Page 115 of Chasing the Dream

He heard some hoots, hollers, and whistles from nearby hikers, but they just kept on kissing. He would have stayed up on that mountain, kissing her all night long, if there hadn’t been a very real threat of dehydration and roaming predators.

After some amount of time, when Gabe realized they were on the verge of becoming obscene, he broke the kiss.

“How about we get down from this mountain and continue this somewhere more private?” He offered his hand to help her up.

“Sounds perfect.”

“But first, we have to go into town and eat. I’m starving!”

“Me too.”

“We burned a lot of calories today, no thanks to you.”

“What?” she said, pretending to be offended.

“If you’d had your way, we never would have left the condo this morning, what with your devious plan of seduction.”

She laughed, and as always, he loved the sound of it. He always had, yet now it sounded even sweeter since he was the cause of it.

For the next hour, they picked their way back down the trail, holding hands just like they had on the way up. He’d suggested it, using the excuse that the terrain was uneven and slippery in spots, when really, he’d just wanted to hold her hand. He guessed she knew that, but she hadn’t teased him about it. She’d simply given him her hand and let him feel like the big, strong hero.

She was not only good to him, she was good for him, and he wanted to be the same for her. Not just for today, next week, or next month, but forever.

Chapter 31

One Year Later

May in Michigan. The weather could have been miserable, but they’d lucked out. It was a pleasant, sunny day.

They were doing it here because of a promise she’d made to her parents a year ago. It was the only thing they’d asked of her when she’d broken the news that she was moving to Arizona.

“You’re our only child, our only daughter. All I ask is that if you two get married, you have the wedding here, in Michigan,” her mother, Gail, had said.

Morgan could hardly argue with that, and thankfully, Gabe and the rest of his family had agreed.

“Fine by me. It’ll give us a chance to catch up with your parents and our friends from the old neighborhood,” Brenda had said when they’d told her.

“If the weather’s good, maybe Pete and I can go golfing,” Cal had added.

“Matt and I are fine with it too,” Maria had chirped. The two of them had been inseparable since they’d started dating, and recently she’d hinted that another Matthews’ wedding might be in the offing.

Now Morgan stood in front of the long mirror in the bride’s room at her family’s church, surveying herself from all angles.

“You look beautiful,” Gail said, swiping away her tears.

“You’ll ruin your makeup,” Maria scolded, but she looked teary-eyed too.

Naturally, Morgan had chosen Maria to be her maid of honor. Years ago, they’d made a pact that they’d stand up in each other’s weddings, and it seemed especially fitting that Maria was standing up for her and Gabe.

“I’m so happy that our families are being united like this,” Gail said. “We’ve always been close, but this ensures that we’ll be bonded forever.”

Bonded forever. Morgan took a deep breath as she gazed at her reflection.

“Are you nervous?” her mom asked.

“Oddly enough, no. I’m just anxious to get started.”

Maria laughed. “Started on your honeymoon, you mean. Those two, I swear, they can’t keep their hands—”