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She beamed. “I’m more than okay, Luke.”
My mouth twitched as I let the realisation roll over me that I was going to be a father. A tear of pure joy ran down my face, as I stared lovingly into Natalie’s deep teal eyes. Before I lost all control of my emotions, I kissed her hard.
She moaned into my mouth and pulled away. “You can’t kiss me like that, I can’t stay.”
I chuckled, warmheartedly. “You’re really going to go back to your folk’s place after this?” I groaned and ran my finger down her arm. I wanted to celebrate with her. In our bed.
Natalie reluctantly stood up. “C’mon, it’s tradition,” she said, and began her retreat. “You’ll see me in the morning.”
“Blue,” I grumbled, and got up to follow her.
She turned back to me. “You made me wait nine years. I think you can wait one night.”
“I made you wait? I waited for you for—”
Natalie slammed her mouth onto mine before I could finish my protest. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. “I'll be the one in white.”
Without another word, she sauntered back across the road, deliberately adding a sexy sway to her hips that drove me crazy.
* * *
Once Natalie blew me a kiss from her old bedroom window, I ambled back into our house. It was so empty without her presence, and I wondered how I existed without her.
Although Natalie moved in the day after Nate’s wedding, we barely had a chance to settle down. Since our single ‘In Time’ went to the top of the charts, and our self-titled album ‘Easton Blue’ followed soon after, we had been on tour. I left Easton’s Tavern in the hands of my business partner, Dan, and embraced the life Natalie once lived without me.
We finally returned home for a well-deserved rest, and for Natalie to concentrate on her mini-empire that was Little Bird Records. When I wasn’t writing music for our next album, I was helping Nate out on the farm and relieving Dan whenever he needed the time off.
We planned to convert the apartment above the pub into a mini-recording studio, but when we found out Dan was saving for a place of his own, we asked him to move in. Natalie took Amelie under her wing and was already teaching her how to play the piano, just like Nan had done with her at the same age.
I sank into Natalie’s favourite armchair and examined my precious gift. I ran my thumb over the tiny image that had changed my world, and picked up my guitar.
I played the same tune I had performed a million times since I wrote it. Except, I sang the lyrics I wrote ten years ago. A slightly different version to the song everybody knew. The unheard version I would share with Natalie for the first time, in front of our family and friends. The version that captured everything I dreamt for us.
* * *
Natalie walked down our bush track towards where I stood by the river, waiting. Her radiant beauty took my breath away, and I feared my heart would stop. Dawn’s song played softly as I watched her move closer. Her dress was soft, fitted, and enhanced every perfect feature of her body. I gave her the smile I knew drove her wild, and she giggled knowingly.
Our ceremony was quick and private. Other than our celebrant, the only guests consisted of Natalie’s parents, Nate and Amanda with baby Johnny Rivers, and Dan with Amelie, our flower girl.
We took our celebrations to Easton’s where we met all of our friends from Fairleigh, Nashville, and Little Bird Records. It was an informal affair, but Nate still took his best man role very seriously. He climbed up on the little stage in front of the dance floor and tapped his glass until he had everyone’s attention.
“Most of you know me, and if you don’t…you certainly will by the end of the night.” He grinned. “My name is Nate, and I’m not only the best man and best friend to Luke, but Natalie is also my little sister. So, can you see how this has been hard for me to process?”
The crowd laughed and whistled.
“I don’t remember the time before Luke entered our lives. He was always at our house, hanging out, playing games, and here I was thinking it was all about me! Turns out, I was very wrong. Yeah, maybe I was the reason for a while there, but as soon as my sister turned into this…annoyingly…beautiful and talented woman, I knew I had lost him. It took him years to admit it though. I think he feared my wrath—
“And mine.” Gavin chimed in and the crowd laughed.
Nate chuckled and continued. “He denied it so many times. I had to give him a black eye before he finally admitted to being in love with her.”
Natalie’s mouth fell open and I squeezed her hand. It hadn’t left mine all day.
“But I’m happy to say that, even though their roads have taken them on very different paths, they have still led back to this moment. Congratulations you two, I wish you a lifetime of love and happiness together.”
“To Luke and Natalie!” Gavin yelled and everyone cheered.
I slid my arm around Natalie’s waist and hitched her up to kiss me. The pleased crowd heckled for a speech from the groom, and I happily succumbed to the pressure. I stepped up onto the stage that I was now well accustomed to.
