Page 42 of All Of My Sundays

The next course of chicken breasts with asparagus and some other vegetables is served. I thank the waiter as they deliver my food.

“I'm not sure. I'll have to talk it over with my fiancee and get her thoughts on what she would like to do,” I tell her. My hackles rise with every sentence that comes out of her mouth.

“You know if you two are going to continue on with this charade I want you to behave as respectful members of this family,” her dad interrupts our conversation.

“It isn’t a charade,” I state.

“Whatever you want to call it then. I won’t be disrespected by you abandoning your own party we so graciously threw for you. Going forward, you will show us the respect we deserve as parents and as the mayor,” his voice rises, as his face reddens.

“Well respect is earned not demanded,” I state. My voice as steady as a rock. His nostrils flare as he stares me down.

“I’ll demand what the hell I want. Now what you do is a reflection on me, and I won’t have you tarnishing the reputation I’ve spent years building up. If this behaviour is going to continue, then maybe you are both too immature to get married.”

“Holden,” his wife says.

“Enough,” Sophia yells, as she pushes her chair back from the table. “I don’t care what you say or think. I’m marrying Lorenzo and, you know what, if you continue to behave like this,then you have no place in my life. So, deal with that. Lorenzo let’s go,” she says, as she walks away from the table.

“Sophia,” her mum calls after her.

I push my own chair back ready to follow her, but Holden’s words halt me.

“You will never be good enough for her. She’ll come crying back to us soon when she realises there’s nothing you have to offer her.”

I clench my fists at my sides but don’t give him the satisfaction of looking at him as I walk past him without a word. I head back the way to Sophia’s room hoping that’s the direction she went in. I find her there with a bag on the bed as she throws things haphazardly into it.

“Could we go look at your house in Cedarville?” Sophia gently asks, from across the room.

“Sure, we can do that,” I tell her, my first genuine smile appearing on my face since we entered this house. “I was actually going to head back today.”

“Okay let’s do it.”

“I know you don’t want to stay with me before marriage so are you sure about this?” I rush.

Twisting her hands, she looks at me as I smile at her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get married? I know a celebrant who lives in Cedarville that I’m sure could squeeze us in today.”

“You want to marry me that bad?” I tease.

“I’m surprised you aren’t running for the hills after that.”

“Nothing will change my mind about marrying you. I mean it. I need you to start believing it,” I tell her, as I move forward and grasp her hands. “You know, since I promised you all of my Sundays, how about we make our first one together an epic one?” I ask.

Her lips tug upwards and her eyes light up.

“You’re serious? I don’t want to pressure you,” she rushes.

“Soph, marrying you is not a hardship on my part. So, what do you say? You wanna get married today?”

“Yeah, I do,” she squeals, as she jumps into my arms. I squeeze her hard against me before I release her feet to the floor.

“Come on, finish packing then. We have a wedding to get to,” I tell her.

She kisses me on the cheek before she turns back to her packing. She grabs a suitcase out from the closest and throws things into it. I offer to help, and she tells me to shove it in and she will deal with it later. We do it all with the brightest smiles on our faces and I pinch myself because there's no way I thought this crazy plan would work out the way it has. I truly do want to win her heart but knowing she’s choosing me too means the world to me. She heads into the bathroom and returns with a smaller bag, zipping it up and I'm guessing it's toiletries.

She grabs a black scrunchie off the dresser and twists her hair up into a messy bun and I'm thankful the red hair is back. There was nothing wrong with the black; it just wasn't her. She's more herself with her red.

“You ready?” I ask as she turns to me, hair up and a smile on her face.

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