Mrs. Matched | Complete

Chapter Thirty-Eight

When I woke up the next morning, I noticed the gear from our past camping trip piled in the corner of my room.

"Chris?" I asked, padding into the kitchen. "Why is there a bunch of camping gear in my room?"

"I left it up here after we had to cut the last outing short, hoping we'd get to come back up maybe this weekend. Why?"

"Because there's a tent," I pointed out. "And I do not camp."

He put a plate of eggs down in front of me and pulled his eyebrows together. "You didn't say anything about not camping when I packed the tent into our very small car and drove you all the way up here."

"I was distracted?" I offered the answer like a question and stuffed some eggs into my mouth to give me some time.

"Ah, it doesn't matter anymore. We could always camp in the backyard."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter anymore? Chris, what were you going to do with that tent?" The eggs were working against me then as I had to speak with food in my mouth, not wanting to let the moment pass without asking the question.

Instead of answering, he just smiled and kissed the top of my head, walking out of the kitchen and through the door to the living room.

"Chris, where are you going?" I hopped off the stool and walked after him as quickly as my feet would carry me. "Chris, if this is your way of getting back at me I assure you I've suffered enough!"

"You have not," he said when I finally stepped into the living room. "Have you no patience?"

"How long have you known me? Of course I have no patience."

"Can you just wait a second, please. For me?"

"Fine," I huffed, plopping myself down on the couch and crossing my arms. "But I'm not going to look cute doing it."

"You always look cute, except when your lawyer sucks."

"You ever going to let me live that down?"

"Yes."

Oh, good.

"In a year or two." Hilarious. If he had been close enough, I would have faked a punch to his shoulder for that one.

"Wait!" I said. "You're distracting me. What were you going to do last time if I hadn't busted up my foot?"

"I was getting to that," he said, crossing the room and sliding open the drawer of the small desk where he'd written my love letter a lifetime ago.

Without another word, he pulled a small plush box out of the drawer and walked across the room, opening the lid and setting it down on my lap.

"I was hoping to ask you to marry me."

"But I already asked you."

"No, the other day when we were up here. I wanted to ask you to marry me."

"But we were already married."

He laughed and shook his head. "You are impossible. It seemed like you really wanted to be able to make a choice. I wanted to give that to you and then I didn't get to it because you fell and you were a little loopy from the pain medicine."

"And then you thought I'd made my choice." I let out a small sigh. "I really am the worst."

"Don't you want to look at it?"

"I will. But I don't want to peek before you propose."

"But you already did."

This man is as obtuse as a rock sometimes.

"You're only going to get one wife. And I heard you always wanted to propose to her here, looking out at that sky." I pointed for effect. "So, what are you waiting for?"

"Very romantic, Aubrey."

"I try."

He picked the ring box back up and I tried not to look as the light caught it. "Aubrey James," he began by kneeling in front of me. "Will you marry me?"

I put my hand to my chin as though considering the offer, though we both knew what my answer would be.

"Aubrey!"

"Of course I will marry you," I answered, throwing my hands around his neck and kissing his cheek. "For real this time."

I couldn't have wiped the smile off my face if someone offered me a million dollars to do it. Chris slid the delicate ruby and gold ring onto my finger and told me the story of his great-grandmother whose husband had built the house we sat in. Her ring now adorned my finger as a constant reminder of this place that would forever be ours.

"Not even my parents know exactly where it is anymore."

"Oh, shit! Your parents."

"I thought you liked my parents."

"I do. But I also kinda showed up at their house in tears yesterday looking for you."

He sighed. "They're probably going mad with worry by now even though they would never say anything."

"Yes. But you can share the good news that we're going to get married!"

"Aubrey I think that might be sit down news given that we were already supposed to be married."

"Smart. That's why I keep you around."

I couldn't keep my eyes off my beautiful ring as it glistened in the sunlight that streamed in through the wall of windows. It wasn't made for me but it was like it had been. Perfect.

"You know, I think ours might be among the strangest marriage stories out there," I said as we walked hand-in-hand back to the kitchen. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Nor would I, my dear. I wouldn't trade you for the world." 

~ * ~

Author's Note: I cannot believe this story is done! (I'm still casually toying with an epilogue, so there might be one more but for now, at least, the story is complete).

I hope you all had fun with these two cuties and I hope I'll see you around my next projects. Come say hi at  authorelizasolares if you want to. I'll be so glad to see you.

You can check out the next chapter in this book for a sneak peek of some of my other projects.

Thanks again for reading, and I hope I'll see you around.