Page 78 of Worth the Chase

Brooklyn was right behind her, cradling her stomach with her hands. She did that a lot, even though there was nothing showing yet. Thomas’s face lit up whenever he saw her.

Sarina headed onto the balcony and stopped in between me and Thomas. “This is really pretty.”

“Pretty low-key,” I added, and she socked my shoulder.

“It suits them,” she defended.

I let out a huff. “It does.”

Jeremiah and Addi walked outside, arm in arm. Addi was wearing a white dress that wasn’t quite a gown, but wasn’t super casual either. It was perfect. Jeremiah delivered Addi to my brother, and they shook hands. Then, Jeremiah maneuvered his big, muscled body next to his other daughter.

“I’ll move,” I ground out, scooting to the side.

“Thanks,” he said as my dad started talking.

I zoned out a little, thinking about my own life and the woman I currently held in my arms. I was grateful that we’d finally moved out of the friend zone she’d pretended to put me in. When the quick ceremony was over, we all cheered and congratulated the happy couple. It felt so different from Thomas and Brooklyn’s wedding. Granted, theirs had been much larger, but them finding each other had also been unexpected.

Everyone had expected this wedding to happen. Give or take the last few years anyway.

Spinning Bells around so she could face me, I asked, “What did you think about the wedding?”

She glanced up at me, her eyes filled with joy, and I swore I’d never take seeing that for granted.

“I liked how intimate it was.”

“Is it what you’d want?”

She laughed. “Have you met my mom? There’s no way she wouldn’t want to invite every single relative. Intimate is not in her vocabulary.”

“So, not this small then?” I pretended to be thinking.

“Definitely not. It was perfect for them though. Don’t you think?”

I leaned down and took her lips with mine. “I do. But what kind of wedding do you want, Bells?”

I tried to kiss her again, but she shoved me away.

“Why? Is this you proposing?” She shot me a look.

“Oh, please, baby. When I propose to you, you’ll know it’s happening,” I said, and I swore her face paled two shades. “So, a destination wedding then?” I suggested as I gripped her tighter, and her color slowly started returning.

“I don’t hate that idea.” She grinned, and I stored that little nugget of information for down the line.

SPRING-BREAK MADNESS

BELLA

After Addi and Patrick’s wedding, I was feeling all kinds of emotions. Romance was in the air, and even though it was so much fun spending time with the family—including Sarina, who I now adored—I wanted to be alone with my man.

My. Man.

It was still surreal to think that the guy I’d been dreaming about forever was actually mine. Matthew O’Grady was my boyfriend. Crazy. I wished I could go back in time and tell that heartbroken teenager that, one day, he’d be obsessed with her. There was no way she’d believe it.

“I’m ready to leave.” I leaned up on my tiptoes to whisper into Matthew’s ear.

He whipped his head around to face me, and without argument, he reached for my hand. “Let’s go then.”

We said our goodbyes and headed into the night air. Matthew opened the door for me and helped me inside his oversize truck. I swore that I needed a ladder half the time to get up in my seat.

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