“I believe you once called it the ‘Ball and Chain Club’,” the other man teased.
Chase’s shoulder’s shook with laughter as he recalled a previous conversation between he and Ellie.
“Happy to be a part of it, brother.” He grinned.
Archer quickly joined, followed by Van, who’d even worn a nice suit for the occasion. But as Chase accepted the gestures of brotherly love, he found his gaze continuously sliding back to the most beautiful woman in the room.
He was fairly certain the other married men in attendance thought the same thing when they looked at their own respective wives. But for Chase, there was only one woman in his sights.
From now until the end of his days.
“We need pictures!” Ellie reminded everyone before they got too caught up in the moment and left.
Judge Cannon was kind enough to play photographer for the day, and soon they had all the “traditional” pictures to commemorate the best day of Chase’s life.
Him in his navy-blue suit, white shirt, and matching blue tie. Scottie in a simple, ankle-length white dress and matching heels.
One side of her long, sandy-blonde hair pulled away from her face. A simple array of white flowers helped to keep it in place while she held a small, matching bouquet in her hands.
Never wanting to forget the incredible moment, Chase committed the way she looked to memory. When she caught him staring down at her, Scottie looked up at him and smiled. And all he could think was…
Fucking stunning.
“Here you go.” Judge Cannon started to hand Chase back his phone. But he stopped him by asking the man to take one more.
“Hang on!” He spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. “I have an idea for one more pic. It’s a special one I don’t want to forget.”
“Special?” A look of bewilderment crossed over Scottie’s gorgeous green eyes.
He pulled his bride gently to his side, leaning down to place a soft kiss to her temple. “That’s right, sugar. I want to be sure to includeallof us in this perfect day.”
Before she could ask what it was he was going on about, Chase reached into the inner vest pocket of his suit jacket, pulling out the small, square piece of shiny thin paper he’d been hiding.
“Chase…” Scottie looked up at him with more love than a man like him deserved.
“I don’t ever want our baby thinking they weren’t wanted, or that we weren’t over-the-moon excited about the idea of becoming parents.”
A collective “Ahhh…” came from the other ladies in the room as an onslaught of tears filled his wife’s amazing gaze.
“I’ll never understand how I got lucky enough to find you again.”
“Ah, sugar.” He used the back of his knuckles to brush a few fallen tears away. “Luck had nothing to do with it. This is how it was always supposed to be.”
They kissed again because, well, they could. And then the entire group got back together for a final picture.
Chase and Scottie stood surrounded by their closest friends. Together, the bride and groom held the ultrasound image of their tiny, peanut-shaped bundle of joy.
Despite what he’d just told her, he couldn’t deny feeling like the luckiest man in the world. The fact that he was married to the best thing to ever happen to him…knowing they were going to be parents in a few short months…
Chase looked around at those who’d stood witness to his and Scottie’s unbreakable union, becoming struck once again with how blessed he truly was. He truly had it all.
The job. The friends.The girl.
And as he leaned in and kissed his wife in front of God and those around them, he secretly wished for their own precious baby girl. One with soft, blonde waves and beautiful green eyes. Just like her beautiful, sweet mother.
But deep down, boy or girl, it didn’t matter to him in the least. What mattered was the fact that Scottie was finally,officiallyhis. And as long as she was by his side, Chase knew without a doubt…
The best is yet to come.