AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I always envisioned myself getting married in a church.” He started laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“You want a large wedding, huh?”
“I didn’t say it had to be large. I just don’t want to get married in Vegas with an Elvis impersonator.”
“I never said anything about an Elvis impersonator.”
“You know what I mean, Chet.”
“Fine. But can we set it up quickly?”
“You really want to get married that fast?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Not just for you and me, but for Eloise. I want her to know that she’s a real part of the family, that she can relax and be comfortable with us, and well, yeah, I’d like to adopt her one day,” he said softly. “I meant it when I said I want her to be a Hamilton.”
“You don’t have to do that. She’s not even—”
“No.” He stopped me. “I do. Her dad’s not in her life. Her mom’s not in her life. We’re her parents, and I am determined to be the best dad ever, and she’ll be the best big sister ever when we have kids, perhaps in nine months.”
“Don’t say that.” I shook my head and hit him on the shoulder, though secretly it made me a little bit happy because I was totally up for something like that. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.” I smiled at him warmly.
“Why?” he said.
“Because I feel like all my dreams are coming true, and I never believed that this would actually happen for me.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, looking at me tenderly.
“Because when I was younger, I always dreamed that I’d fall in love and I’d meet the man of my dreams, and he’d want to marry me and have kids with me and live happily ever after. And I guess at some point I just figured it was never going to happen, that I wasn’t good enough, I didn’t have anything to offer. And, well, I kind of just figured that was okay.”
“I love you, Arya, and I want you to know that I will always love you and that you are always enough. You are more than enough. I can’t lie. I can’t say that when I was younger I hoped to get married and have a billion kids and all those kinds of dreams. But I can tell you now, now that I’ve met you, now that I’ve fallen for you, I want to have kids with you. I want to be in love forever, and I want to travel the world with you. I want to be your Prince Charming. I want to be the one that you can come to about anything. I will always be here for you. I will always protect you. I will always take care of you, Arya. You and Eloise are my world. You have my word. I will never let anything happen to either of you. You’re my princesses.”
I could feel tears in my eyes as I gaze at his sweet, sincere face. “You really are one of a kind, aren’t you, Chet Hamilton?”
He burst out laughing. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time.”
Epilogue
Arya
Three months later
“Auntie Arya?” Eloise looked at me with big eyes.
“Yes, dear?”
“When is the baby coming?” she asked me as she patted my stomach. I smiled down at her.
“It should be here in six months.”
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
“I’m not sure yet, my love.”
“Is the stork going to bring it?”
“No. I’ll go to the hospital when it’s time for them to come, and then I’ll bring the baby home.”
“And I’ll be a big sister?” she said.
