Epilogue – Leah

One Year Later…

“Oh my God, I am having the best time!” I exclaim with glee as the bright neon lights of La Vegas flash around us. “This awesome. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Yeah,” Mandi declares while tossing her arm over my shoulder. “Thanks for bringing all of us here. Vegas is so cool!”

Jon, Jenny, and Brandon follow close behind with our parents with them. Mom smiles and laughs at something my brother says, Zane’s mom smiles and join in. His father stands behind them all on his cell phone, the same place that he’s been pretty much the whole trip, but I don’t mind. As long as we’re all together, that’s all that matters.

“Yeah, well the night is still young,” Zane smiles. “And we still have the most important part of the vacation to happen soon.”

Oh, I just cannot wait. I’ve been so excited for this ever since we landed in Las Vegas. It’s finally time for me and Zane to tie the knot, and this is where I want to do it. We could have had a massive ceremony with lots of people in attendance. We could’ve spent lots of money and invited the whole town, but I only want the most important people around, the ones who we love on a day to day basis, to make it a day that’s just for us. Marrying Zane is more than just a big party for everyone else, it’s a celebration of our love.

Anyway, we have a month long adventure around Europe to follow for our honeymoon and I would much rather spend the money on that. I’m finally getting to see some of the world and that’s awesome to me. I used to dream of adventure while living the monotony of my everyday life, I used to wish for more. I guess there was a part of me that was always waiting for my real life to begin.

Well, not anymore. Now, I feel like I have it all. I have my part time job, I have my college course which I love, and I have my regular writing jobs which keep me going and build up my resume. On top of that I have this man who I love like anything, and who’s about to become my husband.

“Come on.” Zane grabs onto my hand eagerly. “Let’s go to the little chapel now. I can’t wait any longer. I want you to be my wife already. You’ve already made me wait for a year.”

I toss my head back in a laugh as Zane drags me with everyone not far behind. This night is the night of our anniversary, the night that we finally told one another that we’re in love last year, and now it’s going to be the most important date in our calendars. Our wedding anniversary.

Once inside the chapel, my heart swells as I look around at the white décor and flowers everywhere. It isn’t the most glamorous place in the world to get married, but that hardly matters. In my knee length white halter neck dress, standing next to Zane who’s in his bike leathers, it feels perfect for me. This is just so us.

While we wait for the place to be ready for us, everyone whispers their congratulations to us. Even our parents are finally happy that we’re together, and I have to admit that while it was awesome to have an ‘us against the world’ mentality, it’s better with the support of the most important people in our lives. It makes us feel like a much more genuine couple.

“Are you ready for this?” Zane murmurs while resting his head against mine. “Ready to finally commit to me?”

“Oh, I’m ready.” I pinch his side playfully. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Morris.”

He groans in pleasure. “Ooh, I can’t wait for that either. That sounds so good.” He rubs his hand over my belly. “And then we can start looking to the future, and extending our family.”

What he doesn’t know yet, and what I don’t intend to tell him until after the wedding ceremony because I want it to be an awesome surprise, is that I found out yesterday that we already have a child on the way. There’s a baby growing inside of me that’s half of us both. That news has made me so damn happy, and I know it will him too. Zane hasn’t exactly made a secret of the fact that he can’t wait to be a father, so I know that he’ll love it.

I keep picturing him with a little boy and then a little girl. Of course, I don’t know what we’re having yet, but I know he’ll be perfect with either. He’s going to be an incredible dad. He’s as a bit of a better place with his own now, but it hasn’t always been that way. I know for a fact that he won’t make the mistakes of his father. He’ll be kind, compassionate, and caring.

“Okay, everyone,” the lady at the reception desk calls out. “It’s time to get hitched.”

“If you’re going to back out, now’s the time,” Zane teases me. “Once inside there’s no mistake.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about me. I know what I’m doing thank you very much.”

“I love you.” He leans down and kisses me before we go inside. “So damn much.”

“And I love you too.”

As we walk into the chapel, my excitement grows even more. This is the first step into my next adventure. First Europe – which luckily, we’re travelling to on a cruise ship anyway – then more writing, then my baby will be born. All with Zane Morris, the guy who I had a teenage crush on who then became ‘the one who got away’. Now, he’s the love of my life, the most important man to me, about to be my husband. He’s the one.

This new adventure is one I can’t wait to dive head first into. I cannot wait to see where it takes me next.