Don't Walk Away
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
(Two weeks later)
Chloe sat in the Java Cafe studying the receipt in her hand intently. She had
not planned on buying a new dress, not with her stomach due to be showing her
pregnancy any day now. But, Belle had practically forced her into it, telling
her this was the last chance to shop for skinny clothes for a while.
Belle cleared her throat to break Chloe out of her trance. Chloe slipped the
receipt back into her purse and smiled uneasily at her friend. "I just...
don't know why I need a new dress... It's kind of silly."
"You need it because it's beautiful, it looks great on you, and you can
wear it all the time after you have the baby."
"But, I feel kind of guilty... Everyone is taking care of me, and here I am
out spending money that I don't have. I feel like I should get a job and have my
own money before I go off shopping at Salem Place."
Belle smiled at her and leaned forward. "Chloe, don't even worry about it.
My brother wants you to worry about taking care of yourself, and the baby and
that's it. He's got plenty of money to take care of things. Besides, you give
him so much more than bringing home a paycheck. You make him happy."
Chloe sighed softly and nodded. "You're right. I know he doesn't care if I
work, especially during my pregnancy... I just... Well, I'll blame you for the
new dress."
"Go for it. I'm used to being scolded by my big brother. But, don't worry;
I have a feeling he won't care. He wants you to be happy, and if shopping makes
you happy, then he wont mind at all."
Chloe shrugged and was about to reply when her cell phone began ringing loudly.
She fished it out of her purse and grinned when she saw the number to Brady's
office on her caller I.D. Chloe grinned at Belle and muttered quietly,
"Speak of the devil..."
She hit the button and placed the phone up to her ear. "Hey Brady..."
"Hey there diva... What are you up to?"
"I'm uhhh... I'm at the Java Cafe with your sister."
"No doubt having a busy day of shopping."
Chloe cringed slightly and replied. "Something like that."
"Well, I hope you're out buying yourself something pretty. I've got dinner
reservations for us tonight."
Chloe sat back in surprise. This was definitely unexpected. "You do? What's
the occasion?"
"No occasion. I just want to take you out for a nice romantic dinner at
Tuscany. Can you be ready to leave by six o'clock?"
"Uhhh, yeah. I can be ready by six. No problem."
"Alright, I'll see you at home. Say hello to Tink for me. I gotta run, I
love you."
Chloe nodded, still a little surprised. "I love you too. Bye."
Chloe slipped her phone back into her purse and looked at Belle strangely.
"Your brother says hello."
"Okay... Is something wrong?"
Chloe smiled happily and shook her head. "Nope, he wants to take me to a
romantic dinner at Tuscany tonight."
Belle threw her arms up in victory. "HA! I told you, Chloe! I told you that
you needed that dress, and now you do."
Chloe nodded in agreement and looked at her watch. "Yes, you were right.
Now... We have just enough time for you to help me find a new pair of shoes.
Come on."
Chloe hopped off her seat and Belle followed. Chloe smiled as they walked
towards the shoe store. It wasn't at all unlike Brady to surprise her with
something nice, but part of her had wondered what he was up to today.
***
(Later - At the Loft)
Chloe stood in front of her bathroom mirror, making the final touches to her
hair. She had decided to leave it wavy tonight, pinning the sides away from her
face. She paused long enough to admire her new dress, and the way that the pale
blue material hugged her figure in all of the right places. The dress hit right
above her knees, with spaghetti straps. It was simple, made of a somewhat gauzy
material, but lovely and very appropriate for a summer evening.
She turned her head at the sound of the door downstairs. Slipping her new shoes
on quickly, she went down the stairs to meet Brady. He was wearing a black suit
she couldn't remember ever seeing before, with a white shirt and silver tie
underneath. Chloe grinned at him slightly when she hit the bottom step.
Brady walked towards her with a smile on his face. "Chloe... you look
amazing. Like an angel, or a goddess..."
Chloe rolled her eyes and chuckled out of embarrassment. "Oh Brady, stop...
You're over-exaggerating."
"I'm not... You're beautiful, Chloe Lane."
"And you... Brady. I know you weren't wearing that when you left for work
this morning."
"No, I changed into it before I left work. Do you like it?"
Chloe nodded and moved closer to him, straightening the top of his tie with one
hand. "I love it. You look... pretty amazing yourself."
Brady leaned and kissed her sweetly, letting his hand rest in her wavy hair.
"Are you all ready to go?"
"I am. So, what time is the reservation for?"
"Not until later, we have a couple of stops to make first."
Chloe looked at him with her eyebrows raised in curiosity. "A couple of
stops?"
Brady nodded and grabbed her hand. "It's a beautiful day out. I thought
we'd take a little drive first."
"Ooookay... Whatever you say. This is your plan after all."
"Yes, it is. Now, come on."
Chloe nodded and followed him out the door towards the elevator. She said
nothing on the way downstairs, wondering what in the world Brady had up his
sleeves tonight.
***
(Over an hour later.)
Chloe kept her eyes out the window of Brady's jeep, the sights of Salem passing
her by. He had driven her around the outskirts of the town, chatting about
insignificant things as she tried to figure out where he was taking her. After
well over an hour, she still had no idea.
"Brady... Are we ever going to the restaurant?"
"Yes, we are. Just one stop, and then we'll go to dinner. But, you have to
do something for me."
"What's that?"
Brady grabbed something from the inside pocket on his jacket and handed it to
her. Chloe turned it over in her hands and laughed softly. "A blindfold?
You want me to wear a blindfold?"
Brady nodded in the affirmative. "Yep. I want you to be surprised when we
get to where we're going. So, please, just humor me."
"Okaaaaay. But, I still don't know why we had to drive around Salem for
almost 90 minutes."
Chloe sighed and put the black blindfold over her eyes, waiting patiently as
Brady drove them to their destination. She waited in silence until the jeep came
to a stop and she heard the engine turn off.
"Stay right where you are, diva. I'll come around and help you out."
Chloe nodded and Brady walked around the car and opened her door for her. He
lent a hand to her, so that she wouldn't fall on her face on the way out of the
jeep. She had no clue what he was up to, but it didn't seem to matter. There was
no one in the world she trusted more, and she didn't expect him to be leading
her to her death or to something highly embarrassing.
They walked hand in hand together, the blonde leading the blind towards whatever
destiny had in store for them. Wherever they were headed was fairly far away
from their car, and Chloe tried to listen to the sounds around her, but still
could not figure out where they were. They finally stopped and stood in one
place together. Brady moved behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist,
holding her tightly.
He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Are you ready to see your
surprise?"
"Oh, definitely."
Brady gently lifted her blindfold off and threw it aside. Chloe felt her knees
go weak when she saw what was in front of her. He had brought her to their
gazebo. It was lit up all over, the posts and railings draped with strings of
white lilies, Chloe's favorite flower. Not only that, but her parents, John,
Marlena, Shawn, Belle and Mimi were all standing inside dressed to the nines,
accompanied by an older man in a suit that she didn't recognize. She now knew
why Belle had been so insistent on her purchasing the new dress, because Belle
was in on the surprise too.
Chloe turned to Brady, smiling widely at him. "Brady... What's going
on?"
He didn't answer her, just looked into her eyes and smiled back at her. "Do
you like it?"
"I love it... But what are we doing here? What are they doing here?"
Brady walked with her closer to the gazebo, as she looked at her friends and
family, each of them smiling happily at her. Brady held on to both of her hands
and kept the smile on his face. "Chloe... I need to ask you two
questions."
Chloe was sure she was going to faint right there in front of everyone when
Brady stooped to rest on one knee. She put one hand to her mouth in surprise as
he held on to her other hand. Brady slipped his spare hand into his jacket
pocket and pulled a beautiful silver ring with a sparkling diamond in the
middle.
"Chloe... I love you and you know that. I know that I don't have to tell
you this, because you already know. And, you also know that I want to spend the
rest of my life with you. You are the only one who makes me feel the way I feel
right now. You are my heart, my soul, my spirit, and I want to make it my goal
in life to make you happy. To be a great father to our child, and to be a great
husband. So, I'm asking you, here in front of the people we love... if you will
please do me the honor of marrying me?"
Chloe wiped away her tears that had started to fall, and nodded intently.
"Of course I will. The answer is yes, Brady. Yes yes, yes, yes."
Brady slipped the ring on her finger quickly and stood to take her in his arms.
Those assembled in the gazebo began to applaud and cheer for them, as Brady
kissed her passionately. She smiled happily at him as they broke away, and
couldn't help but giggle.
"Oh my God... I didn't expect this, that's for sure. I can't believe you
did this."
"And that's not all. There's still the second question that I have to ask
you." Brady motioned towards the man that Chloe didn't recognize, and he
came forward so Brady could introduce him. "Chloe, this is Arthur Bennett.
He's a justice of the peace. He's got all the papers drawn up; all you have to
do is sign. So, the second questions is... Will you marry me TONIGHT?"
Chloe had to grab on to his arm to keep from toppling over. She knew that a life
with Brady would be full of surprises, but she could have never expected all of
this. "Tonight, here at the gazebo?"
Brady nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, tonight, here. That's another reason
why all of them are here. Couldn't leave our family and friends out of this,
could I? I figure, life is short, might as well do it now. Right? And, if you
want to have one of those big huge weddings and invite the whole town... we can
always do that later. But, tonight, I want to celebrate our love in front of
these people behind us... and make it legal."
Chloe couldn't help herself; she hugged him tightly and sighed. "Brady, you
are so unbelievable sometimes. And amazing..."
"So, what do you say diva? You want to do this with me?"
Chloe lifted her head from his shoulder and nodded. "There's nothing I want
more."
Brady smiled at her and quickly kissed her. "Then let's go for it."
He led her up the steps and into the gazebo, where hugs were passed all around
while the justice of the peace prepared the ceremony. Chloe hugged her mother,
Marlena and then Belle, smiling at her soon to be sister-in-law as they
separated.
"So, Belle... I guess that makes you my maid of honor."
"You got it. And, Shawn's the best man."
Chloe eyed Mimi who was grinning at her. "And Mimi?"
Mimi giggled and shrugged innocently. "I think I'm the flower girl. Only I
don't have any flowers. I'm just here for moral support, and also if you guys
hadn't invited me, I'd kill you both."
Chloe laughed and hugged Mimi in appreciation. "Well, thanks, Meems. I'm
really glad you're here. I'm glad all of you are here."
Brady grabbed her hand and pulled her to where they were standing in front of
the justice of the peace. He smiled all around at their small wedding party.
"I think I speak for Chloe, when I say it's because of all of you that
we're even standing here tonight. We couldn't have possibly done this without
the support of all of you."
The justice smiled at them expectantly. "Are we ready?"
Brady held on to both of her hands and moved so that they were facing each
other. "We're ready."
Chloe nodded in agreement. "Ready."
The justice nodded and began, cutting right to the chase. "I don't think I
have to tell you all what we are gathered here for today. And, I believe it's
safe to assume that no one here can find any reason why these two should not be
joined in marriage."
The assembled group laughed softly, and he continued. "Very well then.
Let's get right to it. Do you Brady Victor Black take this woman to be your
lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and
in health, in richer and in poorer, for all the days of your lives."
Brady smiled sweetly at her, and Chloe could feel her heart beating faster.
"I do."
"You've already slipped the ring on her finger, so that's taken care of.
Brady, you have something you'd like to say to Chloe."
Brady glanced at him and nodded, and then turned his loving gaze back to Chloe.
"Chloe... My diva. I'm not a poet, or a writer, so finding the words to
describe the way I feel about you is very difficult. The only thing I can do is
show you how much I love you with every touch, every kiss and every smile. To
hold you in my arms every day for the rest of our lives and prove to you that
you are everything to me is how I can show you my love. We've come so far, and
we've beaten every obstacle that has stood in our way. And as long as you are
with me, I know we can handle anything that happens in our future. I love you
with every fiber of my being, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to
make you the happiest woman on earth, because you make me the happiest man on
earth."
Chloe held her tears at bay, not wanting to turn into a sopping puddle at her
wedding. Brady smiled at her and then motioned for the justice to continue. The
justice turned to Chloe and continued the ceremony.
"Alright. Do you, Chloe Michelle Lane, take this man to be your lawfully
wedded husband? To have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in
health, in richer and poorer, for all the days of your lives."
Chloe nodded excitedly. "I do. But, I don't have a ring or vows
prepared."
Brady chuckled softly and reached into his pocket, handing her a silver wedding
band to match her ring. Chloe smiled gratefully and slipped the ring on to
Brady's finger.
"Brady... This is sort of unfair, you know. I didn't know I was getting
married tonight, so I couldn't really prepare anything to say. So, I'm just
going to have to speak from my heart and hope it makes sense. You, Brady, have
nothing to worry about. You don't have to try very hard at all to make me the
happiest woman on earth, because I already am. Nobody has ever known me the way
that you do, or understood me like you do. You prove to me that anything and
everything is possible, no matter how hard life may seem at times. You love me
with no conditions, no strings, just with your full heart... completely and
unselfishly. I love you, and I am so happy to be standing here right now getting
married to you."
Chloe squeezed his hand tightly, wondering when the disbelief of what was going
on would wear off and reality would start to set in. The justice nodded as she
ended her vows, and finished the ceremony.
"Well... By the power invested in me by the great state of Illinois, I now
pronounce you husband and wife. Let no one put asunder what God has brought
together."
Brady looked at him with one eyebrow raised expectantly. "Well?"
"You may kiss your bride."
Chloe giggled softly as Brady laid his hand on her cheek, moving forward to kiss
her gently and sweetly. They had now confirmed legally and in front of their
families, what they had felt in the hearts already. Love, devotion and a
lifetime commitment. Never to be torn apart again.