40. Caleb
CHAPTER 40
CALEB
“ D o you still want to get married?”
I can’t help but ask the question first thing the next morning. And I fully expect her to back out. I’d be okay with that. It would be normal to have reservations, though I truly have none.
So it shocks me when she blinks back at me sleepily, and a slow smile spreads across her face. “I want to be your wife.”
With a groan, I burrow beneath the covers and show her just how much that pleases me.
After, we shower and get ready, then head out to file for our marriage license. We’ll have to wait at least three days before we can actually get married, and if, in that time, she gets cold feet, that’ll be okay too. I want this, but I don’t want her to do it until she’s ready.
As we exit the courthouse, Halle clings to my arm, smiling from ear to ear.
This might be the happiest I’ve ever seen her.
“You’re going to be my husband,” she says as we reach my car.
I cage her in against the passenger side, one hand on the frame on either side of her head. “And you’re going to be my wife.”
She bites her lip, dark eyes flashing. “Say it again.”
Grinning, I lean down until my lips brush her ear. “Wife.”
She shivers, and not because of the cold. “We need to tell my brothers. I want them to know. To be there.”
“Of course.” I straighten and nod. Pretty sure I’d agree to anything she says right now.
“And I want to get rings.” She turns, eyeing my left hand where it’s pressed to the side of the car.
I can’t stop smiling, and fuck, my face already hurts. “You want the whole world to know I belong to you?”
“Yes.” She tips her face up, shoulders back.
“I love that.” I brush my lips over her soft cheek. “I love when you’re possessive.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m not possessive. I’m…” She huffs out a breath. “Okay, maybe I am. A little.” She pokes my chest. “I also want a dress. Not a wedding dress, but something that makes me feel pretty. ”
“We can do that.” She can wear whatever the fuck she wants. With any luck, I’ll convince her to do a real wedding one day. For now, I’ll take what I can get. At the end of the day, all I want is her. Calling Halle my wife will be the greatest pleasure of my existence.
“Why do I feel like I could ask you for a car, and you’d say yes?”
“Because”—I grin, taking her cheeks in my hands—“if you haven’t figured it out yet, baby, I’m incapable of saying no to you.”
“You’re really too good for me, Caleb,” she says softly.
“No, I’m not.” I stroke my thumbs over her smooth cheeks. “You’ve just never met anyone who put you first before.”
That’s the thing she doesn’t realize. I’m nothing special, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes for the people I love.
“Let’s go find you a dress, yeah?” I pull away and tug her gently so I can open the car door.
She nods, an excited smile taking over her face before she can stop it.
One day, maybe she’ll learn that she doesn’t need to hide her happiness. That it’s okay to find joy in things.
“You don’t have to stick with me,” she says when we enter through the sliding doors and the soft mall music permeates the air around us. “I know most guys aren’t into clothes shopping.”
“I don’t mind.” I lace my fingers with hers and slide my other hand into my pocket. “I plan to stay with you unless you want me to be surprised by what you pick. ”
Her lips quirk up in amusement, making me curious about what she’s thinking. In the end, I don’t press her.
The first shop we pop into gets an immediate no from her.
The next is better, but she doesn’t find anything worth trying on.
“We’ll check a few more places, and if I don’t find what I’m looking for, we can come back,” she says, dragging me from the store.
I like that she hasn’t dropped my hand yet. That she likes touching me as much as I like touching her.
When we step into the third shop, her eyes light up. In minutes, she’s got several dresses draped over her arm, all ranging from true white to ivory to even a pastel blue option.
“Something blue,” she says when I keep staring at it.
I smile, surprised to hear her say something so traditional.
“I like it.” And I do. It’s got a slight shimmer to it, with butterflies stitched around the slit in the side. “I’ll go ask about a dressing room. Keep looking.”
I take the dresses from her and leave her to browse the racks while I find an employee and secure a room for her.
By the time I locate Halle in the store again, she’s found one more possibility.
I take it from her, then grasp her hand. “Dressing rooms are this way.” I lead her through the maze of racks to the back and point out the room where the other dresses are waiting.
She comes to a stop, scrutinizing the little cubicles, her lip caught between her teeth.
“Go on,” I encourage, parking my butt in an empty chair. “I’ll be right here.”
With a small smile, she disappears behind the curtain, the swoosh of fabric blocking me out.
A moment later, a muffled “oh my God” comes from the dressing room.
I straighten, eager to see her, but slump again when she adds, “Absolutely not. I’m not even showing you.”
“Come on, Hal.” I rest an ankle on one knee. “Let me see.”
She snorts. “Not a chance, buddy.”
“Halle.” My voice is stern. “I’m about to be your husband. Don’t call me buddy.”
For a moment, I’m met with silence. But then her fingers slowly appear around the curtain, and she pulls it back just enough to poke her head out.
She doesn’t say anything, just stares at me with her lips slightly parted.
“Something wrong, baby?” I ask, leaning back in the chair.
She shakes her head like she’s clearing away the fog in her brain. “No, it’s just… I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the sound of that.”
“Sound of what?” I grin, already knowing what she means.
“Husband,” she whispers, her eyes wide. “You’re going to be my husband.”
A thrill shoots through me. “Yes, I am, sweetheart. ”
She disappears back behind the curtain. The dress she tried but refuses to let me see hits the floor, and she tries another. This time she throws the curtain back and steps out.
It’s flowy, with long sleeves and a slit up one leg. She looks stunning in it, but that’s not what matters. I only care about how she feels in it.
“It’s an option.” She decides as she inspects her reflection in the wall of mirrors. “Do you like it?”
“I like you in anything you wear.”
She rolls her eyes at my answer. “So diplomatic.”
When she steps out again, wearing another long-sleeve option with a bow on the back, I know right away she’s not a fan.
The frown is a dead giveaway, but she turns to me anyway. “What do you think of this one?”
“It’s a no.”
“Why?” she presses, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Because you don’t like it.”
Her mouth pops open. “How can you tell?”
I shrug. “Because I know you.”
The third dress is the light blue one. She looks fucking stunning in it, but I rein in my reaction, not wanting to sway hers. It’s not the traditional white, and that may be an issue for her.
She smooths her hands down the front of the dress, biting her bottom lip as she surveys her reflection. She lifts her hair up, angling her neck like she’s trying to imagine it with an updo or maybe even with jewelry around her neck .
“Do you like it?” I ask.
She turns to me, letting her dark hair fall back into place.
“I really do. I’m just not sure about the color and… do you think it’s too summery? With the straps? It’s December.”
“You could get some kind of white shawl thing to put around your shoulders?” I suggest. “If it’s what you want.”
She turns, letting the bottom flare out a bit. “Let me try on the rest, and then we’ll see.”
She quickly vetoes an option with flowy sleeves, and the next one looks too matronly, according to her. By the time she’s tried them all on, her shoulders are slumped and her face is drawn in defeat.
“Try the blue one again. We can always try more stores. You don’t have to pick the winner here.”
“I know.” She disappears behind the curtain again, swishing it closed. “I just thought this would be easier, I guess. I’m not normally a picky person.”
“This is a big deal. It’s okay to be selective. But as long as you feel good in it, that’s all that matters. If you want to do a big wedding down the road, you can go all out then.”
She pokes her head around the corner, narrowing her dark gaze on me. “We both know I’m not the big wedding type, so get that notion out of your head right now.”
I sigh and mutter, “Yes, ma’am.”
She steps out a moment later, the blue dress fitted perfectly to her frame, and she’s fucking glowing .
I say nothing as she looks at herself in the mirror, giving her full control over the decision.
“It might be silly with the color and the butterflies and spaghetti straps and…” She lets out a sigh. “But I want this one.”
I stand and pull her to my chest. “It’s perfect.”
She smiles up at me, and the pure happiness radiating from her nearly knocks me to my knees. Her eyes were so dark, so lost when I met her, but now there’s no trace of shadows anywhere. I chased them all away.
“I love you,” she says, leaning into me.
In response, I kiss her.