Page 39 of Never Forget You

I’m a little blown away, to be honest. I never expected that. I certainly wasn’t going to suggest it, ever, but if this is what she wants, then I am definitely happy. In fact, I might just be tearing up with joy at the mere idea.

“Of course you can, Ella. You can call me whatever you want, sweetheart.”

“And if Mommy has the same last name as you today, can I as well?” She stares at me with wide, knowing eyes. She has grown up so much in the last year, but sometimes, she still manages to shock me with comments like this.

“Yes, I would absolutely love that. Then we will all be a family, won’t we? Connected in so many ways.”

I do know that she doesn’t want to see Ben again. She doesn’t want to visit him in jail or anything. Maybe that will change when she gets older and she wants to know more about her biology and where she came from. She might even want to know why he signed his parental rights away and then kidnapped her for a day, which I’m sure is an experience that she willneverforget, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Who knows? He might have even changed by then. Prison time might give him time to reflect and make him a better person. Anything can happen.

But Ben is the last person I want on my mind on my wedding day, on my official adoption day… God, things like this usually come in threes. Is there going to be anything else? I don’t mind three lots of good news for sure. Although we have had nothing but good in the last year. Things have been on the up for me andGeorgia the entire time. Anything bad that has come our way has seemed minute and easy to deal with, which is always great.

“I have to go now,” Ella eventually tells me. “Mommy needs me, so it’s time.”

Ooh, that means it’s time for me to get to the end of the aisle, to wait for the woman I love to come and greet me, and for us to promise to love one another forevermore in front of our friends and family. As I half run to my spot, I blow a kiss to my mom and wave happily to Georgia’s parents as well. They are actually in the process of moving closer to us so they can be there for all the big moments in our family, but from a distance and not in a controlling way, which is nice for Georgia now that they are in a good place. It makes her happy, so it makes me happy too. Their family bond is stronger than ever, which is just one of the silver linings to that day.

I don’t know what Ben thought he was doing when he kidnapped Ella, but I bet he didn’t envision the outcome being what it is, everyone happy and moving on with their lives but him. It couldn’t be better… for us.

And then the music starts. I can feel the power of it inside me, which is something that I wasn’t expecting. I’m already moved and emotional. The power of what will happen today really gets to me. I’m fulfilling a promise that I made to myself when I was just a teenage boy and I am marrying the love of my life. Georgia Fredericks. Soon to be Jones. I stiffen up, trying to get myself ready, to prepare myself for the moment when I lay eyes on her…

Wow. I can’t breathe as she arrives, a vision in an ivory gown. Oh, my God, Georgia looks more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her before. She is always stunning to me, whether she is the stranger on the beach, the girl I am head over heels with, thewoman who walked into my classroom and made me fall in love with her all over again. Glammed up, ready to head to bed, in her pajamas and sick… it doesn’t matter to me. She is always the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen because her inner beauty makes her that way. Everything about her is perfect.

But today, in that dress, looking like a princess bride just for me… wow. I have no words. She really is perfect, isn’t she? And she’s coming toward me to be my wife. It takes every ounce of self-control that I have to stop myself from running down the aisle to greet her. I want her to be mine already. I can’t help myself.

“Wow, you look incredible,” I whisper to her once she’s close enough to hold my hands. “So beautiful.”

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” She shoots me a playful wink. “And honestly, I nearly had to come and marry you in my pajamas. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to fit myself in this dress today.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t have minded pajamas, but…” Should I ask this? It seems weird to ignore it. “Why wouldn’t you have fit into it? It wasn’t that long ago that you went dress shopping, was it?”

“I know, but I’ve grown since then.” Her hand flutters to her stomach. “I was going to tell you in the middle of the vows, but I think Ella will explode if she has to keep it to herself any longer, so…”

“I’m going to be a big sister!”

Ella’s words nearly knock me backward. I can’t believe it. It looks like I am getting my third piece of good news today after all, and this is the best news ever. This means I am about to be a father again.

We have talked about it a lot but weren’t going to actively start trying until after the wedding, but now… well, it’s happened, and I am absolutely over the moon. I don’t know how I will be able to say any of my vows when I’m this choked up. Everything that I’ve ever wanted is coming together. I will have it all!

“That’s amazing.” I hug Ella and Georgia, trying to soak them in some of my joy. I can’t find the words to express my happiness right now, so I hope that they can just feel it. “Oh, wow, that’s the best news ever.”

I kiss Georgia before we’ve even gotten started, never mind someone telling me that I can ‘now kiss the bride’, but then we have always done things backward, haven’t we? And hey, it’s worked out for us so far, so I don’t see any need to follow the rules today. Who said that things need to be a certain way, anyway? It seems crazy to me.

“I love you so much,” I declare as soon as we pull apart for just a minute. “This makes me so happy.”

I rest my hands on Georgia’s belly, feeling the life growing inside there as she tells me that she loves me too. There is a new chapter ahead of us, a lot of new chapters, actually, and there isn’t anyone else in the world that I would rather share the upcoming journey with. I never forgot Georgia, not even for a minute while we were apart, and now I know that’s because fate always wanted to bring us back together again.

Back together for this, our happily ever after.