With his words, with the way I was feeling, I knew that he was being truthful and I’d never have to worry about being let down again.”
***
Nicholas
When Luke received the call from Alex letting him know that I needed to get my ass up and my shit together because my girl wanted to see me, I didn’t think it was going to be so quick. I thought if I got to see her again it would be weeks down the road. I had been trying to prepare myself for the possibility that she might never wanted to see me again.
I knew that if I ever got a chance that I would not lie to her, nor would I ever keep a secret from her.
Scurrying up the stairs, I jumped into the shower, making sure I was presentable. I dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. I don’t think she’d ever seen me like this, I don’t know if she would even like me this way.
Grabbing all of my things, I made sure to grab the one thing off my dresser that I hoped she would accept.
That morning I went to the jeweler to get the ring I had custom made for Christianna. In my mind it was beautiful and fit her perfectly. It wasn’t until he held the ring out for me to inspect that not even in my dreams could I have ever imagined anything so beautiful.
Slipping it into my pocket, I grabbed my keys before finding Luke downstairs. He told me exactly where she was.
When I got to the hotel, I was surprised to find my baby girl, Evelyn, and Alex in the lobby. I wanted to take Layla and go upstairs to see her mother with me. I knew she couldn’t get upset if I was holding our sweet girl. Instead, I kissed her and hugged her—my heart was beating so quickly, like at any moment it could have jumped out of my chest. When Layla started to cry, I was just about to say to heck with all this and take her. Instead, Alex handed me her keycard and told me to get going and not to fuck it up.
Thanking them both, I kissed my baby girl one more time before I ran for the elevator bank. Once in the elevator it moved at lightning speed. I was on the right floor before I realized it. I stood outside of the door for several minutes before I slipped the card in.
When I pushed the door open, the sight before me took my breath away. My girl was standing on the balcony, her hair highlighted by the blue of the sky. When she turned and saw me, I was unprepared for her to come toward me. I braced myself for the worst; instead I was pleasantly surprised.
Her lack of speech was used to my advantage, I just prayed that she didn’t hit me after everything I told her. I was beyond words when she jumped into my arms and let me hold her. I just chanted how much I loved her and Layla over and over, hoping that she would know how serious I was.
At some point while I was holding her, she had curled herself into me and gently fell asleep. I knew that with everything she’d been through that her body was still trying to recover.
Picking her up, I carried her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. I climbed in behind her and just held her while she slept. I didn’t take my eyes off her at all. I was afraid if I drifted off or if I looked away it could all be some elaborate dream and I wasn’t going to take that chance.
I don’t know how long we lay there, it was way after the sun set. I wish I had a camera so I could take a picture of her as the purples and blues of the upcoming night sky danced across her face. She slept so peacefully, every now and then she’d shudder or shake, as if something scared her. Perhaps she was having some form of nightmares. I would have to see if she wanted to seek some sort of help for the trauma she suffered.
Stroking her hair, I watched as her head involuntarily followed my hand, as if she was seeking my touch as she slept. I knew she wanted me and I was grateful. I’d never let anyone come close to harming her again.
Her body started to move slightly, as if she was trying to stretch. I tightened my grip around her torso. When I did she turned her head and her eyes opened wide. I thought she was about to bolt. Instead, she turned in my arms and snuggled into my chest.
“Good morning.” I said, kissing her hair, she snuggled in closer. “You want to do something with me today?” She nodded.
Before I could ask her anything else she pulled back and made the letter L with her fingers. “Layla?” I inquired and she nodded again.
“You want to do something with Layla and me?” She nodded harder before she moaned a little, grabbing her face.
“Don’t hurt yourself. Let me get your meds, okay?”
She sat up and watched as I left the room. When I came back she was smoothing the blanket over her lap. I handed her two pills and a bottle of water. I watched anxiously as she took several big sips from the bottle.
It was now or never, I would have to show her that I was serious about us. When she was done, I took the bottle from her and placed it on the nightstand. I reached my hand out to her, she slipped her hand into mind. I tugged a little bit so she’d understand that I wanted her to stand up with me.
Pushing away the blankets, she looked at me as she stood up. I took two steps back so she had enough space to stand before me. Slipping my hand into my pocket, I pulled out the leather box. Kissing her cheek, I whispered ‘I love you’ in her ear before I dropped to one knee.
Her mouth opened slightly with a gasp, followed by a wince. I’d apologize for that later on.
Taking her left hand in mine, I stroked her fingers before kissing her hand.
“Christianna, the moment I met you I knew you were different. You were the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen in my life and I was never so shocked to know you chose me. I thank you every day for our daughter, I never knew that I could love someone more than my own soul until I met her. You are both my life and I will move heaven and earth to show you both each and every day.” Christianna reached her hand out and stroked my face.
“I pictured making you my wife early on, and I dreamt of it. I dreamt of the ring I would put on your finger and the next morning I had it made for you.” I opened the box slowly, presenting the ring to her.
I watched as tears started to flow down her face. She knew where I was going with this, and I couldn’t wait to hear her say the word.
“Christianna Angel Thomas, you are the love of my life. Will you marry me?”
Her mouth twitched, her lips parted, and then a soft yes came from her mouth. I smiled as big as I could. I slipped the ring onto her finger, it looked even more beautiful than I could have imagined.
“We’re going to get married,” I said, standing up to hug her.
She whispered in my ear one word that solidified everything for me.
“Finally!”
Epilogue
Nicholas
February 14th, 2015.
I walked around the tent again, looking out at all of the people that had gathered here to celebrate with us. I see Layla on the dance floor dancing with my mom and dad, just laughing. I couldn’t believe she was already one and walking, let alone dancing.
The only demand that Christianna made was that she wanted Layla to be able to walk in our wedding, and she did. She walked down the aisle throwing flower petals, which caused the room to erupt in laughter when she started to just personally hand them to people she passed.
When she found Antony, who had quickly become one of her favorite people, she gave him a handful of flowers and a huge kiss. Antony may be nicknamed “The Butcher” outside of these walls, but when he is around Layla he’s a big teddy bear—although I’d never say that out loud.
I was holding Layla when the music hit, when the doors opened, and Christianna walked in. I thought my heart was going to thump out of my chest. Her wedding dress sparkled in the lights, she was a walking Angel in the flesh. Layla clapped as she saw her mommy approaching us.
When she reached us, Layla put out her hands so Christianna would take her. In true Christianna fashion, she handed her flowers off to her sister and held Layla next to her. Father Carey chuckled a little bit as we stood there as a family, ready to pledge our forevers to one another.
Christianna had to hand L
ayla off to her mother while we exchanged vows, but it didn’t matter to Layla. She ended up wiggling out of her arms to stand in between us as we professed our love for one another. She even helped me slip the ring on her mom’s finger.
Father Carey announced us as husband and wife and we shared our first kiss as a married couple. Layla had to get her kiss, she kept yelling “kiss kiss” until I picked her up and we both kissed her.
This was how my life with her was completed, in a way that I will always remember for as long as I live.
I looked all over the tent for my beauty in white, I couldn’t find her. I got anxious and worried. I tried not to alert anyone to my reaction as I made my way toward the exit.
When I saw one of the security men, I asked him if he’d see Christianna. He told me that she had driven up the hill in the golf cart. I took off running in the direction where he’d last seen her. I remembered when I put in this mini road that drove us up to the connecting piece of property where I would be building Christianna’s dream house. Right now there was a gazebo that sat overlooking the water. It was where she originally wanted to be married until our mothers pointed out they’d be put off by the construction.
When I reached the top of the hill I was able to breathe a sigh of relief as my wife stood in the middle of the structure, the wind slightly blowing her dress. The sky was turning that beautiful shade of purplish pink color I wish I could bottle up and present to her. She looked exquisite in that light.
“Did you just notice I was gone?” she asked as I stepped in the gazebo.
“Actually, I was looking for you when I got sidetracked by watching our sweet girl dancing with my parents,” I commented, wrapping my hands around her waist and hugging her tightly.
“I told Luke to tell you where I went, I guess he forgot.”
“Damn it,” I whispered, laying my chin on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, baby. So why are you out here? We’re supposed to receive our toasts and cut the cake soon.”
Turning in my arms, she clasped her hands behind my neck and kissed me.
We broke the kiss and I got excited. “Oh my girl wants to get naughty out here. Something about this property drives you crazy.”
“It does, however, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”
“Okay, here I am. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, honey, everything is perfect. Especially now that I’m pregnant.”
Pulling back, I looked at her. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes, I’m pregnant.”
“When did you find out?”
“I took a test right before I put on my wedding dress. It was positive.”
“We’re having a baby!” I exclaimed, kissing her face tenderly, breathlessly. “I didn’t think I could be happier, thank you.”
“No, thank you,” she said and I kissed her again. How the fuck did I get so lucky?
Dropping to my knees, I placed my hands on either side of her stomach and placed kisses all over the silky lace material. “Hi baby, I’m your Daddy. I can’t wait to meet you in person. You have an amazing Mommy and she’s going to keep you safe. Your sister Layla is going to be so happy when she finds out. I love you.” I kissed her stomach again.
Jumping up to full height, I kissed her again. I wanted to make love to her right here and now in celebration of our day and our big news. I was the happiest man on the fucking planet right now.
“We should get back. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I get to take you to bed and fuck you senseless,” I exclaimed.
“Well, in that case, let’s go.” She laughed, lifting her dress and walking toward the golf cart. She slid into the passenger side and looked over at me and winked.
I hadn’t moved so fast in my life, with one last kiss we were off. I held her with my arm tightly around her shoulder as she held onto me in return.
Life couldn’t get any better than this…could it?
The End
Acknowledgements
So many people I would like to thank but most importantly, my thanks go to Stephanie and Lori, two women who mean so much to me and without them I wouldn’t have wrote word one in any of the stories I’ve written.
Thanks to Erin for boosting me, Kathy for giving me confidence and telling me that I’m a good writer and I can tell a great story.
To my friend JL Brooks, I love you every moment of every day because you’re amazing. Thank you for always being a shoulder when I need it and helping me succeed in what I wanted to try.
To Virginia Carey, we were friends first and then you introduced me to Jase Dean and I became a card carrying member and huge supporter of Jaseland. Thank you for listening to me bitch, supporting me and sharing your world. Love you bunches.
And Thanks to Kendall Gray…because well, she’s fucking awesome.
Thank you to all the ladies with Limitless Publishing, you are all wonderful & amazing women. I am glad to be part of the team.
Last but not least, thanks to my family who gave me a wide berth to write my books and humoring me when I got all excited. I love you all.
About the Author
Born to an Italian mother and Filipino father, she grew up with a book in hand. Ashlee found her writing bug early on as a young child, writing short stories and vignettes for fun.
As she got older she found herself immersed in a passion for reading again. It was the book Fifty Shades of Grey that brought a renowned love for the written word. She swallowed every book she could get her hands on while befriending authors and eventually became a beta reader and helped authors work out critical scenes and help with plot progression.
What stemmed from two women with an idea, gave way to the story Finding Salvation.
Being friends with Elizabeth Hayes is unlike any other friendship she’s had. They laugh at the same things, their ideas mirror one another at the same time, their brains seem to work hand in hand.
Ashlee’s turned her love of writing into a two part series with good friend Elizabeth Hayes and is working toward the release of several solo works starting with Can’t Walk Away.
Facebook:
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http://www.ashleetaylorauthor.com/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8338499.Ashlee_Taylor
Can't Walk Away (The Thomas Family Chronicles #1) Page 30