Page 37 of Forever After All (Pine Harbour #2)

Alice - The wedding

W e choose to get married surrounded by our friends and family, and what better way to do that, than at the Green family home.

Eighteen months after the proposal, it’s finally our wedding day. If Carter wanted to get married the day after he proposed, I swear I would have. But, no, he's the sensible one. He's the planner, and I am just the one that goes along with it.

Sawyer got himself ordained so he could perform the ceremony, and my soon-to-be husband has spent the last two days decorating the yard with lights, hay bales for seating, blankets, tables, and chairs.

All with the help of his brothers. And not even letting me so much as look if I attempt to peek out the back of the house.

Even though we’ve been staying in the same house, we haven't seen each other since yesterday.

Carter has taken the tradition very seriously and spent last night at Autumn and Sawyer's house with his brothers.

My mum, Claudia, Lainey, Autumn, Brenna, Lottie, Poppy, and I all crashed in the living room with sleeping bags, watching Bridesmaids and eating pizza after Poppy fell asleep.

Then we woke up this morning surrounded by empty pizza boxes.

Spending the morning with my bridesmaids means everything.

I love the company of everyone else, but in the chaos of getting everything ready, I haven't stopped to take it all in.

Autumn, Brenna, and Poppy look so beautiful in their deep green dresses.

Autumn and Brenna's hair is curled and pinned to within an inch of its life.

Poppy's wild mop of hair is left to do its own thing.

The rowdy little girl cannot be tamed. My heart squeezes in my chest, watching her run around and getting stains on her dress before the wedding has even begun.

Watching a kid be a kid is one of the best things you can see, and I love to see her without a care in the world.

I run my hands down over the front of my dress and touch my tummy for just a second.

Brenna chases Poppy outside, trying to stop her from getting even more dirt on her dress.

"Oh, Ali. Just look at you, you are glowing," my best friend says to me in the empty room. "Your dress is so beautiful, your makeup looks incredible, you're oozing with happiness."

"Autumn, I'm glowing because I'm pregnant," I blurt out as I look down at the floor, and am met with complete silence.

After a few, long seconds Autumn steps in front of me and pulls my face up with her hands to look directly at me, "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm pregnant," I repeat. "I found out two weeks ago." I bite my bottom lip as my face pulls into a frown, terrified to admit the secret I've been keeping from her.

I never wanted children. Well , I never pictured myself with children, but Carter and I haven't exactly been careful.

The only shock here is that I haven't gotten pregnant sooner.

The second I started to vomit, I just knew.

I didn't need to do the test—I felt it to my core.

But I peed on that stick anyway and got the confirmation in the form of three little words.

Seven weeks pregnant. The small words seemed so big to me, looking down at the little plastic device in my hand.

Carter and I sat on the bathroom floor, our backs against the bathtub, looking at the stick, waiting for the result.

As soon as the three minutes were up, I turned the little white case over and my hands started to tremble.

I threw up immediately, I had to catapult myself to the toilet to stop myself vomiting on the floor.

Carter held my hair out of the way and rubbed my back.

I'm unsure whether it was from morning sickness or from the shock of discovering I’m pregnant. Maybe it was both.

"Princess, we're gonna be parents. Fuck, I'm so happy," he said, hammering the news home, and it triggered another wave of vomiting.

"Oh, Ali." Autumn beams at me, struggling to hold it together. "What did Carter say? I'm so happy for you both." She presses her hands to my stomach.

"He lost his fucking mind." I smile a little, struggling to know what to do with the information I put out in the world.

Autumn steps back a little and looks at me with concern. "Like…lost his mind in a good way or a bad way?" she asks. "Because if you need someone to kick his ass, I’ll do that for you." Autumn squeezes my arm, and I laugh.

Admitting out loud for the first time that you're pregnant to someone other than your partner is so scary. It makes it so much more real.

"Oh, it was absolutely a good way." I can't help the huge grin that forms now. "Autumn, I'm going to be a mum." My best friend pulls me into a hug and I melt into it, relieved to have told her.

"It's still so early and we haven't told anyone else," I say hurriedly.

"We're still figuring it out ourselves. Shit.

How am I supposed to raise a human? I'm not grown up enough myself yet.

" I shake my head a little, still reeling, finding it hard to come to terms with being pregnant.

"How am I"—I point to myself—"supposed to raise this?

" I point to my stomach, then take a long, deep breath.

"Everything fucking hurts," I whine. "My boobs hurt, my back hurts already!

What's it going to be like when I'm carrying a watermelon?

Fucking look at me." I gesture up and down my body.

"Fucking look at Carter." I raise my hand above my head a little to signify that he is taller than me.

"We're going to have a giant baby with a giant head and a giant body, and I have to push it out of me.

" Talking about this out loud makes me panic with the possibility of this baby coming out of me.

"It was fun making the baby. It was so fun, but I don't want to do that bit, I can't do that bit. "

Autumn laughs at me. "Well, Ali, you're out of luck, babe. Because one way or another, that baby is coming eventually." Then she starts to Google the average length of monster babies on her phone.

"No. Nope. No thank you," I retort, trying not to think about my life thirty-one weeks from now. Screaming babies, shitty diapers, milk vomit, no sleep. Ever again.

"Might I suggest…wrapping it up next time? Going on the pill? Having an IUD fitted? Maybe even getting him to, oh, I don't know, just not come inside of you?" She giggles some more, trying her hardest to make light of my life changing news, to break the tension I feel.

"But where is the fun in that?" I ask, letting out my own giggle.

"Tell that to your baby," she says, pointing at my belly.

"Ali, jokes aside, you are going to be an amazing mother. If you’re half the mother that you are a friend then that little baby is going to be the luckiest child in the world, you know that?

" She sits next to me on the couch. "Not to rush you, Ali, but it's time, your future husband is waiting. "

The door knocks and my dad pokes his head inside the room. He takes one look at me before sobbing.

"I'm so proud of you, sweet pea. I am so proud to be your dad." He rushes over to hug me.

"Dad, stop," I choke out. "This makeup took an hour to do and I’m not crying it off for anyone—not even you."

He clings to me a little longer before standing to gain his composure. Then he holds his arm out to me to link through. I snake my arm in through his and his hand squeezes the back of mine.

"How am I meant to give you away when you'll always be my baby?" he asks, and no amount of willpower can stop the single tear that runs down my cheek.

"You'll always be my first love." I say the words so quietly, scared if I speak any louder, my voice will break completely.

My dad walks me through the yard, which is decorated like an English country garden. I had no idea Carter had planned this to look like my childhood home.

"Oh." I breathe out, looking at the blooming flowers that line the path. I’m taken back by the thought and consideration that my very-nearly husband has put into the planning.

Walking to the back of the yard, my dad hands me to Carter, as he extends his fingers for me.

"I'll look after her, I promise," Carter tells my dad, as he links his fingers between mine.

"I know you will, Carter," my dad returns, and I turn to face my future husband.

"Black? Well, look at you." He admires my dress and lets out a low whistle as I shimmy a little. "Just when I think that you can't surprise me anymore, you do it again." He twirls me around, drinking in my unconventional wedding gown.

"Now, Alice and Carter have chosen to write their own vows, which they will read to you now," Sawyer announces to our guests.

"Alice, you are my guiding light. Every single day you amaze me.

I never thought I wanted to get married, but when you came into my life, that changed in a heartbeat.

All this time, I was just waiting for you.

I exist to make you happy, and I will spend every single day of my life, reminding you why you said yes.

" The depth of his words drown me with love.

"You are my best friend, future mother of my children, and the biggest support to me.

I promise, with every shred of my being, that I will love you through every season, until the day I die.

I told you once before that I was not worthy of you, but every single moment of my life I will try to be a better man for you.

Thank you for loving me." He coughs the last words out, and I wonder how I am ever supposed to top that.

I look around at our guests and there is not a dry eye to be seen.

Sawyer gestures in my direction, encouraging me to speak, slamming his eyes shut a few times in a bid to hide his emotional reaction to his brother's vows.

"Carter, thank you for saving me," I start, and Carter breaks immediately with silent tears running down his cheeks.

Sawyer passes him a Kleenex, and he dabs his eyes.

"You prove to me, day after day, all the ways you love me.

From a cup of coffee in the morning, to running me a bath, to rubbing my feet after a hard day.

When I fall, you catch me, and when I think I might break, you are the glue that holds me together.

You are, quite simply, the love of my life.

I will weather every storm with you, and walk through every sunrise.

" I hear Autumn sob in the background and it triggers my own tears once more.

"You reminded me how it feels to be loved so deeply that nothing else matters.

You are the reason I believe in taking chances, and until I draw my last breath on this earth, I will love you.

Thank you for loving me too." I drop my head into my hands and press on my eyes to prevent the tears.

Clearing his throat, Sawyer says, "Alice and Carter have chosen not to exchange rings, so I am very happy to announce the new Mr. and Mrs. Green."

“That’s not exactly true, brother,” Carter says to Sawyer, pulling a small black velvet box from his pocket.

With confusion I furrow my eyebrows a little. “We decided not to exchange rings, Carter. What is this?”

“A surprise.” He smirks at me, opening the small box to reveal a rose gold and black diamond wedding band and engagement ring set.

I audibly gasp. The sparkling large black diamond of the solitaire engagement ring is framed by the wishbone style wedding ring, that has smaller black diamonds set all the way around the band.

“Carter what did you do that for?” I ask, trying incredibly hard to stifle my growing smile.

“I got you the wedding ring because it was like you. There’s nothing else like it and it stands out the most.” He reaches in to brush my cheek with the back of his fingers.

“Carter, it’s so beautiful,” I chirp.

“I got you the engagement ring because I never should have proposed without one. You deserve everything. You are everything, Alice.” As Carter speaks, I feel my bottom lip wobble just a little, and I take deep breaths to prevent myself from crying like a baby.

“But I didn’t get one for you, and now I feel guilty. I should’ve got you a ring.” I play with my hands a little as he frees the rings from the box, taking my hand to put them on to my finger, holding the rings steady at my fingertip.

“I don’t need a ring, princess. I’ve got you forever, so I wanted something permanent.

” As Carter slides the rings over my finger, a small tattoo on his finger becomes visible.

An intricate letter A is inked into the space on his finger where a ring would be with a tiny black diamond underneath it.

“Besides, we’ve both got a black diamond now. ”

I shake my head a little, but I cannot hold back the giant smile that cracks across my face.

“You’re fucking crazy,” I whisper loud enough for only Carter to hear.

“Fucking crazy about you? Yes.” He grins. “Can I kiss her now?” Carter asks his brother.

“You can kiss her,” Sawyer confirms with a huge smile.

My husband pulls me in to kiss me and reaches down to touch my stomach.

"I love you so much. You’ve given me everything I’ll ever need," he whispers into my mouth. "Thank you for making me a daddy."