by Alexa Davis
I thought it was a moment just for us, but as we pulled apart I chuckled loudly at the camera flashes that seemed to come from the audience.
“Uh oh, now that will be the picture in all the papers tomorrow.”
“Oh well,” she shrugged happily. “At least the building’s in the background. It can’t be all bad.”
“Definitely not. With you around, it’s all good.”
Olivia turned and raised our hands up high. Certain people standing in front of us might have thought that they knew our story because of what they’d read, but they didn’t. No one fully knew anything about me and Olivia, but they celebrated in our love anyway, which felt nice.
***
“Wow, that was something else,” I gasped happily as we walked further up the stairs in the apartment building than we usually did. Now, we were headed right to the top floor to our brand new home. “Crazy, wasn’t it?”
“Not as crazy as choosing to live higher up in an apartment building without a working elevator. What the hell were we thinking?”
“We were thinking that Dolly’s old apartment was the penthouse suite, twice the size of both of ours, and that we wouldn’t have to move our stuff too far,” I replied smilingly. “Also we were thinking it wouldn’t be too much of a change for Meghan.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know all the reasonable answers. I’m just doubting how clever that was.”
“I’ll call someone tomorrow. I’ll get the elevator replaced. No point in continually fixing it. It’ll cost a lot, but if we’re staying here, then we might as well get it done.”
“Yeah, we don’t want your leg to suffer again. Might actually be worth it.”
It had been a huge shock when Dolly said she was leaving New York to go to Paris, but actually it worked out really well. She by far had the best place in the whole building, and she left behind a bunch of furniture, too. Much nicer stuff than either Olivia or I had, so it worked out perfectly.
Our apartments were still on the market; we hadn’t yet managed to sell them, so there wasn’t too much pressure on us. We had an escape if need be, but I couldn’t see that happening anytime soon. We were happier than we’d ever been, and that just kept building every single day.
“It’s not that bad, Mommy,” Meghan announced as she bounced up the stairs, showing off that boundless energy she had. “I like living further up.”
“Yeah, it’s alright for you though, you never get tired. Mommy can’t hack it like you can!” Olivia smiled brightly at her daughter. “But it’s good you like it; it’s important to me that you’re happy in your new home.”
“I never want to go back. There’s much more room here. Plus, I like it with Zack in our house, too. It’s fun.”
That touched me greatly. To be so accepted by Meghan was incredible. We actually had this really awesome bond building between us, which I hoped would only get stronger.
“Yeah, I bet it helps that you have all my games, too,” I teased. “But thanks, Meg, I like having you in the same house, as well.”
To think I originally wrote Olivia off because she had a child, and now I loved Meghan dearly. I couldn’t wait until we really became a family, all three of us. Maybe to the rest of the world we were moving too fast, but I truly didn’t feel it. I felt like I wanted to keep on moving rapidly down this rollercoaster because it was the best ride of my whole damn life.
I pushed open the door and let Meghan run inside. She raced into her bedroom, which she was very proud of. She had it decorated in a superhero theme, which I’d already promised her to do more of. I wanted to get in a painter to create some sort of mural, and I also wanted to ensure she had all the toys she needed. She deserved it.
“Wow, she really does love it here,” Olivia laughed. “And somehow, the stairs don’t tire her out at all. Would you like a coffee? I feel like I need some caffeine to get me through the rest of the afternoon. That tired me out.”
“Yeah, sounds good.” I glanced around the apartment, trying to work out what I wanted to do next. “Thanks, Liv.”
“Liv?” She spun on her heels and flashed her eyes angrily at me. “You cannot call me Liv ever.”
“Why not? Don’t you want a cute nickname?”
“Urgh, not that.” Her nose screwed up in disgust. Her hands flew on her hips, which made her look adorable rather than mad. “That makes me sound so…old. I don’t like it at all.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll keep on thinking.” I held up my hands in a surrendering gesture. “I understand. Sorry, Olivia.”
As the coffee brewed I moved over towards the white, leather couch. It wasn’t one I would’ve picked out for myself, it seemed like it’d get messy far too easily, but Dolly had left it behind and we decided to stick to it for now. I decided to get myself down onto one knee quickly because it took me too long to do it coolly. I only had one good leg left and while my other one was much better, it still wasn’t perfect.
Having Olivia turn around to find me in that position was the only way it would work.
“Are you having coffee or… Oh my God, what are you doing?” Her hands clapped across her mouth as she spotted me on the ground. “Zack, what are you doing? What is that in your hand?”
“It’s a ring,” I told her gleefully. The shock on her face had me ecstatic – I wanted it to be a surprise. “I picked it out a few weeks ago.” Her eyes flickered over the diamond with her eyes bugging out of her head. “Because I knew even then that I want you to be my wife.”
“You do?” she began to shake all over, she looked visibly stunned. “You actually want me to be your wife?”
“Not just that, I want to officially adopt Meghan, too, if you’ll let me. I want us to be a real family. I already know that I love you both incredibly and will always want to be with you.”
Tears streamed down Olivia’s cheeks, but they seemed to be happy tears, so I continued on actually giving her the speech that I’d planned in my head beforehand.
“Olivia, ever since you first walked into my life, I’ve felt something strong for you. At first, you were just the annoying neighbor, then you became the girl that I really wanted to kiss in the shadow of darkness at the zoo.” She giggled at the memory, just as I hoped she would. “And then, I started to fall. Deeper and deeper, head over heels. So what do you say? Will you be my wife?”
“Oh my goodness, of course I will!” she put me out of my misery quickly. “Zack, you have no idea what this means to me. I don’t even know what to say. This is all so lovely.”
I slipped the ring onto Olivia’s finger and allowed her to pull me upright. Then we kissed so lovingly it cemented everything.
“And as for adopting Meghan,” she said between my lips. “That’s fine by me, but you’ll have to ask her. And she might not be as easy to win around as me.”
“Ooh, now I’m worried. Do you think I need to panic?”
“She’s tough,” Olivia nodded knowingly. “But luckily she loves you, so you might just be okay.”
I glanced towards her bedroom. “Right, here goes nothing. I’m going to ask her now. Wish me luck!”
Epilogue
Olivia
3 Weeks Later
My heart raced as the music started up. Finally, it was my time to shine. I had the long, flowing white dress on, the flowers clutched between my fingers, my bridesmaid behind me, but it still was a strange thought that I was actually getting married.
It was fair. I only got engaged three short weeks ago, after all. But since we didn’t want a huge fuss, there wasn’t any point in waiting. We decided to get married quickly in the back yard of Zack’s childhood home before the builders came in and turned the house into a shelter. It was a sweet, beautiful place, and the perfect way for Zack to say goodbye.
“Are you ready, Mommy?” Meghan asked from behind me. She looked adorable in her purple dress with flowers all over it. Of course she had her Spiderman mask covering her eyes, but I didn’t mind that. It was just so her. “You look like
a princess.”
“Oh, thank you, sweetie. I am ready, but I think I’d feel much better if you were holding my hand?”
“But Grandpa’s holding your hand?” Of course, my dad was giving me away; things were slowly getting so much better for us and now I felt like he could see that while he didn’t agree with every decision I made, he could see that I’d still done well for myself.
Meghan was doing great, I was progressing well in my new managerial position, and I had a wonderful man who wanted to do everything for me and my child. Dad liked Zack, and he could see that we had something special between us. This time, he was very supportive.
“I have another hand.” I extended it out to her. “Come on, I need you to help get me through this.”
I walked slowly in time to the music with a beaming smile on my lips. All the people we loved, all the people that had helped us on our journey, were sitting in the back yard supporting us. Drea, Zack’s father, my mom, Tess… It truly was the perfect celebration.
My eyes finally found my fiancé, soon to be husband, who looked absolutely incredible in his suit. As he spotted me in my elegant, sleek gown, his eyes bugged happily. Having a traditional gown was the one thing I’d insisted on, and now I was really glad. I loved to feel like a princess, if only for one day.
“Hi,” I mouthed at Zack as my dad and Meghan finally let me go. “You look good.”
“So do you.”
“We are gathered here today…” Lark started in a loud, booming voice. When Zack told me we could easily wed quickly because Lark was already ordained, I thought that he was joking. But no, it was real, and actually it felt good to be married by one of our friends – it made it feel even more personalized before. “To witness the marriage of Olivia Larson and Zack Taylor. For those of you who do not know, these two haven’t always had the easiest ride, but what they’ve always had is love. I’ve never known a couple so suited to each other, and I’m glad that they’re getting married.”
Zack took my hands, and I held onto him tightly. Everything Lark said was the truth: we really did have love, and it was enough to get us through anything that life threw at us in the future.
“So without further ado, let’s get started. Zack Taylor, do you take Olivia Larson to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do you part?”
“Of course I do,” he replied happily. “Are you insane? Of course!”
Lark chuckled. “And do you, Olivia Larson, take Zack Taylor to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do you part?”
“I do,” I replied thickly through the emotion.
“So does anyone have any objections?”
“Lark!” we both cried out gleefully. “Stop it will you?”
“Alright then… I guess it’s time to kiss the bride.”
Zack scooped me up in his arms and dipped me low to the ground before he pressed his lips against mine. The action shocked me and made my heart beat rapidly, but in the loveliest way possible.
“Just before we go, I have an announcement to make,” Zack said loudly before we walked back down the aisle. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and waved it in front of everyone. “Three weeks ago, I asked this wonderful woman to be my wife.” I smiled at the sweet memory, in a way it felt like forever ago. “And, I also asked her lovely daughter if she would let me adopt her.”
“Me!” Meghan cried out. “That’s me, I said yes.”
A titter of laughter burst out around the room. I squeezed Zack’s hand reassuringly, this was a massive step for all of us, but it was a truly positive one. I hoped that everyone felt the same way about it. “Yes, so I filed for it and the application has now gone through. I have officially adopted Meghan – she is mine.”
I glanced around as everyone cheered, trying to see if anyone didn’t agree with what we’d done, but all I got back were smiles. Luckily, our loved ones were totally in agreement with our decisions.
“But that’s not all.” A hush fell over the garden as Zack moved onto the next part of his announcement. I was very excited about this part. “This isn’t just my wedding day today.” Eyebrows furrowed and confused sounds burst through people’s lips. “My father is also going to get married today to his beautiful girlfriend, Drea. If you think me and Olivia have moved quick, then you should look at this pair!” Cue more laughter, but it was a little quieter this time because everyone was stunned. “But seriously, they’re so damn happy, it’s sickening. They deserve one another, and I’m really pleased for them both.”
Zack took mine and Meghan’s hands as we went to take our seats in the audience to watch the second wedding of the day take place. Zack was actually the one who suggested this idea to his father when we both saw how happy Drea made him, and he was very quick to agree. I didn’t mind sharing my wedding day, at all.
Meghan loved Drea anyway, so this was ever better for her. She got to keep everyone that she adored, and our family got to grow bigger. Only a few weeks ago it was just the two of us, and now we had this awesome New York family.
“They look happy,” I whispered quietly to Zack. “Don’t you think?”
“I do, and I know that my mom would approve of Drea. So that’s good.” He had spoken a lot about his mother over the last few days, so it was clear she was on his mind a lot. It all seemed to be very happy memories, though, which suggested to me that he was in a good place. “I think it’s all worked out in the best way.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
The vows were spoken, the emotions were shared, and I found myself feeling all the love with them. I felt like I understood their relationship better than most people because I’d been involved with something of a whirlwind romance myself. I knew what it felt like to fall quick, and I understood how impatient you felt when you knew that it was right.
Drea and Zack’s father would make it last, I felt certain of it. Even if others weren’t sure, I knew. They were surprisingly made for one another.
As soon as the second wedding was done, a party atmosphere overtook the day. The booze came out, the food began to circle, and everyone fell into a really happy time. It was the most amazing start to the rest of my life that I ever could have hoped for.
“Mommy, I’m tired.” It finally became too much for Meghan, and she tugged on my dress. “Can I go to bed now?”
I leaned down to her level and pulled her in for a hug. “Are you going to be okay here this weekend while Zack and I go away for a couple of days?” We could only make it to Cape Cod for a couple of days because we had too many responsibilities here, but that was enough. Just some alone time to celebrate our new marriage was enough.
“Yeah. I’ll have Grandma and Grandpa. And Drea and other Grandpa.” She looked up at me with wide, inquisitive eyes. “I can call him that now, can’t I? And I can call Zack Daddy, too?”
Tears filled my eyes. Emotions absolutely flooded me. “You do whatever feels right for you, sweetie. If you want to call them Daddy and Grandpa, you do that.”
“I do,” she smiled. “And, it’ll be fun having a sleepover with everyone.”
In a bid to get to know one another better, our parents and Drea had agreed to stay in the house over the weekend with Meghan. I also hadn’t ever been away from my daughter before for longer than a few working hours, so it felt better to me to have more people watching her.
“Good; well, I’ll get Grandma now to put you to sleep.” I kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight, baby, and I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Yes, goodnight, Mommy.”
I watched in happy awe as Meghan made her way over to Zack to say goodnight to him. I loved watching them together – it warmed my heart to see their amazing connection. There was a moment where I assumed she called him Daddy for the very first time because he actually let a happy tear fall out of his eye.
That felt better than a million “I dos” e
ver could.
Once Meghan went up to bed with my mother looking after her, Zack moved to my side. “Are you ready to get going? I think the party’s winding down, and we need to get checked into the hotel.”
“Yeah sure, I’m ready.” I was growing tired anyway. I needed to rest before it got the better of me. Plus I couldn’t wait to start our very short honeymoon. “Let’s get going.”
As Zack held my hand all the way to the car, I was filled with the sense that this was my husband now, not just my boyfriend. We really were a united front, it was us against the world and that felt absolutely awesome.
“I really do love you, you know?” I told him spontaneously. “I’ve had a wonderful day with you.”
He spun around and kissed me gently. “I love you, too, very much. I’m so proud to call you my wife.”
I grabbed his hand excitedly and finally moved it down my body. “I have some news to share with you,” I announced as I rested his hand on my belly. “I found out this morning.”
His eyes snapped open, and his face went through a whole range of expressions. It was almost as if he didn’t quite know what to think yet. “Are you saying…”
“Yes,” I giggled. “I’m telling you that our family’s about to get bigger again. I’m pregnant. We’re having a baby.”
“That’s the best news I’ve ever heard!” Zack almost yelled as he lifted me from the ground. “I can’t believe it, you make me so, so happy.”
I felt it, too. Zack and I finally had our happy ever after, and in truth, it was only the beginning to our story. I couldn’t wait to see how the rest of it played out.
ROUGH
By Alexa Davis
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.