Page 45 of So Worth More
In the new year, we moved into Will’s apartment and it was bittersweet for both of us to let my place go. We needed the extra space, so it made sense to move, but my old apartment held so many good memories for us.
Will insisted that we take the couch after all the work Abby had put into making it look good. That went a long way in making her accept him. So had the way he had nursed me through a bout of the flu, tenderly taking care of me for days before he became ill with it himself. His mom stepped in then to look after “her boys”.
Abby and Will were a work in progress, but I knew it was because of the way he’d treated me in the past, rather than now. I’d never been so well-loved and my sister could see that. Over time she’d learned to love him as a brother.
We’d met up with Gem a few times and were happy to see her settled with her new guy, but out of loyalty for our friends, we didn’t meet up with her again after that. It’d been nice, but a little uncomfortable when Gem’s man had asked how we knew her.
The day I moved in officially, Will got on one knee and asked me to marry him, which had ruined my plan of proposing at his building’s rooftop garden under the stars. When I produced a ring for him from my pocket, he made me promise to pretend his proposal hadn’t happened and to go through with my plan.
So that night, even though he was expecting the question, I still surprised my fiancé with a romantic proposal and engagement party, slash house-warming, with our friends and family on the rooftop of our building, under a curtain of stars.
* * *
Will
Life with Andy had surpassed anything I could’ve dreamed up. My fiancé was passionate, loving and loyal. The way his brain worked fascinated me. He was absolutely my favorite person in the world.
Over the months there were ups and downs like with any couple, but for every bump in the road, there were a hundred nights of pure joy. Simple things like cooking dinner with him became treasured memories.
We celebrated Andy’s thirtieth by booking our favorite bar for the night and my relationship with Charlie had improved enough by then that he made an appearance at the party. He didn’t stay, too fresh from rehab to be around so much temptation, but he spent some time with Andy giving him a gift of a photograph he had taken of me and Andy at Christmas while we weren’t looking. In it, we’re just gazing at each other, ridiculously in love and in our own world. That photo, in its handmade driftwood frame, sits on our coffee table for everyone to see.
Andy wanted all of my family at our wedding, so I made an effort with Charlie, despite past hurts, it wasn’t that hard to let it go. Being truly happy with Andy made it easy. Charlie had made many mistakes and had paid for them all. We’d nearly lost him for good and it would’ve haunted me forever having so much unresolved between us.
It seemed like a great idea to spring a destination wedding on Andy. Mexico had started out as a much needed holiday, but I’d been looking at places to stay and spotted a destination wedding resort. Andy had been stressing about planning a wedding, so this was perfect. They did everything for us and we could just enjoy it.
Keeping it from him had been difficult. We didn’t keep secrets from each other, about anything, but I knew he would appreciate it. I’d planned everything and sworn everyone to secrecy until we got there. Andy had no idea our families were coming, too. He thought it was just the guys.
When we arrived, I’d gotten down on one knee and he’d tried to laugh me off, becoming serious when he saw the others watching with bated breath.
“Andrew Barker, I’d already agreed to marry you, but we never set a date. How about you marry me, here, in three days’ time?”
He looked like he’d stopped breathing, then he let out a shout. “Seriously? Here? Yes!”
I’d never loved anyone more and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
Surrounded by our families and our closest friends, I married my best friend and the love of my life on the beach in Mexico at sunset. A perfect start to a lifetime of love.
The End
