by Ford, Mia
Shit now the emotion is choking me. I can feel it catching in my throat and making me stumble over my words. But I need to get the rest of this out because this is so important to the both of us.
“Zoe, I want you to be my wife. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, spending every single day making you and our children happy. I can’t wait for us to be official, to scream our love from the roof tops. So, what do you say? Will you do me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?”
“A family,” she gasps while clapping her hands to her mouth. “We will be a family at last.”
I know how important this is to her, because I feel the same way. I lost my parents but always had my brothers, while she has had no one. Not ever since her grandma passed away. She has my family now too, but it will be official. For her and Maddie this will be the best thing ever. I’m utterly over the moon.
I can just see our future stretched out in front of us. All of us, not just me and Zoe. But Brad, Oliver, Angelo, Alex, Nelson, and their families as well. If we live the incredible and close life that I’m seeing in my mind, then I just know that our parents will be proud. They didn’t get to be with us through all of this, they were taken from us much too soon, but we are managing to make it work in the best way possible.
“Is that a yes?” I ask her as my hand starts shaking with nerves. “Please tell me that’s a yes.”
“Oh my God, that’s a yes.” She falls to the ground and hugs me tight. “Definitely a yes.”
As we hug and kiss, everyone around us cheers like crazy. They are so genuinely happy for us which makes this all so much better. The clapping and the whooping makes me smile with so much joy.
I take her hand and slip the diamond ring on her finger, confirming this engagement and it feels incredible. I mean, this is the first time for me so it’s going to feel overwhelming and exciting. But looking at Zoe, I can tell that she feels the same way as well. This is the real engagement, the one which will end in marriage.
“A new baby,” she whispers to me. “And a wedding. We are going to be very busy.”
“Oh, and don’t forget the business as well… but we can do it, can’t we?”
“Of course. Me and you can do anything.” Her face lights up with a grin. “Absolutely anything.”
As we hug again, I really feel it as well. Like anything is possible. Me and Zoe can do whatever, can face anything and come out much stronger. After everything that we have already suffered and survived, I know that nothing will get in our way. I can’t wait to face the rest of my life with this amazing woman, to have the future that I always wanted with her. Finally, now it’s within my grasp at last. I bury my face in her hair and inhale deeply, breathing in the woman who is going to be my wife, and love explodes in my chest.
This is it, my place in the world, where I am mean to be. With Zoe and my family.
Now I can’t wait to tell Maddie about our wedding… she is going to absolutely love it.
Epilogue
Zoe
Eighteen Months Later…
“Do I look okay?” I ask Jessica nervously. “Does this dress look okay on me?”
“You look incredible, Zoe. Don’t panic so much. You look better than you ever have done before.”
“Like a princess,” Meghan agrees. “Which is good because this is your fairy tale day.”
“Now all you need to do is make sure that you don’t keep picking up James,” Jessica laughs. “Because much as I adore your little boy, he is almost one years old and permanently covered in chocolate.”
“I know, I know, and I’m sorry. But you girls managed to get the stain out for me. Best bridesmaids ever.”
“Yeah, and it took us ages. Never again.”
We all laugh together, but I can tell that I really do need to be careful because I don’t know if we’ll be able to get out another stain. We got lucky the first time around. My gorgeous little boy is adorable, but yes, he is very messy. Luckily, he has his sisters and his cousins playing with him and distracting him.
“Are you ready for this?” Jessica knows how heavy this is for me. Really, it’s a pretty crazy day, more than anyone who hasn’t known me for years can possibly know. But Jessica gets it. She was there for the last time that I was going to get married. She saw my face when I found out that my ex wasn’t turning up, she supported me.
Although in reality, much as I was shocked and upset, I think that there might have been a part of me that was relieved as well because it didn’t work out for a reason. It was never going to work out. It fell apart at the right moment before we were legally connected to one another. It was the best way, if not a little harsh.
But if the father of my children did the same thing to me, the real love of my life, then it would kill me. I wouldn’t be able to come back from that. Jessica knows that it would make me fall apart.
Luckily, I know that Wesley wouldn’t do that to me. I am confident in him and our love.
“I’m fine.” I breathe in deep. “This is going to be awesome. I can’t wait for it.”
I glance in the mirror to check out my wedding dress one last time and I really see what my friends were saying about me. It’s a sweet dress with a lacy floral design, to fit in with my love for everything hippy, but it has a princess feel to it as well. I’m sure that Wesley will be in one of his trade mark clean cut crisp suits, making him look the total opposite to me, but we are a classic case of opposites attract and it works well.
Our wedding symbolizes that as well. Right now, we are at a posh hotel. The reception party will be in the hall in here, where it is all posh and glamorous. But our actual ceremony will be in the orchard outside. It isn’t quite bare foot in the woods, but it’s pretty damn close. As close as I need. Plus, the outside element of it means that the kids can run wild out there and it won’t be an issue for anyone.
With such a big incredible family and an awesome circle of friends as well, we can’t expect it to be a quiet affair. But I have spent far too much of my life living in the quiet. I love the noise now.
I hope you are looking at me now, Grandma, I think, hoping that she is out there somewhere, in the afterlife, watching me live this awesome life of mine. Because I finally have it all.
God, I wish that she was here. I wish she could be here to walk me down the aisle. I’m okay with Brad doing it, since he’s Wesley’s father figure and a great friend to me as well, but I would have loved her to do it. There hasn’t been anyone in the world who deserves the job more. But since that isn’t possible, I can just hope that she’s up there somewhere, watching me proudly on the happiest day of my whole damn life.
“Okay, are you ready?” Jessica finally asks me. “Because much as I love this hotel room, it’s time for you to get hitched already. Unless you have cold feet and you want to run away.”
“Oh, no chance.” I grin. “I have been waiting for this day forever.”
“Right, come on then. Let’s get going. Let’s go and get you married to the love of your life.”
She holds out her arm to me and Meghan does the same. I link them both and we walk out the room and down the stairs towards the outside area. The sun is shining brightly, glittering through and making the whole set up that much more beautiful. Everyone else is there already, really enjoying the sun shine and the fun.
“This is lovely, isn’t it?” I comment to my friends. “A really nice day for everyone.”
“Only you wouldn’t want your wedding day to be just about you,” Meghan laughs. “Only you wouldn’t mind not being the center of attention. You really are something else, Zoe Portwood.”
“Portwood for now. Soon to be Smith.” God I can’t wait. The Smith name comes with so much love and affection, so much family, so much everything. It makes the world a brighter place. “Oh look.” My breath gets caught in my throat. “And there is my husband to be now. Doesn’t he look handsome.”
I watch as he holds James in one arm and hugs Maddie with the other, l
oving how he’s become the most doting father ever. He’s really made up for not being around at the early stages in Maddie’s life by taking on such a massive role in his son’s life. He actually does the lion’s share of the harder jobs.
“Okay, we need to get started,” I say impatiently. “I need this man to be my husband already. I can’t wait.”
Meghan rushes off to get Brad, to get this started, and I try to curb my nervous anticipation as I do. I’m excited, thrilled, but anxious as well. Nervous because I don’t know if I can hold myself back.
“This is going to be amazing,” Jessica whispers reassuringly to me. “And remember, I’m the one who always wanted you to be careful, but I know now that this is the right thing for you to do. The wedding will be perfect, and you will have your happy ever after as well. You and Wesley are meant to be.”
I love the way that those words feel because I know that she’s right. We haven’t been through all of these things, suffered all those dramas, not to end up apart.
“I think we are as well, and I can’t wait. He’s a great person and I’m glad we got a second chance.”
“Just make the most of it. Really enjoy it because that is what you deserve.”
“Thank you, Jessica, you are an awesome friend as always.”
Brad comes to my side with a big smile and he hugs me. “My brother is a lucky man to be marrying someone so lovely,” he tells me gently. “I’m so glad that you’re finally getting married.”
“We took our time to get here,” I admit. “But I’m glad that it’s happening.”
“Then, let’s get this show on the road.”
The harp music and steel drums start up, giving me a shiver up and down my spine. I cling on to Brad as my friends and bridesmaids walk up the aisle in front of us. At one point, Maddie runs out and nearly trips Jessica up because she’s so desperate to hug her, but that only makes everyone laugh. It isn’t a big disaster.
Over everyone’s heads, I look at Wesley, the man of my dreams, and I smile lovingly at him. He shouldn’t be the man of my dreams, he definitely isn’t the person I imagined marrying when I was younger, but he is made for me just as I am him. My suited, straight laced man who does what he can to make me happy.
“Wow,” he mouths as soon as I’m close enough to him. “You look beautiful.”
I giggle girlishly, feeling a heat creeping up through my cheeks as I take in the compliment. Once Brad is close enough to Wesley to let go of me, I take my fiancé’s hands instead. Brad heads behind Wesley to take his next role on as best man, along with all the other Smith brothers, which I think is something that they have probably all done, and we get ready for the minister to start with the vows.
“You look incredible yourself,” I tell Wesley seriously. “You’re making my heart race.”
“I want to kiss you, but I think I have to wait until I’m told to.”
“Since when have we ever followed the rule?”
I give him a wink before rising up on to my tip toes to kiss him ever so gently. This is the last kiss that we will ever share as just partners rather than husband and wife, so I want to make the most of it. I hook my hand around the back of his next and really savor every moment of his lips.
“I love you,” I whisper as I pull back. “And I can’t wait to be your wife.”
“I love you too. You have no idea how much. Now, shall we start on with our wedding?”
I nod, excited for our happy ever after. Because this isn’t the end of the story for me and Wesley, this is just the beginning. Our love and our family are going to grow every single day, our passion, our fun, our enjoyment of one another… the next page will begin tomorrow when we go on our honeymoon, then the rest of our lives lay ahead of us.
I absolutely cannot wait.
I hope you enjoyed reading Unexpected Baby. If you love Second Chance Romance, keep reading for an excerpt from my other bestseller Head Over Heels.
Excerpt
A shattered heart, and a damaged spirit…what do the two have in common?
An explosive chemistry, secrets, danger…
Falling in love with the girl next door who’s just turned an adult was never the plan!
But she’s tempting, alluring, exciting and I can’t stop myself from being drawn in to her dangerous world.
The deeper I sink, the harder it will be to get out,
Yet, I can’t stop myself from falling…
Head over heels in love with her.
Ellie will create an explosion in my life,
I just know it.
But love makes you do some pretty crazy things, right?
And I’m going to win her back.
No matter what it takes!
Oliver
“I don’t know what your obsession with independent films is!” Rosie laughs loudly. “I get that sometimes they offer something a bit different to mainstream, but they are mostly just pretentious.”
“Oh, come on.” I shove her playfully. “It’s better than watching a typical Hollywood script that you have already seen a million times before. You can’t predict the plot of an indie film. I like it.”
“Well, you’re just lucky that I like you.” She crunches the popcorn loudly. “Otherwise I would kick your ass and put on a chick flick that I can actually enjoy.” She rolls her eyes. “You better hope this gets better.”
I lean back on the couch and pretend that I’m still watching the film too, but it’s hard for me to focus on the plot when I’m with Rosie. It always has been challenging to focus on anything but her. She’s always a distraction, no matter whatever is going on in my life that I always find myself looking at her, thinking about her…
The funny thing is we did just started off as friends. She moved in next door and we just started chatting and we clicked. It was cool to have someone around the same age as me who I could connect with. Who I have something in common with. I might have five brothers who I adore and am very close to, especially since our parents were killed in a car accident when we were just kids, but I don’t have too much in common with them. Brad is much older than all of us, thirteen years older than me so he’s in his mid-thirties and I’m just twenty three years old, with very different priorities. He’s great and I can always talk to him, but I don’t know if he always gets me. Then there are the twins – Alex the rock star and Angelo the cheeky chap – who are only a year younger than me, but closer to one another. Then there is Wesley, the hyper intelligent one of us who I secretly think might change the world, and Nelson who has just left high school. I have always felt a bit in the middle, a bit of an outcast because I’m quieter and a lot more serious than the others… at least I am when I’m not around Rosie.
But Rosie brings out the more fun side of me, she always has done that. I barely even noticed that my feelings for her were shifting from pure friendship to something deeper. I never acted on it because she has been with Tristan forever, but my feelings for her have always been there, haunting me like a torture. It’s that very reason why my friendship has only ever been with Rosie. I don’t know Tristan at all, and I don’t want to. It would kill me to see them together.
Last year, it all got worse because I thought that she might feel the same way as well. She invited me to an event with her because she and Tristan had broken up again and she wanted me to help make him jealous, and it was wonderful. We danced, we spent time together, it was all very romantic… and then we kissed. I really assumed that it was the moment that she noticed her feelings for me as well. I held on to the fantasy that everything was going to change, and it would finally be the start of the rest of our lives together… until Tristan grabbed her and basically begged her to get back with him, which she did. Clearly, she didn’t feel the same way about the kiss that I did, which was devastating. It whipped the foundation of my life out from underneath me and I wasn’t sure if I could ever recover again. I didn’t think that I would be able to be back here with Rosie again.
But I am, and it
’s okay. I still think that there might be a little bit of tension between us, it isn’t exactly as it was but it’s okay. I don’t even really know how I feel about her anymore. If I examine it too closely, I don’t think I’m still into her in the same way. Over the last twelve months I have accepted that it isn’t ever going to happen. We had our shot and it vanished into nothingness. It didn’t come to anything. I don’t think I want her like that anymore, I just feel strange and a little bit numb. Of course, I still don’t like thinking that much about her and Tristan, but I’m sure that’s more because it’s awkward than anything else.
“Who is that character now?” Rosie suddenly demands, dragging me from my thoughts. “She hasn’t been in the movie before. I don’t understand. Now she just pops up and is integral? I don’t get it.”
“Oh, Rosie, you are reading too much into it,” I try to deflect because I don’t want to admit that I haven’t got a clue what’s going on either. If I do, I lose my right to choose the movie again. “It will soon become obvious exactly who she is and what she’s doing. You just need to wait, that’s all.”
She shoots me an untrusting look. “I don’t think you know. You’re lost as well, and you are just trying to torture me by making me watch this. You know, I might just kick your ass, Oliver.”
“I would like to see you try!” I roll my eyes and snort. “You know that I do karate, right?”
“You did two classes when you were about seventeen years old. You don’t know a shit about karate.”
Just as this is about to launch into one of our hilarious arguments that I know I would love but the magic of the moment is interrupted by Rosie’s cell phone blasting out. We both instantly know that it’s going to be Tristan and I’m pretty sure I catch a glimpse of what looks like guilt in her eyes. It’s almost like she knows this is weird.