Page 12 of Gambling with Destiny
Destiny relaxed into me and we spent the morning soaking up the sun, talking about our lives, ignoring the future that was so full of anxiety for her but that I was certain was nothing but full of love and possibilities.
12
Destiny
The days leading up to Chelsea and Logan’s wedding were filled with more family dinners, wedding prep and orgasms. Oh, so many orgasms. We’d spent the days getting to know each other and the nights learning each other’s body. I’d learned that Mason was a music therapist who worked with special needs kids when he was in the US and he was in the middle of converting his accreditation with the Australian Music Therapy Association. On the side, he still wrote music and occasionally sold his work through his agent.
Despite the badly orchestrated intervention at Bella’s salon, once Mason and I walked into the restaurant at Valentine Cove Resort the night after his outburst, hand in hand, we didn’t turn any heads and no one peppered us with questions. There were a few sly looks, but no questions.
Janelle and Scott hadn’t technically closed the restaurant to the public following that notorious dinner, but with almost all the cabins filled with wedding guests, it was almost like a privatefunction again each night. Mason and I would dine with our families, spending some nights at his beachfront house and the night before Chelsea and Logan’s wedding in my cabin at the resort.
I’d calmed down from our breakfast at the lookout. At no point had Mason demanded that I move to Hartwood Bay, but when he said he wanted to share his world with me, I instantly wanted to give up everything in Sydney and move here.
And that was scary.
I was a fiercely independent woman, raised by an independent woman, and maybe we were both a little shy about depending on a man after the way my dad had left when I was still so young. The hackles on my back had raised at the idea that Mason would tear apart my world and deposit me in his. I’d worked too hard for the stability I had built, but what good was stability if I wasn’t living my life to the fullest?
For years, I built my fort, living frugally so that I could afford to buy my own place in the skyrocketing Sydney real estate market, where even in the lower income western suburbs I grew up in, many people struggled to buy. I planted my roots, adamant that I would not settle for a lacklustre life and Mason wanting to share his world with me shook those roots, but most trees could be transplanted in the right environment and I was certain that Mason could provide me with those conditions.
Stubborn could easily be my middle name. Mum always complained about it when I was growing up, but it definitely helped me remain focused in life. It was also something that made it hard for me to admit that perhaps, I could let someone in and trust that maybe forever with someone who made my life brighter in every way was not only possible, but something that was a strong probability with Mason in my life.
I talked to Logan and Jordan, who assured me they would support any decision I made and that my job was somethingthat could be performed flexibly. Most of the people in my team worked flexibly, except for our receptionists, Mason had said that until his music therapist accreditation is certified in Australia, that he would travel to Sydney with me on the weeks I headed into the office. He even said that he would help me find somewhere to live in Hartwood Bay initially if I needed to have a place that was mine while we navigated the waters of this relationship. I wasn’t ready to call it a marriage, even if we had decided to not annul the Vegas ceremony.
Lily, Logan’s cousin, introduced me to her brother’s girlfriend, Bailey, who lived on the outskirts of Hartwood Bay. She told me she had a granny flat I could use if I just wanted a landing pad, and it sounded like exactly what I needed. I wouldn’t deny that when I was in Hartwood Bay, most of that time would be spent with Mason, but knowing I would have somewhere to escape to helped ease the anxiety I had about depending too entirely on a man.
That man, though, the one who made my heart race each time I looked at him. He quietly took the stage in the Valentine Cove Resort function centre, guitar in hand, to perform for the newly wedded Chelsea and Logan. He’d told me he’d spent some time revising his lyrics in the last few days but wouldn’t say anymore than that.
“Good evening everyone,” he spoke into the microphone. “When Chelsea told me a couple of months ago that she was getting married. I congratulated her. She then grew quiet before asking me why I was one of only a few people who didn’t question her about how quickly they were moving. All I did in reply was laugh. In our family, things move fast because when you meet that person, the one who brings light to your world, the one who is your starlight, you don’t question it, you run toward it. Why wait to start the rest of your life?”
Mason looked over at me as he said those last few sentences. He then sat on the chair that had been set up on stage, adjusted the microphone again. “I told Chelsea that I would write them a song for their first dance, to celebrate their love for each other and the beginning of their happily ever after.”
Chelsea and Logan walked hand in hand into the middle of the dancefloor, he held her close to him as the first strums of Mason’s song began. Then Mason’s eyes fixed on mine again. He sang about love taking you by surprise, taking hold of your heart and tying you to that person. He sang about life feeling monotonous until that person came into your life, bringing lightness and meaning to your life. He sang about love being his starlight, guiding him through the night.
As Mason sang each word, I could feel my world shifting. Sure, I would keep my safety nets in place, but my gut said this was my forever, Mason was my forever. Our marriage might have started on a whim in Las Vegas, but it was going to be a happily ever after in Hartwood Bay.
The end.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
My mum stood to the left of me, my dad to the right as we hovered near the wooden planked path that led to Valentine Cove, the beach at Mason’s parents resort where he had told me that our wedding in Vegas had led to a legal marriage certificate. I took a deep breath and walked forward.
When we reached the end of the path, I could see Mason standing near a simple wooden arch, with our family, both biological and found family, sitting on chairs on either side of an aisle. Jye had retired from football and was back in Australia. Jade was heavily pregnant, looking radiant as her husband doted on her. Throughout the crowd, I found our other brothers sprinkled in the crowd, sitting with members of the Lovric family or the found family that Mason and his parents had formed in Hartwood Bay.
The sun was still high, the late summer weather kissing our skin with warmth, glistening off the gentle waves of Valentine Cove. I could feel the love of all the people in attendance, theones who wanted to share our happiness. Janelle stood under the arch. She was our celebrant and I couldn’t think of anyone more suitable to help us celebrate our union.
I exhaled because, of course, Mason was right. Our Vegas wedding had been all neon lights and Elvis. It was fun, and it was perfect for the moment. This ceremony, although not the legal one, it was perfect for us.
I felt the warm sand beneath my feet, grounding me in the moment, I felt the reassurance of a light breeze and I felt the support of both my parents either side of me as I walked up to the love of my life, not to commit to him for the rest of my life, because we’d already done that and continue to choose our commitment for each other every day. This ceremony wasn’t for legalities or to tick something off a bucket list, this ceremony was to share our love for each other with the people we love because this was our happily ever after and we wanted all of our loved ones to be as happy as us, forever.