Champagne Toast

by Melissa Brown

Evan sees the look of shock on my face as I study the ornament. He chuckles once again to himself.

  “I had a little help with that one, too.” And immediately I know.

  Bree.

  “She helped you with this?” I ask, shocked.

  “Yes, she did. We had a long talk and I told her just how much I missed you. Just how agonizing the past two years have been, what a mess I’ve been, how much regret I was carrying around with me. And somehow, she agreed to help me.”

  “Wow,” I reply.

  “Yeah, I know she’s never really been a fan of mine,” Evan smiles, “but, I think I finally won her over.”

  “But, what about Tosha?”

  “When I rented this place, she agreed to help me out. She’s a very nice woman.”

  “Wow, I just . . . ” my voice trails off as I take in everything around me. The effort that Evan has put into this is astounding.

  “What are you thinking, sweets?”

  “I’m kind of in shock,” I say, looking around, “I can’t believe you did all this.”

  “You told me to show you,” he replies.

  “And you actually did it,” I say. “It’s all so incredible.”

  “Well, there’s one more thing,” he says, pulling a silver chain from underneath his sweater. The ring he gave me four years ago, dangles from the chain. Tears overcome my eyes as he removes it from around his neck and pulls the ring from the chain.

  “When I gave this to you, I meant it. I want a future with you, Kate. I want to marry you, have children with you, all of it. I know it’d be a lot to ask for you to wear it again. But, I’m hoping you won’t rule it out.” He hands me the ring and I grasp it tightly in my hand.

  “I wish I’d never taken it off,” I whisper as more tears spill from my eyes. Evan steps closer to me, wiping my tears.

  “I want us to have a fresh start; I want us to try again. You are the only woman I’ve ever loved. The only one. Ever.” Evan runs his hands down my arms, looks down at the floor and takes a breath before continuing. “And I know that I did this. I caused all the pain that we’ve both had these past two years. What you said in the bar was true. I ruined us, Kate. You did nothing wrong.”

  I never thought I’d hear those words. I never thought Evan would realize how innocent I really was. It’s overwhelming, but not entirely true. “Well, I have something I need to say,” I reply.

  “Okay,” Evan nods, stroking my cheeks with his hand, his muscles are tense and I know he’s nervous. He’s preparing for rejection.

  “Our breakup wasn’t all your fault. We both played a role. I pushed you away when all you wanted me to be was happy with myself. But, I never cheated on you. I didn’t want Shawn or anyone else.” Evan nods, his eyes moist with tears as I continue. “I have to know that you believe me.”

  “I do, sweets, I do. I promise,” he begins, “you were right. I never gave you a chance to explain what had happened with Shawn. I let my ego take over and then I was just too stubborn to see past it.”

  He kisses both of my hands before he continues, “I used your past against you and I’ll never forgive myself for that. But, I swear, if you’ll give me another chance, if you’ll forgive me for walking away, I promise that will never happen again.” He squeezes my hands and wipes a tear from his cheek. “I will treat you the way you deserve to be treated. I’ll trust you, I’ll honor you, and I’ll have faith in you. I promise.”

  So overcome with emotion, I start to cry. Hard. I’m crying so hard I can’t find my voice. I try to speak and my body betrays me. And so I stand here, ugly crying in front of the man I love. He pulls me in tight and strokes my hair.

  “Please, please, sweets. I’m begging you. Just one more chance. I know we’ll be okay. Please,” his voice cracks with emotion and I know he’s crying with me.

  I pull away from him, breathing in deeply, determined to regain my voice. Finally, I’m able to speak. “From the moment you walked into my life, I belonged to you, Ev. Only you.”

  Stepping towards him, I wrap my arms around his waist and smile through my tears. Evan wipes them with his hands before cupping each side of my face warmly. His kiss is gentle at first, his full lips grazing mine. His movements are tentative and I know he’s hesitant. I press my fingers into his sides so that he knows I’m urging him on. I open my mouth, inviting him in. His tongue caresses mine lovingly as he moves his hands into my hair, running his fingers through it slowly and gently. It is the most beautiful kiss of my life. Evan pulls away slowly and kisses my forehead, holding me tightly to him; so tight I swear I can hear the pounding of his heart. Running my hands up his back, I slowly take a step back and open my tightly clutched hand. I place the gorgeous promise ring around my finger. It still fits perfectly. It’s right where it belongs. And so am I.

  Epilogue

  Evan

  December 25, 2013

  “Good morning, sweets,” I whisper into her ear. But, unlike past years where I had to rouse her from her slumber, bargaining with her just to get her to leave the bed, she is wide awake and smiling.

  “6:30,” she smiles, “time for a Maxwell Christmas Morning Breakfast.”

  “You got it,” I say before kissing her on the lips, “I can’t believe you’re up.”

  “Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this all year long. You start breakfast, I’ll turn the tree lights on and put Dino on the record player.” She looks positively giddy. Her enthusiasm solidifies everything I feel for her. Love, admiration, devotion . . . the list goes on and on. She is the love of my life.

  “I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” I say, raising an eyebrow, “just going to use the bathroom.”

  Kate gives me one last peck on the lips before hopping out of bed. She puts her bathrobe on over her pajamas and walks into the living room as I make my way to the bathroom. After washing my hands, I crouch down, opening up the cabinet under the sink. There it is. It’s been in its hiding spot for months. The dust on the box tells me she has no idea it’s been here, right under her nose, waiting for the right time. I wipe off the box, making sure it’s clean, before placing it in the pocket of my robe.

  Kate and I live together in an apartment in downtown Chicago. After the article was published in Shutterbug Magazine, Kate had her pick of agents. She chose a really nice woman named Erin who has her best interest at heart. She does lots of freelance work for various magazines and has been featured in local newspapers and national magazines alike. She’s building a career for herself, and I’ve never seen her more confident, more settled or more content since I’ve known her. And I love that I’m a part of that.

  Last week, she had her first individual photography show at Blue Door Gallery. Tosha has been asking since Kate’s article was published, but she’s been so busy until now. It’s thrilling to know that we’re both doing what we love and at the end of the day we get to come home to each other. Living together has been awesome. But, I’m ready for more.

  I make my way into the kitchen. Kate has started brewing the coffee and has taken out all of the necessary components for a Maxwell Christmas Morning Breakfast. She smiles widely as I enter.

  “Remember, you promised that you’d teach me how to make the bacon,” she says.

  “Oh yes, today is when I reveal the secret of the Maxwell bacon.” I rub my hands together like an evil scientist. She rolls her eyes at me.

  “The trick is sugar.” I give her a wicked grin.

  “What? Sugar on bacon?” Kate looks skeptical.

  “Yep, you put just a sprinkle of sugar on the bacon while it’s sizzling in the pan. That’s how it gets that sweet and salty combination that makes it so delicious.”

  “Well, no wonder my bacon never tastes the same. Sugar,” she says, shaking her head.

  “Sugar,” I smile. We continue making breakfast together. But, when everything is ready to be served I don’t load our plates with food at the counter. I place our eggs into a bowl, our bacon onto a plate, and the cinna
mon rolls on a small dish. Kate raises an eyebrow at this change, but goes with the flow.

  I place our empty plates on the table along with our coffee cups and orange juice. Kate helps me to bring all of the food to the table.

  “Yum, it looks as delicious as I imagined it would. It smells wonderful, too,” Kate says, reaching for her napkin and placing it in her lap. As she does this, I place the velvet box on her plate. She looks down at it and lets out a small gasp, a wide grin spread across her face.

  “Ev,” she says, putting her hand to her mouth.

  “Open it, sweets,” I insist.

  “Yes,” she blurts out and I start to laugh.

  “You have to let me ask first.”

  “Yes,” she says again.

  “Kate, open the box!” I insist through my laughter.

  The hinge of the tiny box creaks as it’s opened. I kneel down before her as she stares at the ring. Placing one hand on her knee and the other on my own, I look her in the eyes as tears stream down her cheeks.

  “Katherine Olivia Armour, I knew this day would be special, our first real Christmas together living in the same apartment. But, I need to ask you the question that I’ve been dying to ask for months.”

  Kate gasps and a nervous laugh escapes me, “Kate, my world made sense the moment you entered it. That very first day at Molly’s I knew I would never be the same. Please, do me the honor of becoming my wife; do me the honor of making me your husband. I’m yours, Kate. I’m yours. Please be mine for the rest of our lives.”

  Kate takes an enormous breath before answering through her tears, “Yes.”

  I place the ring on her finger, a solitaire emerald cut diamond on a platinum band. She slides off her chair and into my arms. We kiss and cry and hug next to the kitchen table. I stroke her hair as I kiss her forehead, her chin and her lips as she repeats, “I’m yours” over and over again.

  When we finally pull ourselves off of the icy cold tile, I wipe the tears of joy from my fiance’s cheeks. Kate pauses for a moment before smiling a devilish grin and heading over to the refrigerator.

  “What are you doing?” I ask with a laugh.

  “You’ll see in a minute,” she replies, pulling a bottle of champagne from the bottom shelf. She grabs two champagne flutes from the cabinet and places them on the table.

  “We bought that for New Year’s Eve!”

  “We’ll get another,” she smiles as she hands me the bottle. Popping the cork, it shoots across and bounces off the cabinet. Champagne spills on the floor and Kate quickly grabs a towel to wipe the foamy liquid from the tile.

  Pouring two glasses, I hand one to Kate. I raise my glass as I smile at my beloved.

  “To you, Kate—” I say, gazing into her eyes and stroking her cheek with my fingertips.

  “Wait, please let me,” Kate asks, her eyes eager. I nod and look into her eyes.

  Kate takes a deep breath in before she speaks, “You might not know this, but your toast at Patrick’s wedding was a turning point for me. I’ve never, ever forgotten that toast. Your words gave me the reassurance that you were still the Evan I fell in love with all those years ago, no matter what had happened between us.”

  “Thank you,” I say, nodding, knowing that I’d meant every word of that speech.

  “That toast gave me hope,” she says, a tear slipping down her cheek, “and so now, I’d like to toast you.”

  “Wow, okay,” I say, lifting my glass up and holding it across from Kate’s.

  “To you, Ev. You taught me that love really is the most possible thing in the world. And I can’t thank you enough for that”

  Her words are simple, yet they mean so much. If it was possible for me to fall more in love with this woman, it has happened today.

  “I will love you forever,” I reply. “To you, sweets.”

  Our glasses clink and we each take a sip of the champagne.

  The food is ice cold by the time we’ve composed ourselves and are ready to eat. It’s the best food I’ve ever tasted in my life.

  Coming Summer 2013….

  Picturing Perfect

  by Melissa Brown

  Prologue

  I had a plan.

  I knew exactly how I wanted my future to be. I wanted to marry my boyfriend Tucker, to have a nice long engagement as we planned the perfect wedding ceremony. I wanted to work as a teacher until I achieved tenure. And, then, after all of those things had taken place, I wanted to make the decision to start a family. I would be prepared, stable, focused and ready. I would not be twenty two years old, standing in the bathroom of my employer, (which, by the way is not even a school) peeing on a stick with my co-worker and dreading the outcome.

  “It’s going to be okay, Hadley,” Ellie says as we stand near the sink waiting for the three minutes to go by. The longest three minutes of my life.

  “What if it’s not?” I ask her, my eyes red and puffy. Ellie scrunches up her lips and I can tell she has no idea what to say. I’ve always been really observant and perceptive when it comes to people’s body language. They barely need to say anything for me to know exactly what they’re thinking. And, I am dreading Tucker’s body language if I have to tell him that he’s going to be a father in nine short months, rather than the five to eight years we had discussed. He’s not ready for this. And I don’t think I am either.

  “It’s been three minutes,” Ellie says, with hesitation in her voice, “do you want me to look?”

  I don’t answer her right away. I have to get control of my racing pulse first. I have to stop myself from sweating. I have to stop my hands from shaking as I grip the sides of the pedestal sink.

  “Hadley,” Ellie whispers as she strokes my shoulder with her fingertips.

  “Yes, please,” I say, taking a deep breath in and out, “I can’t look.”

  I close my eyes, waiting to hear the news. I hear Ellie pick up the small plastic stick from the ledge below the mirror. She sighs loudly before she speaks, and just with that sigh, I know my world has just changed. Completely.

  I’m pregnant.

  Acknowledgments

  I loved writing this book so, so much. And there were so many people who were instrumental in making it happen.

  Janna Mashburn---without you, there would be no Champagne Toast. You believed in Evan, you helped to shape him as a character and helped me to realize that he had a story to tell. I will be forever grateful for our brainstorming sessions talking about these characters that we both fell in love with before they ever said a word!!! Thank you for all of your support and encouragement with this story. You are amazing.

  Calia Read, my wonderful critique partner. You make me a better writer and I’m so grateful for you!!! Your honesty and your passion regarding my characters is beyond awesome! I’m so thankful to have you for my CP!!!! I loveth oureth friendshipeth 

  Natasha Tomic, I can’t thank you enough for your guidance, support and constructive criticism. You were absolutely amazing to me. You stood your ground, but you did it in such a kind and caring way. I can’t imagine writing a book without your input from now on!!

  Deb Bresloff, also known as ‘Mom’, thank you for all of our fantastic conversations regarding this book. You are such a wonderful sounding board and it made me so happy to hear you falling in love with Kate and Evan!

  My awesome beta readers made all the difference with this book: Tosha Khoury, Erin Roth, Andrea Randall, Maggi Myers, Kim August, Jenn Hall and Melissa Perea. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read the book, make comments and suggestions and answer my “poll” questions when I was stuck!

  Taryn Celluci, thank you so very much for organizing a blog tour for me. You are such a kind and organized person and I admire you so much! Thank you to all of the blogs who participated: The Indie Bookshelf, Flirty & Dirty Book Blog, Totally Booked, Lisa’s Book Review, Brandee’s Book Endings, Three Chicks and their Books, Cristina’s Book Reviews, Natasha is a Book Junkie, Talk Supe, Lisa’s Reads, The Autumn R
eview, Miss Paranormal’s Book Reviews, Ms. Reality Book Reviews, Storm Goddess Review, Sugar and Spice and My Secret Romance.

  Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations for the beautiful cover! It makes me smile every time I look at it!

  Lori Sabin, editor extraordinaire and all around fabulous woman. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions, input and corrections You are marvelous!

  Chris, my hubs, thank you for always supporting me in this new career. I love you so much!

  To my writing “family”---I adore you all. Thank you for being there for advice, help in writing my blurb, several fits of healthy laughter and incredible overall support.

  Thank you to you---yes YOU, for reading this book. I have found a job that I truly enjoy, one that I’m passionate about and YOU make it possible by reading. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

  About the Author:

  Melissa Brown is a hopeless romantic living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband Chris and their two children. Aside from writing, she enjoys reading and baking. She also has a slight obsession with actor Henry Cavill. This is her second novel.

  Connect with Melissa Brown online:

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  http://melissabrownauthor.blogspot.com/

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  Copyright © 2013 by Melissa Brown

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.