Hey! What's everyone up too? Sorry it's been so long, but I've not really had time. I had my birthday then I went out and was hungover so didn't fancy writing :D but it's here now, and that's all that matters.
I think there might be 1/2 more chapter, depending on how I end it. Btw, I don't think you'll be expecting what happened in this chapter :P
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but Enjoy!!
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CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
"Oh sweetie it's gorgeous." My mum gushed, her eyes glazing over. I smiled and turned around to look in the mirror. When I saw myself in the dress, I fell even more in love with it. My mum, Beth and I have taken ourselves off to find a wedding dress, while Caleb, Jim and Lucas are finding their tuxes. Trying on dresses just makes what's going to happen next month even more surreal.
"You have to get it," Beth chirped in. "It's the best one you've tried on all day. I'll be surprised if you can find a dress better than that."
I nodded my head in agreement. I really do think this is the one. It's just tight enough to show off my body shape, and the trail wasn't too long or showy. I have to say, it made me look quite sexy; how it showed off my body. And I know Caleb will love that. "I love it. I'll get this one for definite." I turned to them and smiled.
~
After getting changed and paying for the dress, which I was able to take away today, we left the shop. Although I loved trying on wedding dresses, I'm glad that I don't need to anymore. "Can you keep that in your house so Caleb doesn't let curiosity get the better of him?" I asked my mum with a slight laugh.
"Of course; I'll keep it in your old bedroom." She smiled and started to talk to Beth. I couldn't join their conversation as my phone started to ring. I rummaged around in my bag, before pulling my phone out. I smiled sliding my finger across the screen. I loved seeing Caleb pulling a silly face on his caller ID when he rang.
"Hey Babe," he greeted happily. "How's the dress hunting going? Did you find one?"
As my mum and Beth walked into a jewellery store, I stood outside to talk to Caleb. "Yeah I got one. It is actually the most beautiful thing ever Caleb. If I could I would wear it every single day." I gushed like a little girl. But the truth is the truth. He laughed a deep throaty laugh.
"Well I doubt it's the most beautiful thing ever because that's you and Michael. But I really want to see what it looks like. I don't think I can wait until next month."
"You're going to have to wait. But I know you'll love it. Did you guys get tuxes?" I leant against the wall and watched everyone walk by.
"Lucas and Jim did. But I was thinking about getting mine from Ireland. Do you remember that shop we went to for my grandfathers funeral?" He questioned and I made a noise to make him go on. "Well both my grandfather and dad got their wedding tuxes from there. So I was thinking it'd be nice to do the same. I'm going over there next week as part of this rugby tour anyway so I might as well. You won't be mad if I left it until then?" He asked tentatively, worried about my reaction.
"Why would I be mad?" I said with a laugh. "I think it's really sweet. But I will be mad if you come back without a tux."
"Don't worry I will. Are you finished then? We should probably head over to Burtonside House to make this appointment."
I glanced in at the shop and saw my mum and Beth looking at some necklaces. "Yeah I just need to tell my mum and Beth." I pushed myself off the wall and walked into the shop.
"I'm just around the corner from the back of the shopping centre. I'll meet you there?" He suggested as I stopped at my mum and Beth.
"Yeah, I'll see you in a bit." I hung up and put my phone in my bag. "I'm leaving now to go and see a venue. I'll text you later about how it went." I handed my mum the dress before hugging her.
"Bring some brochures back." She said as I pulled away. I smiled before heading out to the car.
~
"Do I get to see a picture of it? Not even you in it." Caleb tried again as he drove to our appointment.
"No," I said with a laugh. "You'll still see the dress. I don't want you to see it. It's bad luck," I turned my head and looked at him.
"I wouldn't have thought you'd believe all that crap. So I have to wait until August to see it then?" He looked at me and I nodded. "That's really annoying."
I smiled and placed my hand on his thigh. "It's not that far away. And since you've got that rugby tour next week, it will pass really quickly."
"But that week will probably pass slowly since I'll not be with you or Michael. What if I miss something?" He glanced at me and laid his hand over mine. "This is the first time I'll be away from you guys for more than a day. It's going to be weird." He pulled up outside the venue.
"Don't worry about it Caleb. We'll Skype every night." I smiled as he turned off the engine. "But firstly, let's see this venue. I've got a good feeling about it." I kissed his cheek before getting out of the car. I walked around the front and waited for him.
Just looking at the building, I was already in love with it. It was an old building, completely made out of stone. The only bricks were at the corners. It had what looked like three floors, and had big windows at the front. It had slate steps leading up to the tall red doors, with statues on either side. And the ground around it was just as beautiful. It was literally just open space with pathways, and a lake at the end of the lawn. I can imagine getting married here; just standing at the lake with Caleb.
"I'm liking it already," Caleb said standing beside me. I smiled and looked up at him.
"I do too. I can just imagine us getting married here." I told him looking back at the building. "You can see everyone coming in or standing around here."
"It's the nicest looking place we've seen. You just get that feeling that its the right place." He slid his fingers through mine before giving it a gentle squeeze. "I can't wait to see the inside." He looked down at me with a huge smile. "Shall we go?" He asked a stupid question. I rolled my eyes and dragged him into the venue. He laughed and my eagerness, even though he already knew the answer.
~
"Finally, this is where we will actually hold the ceremony if you choose to have it here." The woman said showing us into a large room, with a fireplace and two giant windows overlooking the back of the estate. "So you can hold the wedding here, and then the hall downstairs can be used for the dinner. Or you can get married somewhere else, and use the hall."
I nodded and walked further into the room. "It's gorgeous," I said smiling.
"I'll give you guys a few minutes to look around and talk about things. I'll meet you down in reception in ten minutes?" She smiled before leaving the room.
"What do you think?" I asked turning to Caleb. He nodded, walking around the room.
"It's much better than I thought it would be. I love it," he continued to walk around the room. He sat down on one of the chairs. "But I always pictured getting married in a church." He admitted as I walked over to him.
"Everyone pictures themselves getting married in the church." I pulled a chair around, and sat down in front of him.
"Yeah, but it actually meant something to me. I know I've not talked about this before, but I want to get married in front of God in a church. I've always believed that, that makes it real. I know I probably don't show it in my actions, but it does have part of my life. My grandparents, and even my parents, raised me like that." He sighed and shook his head. "If you don't want to that's fine. I know I've never mentioned any of that before, but I thought I should now."
I smiled and placed my hand on his knee. "If it means that much to you, of course I don't mind. I'd be happy to get married in a church. I really don't care where we get married, as long as we do." I squeezed his knee to get him to look up at me. He did so and smiled at me.
"Thanks Ri, it means a lot." He leant forward to give me a kiss. I made a fist and hit him twice in the shoulder. "What was that for?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows and holding his shoulder.
"One was for thinking I wouldn't want to, and the other was for not telling me in the first place. You know I wouldn't mind. It's not just my wedding, it's ours. It's all about what we both want."
He smiled and cupped my cheek. "You know the way you always talk about eloping? I really want to do that now."
I laughed, leaning into his hand. "Why didn't you agree every other time I've mentioned it?" I raised my eyebrows questioning.
"I was an idiot. I love you too much to wait another month to marry you. We should've got married ages ago." He leant forward, and this time I let him place a kiss on my lips. I smiled before moving my lips against his.
"You know if we make a booking here early, we've got an hour or two before we have to get Michael from my dads." I stood up, smirking down at him.
"I'm sure he can look after Michael for a little bit extra. So lets go book this thing." He stood up eagerly, and laced his fingers with mine. "We should get your dad to look after Michael more often if we get to do this."
I laughed as he led me out of the room. "Anyone would think you're a hormone driven teenager." I smiled as we walked down the large staircase.
"You were the one who suggested it. I'm just trying to make you happy." He glanced back at me and smirked. I shook my head as we walked over to the women.
"So, have we come to a decision?" She asked with a smile.
"We would love to book the hall for after the wedding." Caleb said with a massive grin. "Is the twenty-first of August okay?" He asked leaning on the counter.
"I'll just check now. But I'm sure it is," she smiled before going over to her computer. Caleb bent down so his mouth was by my ear.
"I really want to get home. The faster we get there, the more time we have." He kissed my neck, before kissing the skin behind my ear.
"Slow down there Handsome," I pushed him away from me. "We can always send my dad a text and say we're running late." I smiled, and squeezed his hand.
"You're such a tease. Do you not realise its taking all my self control right now?"
"I do," I smiled walking away from him. "I just like testing it," I gave him an innocent smile walking over to the woman.
*
"We should probably go get Michael now." I said playing with Caleb's hand.
"Probably," he agreed, stroking my hair back. "But I don't want to," he added at the end. I smiled and moved into his chest. "And I know that's an awful thing to say. But I quite like lying in bed with you. It's too comfortable to leave," he groaned pulling the covers over us.
"We lie in bed together every night and every morning." I pulled away slightly, and lay my head beside his. I smiled, looking into his gorgeous blue eyes.
"Yeah, but that's when we're sleeping." He smirked and brushed his nose against mine. "I like it more when we're not sleeping."
I laughed, resting my forehead against his. "That's hard when there's a baby about, crying every three hours." I smiled, running my fingertips along the grooves of his abs.
"You know I love you right? I know I don't show it sometimes, sometimes in big, stupid ways."
I furrowed my eyebrows and looked up at him. "Of course I know you love me. Do you even have to ask? You show me everyday how much you love me. I don't need some big romantic gesture everyday to know you love me." I smiled and brought my hand up to his cheek.
"I just thought that I should tell you that." He admitted while I played with his hair. "I've just done some things that don't show how much I love you. But you really do mean everything to me. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you or Michael."
I smiled, running my fingers down his temple and down to his cheek. "Same here Amigo," I said with a grin.
"Don't call me that," he frowned at me.
"Or what?" I knew that I'd regret saying that, but it was out before I could even think about it. He smirked and poked my sides making me squirm away. "Okay, I'll not call you that again." I gave in before he started tickling me. He started to move his lips towards mine, but my phone rang to stop him. He sighed as I rolled over and grabbed my phone. I moved back into Caleb's chest while I opened the message. "My dad wants to take Michael to the park. He wants to know if we're running late."
"We're definitely running late. Tell him half an hour," Caleb whispered, kissing the back of my neck. I smiled and texted him back before putting my phone on the table. "Remind me to thank your dad for taking him out."
I smiled as he kissed along my neck, down my back between my shoulder blades. I rolled over and he started kissing along my ribs and to my stomach. "Remind me to thank him myself." I smiled and rolled over so I was straddling him. "I love you," I said before pressing my lips to his. Saying I love him is definitely not enough to show him how much I love him.
*
"Did he enjoy the park?" Caleb asked sitting down opposite Michael and I.
"Yeah he seemed like it. He loved the ducks and we put him on the swing for a few minutes which he just laughed at." My dad said sitting beside Ann as Damien and Stephanie watched tv.
"Yeah he loves sitting beside Max. He seems to love his animals." I looked down at Michael and smiled.
"So did you get a dress then?" Ann broke my gaze from Michael. I smiled and nodded. "What's it like?" She asked as I played with Michael's feet. He would kick his feet to meet my hands.
"It's gorgeous, the best one I tried on. But I can't tell you what it looks like or he'll hear." I smiled jerking my head to Caleb. He laughed, and shook his head.
"I'm just curious as to what it looks like. I can't wait another month to see you in it." He gave me a slight shrug of the shoulders. Michael turn his head to look in the direction of Caleb. He grunted while trying to roll himself onto his stomach. He's never crawled before, so I was excited to see if he would. I let go of his feet and let him roll over. He looked up at Caleb pushing himself up. Caleb slid off the couch and sat on the floor.
He opened his arms up and smiled at Michael. I watched as Michael tried to push himself onto his knees. He finally got up before slowly crawling forward. I looked up at the same time as Caleb, and smiled at him. He laughed and shook his head slightly. "He's actually do it," he didn't believe it. I looked back at Michael as he made his way slowly towards Caleb. He stumbled slightly, but still went forward. When he reached Caleb, he picked him up and held him up in the hair, making Michael laugh with happiness. Caleb lowered him into his chest and tickled him.
"At least he knows who his parents are." My dad said with a laugh. "He started crying about five minutes after you left."
I laughed and looked at Caleb. He was smiling, sitting Michael in his lap. Just looking at them now I can picture them in the future. I can see Caleb teaching Michael how to ride a bike or how to play rugby. Both of them out in the garden throwing a rugby ball around. Or sitting in the living room, watching one of their stupid matches together. I'm really looking forward to all of that. Maybe even Michael could get on the school rugby team, hopefully while Caleb is still teaching. Though that is about sixteen years away, when Caleb will be in his forties.
"Do you guys want to stay for dinner?" My dad asked breaking my thoughts. I looked at Caleb and shrugged. He smiled and nodded slightly.
"I guess so. It'll save us from doing it." I turned to my dad and smiled. "Just don't kill us."
He laughed and stood up with Ann. "You're so funny Riley. You really are," he said sarcastically, walking over to Damien. "Go clean your room," he hit the back of his head slightly. Damien groaned and stood up from the sofa. "Don't even complain son. I told you you're not going out tomorrow until you get it done."
I smiled as he and Damien left the room. "I can't believe he just did that." Caleb said with a slight laugh. I looked at him and smiled. "How long have we been waiting for him to do that?" He shook his head, grinning at me.
"What seems like forever," I stood up and walked over to him. I sat down beside him on the couch, resting the side of my leg against his arm. "He was bound to do it sometime soon though. But obviously he had to crawl to his daddy." I joked running my fingers through Caleb's hair.
"He must be turning into a daddy's boy." He tilted his back and smirked at me.
"I wouldn't speak too soon," I referred to the fact Michael was looking at me, with his arms out. He leant forward and tried to get to me. Caleb laughed and held him up. Michael closed his hands into fists before opening them again.
"I guess he can't choose."
I laughed and tucked my hands under his arms. I lifted him out of Caleb's hands, and brought him into my chest. I smiled and cradled him in my arms. "He only comes to me when he's tired." I have him a pacifier as his eyes started to close. I smiled and stroke his cheek gently. I really need to get used to believing that he's mine.
"Can I speak to you guys for a minute?" Stephanie suddenly said from in front of us. I furrowed my eyebrows before nodding. She let out a breath, sitting down. "I wanted to apologise."
I really wasn't expecting that. I looked at Caleb who had the same surprised look. "I acted like a childish brat, and I'm really sorry for that. All I ever did to you guys was make your life hell. As for the kiss, I never planned it. It was Adam that started twisting things in my head." She glanced at us before looking back at her hands. She sounded genuinely sincere, and looked ashamed of her actions. Which I'm not going to lie, she should. "Seeing both of you with Michael I can see how perfect you are for each other and as a family. I really shouldn't have tried to change that. I was just being a stupid, selfish teenager who was only concerned with getting what I wanted." She looked up again, but kept her eyes on us. "So I really am truly sorry. I promise that I'll never do anything like that again. I just want to try and build some bridges before I go away." She gave a slight genuine smile. I could tell she meant everything she said.
"Thank you, I really appreciate that. But it's going to take a while before I truly trust you again." I'm going to be honest if she's going to be. There's no point in lying to her.
"Yeah I know, but I just wanted to start. I really don't want this to hang over our heads for the rest of our lives."
"It won't be, it just needs a while." I gave her a small gentle smile. "But for now, we're good." I slipped a hand out from underneath Michael and held it out to her. She smiled, placing her hand in mine. I was surprised that I didn't feel the urge to retract my hand.
"Thanks for hearing me out and giving me another shot." She smiled at Caleb, shaking his hand too. She stood up and left the room, looking somewhat relieved. I looked at Caleb and raised my eyebrows.
"I was definitely not expecting that."
He laughed and pushed himself onto the couch. "It was a little bit weird." He resting his elbows on his knees looking at the door.
"Yeah," I mumbled still not believing what happened. I guess the saying everyone's good deep down is true.
"See, good things just keep happening." He looked at me with a wide smile. "And it can only get better." He leant forward and pressed his lips to mine. "Everything will be perfect soon." He whispered, leaning down and kissing Michael's forehead.
I let out a contented sigh, happy with how things are going. I really don't think life has been this easy in a while. Since meeting Caleb there has always been something making it complicated. All I have to do is see if Stephanie can keep her promise. And I really hope she does.