Page 39 of Gracefully Yours

She’d even said she was only doing this once. That she wanted to do it right because she wanted the memories. The idea of her standing in anything less than her dream gown under a canopy of sparkling lights didn’t sit right with me. Especially in something as cold and impersonal as a courthouse.

I frowned. “Well, maybe not a courthouse—”

“Of course, we can’t all be your sister and get married in France,” Theresa said with a laugh.

Wrapping my arm around Charlotte’s side, I wished I could nuzzle my face against her soft hair. I wanted so many things I’d never wanted before, things I had never let myself think of before. Things I couldn’t have. “We just want to keep it small. Personal, meaningful. But beautiful, too.” Charlotte blushed at the last part. “Something you deserve,” I murmured, placing a kiss against her temple.

She squeezed my hand, her eyes wide as she looked at me, and I shook my head with a laugh.

She had no idea, did she?

* * *

“This place is perfect.It’s absolutely… magical.” Her breath caught as she looked over the grounds of the ranch, her eyes taking in every inch of the property. “And there are horses, Daniel!Horses!”

I chuckled. “Yes, darling. There’s horses.”

Angelina’s dream when we were growing up was to have a horse, and now that she had grown up, well… My dad had horses.

Theresa pulled her dark hair away from her neck, pulling it up into a ponytail. “You know, we could get a sleigh for the horses to pull you away on after the ceremony. Assuming there’s snow. Or maybe a carriage, if we don’t get any.”

“Shut up,”Charlotte said, her jaw dropping open. “Sorry. That’s just… Wow.”

“We were thinking about maybe a wedding around Christmas. I know there’s not always a white Christmas in Portland, but, hopefully, this year…” I nudged Charlotte’s shoulder.

She was clearly still focused on the wholehorse-drawn sleighaspect. I could see the excitement in her eyes as she thought about it.

The first year we’d been friends, I’d caught her in her dorm one night, crying over a Hallmark movie, a blanket wrapped around her entire body. Charlotte got cold easily, and she cried over sappy Christmas movies like there was no tomorrow. And what would you know? I’d crawled in next to her, and we’d watched another one.

Now it was our December tradition to watch the new ones together. Charlotte might have been all things pink and floral, but at her core, she was a lover of all things Christmas: the magic, the snow, and the romance.

Teresa smiled. “I know what you mean. And to think, your dad and I eloped in Vegas.” She rolled her eyes. “The pinnacle of romance. I have to admit, the honeymoon made up for it, though.”

Charlotte looked up at me, her big gray eyes looking into mine with worry. Sometimes I wondered if she could see into my soul the way it felt like I could see into hers. Maybe she could. Maybe I wanted her to. Maybe then she’d know my truth.

Right now, though, I didn’t want her panicking about a honeymoon. Not when we’d barely even talked aboutthataspect of our relationship. Even if I wanted everything with her, there was no way I was going to book an elaborate honeymoon to some tropical destination if she didn’t want that. If she still thought what happened at the wedding was a drunken mistake.

“I told Dad we were thinking about having our honeymoon next summer, since our wedding will be right before Christmas.” I looked at Charlotte, who gave a brief nod of confirmation, like that was alright with her.Phew.

“Besides, we’re going on that ski trip after the holidays with our friends.” She patted my arm. “That will be like our honeymoon.” Charlotte added.

Except in my mind, our honeymoon involved a lot less clothes.

And a lot more sweaty nights with her under the sheets.

I shook the thought from my mind. Thinking about Charlotte bare underneath me while I was touring my dad’s property for our wedding was a mistake.

When Theresa and Dad wandered away, leaving us alone to wander, Charlotte looked up at me. Her big gray eyes reflected the stormy sky, her furrowed brow exposing her emotions. I watched as she gnawed on her lip, deep in thought.

“What’s going through that beautiful head of yours, darling?” I asked her, my voice an inaudible murmur.

“I just…” She shook her head. “I hadn’t even thought about…”

Chuckling, I ran a finger over the line of her jaw. “A honeymoon?”

She blushed, ducking her head away, clearly embarrassed. “Well… Yeah. I mean. We haven’t talked about all of that. What’s going to happen when we move in and live together and…everything?”

“Everything?” I raised an eyebrow. “You mean…sex?” Chuckling, I lead her behind the barn. “I thought we discussed this last night.” I pinned her between my arms against the siding.

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