The night with Liam had been incredible. He made me feel things that I’d never felt before and I’m not talking about just in the bedroom. For this first time in any relationship, I was getting to see what love felt like. Real love. True, unconditional love.

It’s strange to think that I’ve gone through life without ever experiencing that but it was nice. I loved him and he loved me. I’d had men tell me they loved me in the past. Hell, I’d even said it back to quite a few of them. None of those were like it is with Liam though. None of those were real.

As happy as I was with him, I couldn’t wait for him to leave for the office the next day. It wasn’t that I wanted him gone because I missed him every time he left the house.

I wanted him to leave because I couldn’t wait to jump on the phone so I could call my sister and tell her what he said to me. That was a conversation that was going to make me sound like such a girl and I didn’t want him to overhear me.

When he was leaving, I stood at the door so I could give him a kiss goodbye. After he had walked out, I locked the door behind him so I could hear if he came back in. Like I said, that man’s always forgetting something when he leaves.

I pulled the curtain back ever so slightly as he got into his car, backed out of the driveway and drove away. As soon as I could no longer see him, I ran into the bedroom, grabbed my cell phone and called Sarabelle.

“Oh my God, Sarabelle! You’re never going to believe what happened!”

“Liam knocked you up?” she said laughing.

“What? No, you bitch,” I joked back. “He told me he loved me.”

“Oh, well it’s about time.”

“Shut up. You know how I am.”

“I know. That’s awesome! Did you say it back?”

“I did. And I actually meant it. I’m in love with him.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious by the way you look at him. I think it’s great that you told each other. It’s about time you made everything official. Speaking of official. Do you want to come with me to look at wedding dresses on Friday?”

“Fuck yeah! What kind of Maid of Honor would I be if I wasn’t there?”

“A pretty bad one. Do you have your passport?”

“A passport? Why do I need a passport to look at wedding dresses with you?”

“Because Christian knows a designer who happens to be located in Paris. You wanna come?”

“Let me repeat myself. Fuck yes!”

“Okay, we’re gonna leave for the airport about 8:00 pm Thursday night. Oh, and let’s try to use fewer fucks while we travel.”

I hung up the phone and was completely psyched that I was going to be traveling to Paris. Liam had told me that morning that he had a meeting scheduled that Friday so I knew he wasn’t going to be able to go with me. That sucked but I’d always wanted to travel to France and that gave me a reason to go.

When I called Liam to tell him the news, he was happy that I was going to be able to go on the trip although I could sense some disappointment in his voice.

When I asked him about it, he said he was going to miss me since we hadn’t been apart for more than a day since we started to see one another. I thought that was sweet before assuring him we’d only be gone for a few days.

Thursday night, Liam and Christian drove Sarabelle and me to the airport. It had been ages since I’d flown anywhere and couldn’t believe how long the lines were just to get through security.

I know I shouldn’t complain because they have everyone’s safety in mind but there’s got to be a more efficient way to do things. I could have done without the overweight butch woman feeling around on my tits and ass for five minutes. She could have at least taken me to dinner first.

Our guys were right there with us, though, only leaving when we got to the front of the security line. After that, it was just me and my sister hanging out and waiting for the plane. Of course, that meant sitting in the airport bar and having a few drinks before it was time to go.

It had been quite a while since the two of us had spent any time alone together and it was nice. Plus, the drinks would make it much easier to sleep one the flight was in the air. As scared as I am of enclosed places, I’m more afraid of heights and especially afraid of air travel. Getting a little tipsy before boarding would help make the trip more bearable.

The flight was perfect. We hit no turbulence as far as I could tell. Of course, I slept for the majority of the trip so that was a plus. That didn’t stop me from still feeling tired when we landed. Jet lag is a very real thing and it’s a bitch.

Sarabelle and I decided to go to the hotel, especially since we weren’t going to meet with the dress designer until late that afternoon. We both fell right to sleep and only woke up when the telephone rang. It was Christian calling to find out why we hadn’t made it to our appointment. We’d slept right through it.

We both scrambled to get ready and were fortunate that the designer was a real sweetheart of a man. He was very patient and helped Sarabelle pick out the wedding dress of her dreams. It was truly gorgeous.

The dress she selected was white with a corded lace and Chantilly lace bodice. It had a full-length tulle-tiered A-line skirt and a sweetheart neckline. The dress made her look like a fairytale princess.

Just looking at her made me want to cry, especially when I thought about how proud our mother would have been to see her in it. He took care of all the measurements and set the plan in motion to tailor it just for her.

After the fitting, I realized that we hadn’t eaten in hours and were starving.

“What do you feel like eating?” I asked my sister.

“I don’t know. French food?” she sarcastically replied.

Walking out of the shop, my jaw nearly hit the ground when I looked across the street only to see Liam and Christian standing there smiling at us. I ran over to give my man a hug while Sarabelle did the same.

I looked over at my sister and gave her a look that asked if she knew anything about them coming. I could tell by the look on her face that she was as surprised to see our guys as I was.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Liam.

“I decided that I didn’t want to be without my girl for the whole weekend so I called Christian to see if he was up for a road trip?”

“A road trip? A road trip is going to the cabin in the mountains. Well, you’re two guys. Shouldn’t you have taken a road trip to a seedy strip club or something?” I said with a laugh.

“You know, we actually discussed that and were very strongly considering it. The thing is, I realized that the two prettiest girls in the world were in Paris so those nasty strippers just weren’t going to do.”

“Oh yeah? Keep going. Tell us more,” Sarabelle said.

“Listen, do you guys care if I borrow Lexi in the morning?” Liam asked Sarabelle and Christian. “I’ve got a little surprise for her.”

“Well, the dress is all picked out. Take her now. I don’t need her anymore,” Sarabelle laughed.

The four of us went to a little cafe where we drank wine and dined on oysters and the best baked bread I’d ever eaten. After we ate, we all walked around for a while. Paris in the evening is a lot different than New York City.

As we walked, I tried getting Liam to tell me what the plans were for the next day but he wasn’t budging. He just kept telling me that I was going to have to wait and see.

That night, I grabbed my bag from our hotel room so Christian and Sarabelle could have some privacy. I went with Liam to the hotel that he had booked. As much as I love my sister, spending the night with my man in Paris was a lot more fun. I had a lot of trouble sleeping that night.

We were in Paris and I still hadn’t had the opportunity to see anything. I had so much I wanted to experience but no idea how I was going to make it happen. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter. I was there with the people I loved and that’s what was important to me.

The next morning, Liam woke me up for breakfast. We enjoyed croissants, toast, and coffee. It was an authentic breakfast and I thought that was very cool.

“So what are we doing today?” I asked as we walked from our hotel towards the Seine river.

“You see that water right there? Well, I know how much you wanted to see all the sites. Since we really don’t have enough time, I figured a sightseeing tour on the river would be perfect.”

It was as if he was reading my mind. I was so excited that I jumped into his arms and kissed him. I nearly ran the rest of the way to the river, eager to get on the boat and start the tour. The ship was gorgeous.

It had a little area with tables and glass from the floor to the ceiling so you could sit and see everything. That’s where Liam had a table reserved for us. If I would have called to make the reservations, I would have picked the same setup.

During the tour, we saw nearly everything I was hoping to see. The big landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and The Louvre. It also gave me the opportunity to experience Place de la Concorde, Musee d’Osray, and Hotel de Ville. I was in awe of the city, taking in everything it had to offer. At one point during the trip, Liam slid out of his seat and knelt down on the floor, holding a small box in his hand.

“Lexi Williams, the real reason I brought you out here today was not just to see Paris. The real reason I have you out here is because I love you with all my heart. I never thought in a million years that the two of us would end up together even though that’s what I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember. Now that I have you, I never want to lose you. Would you be my angel and spend the rest of your life by my side? Lexi Williams, will you marry me?”

Holy shit! This was really happening. I could feel my face turning multiple shades of red as I looked around the room and saw everyone staring, waited with bated breath for me to give him my answer. I knew what my answer was. Of course I was going to say yes.

All I had to do was get my brain to communicate with my mouth, which I wasn’t having great success doing. Instead, I excitedly shook my head up and down as tears began to stream down my face. These were happy tears of course.

Liam got up off his knee and hugged me so tight that I thought he was going to squeeze every last bit of air out of my lungs. Everyone on the boat started clapping. I almost expected a band to play like you see in the movies but, of course, that didn’t happen. Still, it was the greatest surprise and an incredible memory that I’m going to have for the rest of my life.

“When did you have time to set all this up,” I asked.

“Believe it or not, it all came together pretty quickly.”

“Wow. I’m glad you did this. It’s amazing. Thank you so much,” I said. “So now that I have this rock on my finger, when are you going to make an honest woman out of me?”

“I figured I’d leave that up to you. Is there any particular day or season you want? I’ll let you have control.”

“Okay. Marry me today.”

“Today? I don’t think that’s going to be possible.”

“No? And why is that?”

“Because there are rules and laws that need to be followed.”

“I see. I heard Sarabelle talking to the dress designer. I bet he could pull some strings and make it happen. I don’t even want a big wedding. Just me and you. Let’s make it official while we’re in Paris.”

“Are you sure? I can give you an incredible wedding. I can give you the wedding of my dreams.”

“The wedding of my dreams is one where you become my husband. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Okay then, I’ll make the call.”

We enjoyed the rest of our cruise even though I didn’t pay very much attention to the things around me. I spent most of the entire journey staring down at my ring and thinking to myself that I couldn’t believe I was engaged. I figured I’d always be the girl who had a lot of guys around but never a boyfriend, let alone a husband.

As promised, as soon as we got off the boat, Liam was on the phone with the wedding designer. There was going to be some things we’d have to do in order to get married legally.

The first thing we needed to do was get in touch with the American Embassy for a marriage license that would be recognized in the United States. Normally, we would have to live in France for 40 consecutive days before we could get married there but Liam was able to contact some people and pull some strings.

By that evening, the two of us had exchanged vows and were officially husband and wife. The ceremony was small and quaint. It took place right outside a little cafe and we had someone snapping some pictures for us.

We’ve decided to hold off on telling anyone. Liam still wants to give me a big wedding in the states and I’m excited about that. Even if this little ceremony was all we had, I’d still be a happy woman for the rest of my life.