to face our family and friends, and they begin to count down to the New Year.
I’d been so caught up in exchanging vows with the man of my dreams I’d completely forgotten the significance of our timing. Ethan truly has thought of everything. I can’t imagine anything better than ringing in the new year with him as husband and wife.
That is until the countdown reaches zero and fireworks begin to take over the sky around us.
I gasp, my hand flying to my heart. “Ethan! Fireworks? Did you do this?”
“Of course, Mrs. Hall.”
I blush, loving the sound of my new married name. “You are incredible.”
“No, Chloe. You are. And I plan on spending the rest of my life reminding you of that.”
Ethan’s lips captured mine again and I kissed him with complete abandon, knowing that he is my first and last, the only man I’ve ever truly loved. And nothing will ever change that.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that, kissing under the starry night sky lit up by fireworks, but at some point, our friends join us. A glass of champagne is shoved into my hand and I toast to the new year with my friends and family, hugging and cheering until my heart feels so full it might explode.
Just when I think this perfect night can’t get any better, Ethan has one more surprise for me. He’s brought skates for me and all of our guests. It’s the perfect end to our surprise wedding.
I laugh as I zoom around the ice with everyone.
“Are you happy?” Ethan asks, his eyes searching mine.
“Exuberantly,” I say. “Though, I never guessed our future would start with ice-skating,” I add, my hand securely in Ethan’s as he pulls me around on the ice.
He winks. “Really? It’s always been our thing.”
I grin, squeezing his hand tighter. “Ethan, all of this . . . it was so perfect. Thank you for doing this. But just so you know, as long as my hand is in yours, that’s all I need.”
His smile lights up my heart brighter than the fireworks as he pulls me close, looping his hands around my waist. “Me too,” he whispers, his lips grazing my ear. “And the best part is, now we’ll never truly have to let go.”
He was right. Now my heart will always be with him and his with me. It’s a satisfying feeling, comforting in such a way that I find myself wondering why on earth we waited so long to get married. Nothing much has changed, yet at the same time, everything has.
This beautiful man before me . . . he belongs to me now. And I am his—forever and always. And to me, that is so incredibly beautiful that it brings tears to my eyes.
In each other, we’d found where we belong and now the whole world knows it.
What more could I ever ask for in life?
I gaze up into my new husband’s eyes. “I love you, Ethan.”
“I love you too, Chloe. So much.” He brushes his lips against my temple before grinning at me. “And this is only the beginning.”
And I laugh without an ounce of fear, because I know he’s right and I welcome any future we’ll face, knowing I’ll have him by my side.
The End
Also by Christina Benj
amin
THE BILLIONAIRE BOYFRIEND SERIES
Sebastian: A Sweet Billionaire Romance (Book 1)
Cooper: A Sweet Billionaire Romance (Book 2)
Donovan: A Sweet Billionaire Romance (Book 3)
Eric: A Sweet Billionaire Romance (Book 4)
Jacob: A Sweet Billionaire Romance (Book 5)
* * *
YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
DANGERS OF DATING A DIVA SERIES
Kissing The Hero
HOW TO DATE A TOMBOY SERIES
Tomboys Don’t Wear Pink
Tomboys Don’t Kiss The Quarterback
Tomboys Don’t Crush On The Captain
Tomboys Don’t Love Christmas
PREP SCHOOL BOYFRIEND ACADEMY
(All Boyfriend Books are Stand-Alone Novels and can be read in Any Order)
The Practice Boyfriend (Book 1)
The Almost Boyfriend (Book 2)
The Goodbye Boyfriend (Book 3)
The Holiday Boyfriend (Book 4)
The Stand-In Boyfriend (Book 5)
The Maybe Boyfriend (Book 6)
The Accidental Boyfriend (Book 7)
The Summer Boyfriend (Book 8)
The Wedding Boyfriend (Book 9)
The Winter Boyfriend (Book 10)
The Lost Boyfriend (Book 11)
* * *
Do you or your kids like to read Middle Grade Fantasy books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson?
If so check out Christina’s Pen Name - C.J. Benjamin and her completed series: Geneva Sommers
Geneva Sommers and the Quest for Truth (Book 1)
Geneva Sommers and the Secret Legend (Book 2)
Geneva Sommers and the Myth of Lies (Book 3)
Geneva Sommers and the Magic Destiny (Book 4)
Geneva Sommers and the First Fairytales (Book 5)
About the Author
Author, Christina Benjamin, lives in Florida with her husband, and character inspiring pets, where she spends her free time working on her books, eating chocolate and drinking wine.
Christina is best known for her bestselling Young Adult romance novels, The Boyfriend Series, which proves that book boyfriends are like chocolate... you can never have enough. Check out the Boyfriend Series for fast, fun, YA romance reads. These destination novels let you fall in love in a new city with new characters, every time.
Join her secret Facebook group to beta read, chat about books over a glass of wine and a dessert. Click here to join her Facebook Group.
Interested in joining Christina’s Newsletter for updates and book releases? Click Here to Join Christina’s Newsletter.
Follow Christina’s Amazon Page to get updates when new books are released. Click Here to Follow on Amazon.
For more information visit:
www.crownatlanticpublishing.com
Christmas in Pine Island: A small town holiday romance Page 18