him—beyond in love—and I could never deny that. But were we ready to get married?
I could tell that his heart was pounding out of his chest, because he looked nervous, and the hand he used to hold my hand was clammy and shaking like a leaf. I sighed, here he was, down on one knee in front of me, asking to be with me forever, and I didn’t have a clue what to do or say.
I was afraid. I was afraid that I wasn’t good enough; that he wasn’t good enough; that neither of us were good enough; that we couldn’t be who the other wanted and needed for the rest of our lives. Yet, more than anything, I was scared of what the silence was doing to him.
Was he afraid that I didn’t want him? I did.
Was he afraid that I didn’t want a future with him? I did.
Was he afraid that I didn’t want to be called Derek Sholt’s wife? I did.
And then I realized, I did want to be his wife. I did want to marry him. No matter what the future held; and no matter what obstacles we were to come in contact with.
It didn’t matter what they were. I’d be there.
Hopefully one of them wouldn’t be cancer, but even if it was, I’d be there.
“Yes…,” I said, without even realizing the word was coming out of my mouth. I was glad it did, but I didn’t expect it.
His eyes widened. “What did you say?” he asked, clearly unsure of if he heard what he thought he had; probably—just as I was—wondering if all of it was just an illusion.
"I said, ‘yes’. I'll marry you, Derek.” And just like that, my face shined brightly, my brain immediately reaching overdrive as it flickered through images of what was to come. I had to admit, there was something incredibly beautiful about the image of walking down the aisle to meet him. And it was even more beautiful imagining the two of us, hand in hand, as we made vows of commitment forever.
A sense of joy and warmth washed over me, and I swear I giggled.
I loved him so much.
And the image of us hand in hand down the aisle was as clear as day. So very clear that I wondered why I hadn’t seen it coming; why I hadn’t anticipated the proposal; and why on earth it had taken me so long to answer him.
Derek stood and wrapped his arms around me, as if to thank me. But what he didn’t realize was that I should have been thanking him.
He gave me hope for a future, a future of happiness…a future with him.
Ever since he had gotten better, I felt myself truly wanting—more than anything—the promise of forever.
And he was giving me that.
We pulled away, both of us grinning from ear to ear.
I knew the road ahead was long; and it probably wouldn’t be easy, but he was the only one I wanted to travel down the road of life with. Derek Sholts was it for me.
Chapter 13
We were married in the summer when the leaves and flowers were full in bloom and the weather was forgiving. My skin held a beautiful glow.
Yet, the same could be said about his skin, too, which was unlike it had been for many months prior to the wedding.
He was fully healthy now—perfectly tan with no pale yellow tint. He was strong, muscular, and weighty. He looked good.
He looked damn good, and I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on him, as he waited for me at the end of the aisle.
The ceremony was to be held in a church, located near the lake. I wasn’t particularly religious, but my mama was, and so was his family. They preferred a church for the environment, and I was perfectly fine with it when I found this place.
It had windows surrounding the entire main congregation room so that we could look out and see the beauty that surrounded us as we became man and wife.
It was silly, really. Because as I stood at the head of the aisle and looked towards the front of the church with my brother-in-law on my arm, all I could do was look at Derek.
Only Derek.
Nothing else mattered, not even the beautiful view of the outside.
But when I looked at him, I noticed for a moment, that he wasn’t looking at me. He was
I could tell that his heart was pounding out of his chest, because he looked nervous, and the hand he used to hold my hand was clammy and shaking like a leaf. I sighed, here he was, down on one knee in front of me, asking to be with me forever, and I didn’t have a clue what to do or say.
I was afraid. I was afraid that I wasn’t good enough; that he wasn’t good enough; that neither of us were good enough; that we couldn’t be who the other wanted and needed for the rest of our lives. Yet, more than anything, I was scared of what the silence was doing to him.
Was he afraid that I didn’t want him? I did.
Was he afraid that I didn’t want a future with him? I did.
Was he afraid that I didn’t want to be called Derek Sholt’s wife? I did.
And then I realized, I did want to be his wife. I did want to marry him. No matter what the future held; and no matter what obstacles we were to come in contact with.
It didn’t matter what they were. I’d be there.
Hopefully one of them wouldn’t be cancer, but even if it was, I’d be there.
“Yes…,” I said, without even realizing the word was coming out of my mouth. I was glad it did, but I didn’t expect it.
His eyes widened. “What did you say?” he asked, clearly unsure of if he heard what he thought he had; probably—just as I was—wondering if all of it was just an illusion.
"I said, ‘yes’. I'll marry you, Derek.” And just like that, my face shined brightly, my brain immediately reaching overdrive as it flickered through images of what was to come. I had to admit, there was something incredibly beautiful about the image of walking down the aisle to meet him. And it was even more beautiful imagining the two of us, hand in hand, as we made vows of commitment forever.
A sense of joy and warmth washed over me, and I swear I giggled.
I loved him so much.
And the image of us hand in hand down the aisle was as clear as day. So very clear that I wondered why I hadn’t seen it coming; why I hadn’t anticipated the proposal; and why on earth it had taken me so long to answer him.
Derek stood and wrapped his arms around me, as if to thank me. But what he didn’t realize was that I should have been thanking him.
He gave me hope for a future, a future of happiness…a future with him.
Ever since he had gotten better, I felt myself truly wanting—more than anything—the promise of forever.
And he was giving me that.
We pulled away, both of us grinning from ear to ear.
I knew the road ahead was long; and it probably wouldn’t be easy, but he was the only one I wanted to travel down the road of life with. Derek Sholts was it for me.
Chapter 13
We were married in the summer when the leaves and flowers were full in bloom and the weather was forgiving. My skin held a beautiful glow.
Yet, the same could be said about his skin, too, which was unlike it had been for many months prior to the wedding.
He was fully healthy now—perfectly tan with no pale yellow tint. He was strong, muscular, and weighty. He looked good.
He looked damn good, and I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on him, as he waited for me at the end of the aisle.
The ceremony was to be held in a church, located near the lake. I wasn’t particularly religious, but my mama was, and so was his family. They preferred a church for the environment, and I was perfectly fine with it when I found this place.
It had windows surrounding the entire main congregation room so that we could look out and see the beauty that surrounded us as we became man and wife.
It was silly, really. Because as I stood at the head of the aisle and looked towards the front of the church with my brother-in-law on my arm, all I could do was look at Derek.
Only Derek.
Nothing else mattered, not even the beautiful view of the outside.
But when I looked at him, I noticed for a moment, that he wasn’t looking at me. He was
Similar Books
