Page 81 of Claiming What Is Mine

No one back home knows where we are, or why, only that Gabe and I are taking a week for ourselves before the baby comes. After seeing how busy Chet and Christy are, like all the time, Gabe thought eloping seemed like the best way to go. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of a big wedding with the man of my dreams. Daddy walking me down the aisle, and all that. But after the drama with Leo at Chet and Christy’s wedding—well let’s just say that experience left its mark on Gabe. Besides, this way he and I get to have the honeymoon we always dreamed of, without any distractions.

Gabe tosses one of our suitcases onto the bed. “I thought I had everything we needed for today packed in here.” He frantically pulls everything out and dumps it onto the bed. “I can’t find your dress. What the hell?”

“Hey.” I try to get his attention, but he doesn’t look up from the suitcase. I clear my throat and try again. “Hey. Are you looking for that?” I point to the closet where my dress is hanging.

Gabe sighs in relief. “When did you do that? We’ve been together the entire time.”

I laugh. “You did take a shower, you know. I pulled it out to hang overnight—you know, give any wrinkles time to relax back out of the fabric.”

“You didn’t happen to do the same with my slacks and shirt did you?”

I nod. “Of course, I did.”

Gabe pushes the items he just yanked from the suitcase out of his way and lays back on the bed. “Okay then, we don’t have to be there until six thirty. What do we do for the next three hours?”

“I can think of one thing.” I smile. “But we’re going to need to clear the bed.”

Gabe grins. “One last time as single people?” He sits up and throws everything back into the suitcase and tosses it onto the floor.

* * *

When I receive my cue,I step down onto the sandy beach and begin my walk towards Gabe and the reverend. The sun is still obscured behind the rocks of the coast, but its early rays reflect off the clouds illuminating everything on the beach with a golden hue. Gabe’s eyes are locked on me as I walk to him. When I take my place across from him, it takes everything I have not to cry. The service is simple and ten minutes later I look Gabe in the eyes and say, “I do.” The reverend smiles and pronounces, “You may now kiss the bride. ” And with that, Gabe places his hands on my cheeks, pulls my face to his, and kisses me.

“Oh my God. We did it. We’re married,” I whisper as we pose for pictures.

Gabe squeezes my hand and whispers back, “Bout time.” He smiles.

We spend the rest of the morning laying around being beach bums, drinking up the sunshine and enjoying the view. After an early lunch and a nap, we head back out to the beach to kayak in the ocean. The views are so surreal, I have to keep reminding myself this is not a dream. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy, and I know that, as much as I love the scenery and the pampering, none of that has anything to do with the way I feel. I owe one hundred percent of that to the man I’m with. My best friend and partner. My husband.

Over the course of the next two and a half days, Gabe and I try to fit in as much sightseeing as we can stand. We take a snorkeling cruise where we get to watch dolphins and turtles. We parasail. We take a helicopter tour of a volcano. And, on our last evening, we attend a luau. By the time we arrive at the airport to fly home, both of us are completely exhausted. But I wouldn’t trade a minute of it.

After we’ve boarded the plane and settled into our seats, Gabe leans over. “So, when should we expect the photos and video?”

“I don’t know exactly. The photographer said she’d send us a link to view them in a couple of weeks. Why?”

He frowns. “You know we’re going to catch ten different kinds of hell for this. The longer we have to wait to share the video, the worse it’s going to be.”

He’s right. I have purposefully blocked myself from thinking about Colorado as much as possible, because I know we risk being excommunicated by our families when we get home.

“Well…” I wrap my fingers through this. “If anyone in my family has something to say, they best keep it to themselves.”

Gabe smiles and twists our hands to see the wedding band on my finger. “Spoken like a true Wilde.”

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