“See! I had forgotten that I didn’t forget it; but look at how great it all worked out! The holidays are here and look at you! You are positively stunning.”
Ava turned and looked at herself in the mirror for possibly the tenth time. This was it; she was marrying Brian McCabe. The wedding was a much different affair than Ava had ever dreamed of for herself. For starters, they were skipping the Callahan tradition of having the wedding on Christmas Eve up in Asheville and the bride and groom were not spending their wedding night in the infamous cottage.
“Are you sure I look okay?” Ava asked nervously.
“Fishing for compliments?”
She couldn’t help but grin. “No…yes…maybe; I don’t know. Gosh, I’m so nervous! Why am I so darn nervous?”
“Because it’s your wedding day! You’ve been planning this for a year and now it’s finally arrived!”
“Do you think Brian’s nervous?”
Lacey shook her head. “I think he is just anxious to get this all over with and I for one can’t blame him.”
“This was a lot of work,” Ava admitted. “I mean, I didn’t use a binder or anything this time but just the whole process of getting here was more than a little exhausting.”
“Yes, I’m sure that picking up the phone and screaming ‘We’re going to Vegas!’ had to wear you out,” Lacey deadpanned.
“You know, it was harder than it sounds. There were flights to coordinate and then deal with the disappointment that we weren’t going to have a whole big gala event…I’m telling you, it wasn’t easy.”
“Personally, I think it’s great. When you gave me and Ean your wedding two years ago, at first I was disappointed that I didn’t get to really plan anything, but in the end, we enjoyed ourselves so much more! We were able to relax and celebrate and have fun.”
“I know this isn’t the wedding that anyone ever thought I would have…”
Lacey waved her off. “Don’t worry about that; you know your folks are going to have a big party for you after Christmas.”
“No, I know, but Brian and I tossed around so many ideas and we wanted something that was quirky and fun and not like anything anyone we knew had ever done before.”
“Seriously? And you thought Vegas was the way to go? The land of the drive-thru wedding chapel?”
“Ha, ha, very funny.”
“Am I wrong?”
“As a matter of fact you are,” Ava stated. “It’s not like we’re getting married by an Elvis impersonator. We have done some extensive research…”
“You decided on this two days ago,” Lacey reminded.
“After some extensive research!” Ava cried. “Now hush up and let me talk! Anyway, we wanted something different and while everyone thinks of a Vegas wedding being in some cheesy drive-thru chapel,” she stared pointedly at her friend, “the truth is that there are some absolutely amazing places here to get married.”
“Okay, fine; I take it back. You are unique.” At that moment, Olivia toddled over and lifted her arms up to her mother. “And I hate to be a spoil sport because I appreciate that you wanted Olivia to be a part of this, but it took a little bit of the fun out of it for me and Ean. We were hoping for a second honeymoon of our own.”
“Too bad,” Ava said as she checked her reflection and fixed her lipstick. “You already got more out of my last wedding than I did; this time it’s all about me, baby.”
“I can’t even argue with that,” Lacey said as she picked up her daughter who was donned in a frilly pastel blue dress that matched her eyes. “So where are we going? You’ve been a little quiet about it.”
“We will be having an outdoor ceremony at Mt. Charleston.”
“The mountains? Seriously? You said that you didn’t want to get married in the mountains!”
“I said we didn’t want to get married in Asheville; big difference. We both love the mountains but we just didn’t want the ceremony in those particular ones. Does that make sense?”
“It does,” Lacey sighed. “So, outdoor ceremony at Mt. Charleston. Okay; are we ready to go?”
Ava stood and smoothed her princess style gown. It was more ornate than the one she had chosen two years earlier, but something about Brian made her feel more feminine and princess-like. It felt wonderful.
They had opted for an ultra-private ceremony with only Lacey, Ean and Olivia in attendance. As Lacey had stated earlier, they’d have a more casual reception after Christmas; this wedding was purely about the two of them and the commitment they were finally making to one another.
There was no denying that people were shocked at their decision to ultimately elope, but in light of the wedding that Ava had planned and abandoned two years earlier, they all ultimately understood. Brian didn’t care where he married Ava, just the fact that they were finally getting married.
As the limo pulled up to the site, Ava’s tummy was full of butterflies and she anxiously looked to Lacey. “I’m nervous! I really shouldn’t be nervous! This is what I want; what I’ve been dreaming of.”
Lacey reached over and grabbed one of Ava’s hands. “It’s natural; I knew that I loved Ean and couldn’t wait to be his wife and yet that walk down the aisle was the most nerve wracking.” She smiled. “C’mon, let’s go and have a wedding!”
They emerged from the limo and were escorted down a path that had been lined with a white carpet that led them to where Brian was standing and waiting. The wedding coordinator stopped her about fifty feet from him and cued Lacey and Olivia to walk ahead of her. There was a harpist off to the left and Ean stood beside Brian, both looking so handsome in their tuxedos.
When Lacey made it to the preacher’s side, Ava was cued to begin her walk. She felt a moment of sadness at not having her parents with her, but one look at Brian and she knew that all was going to be fine. The closer she got, the calmer she felt. Her long gown flowed on the covered path and all around her she could see nature at its finest; the mountains, the wild flowers and the sunshine were just the perfect touch.
As she finally came to face to face with the man who would soon be her husband, she felt nothing but peace. Her whole life had led to this very moment. There were no more yesterdays, only the promise of tomorrow and the wonderful future that they were going to share.
The pastor spoke briefly and then it was their turn to speak their vows.
“Ava,” Brian began softly. “You came into my life in a most unusual way and I knew from our first meeting that you were the woman for me. I knew that the timing wasn’t right for us just then, but I also knew that I would wait an eternity for you. You are my love and my life; you are my everything. I promise to love you all of the days of my life.” He placed the ring on her finger.
Taking a deep breath, Ava took her turn. “Brian, nothing could have surprised me more than your declaration of love. It was the most amazing thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to be perfect for you but you taught me that I don’t need to be; I just need to be me. Thank you for encouraging me to be myself and to live, love and laugh – mostly at myself,” she said cheekily. “You are my strength; you make me believe that anything is possible.” And then she quoted the words she once said to him. “You are my every hope, my every dream; you are my knight in shining armor and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather live my fairytale with than you. I promise to love you all of the days of my life.” And she placed the ring on his finger.
“By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I hereby pronounce you, man and wife,” the preacher declared. “You may now kiss your bride.”
And Brian did just that. It was a kiss that sealed a promise and it went on and on until Ean discreetly cleared his throat to get their attention.
Olivia had taken to picking the wildflowers and the photographer had sort of wandered off and followed her while the bride and groom continued to kiss. When they finally broke apart they turned to look at their friends who were beaming at them. Hands were shaken, hugs were exchanged and soon they were piled into one
of the limos and headed back to their hotel for a celebratory dinner.
Later that night, when it was just the two of them, Ava wrapped herself tightly next to Brian and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For not giving up on me,” she said simply.
“You were worth fighting for.”
She smiled and sighed. “It took us a long time to get here. I’m sorry that I made you wait.”
Brian pulled her in tighter. “I’m not. I think we had the perfect day; we made it purely about us and not about other people’s expectations or traditions and we made this day our own.”
Raising her head she smiled down at him. “All of my life I thought that it was a specific place that held the key to my happily-ever-after, but it didn’t.”
Taking one of her hands, Brian placed it on his chest over his heart. “Yes it did, Ava. Do you feel my heart? That’s the place that holds the key to our ever after.” And with that he gently pulled her down for another kiss; thankful for the start of their new life and the promise of their happy ending.
About the Author
Contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40's to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.
Her second book, a holiday novella titled "The Christmas Cottage" climbed the Amazon charts and peaked at number ten on the Best Sellers in Women’s Fiction on Christmas Eve 2012 in books and number 116 in Kindle books. Watching the numbers rise and fall was a daily roller coaster ride but definitely an exciting one!
“Ever After” was not a planned book; the response to “The Christmas Cottage” was so great that fans of it begged to know Ava’s story. It was something that was planned for a future book but due to the many inquiries, it was moved up to be the next story written.
When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, blogging, playing way too many games of Scrabble on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 23 years and their two sons in North Carolina.
Where to Find Samantha Chase
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SamanthaChaseFanClub
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamanthaChase3
Website: http://samanthachaseauthor.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006CZWRGC
Blog: http://allstace.blogspot.com/
Tumblr: http://samanthachasewriter.tumblr.com/
Acknowledgments
As I said earlier, “Ever After” was not really planned; it was a definite future project but not something I was going to go with right away. There are two people who, more than any others, encouraged me to make this story happen and to them, I wish to dedicate this story.
To “My Biggest Fan”: Thank you for your overwhelming daily support. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t there to make me laugh until I cry on a daily basis. I pray that I never get stuck with you while in “misery” mode, but you have been such a blessing to me and made me believe that I could keep doing what I am doing. Loving you! Meaning it! And I can say it without crayons and angry eyebrows!
To My Fashion Consultant: Thank you for making me think outside the box and filling my closet with sparkly sweaters and skinny pants! Thank you for embracing my love of the color blue and for not killing me for emulating you with that sassy cardigan! I’m so glad that I proved you wrong and that I did last and that we get to spend most of our week hanging out laughing, dreaming of a better place to spend our time and planning our next outing to the Outback for some steak. Thank you for supporting me in this endeavor and encouraging me to do more.
You two ladies are awesome!
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Ever After (The Christmas Cottage - Book 2) Page 13