You Are My Sunshine

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Adam Stanley

"Gabby. Talk to me please," Joe pleaded handing her a hot drink, she had been so quiet since she had come home and he hated that something had upset her; he hated that something had very clearly upset her. 

It had been the last thing on Joe's mind when she had said that she was going back to work, Gabriella had seemed so excited that morning and now she was miserable. 

Peeking at Joe, Gabriella felt horrible that she was worrying him so much; it had been such a big shock and she still couldn't believe what had happened that day. 

"I'm okay," Gabriella tried to reassure, she didn't blame him for not believing her and she just hoped that she would be able to pull through this; she messed with the cup that she was holding trying to calm her nerves. 

Joe didn't say a word, he sat down next to Gabriella glad that Elena had dozed off without much of a problem; he was happy to wait until she was ready to talk to him. 

"The wedding that I'm organising is that of my ex-fiancé and the woman he left me for," Gabriella explained softly, she didn't want to keep secrets from Joe and it seemed only fair that he knew what had happened after everything they had been through. 

It surprised Joe to hear that Gabriella had been engaged at some point, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the man that had thrown that away. 

Joe wasn't going to admit that he had thought about his future with Gabriella and he did hope that one day they would get married; he liked the idea of her being Mrs Gabriella Hart. 

Gently taking Gabriella's hand, Joe couldn't imagine what it had felt like for her to find out that the person who had betrayed her most wanted her to plan his wedding to someone else. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Joe asked a little unsure of himself, he watched Gabriella knowing that he just wanted to make this easier on her anyway that he could.

Staring down at her drink, Gabriella thought for a moment not knowing what she had done to deserve someone like him; she swallowed thickly before looking at Joe knowing that he was such a wonderful man. 

"His name is Adam Stanley," Gabriella murmured softly, she felt embarrassed with what had happened and she knew that Joe wouldn't judge her; she was moving on with her life now even after what had happened. 

Joe nodded his head, he didn't rush Gabriella knowing that it didn't matter what had happened in her past; he and Elena were her future and he wasn't going to let her go so easily. 

"We meet at university and were together for four years," Gabriella said relaxing a little, she could tell that this wasn't bothering Joe and she hoped that this was okay; she had never really talked with anyone about her engagement and being dumped the way she had. 

It still stung that Adam had thrown away what they had so easily and Gabriella often wondered if Joe would do the same, she was sure that there was a model or something out there that would be better for him than she was. 

"The proposal was simple... he just suggested it one morning over breakfast and I said yes," Gabriella said shaking her head, that should have been her first clue; there had been no proposal that anyone had wanted to hear about. 

Everyone had been so disappointed with the story about how Adam had asked her to marry him, it wasn't the big romantic gesture that any of them had been expecting.

 "I started planning the wedding right away. It took me a year but I was so proud of my work," Gabriella continued smiling, she'd planned what she thought was the perfect day even if she had been disappointed that Adam hadn't helped her with any of the planning and always seemed to be at work. 

Joe nodded his head, he was sure the wedding would have been wonderful and he knew that when the time was right their own wedding would be perfect.

"I woke up that morning so excited... couldn't wait to wear my dress," Gabriella said smiling, it had been such a beautiful day and she had thought because the sun was shining that it was a good sign of what was to come. 

Lacing their fingers, Joe watched Gabriella knowing that he would never do this to her; she was everything to him and he would spend the rest of his life making sure she was loved. 

"I waited two hours before his best man arrived and told me that he'd gone on our honeymoon with his assistant," Gabriella spat bitterly, she could still remember how everyone had looked at her with pity about what had happened. 

Her maid-of-honour had rushed her out of sight before leaving to deal with the mess that had been left behind; Gabriella hated to admit that she had destroyed the beautiful dress that she had been wearing. 

It had been ruined beyond repair and Gabriella didn't know what had happened to it after she had ripped it off her body, she felt bad about all the wasted money that she had spent on a day that had never happened. 

"You deserve better," Joe murmured shaking his head, he hated men like Adam who couldn't see how amazing things were for them before they ruined people's lives with their selfish actions. 

However, one man's mistake had been his luck and if Gabriella had married Adam then they would have never slept together and they wouldn't have Elena; Joe was going to make sure that neither of them would ever have to suffer again. 

"I love you Gabby and when we get married, there is no way I could leave you just standing at the altar," Joe said with a shake of his head, he had a couple of details planned out and he was excited about the day that they would have when it came to them tying the knot.

Gabriella was speechless for a moment, she had no idea what to say to that and she was touched that Joe was thinking so far into their future; they'd been dating for two months and she knew it would be a while before they were ready to get married. 

"You think of us getting married?" Gabriella whispered curious about what else he thought about, they hadn't really had much time for them recently and she could only imagine when they would get another chance to have time to themselves. 

Joe blushed a little, he hadn't meant for that to slip out especially when they hadn't really had much time for themselves but he knew what he wanted and that was Gabriella. 

"Of course," Joe admitted shifting closer to Gabriella, things had been going so well for them and he wasn't going to rush into anything right now. 

They had time and Joe knew that there was nothing he wanted more in the world than for Elena to grow up with parents that loved her and maybe a couple of siblings. 

"I love you," Joe said before ducking forward, he kissed Gabriella hoping that one day he would be able to give her the day that she so deserved; they were good together and he couldn't imagine what was waiting for them just around the corner. 

It was strange to think how their lives could have worked out and Joe knew what he wanted, he couldn't imagine a world where he was married to anyone else but Gabriella. 

"I love you too," Gabriella replied with a small smile, she still had the folder in her office of what Joe had wanted for his wedding day when he had been engaged to Georgina and she would have to take a look. 

It couldn't hurt to start thinking about a future with Joe and maybe even think about a wedding.