Page 80 of A Kind Wedding: Christian & Charleigh

“Your dinner is in the trash. Would you like me to get it for you?”

“Babe, come on. You threw it out?”

“You bet your ass I did. You’re an hour late, and it was cold.” I snapped at him.

“It wasn’t my fault.” He held his hands up.

“It wasn’t your fault that you couldn’t call or text me? Or better yet, have one of the nurses text me? You knew I was cooking, which doesn’t happen very often.” I pointed my finger at him.

“But you never get this mad when I’m late.”

“After running errands all day, I came home and cooked a beautiful steak dinner. And let me tell you, mister, it was damn near perfection. The steaks were cooked perfectly, the baked potato was baked just right, I made the salad exactly the way you like it, all chopped up, and the corn on the cob was as sweet as sugar. I even had time to bake your favorite cookies, which I’ve hidden, and you are not allowed to eat one.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry.”

“One call, Christian. One lousy call.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” he asked.

“Probably not until our wedding day if you’re lucky. I am so mad at you. Let me pull up our earlier text messages.

“Hey, handsome. I’m going to cook us a wonderful dinner tonight.”

“Hey, beautiful. You don’t have to go to all that trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I want to cook for you. Besides, we’ve been eating out too much lately. What time will you be home.”

“I promise to be home by six o’clock.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t want it to get cold if you can’t be home at that time.”

“I’m one hundred percent sure. I can’t wait. I love you, babe.”

“I even asked you if you were sure, Christian. So, do whatever you want for dinner because I don’t give a damn if you eat or not.” I stormed up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed when the door opened.

“What part of me walking away from you mad, do you not understand? I want to be left alone.”

He knelt in front of me and pulled a small box from his pocket.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“The reason why I’m late.” The corners of his mouth curved upward as he lifted the lid, and I saw the most beautiful diamond earrings.

“Oh, Christian. They’re so beautiful.”

“I was going to wait and send them down to Jenni’s on our wedding day. I thought they were beautiful enough to wear with your dress. But, since you’re so mad at me, I’m giving them to you now with an explanation. I stopped at the jeweler after I left the hospital to pick up your wedding band. I had more than enough time before I had to be home. While the salesman was getting your band, I browsed around and saw these earrings. The salesman and I got to talking about the wedding, and he was going on and on. I knew I’d be late getting home. Then, to top it off, traffic was horrible.”

“Why didn’t you just call me and tell me you were running late?”

“Because you would have asked why. Then I would have had to lie to you, and you know I don’t lie to you. I honestly didn’t think you’d be this mad at me.” A smirk crossed his lips.

“I think it’s the stress of the wedding and making sure everything is perfect. I’m sorry.” I placed my hands on each side of his face. “I love you so much. Do you forgive me?”

“How can I not.” His lips brushed against mine. “I love you too, babe.”

“Now, let me see those diamond earrings.” I smiled as I grabbed the box from his hand.

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