Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
At the end of the song, Chase dipped me to a round of applause. I laughed and leaned up to steal a kiss.
“I have another surprise for you,” I whispered against his lips.
His eyes lit up. “What’s that?”
The music changed.
Chase burst into laughter. “You’re joking!”
He whipped me up to my feet just as the opening of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” played through the speakers. I could still remember that first night we’d shared together all those years ago. How this song played through his speakers and we danced like fools around his living room. He lifted me into his arms, twirling me in place. Then, I slid down his front, and sparks had leaped to life every place we touched.
“I thought you’d like it.”
“I love it,” he confirmed.
And then we were dancing our asses off. Our friends and family joined in the mayhem. All of us singing the song at the top of our lungs and dancing like no one was watching. It was a joyous, heartfelt moment. A bit of nontraditional in the middle of our very traditional reception.
We moved from there to dinner—a plated three-course meal from a caterer that Nora swore by. It was one of the best meals of my life. Almost as good as the restaurant we’d eaten at in New Mexico for our wedding night. I’d asked Nora to limit the toasts, but somehow, that memo hadn’t gotten around to my family.
After Bailey and Annie gave a toast for each of us, other members of our families stood up and began to speak for us. The words that flowed was like a balm for my soul. A fresh spring in an empty desert. Watching all the people who were my entire world not just accept me and Chase, but also prove that this was the union they believed in meant the world.
I had to swipe tears from my eyes by the end of it. Chase squeezed my hand under the table. A smile on his face.
We had cake, and I threw my bouquet. I even let Chase dig up my skirts for the black garter Bailey and I had picked out for the moment. His wicked smile when he reached for it only made me more excited for the night to come.
And then we danced.
And danced.
And danced.
We danced so long that my feet ached and sweat beaded my pale skin and joy filled my entire being.
Chase grasped my hand, tugging me out of the spotlight and off of the dance floor. “A secret for a secret?”
I grinned. “You first!”
“Someone is stealing my wife,” he said with a raised eyebrow as he tugged me out of the barn and into the night air.
“You’re stealing your wife,” I said. “That isn’t a secret.”
“All right. I have one.” He faced me, walking backward toward the vineyard. “I booked our honeymoon.”
My eyes lit up. “Without me?”
“You couldn’t decide.”
“Rude.”
He laughed. “You’re going to like it.”
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“A castle in the Scottish Highlands.”
“What?” I gasped. “Really? A whole fucking castle?”
“Yep. And you can read as many thrillers as you want and drink my hot chocolate and wander the wilderness in your Doc Martens.”
“We’d better have a huge bed.”
“Of course. Because I will be fucking you every night in it.”
I laughed and threw myself into his arms. “I can’t wait! Can we sneak down to London? I want to take you to all of my favorite places.”
“Yes. You think I planned to take you there and not get to go to all the places in London that you taunted me with when you were on study abroad.”
I grinned. “This is the perfect surprise.”
“You owe me a secret, you know?”
“Well, I was going to show this to you later, but I think now works.”
I reached into the folds of my skirt for the pocket that had been added to my tulle skirt now that I’d had enough time for alterations. I removed a piece of paper and passed it to him.
He took it and searched the words in the moonlight.
His eyes snapped up to mine. “It’s official?”
“Wright-Sinclair.”
“For both of us?”
I nodded.
He swept me up into his arms. We swung in a circle, and a giggle escaped me. He set me gently back on my feet. His hand went to my face, tilting it up to his.
“Now, we’re the same. No more family differences at all.”
“I like it. I never thought I’d change my name.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t,” he said with a laugh. “But it’s only fair that we both do.”