Blake wraps his arm around my waist, dragging me back to him. I close the remaining space as I linger closer to his lips. Rolling onto the tips of my toes, I gently peck his lips. Blake cups my cheek, holding me in place. As we subtly part, I see the shimmer of happiness in his green eyes.
"I love you. I'm sorry I couldn't come to dinner."
"It's fine, Ben needs you more and besides, I'll see you later tonight." I smile.
"Hmm, yes." He nods. "Take a deep breath and avoid letting the stress consume you."
"You know me, I like to be drowning in stress and problems. I don't think I can function without it."
Blake chuckles as he shakes his head. He kisses my forehead.
I collect my handbag and head to the front door. Blake races down the hallway with a cardboard box in hand.
"More stuff for the car."
"Well, have fun and please don't hurt yourself with moving the stuff."
"I can handle moving a few boxes to Tori's house." He chuckles.
"Right." I nod.
He tosses the box into the back seat while I jump into the car. As I wave goodbye, I notice the sparkly ring on my finger. The sight of the ring brings a small smile to my lips.
When I arrive at my parent's house, I slip out of the car and walk to the front door. As I do, I see the lights from another car pulling into the driveway. I peer closer and realise its Angela's car. She quickly jumps out and waves me over.
"Hey Ava, can you please help me with my stuff?"
"Sure, what did you bring?"
As I walk around the car, I notice the pile of magazines and a cooler bag. She passes me the cooler bag, then grabs the lump of bridal magazines. I close the car door and then race ahead. The front door is already unlocked, so I hold the door open.
She heads into the dining room while I walk to the kitchen. I place the cooler on the bench and then detour to the dining room. The pair huddle beside the table as they glance at the magazines.
"I should have known free food meant more wedding planning." I laugh.
"Wedding dresses are the hardest part of the wedding and some take forever to be made. So, we need to get a jump on finding the perfect dress for you," Mum explains.
"Just know that I'm still hurt."
I take a seat at the table and allow them to shove picture after picture in my direction. For the dresses I like, I rip the page out and move to the next.
Eventually, Dad walks out of the kitchen with a tray of lasagna and a bowl of salad. He places it in the middle of the table, then walks straight out of the room.
I notice the missing slice and laugh. He doesn't want to be in here either.
Mum leaves the kitchen and returns with a set of plates. I grab one and cut myself a large chunk to eat. The two talk about the wedding, while I stuff myself with food.
"Have you found something you like?" asks Angela.
"Hm, nothing that I'm in love with." I shrug.
Mum moves to sit beside me, then grabs the plate from my grasp. She proceeds to toss salad onto the side, then shoves it back to me.
"You need more vegetables in your dinner."
I take a bite out of the lettuce leaf and frown. Plain salad is so boring. I grab the pictures and walk into the lounge room and take a seat beside my father. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and kisses the side of my head.
"What dresses have you picked out? That stack of bridal magazines almost looks bigger than a mountain in passing."
"Here's what I like." I pass the images to him.
Dad flicks through the images before shuffling them into order. On top is a mermaid dress with beautiful lace patterns.
"Your mother wore a lace dress. She looked stunning."
"So much lace." I chuckle.
"Dresses back then were puffy and went for miles."
"We could probably curtain the whole house out of that dress."
"She did think about it, but a small part of her hoped that maybe you'd wear it one day at your wedding. I think it's a motherly thing. Your grandmother wanted the same thing for your aunty. She ended up using part of the dress in her own."
"That sounds like a good idea."
"You don't have to and I don't think she'd ever suggest the idea."
"Maybe I'll suggest it to her?"
I get off the couch and wander back into the dining room. Mum and Angela are sitting at the table with large slabs of lasagna.
"Hey Mum, what about your wedding dress?"
"What about it?" She frowns.
"Would you be okay if I used the material to make my own dress?" I could make a flower girl dress for London in that too.
"You might salvage something from it, but the dress is on the tattered side. I let you two play with it when you were younger. Logan stepped on the backing and it ripped the train. To add, your brother's friend spilled wine down the front."
"Oh damn." I sigh. "I forgot about those things."
"The veil should be okay, though." She smiles.
"Could I use that then?"
"Yes, of course. I'll see if I can find it." She jumps up and rushes off.
I sit next to her empty seat and grab my plate and eat in peace.
She reappears with a slender box. She places it on the table and opens the lid. She removes the tissue paper, then holds up the veil. I gasp with awe; I'd forgotten how beautiful it looks.
"If it doesn't match your wedding dress, then you can change it to something else," she comments, "Now come here."
I finish my last bite, then wander over. She delicately places the veil clip into my hair, then spreads the material out. I slowly turn around to face her.
"You look." She sniffles. "Beautiful."
"Thank you." I smile.
"Now, we need to figure out a venue." Mum brushes a tear from her eye.
"Okay." I take the veil off and place it into the box. Mum puts the lid on, then takes a seat.
The pair show me a few different venues; all to which I nod and smile. Some are beautiful venues outdoor venues under the night sky, others boxed in with beautiful decorations and tables.
"I'll take these to Blake and see what he thinks." I sigh.
"And takes food! Your father cooks too much sometimes." She laughs.
"I'm sure Blake would love it." I grin.
I grab the leftover plates from the table and carry it into the kitchen. Mum swiftly follows with the salad bowl and lasagna. She grabs a container out of the cupboard and soups a large slab into it.
"Are you okay with the wedding planning?" she asks as she passes the container to me.
"I'm good." I nod with relief. "It's less stressful and I'm excited."
"Just thought I'd check to make sure you're okay with everything."
"Once everything is planned and organised, I'll be thrilled. I'm just happy to have the help."
"I'm glad to hear that."
We walk back to the dining room and I scoop the wedding stuff off the table and place it in my bag. I tackle Mum and Angela into a hug before walking into the lounge room. Shuffling behind the couch, I wrap my arms around his neck.
"I'm shooting off, so I'll see you soon."
"Drive safe! And I wish you'd come around more."
"We should catch up soon; some big family event." I smile.
"That sounds like a good idea." He nods.
I kiss the top of his head and walk out the front door. I about run and leap into the car to get home quicker. I jam the keys in the ignition and shoot down the road.
When I arrive, I park the car and race into the house. I lock the front door and kick my shoes off. They clank against the tiled flooring.
"I'm home."
Blake appears and wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead.
"How'd things go with our mothers?"
"Good and I have food for you."
"Hmm, I'm glad I sent you." He chuckles.
I pass Blake the container, then place my bag on the counter. I fish the wedding stuff out and place it beside my bag.
"We need to decide on this. Do you want to look through it now?"
"Sure, we can go through it now." He nods.
We sit across from each other at the table–Blake hungrily looks at the container of food while I lay out the new options. His eyes slowly scan the pictures before glancing at me.
"Is there a certain one you like?"
"I'm not going to say anything until you give me your opinion."
"Damn," he grumbles.
"While you're thinking about it–how was the move?"
"All right." He shrugs. "Axel came over to grab his things and they ended things."
"Oh, no." I frown. "Was it ugly?"
"No, but I can tell Ben's hurting. He was getting attached to Axel."
"Yeah, I noticed that."
"Ben will find someone else; there's plenty of fish in the sea."
He looks through the pamphlets, picking out the ones he does like. When he's finished sorting through, I group them into two different piles.
"So, we've got our top three places to see."
"I'm excited! How about we look at the venues sometime next weekend?"
"I'll let Angela and Mum know." I nod.
Blake jumps up from his seat and walks into the kitchen. He whacks the food into the microwave, then grabs a fork from the drawer. When it beeps, Blake's face lights up with happiness.
While he eats, I put the pamphlets into the wedding box and then join Blake in the kitchen. He's hungrily shoveling the lasagna into his mouth.
"I take it you two didn't grab anything for dinner then?" I chuckle.
"Ben decided he wasn't hungry after the whole Axel thing. Me; starving."
"I'm sorry, I should have made you something."
"Don't worry about it! Leftovers make up for it." He chuckles.
Blake scoops the rest of the food out, then chucks the container in the sink. I flick the tap on and grab the sponge to wash the container, but as I do that, from the corner of my sight, I see Blake's arm.
He turns the tap off, then picks me up. My body goes flying over his shoulder and Blake charges down the hallway.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm taking my fiancée to bed." He slaps my butt.
Blake catapults his body into the air and we collide with the bed. I smack his shoulder, but he laughs.
"I can't wait until I get to say, wife. Hm, that sounds so good already." He grins.
"Mr. Rivers, you're getting far too excited."
"Future Mrs. Rivers, I feel as if you're not excited enough," he teases.
I wiggle out of Blake's grasp so I can change out of my clothing. He stretches across the bed and grins.
"Once we're married, I was thinking." Blake awkwardly looks away.
"Yes, what were you thinking?" I shrug out of my clothing and toss it into the bathroom.
"We could consider having another child," he sheepishly admits.
"Oh." I'm taken back by his comment. "I think that's something we can talk about."
Blake leaps off the bed and moves to stand in front of me.
"I can't explain how happy I am." He beams.
"Just keep some of that happiness to yourself; I can't get pregnant before we're married."
"I have good swimmers, I can't help it." He sighs.
Blake takes my hand and tugs me towards the bed. I yank my hand back so I can grab a nighty from the drawer. As I slip it on, Blake sighs.
"Fine." He huffs.
"I love you." I kiss his cheek.
We climb under the covers and Blake wraps his arm around my waist. I snuggle into his chest and sigh with content.