I made my way to the top of the aisle and stopped. The guests all stood as the music changed and I made my solo journey to where Max and Joe stood. Max was looking right at me and whispering to Joe beside him but for whatever reason Joe seemed reluctant to look back at me. I knew he wasn’t superstitious, thinking that looking back at me might mean bad luck so I wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to see me. Then I saw him take a deep breath and turn around and in that instant I knew why. His eyes were pooled with tears, he was shaking with nerves. I’d never seen him look so terrified, but when I came up next to him after passing off my flowers to Robyn, he turned and grabbed both of my hands and the love I saw in his eyes overwhelmed me.
“You look too beautiful.” He whispered looking from my dress to my face and back again, then he cupped my face and kissed me.
Half the guests gave an ‘ahh’ whilst the others laughed. Chris’s distinctive voice called out, “You’re supposed to kiss her at the end not the beginning.” And we laughed.
As the ceremony commenced we held hands and looked into each other’s eyes, meaning every word we spoke and oblivious to anyone else around us. As the officiant conducting the vows mentioned blessing our union with children Joe rubbed his hand over my tummy proudly and I smiled. Then we said the words we both wanted to hear, ‘I do’. We hadn’t written our own vows. I know some people may find that strange considering how totally head over heels in love we were, but putting all that I felt for Joe into words seemed a near impossible task. The words just didn’t exist. Joe felt the same so we decided to stick to the standard wedding vows. Once those were over and the officiant announced ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife…’ the guests all cheered and applauded. I hadn’t expected that and I could help but laugh, then Joe kissed me, a proper heart stopping kiss to seal the deal. I was oblivious to anyone else from then on, it was only me and Joe, and I couldn’t wait to start my life with him as Mrs Ella Madden.
Epilogue
Five years later…
Joe
My favourite part of the day was coming home to my family. It was a busy time for JM Fitness, after setting up a further five clubs in the U.K over the last few years we were heading across the channel to open a new club in France and then Germany later this year. With all the stress that entailed, it made me thankful I had these wonderful human beings to come home to at the end of the day. They kept me grounded and made sure I didn’t take on too much, but delegated to my team as much as possible. My time with them was the most precious thing I had so I fought to get every minute I could.
I pulled into the garage next to my new baby blue 1961 Jaguar E-Type and turned the engine off. I knew I’d find them in the garden, it was summer and the sun was still up giving Ella some bonus sunbathing hours. I headed around the side of our house and stopped when I saw them. My breath always caught in my throat even now when I watched them like this, I still couldn’t believe they were mine.
Freddie was four and a half now and loved digging the garden up. We’d brought him his own gardening set and given him a patch of land to plant his seeds in an effort to stop him digging up the lawn. He was biting his lip and leaning over his patch frowning. I wondered what was going on under all that dark curly hair of his. He was probably wondering why the seeds he planted with Ella yesterday weren’t sprouting already. We tried explaining that he needed to water them and wait but waiting a week or so for a green shoot was a long time for a kid Freddie’s age. Ella had brought some plants to sneakily put into the ground when Freddie was asleep tonight so he wouldn’t have to wait any longer, but we had given him another day to try and get him to be more patient. He was my double, and he had no patience like me, but he was kind and loving like Ella. He started patting the soil and singing to himself. He made my heart hurt, he was too adorable.
On the path Millie-Rose was barking out orders in her three year old bossy way. She had a mass of blonde curls like her Mum and liked to tell anyone who’d listen how things should be. She wasn’t shy in the slightest and had that go getter trait that I had. She was Daddy’s princess and I defied any male to come into my house and try to date her. I told her as often as I could that she couldn’t date until she was thirty and I had a shotgun just the same as Nanny Jean’s to chase any boys away until then. She wasn’t impressed and usually shouted for her Mother to tell me to stop. She was currently in love with five boys in her day nursery that Ella took her to twice a week, but I didn’t want to hear it. If anyone thought I was protective of my Ella, then they hadn’t seen anything yet.
Totally oblivious to Millie-Rose’s orders to leave the stones alone was our little bruiser Joe Junior or JJ as we called him. He was eighteen months old and still waddling along with his nappy hanging behind him. His favourite thing to do was water the stones and the path then jump in the puddles he made. He was currently pouring water all over Millie-Rose’s new pink sparkly dance shoes, and he was wearing nothing but his nappy and a pair of camouflage patterned green wellies. I snapped a picture on my phone to keep for his eighteenth birthday to taunt him. Millie was shouting and calling out to Ella to come and sort JJ out and stomping around her curls flying all over the place. I grinned as I saw my beautiful Ella, looking as gorgeous as ever, coming over to the path where JJ was and join in the puddle stomping. Then swing Millie up in her arms and give her a massive hug and blowing a raspberry on her cheek before telling her if the shoes were ruined she’d buy her new ones. Ella was the best Mum a kid could ever wish for. She took to Motherhood like a duck to water. Good thing really seeing as I only had to look at Ella and she fell pregnant.
She was wearing my favourite yellow sundress. It tied around her neck, a halter neck I think they call that, and it showed off her magnificent boobs and skinny waist so it was a winner with me every day of the week. I wouldn’t let her wear it to take Freddie to the local school nursery though, too many stay at home Dads were at the school gates ogling her and it made me crazy jealous.
I stepped out from my hiding place at the side of the house and Freddie saw me first.
“Daddy!” He shrieked running over to me as fast as his little legs could carry him.
I picked him up and swung him round. He hugged me tightly around the neck and started telling me all about his day and how his nursery teacher Mrs Bayliss had given him star of the day because he helped to tidy the home corner and could recite all the letter sounds he’d learnt so far.
Next it was Millie pulling on my trousers and asking where her hug and swing was. I put Freddie down and gave Millie the same greeting. She kissed me and told me she loved me more than Dyson Jones who had just started at her nursery that week. I huffed, “What sort of name is Dyson? Who names their kid after a household appliance?” I quipped but she didn’t get it. Ella laughed though.
I went over to Joe junior but all I got was a high five, he was more interested in his puddles closely followed by his Mother. He was a Mummies’ boy through and through that one.
Last but not least my wife. She was sitting on the grass now giving me that look that said she had something to tell me. I sat down next to her and pushed her down so she was lying on the grass and kissed her, a proper ‘I’ve missed you and I can’t wait for the kids to go to bed so we can carry this on in the bedroom’ kiss. Right on cue a little hand came into contact with where our lips were joined and started patting us and crying, “No Daddy, my Mummy, no Daddy, naughty Daddy.”
We both laughed at JJ’s attempt to separate us, he hated me kissing his Mum. Tough luck kid, I’d compromise a lot for my babies but that was one thing I wouldn’t compromise on.
“JJ don’t be naughty, you know Daddy likes to kiss Mummy.” Millie-Rose said, leading her little brother away and encouraging him to make more puddles to take his mind of it.
“I like your hellos, even if JJ doesn’t.” Ella gasped pulling me down for another kiss. She tasted sweet like cherries and smelt like home. I bit her lip and pulled on it gently.
“I like our
goodnights better.” I growled running my hands down her side and having a sneaky grab of her ass whilst the kids weren’t looking.
She chuckled and pushed me off then sat up and gave me that look again.
“You want to tell me something don’t you.” I narrowed my eyes at her and waited.
“Before I tell you, you have to promise not to freak out okay.”
Oh no what had the kids been up to now, “Did one of the kids scratch my new E-Type?”
“No.”
“Are they building a new shopping mall at the end of the lane?”
“No!” She laughed.
“You’re running away with one of the Dads from Freddie’s school.”
“Eww and no! Now will you let me tell you?”
I sat still and she took a deep breath.
“I’m pregnant….again.” She grimaced as if I’d go off like a bottle top, but I have no idea why.
“Oh my God Ella, that’s bloody amazing news!” I rolled her back onto her back and started kissing her again as she laughed and Joe Junior started shouting his disapproval from the path.
“Jesus you two not in front of the kids please!” Max’s voice boomed across the lawn to us as he walked over hand in hand with his fiancée Katie.
Joe Junior proceeded to shout out “Jesus Daddy!” over and over again.
“Great, thanks for teaching him that new cuss Max.” I shouted back.
He laughed and came to sit with Ella and I. Ella stood up and gave both Max and Katie a hug then Ella and Katie went off into the house, no doubt to talk about weddings, babies and us two.
“What’s new buddy?” Max asked and I couldn’t stop the grin spreading over my face.
“Well nothing much really, France in a month, Germany in three months and then baby number four in another few months after that.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” His face was a picture. “Well bang goes our idea of having Ella as a bridesmaid in six months time, she’ll probably be ready to drop.”
“Yep.” I smiled smugly, “You can still have Millie though, she’ll never speak to you again if you don’t. She’s already pissed that you aren’t waiting until she’s older and marrying her. She still hasn’t forgiven you for choosing Katie you know.”
He laughed. “Better get working on that best man speech Joe, everyone expects a laugh.”
“From me? I’m the grumpiest person I know. I’ll get Ella to google some best man jokes to shove in how about that?”
“Whatever dude, as long as you stand with me and stop me looking a complete ass I don’t care really.”
I turned to face him, “Max, you’ve been the best friend a guy could ever wish for, you’re a great guy. You would never make an ass of yourself ever. Me and Ella we’re stoked that you found Katie. She’s a good girl and makes you happy so stop worrying, everything will be fine just sit back and enjoy it all. Let Katie and Ella do all the organising, trust me it’s better that way, just nod and agree it’ll make life a whole lot sweeter.”
“Is that your marriage advice Joe?”
“I suppose. My best advice would be never go to sleep on an argument, always make time every day for each other and never forget to tell her how much she means to you. Even if you feel like tearing your hair out cuz she drives you up the wall.”
He laughed and nodded.
“Oh and don’t forget the sex. Kick ass sex whenever, wherever, however you can get it. It never gets boring if you keep it spontaneous.”
“I’ll bear that in mind mate, and if I have a marriage half as happy as yours I’ll be a lucky son of a bitch just like you.”
He said it as a joke but I was one hell of a lucky son of a bitch. I had one smoking hot wife, three beautiful kids and another on the way. How the hell did that happen? Well like I said I thanked God every day for everything I had. My greatest achievement in my life wasn’t my clubs, my money or my business. It was that I’d got the most beautiful girl I’d ever met to fall in love with me. Even better, despite not being good enough for her, I’d convinced her to marry me, and we still loved each other as much now as we did that day, probably more. You see the real success for any man isn’t in the size of his wallet, bank balance, home or car. It’s in the size of the smile of the woman next to him. My Ella was always smiling, and it was my job to keep it there every single day.
The end…… for now.
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Copyright 2018 Nikki Summers Books.
Forever Yours Page 25