Chapter 11 Taylor
Taylor
“I think I underestimated how much I’d miss you,” Taylor said as she lay in Austin’s arms in his oversized lounger Friday
after dinner. She’d seen him only once since Tariq and Kam’s wedding, and that had been for a short time Christmas Day. Both
had been busy, Austin in particular, so they hadn’t been able to coordinate their schedules. Now, two months later, he had
offered to drive to LA for the couple of days he had off, but she preferred going to Oceanside, where she could have him all
to herself. If his family got wind of him being in town, their time would be limited, and after going without seeing him for
two months, she planned to take full advantage and didn’t want any interruptions. She’d taken off work and would be driving
back on Wednesday. Although they were helpful, the phone calls, texts, and video chats hadn’t been enough for her. Taylor
had naively believed it would feel the same, given how close they’d always been. She shuddered to think how it would be when
he received a deployment across the country or to another one.
Austin pulled her closer. “I didn’t, and I know I’m going to have a harder time when I’m further away from you.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. That just means we have to take advantage of every moment when we’re together.”
They fell silent for a moment, then he said, “I talked to my mom last night. She’s still raving about the wedding and lobbying
for grandchildren.”
She laughed. “I know. She brought it up when everyone was there for New Year’s, then again when she had Kam, Giselle, and
me over for lunch a few weeks ago.”
“Speaking of weddings, my family seemed to be happy about us being together, especially Tariq.”
“I guess him and Kam deciding to just hand us the bouquet and garter might have given it away,” she said.
“Yeah. He said he always knew that I loved you, and he was waiting for me to figure it out. I told him I wished he’d mentioned
it sooner so I didn’t waste my time with all those other women.”
Taylor smiled. “It would’ve been nice, but I’m glad we figured it out.”
“So am I. I’ve been thinking that I don’t want to wait years for us to get married.”
She sat up straight, her heart pounding. “What?”
A smile curved his lips. “I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Tay, and I don’t want to leave California
without you being my wife.”
Staring, she couldn’t utter a word. Okay, so yeah, she’d been thinking about the whole marriage thing ever since Kamryn shoved
that bouquet of roses into her hand and whispered to let her know when she was ready to go shopping, but that was as far as
she’d gotten. Were they moving too fast? Then again, it wasn’t like they had to get to know each other. He probably knew her
better than anyone. Wait. He said he didn’t want to leave California without us being married. Had he already gotten deployment orders?
“Tay?”
Austin calling her name snapped her out of her mental musings. “Hmm.”
“Stop thinking so much.”
“I—”
He cut off her words with a kiss. “Relax. No, I haven’t received any orders, we already know each other better than anyone,
and we’re definitely not moving too fast. Did I miss anything?”
Taylor playfully elbowed him. “Ugh. I can’t stand you sometimes. How did you know what I was thinking?”
Chuckling, Austin said, “I know you. You’ve done the same thing to me too.” He removed his arm from around her and slid off
the lounger and onto a knee. Taking her hand, he continued. “I love you, Taylor Noelle Price—always have and always will.
You are my best friend, my confidante, and the one who lights up my world. With you, every day feels perfect, and I don’t
ever want it to end. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me. Will you marry me?”
The tears had started the moment he dropped to his knee, and with each passionate word, the tears came faster. “Yes. Yes,
I will marry you, Austin Marcelo Bradley,” she said on a broken sob. He slid a beautiful heart-shaped diamond solitaire ring
onto her finger, and she launched herself into his arms.
“My Tay,” Austin whispered just before slanting his mouth over hers in a kiss that made her feel every word he’d spoken. He
eased back onto the lounger and hugged her close.
“So when do you want to get married? Are you thinking before or after your next deployment?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Definitely before, but truthfully, I’d like to do it before you leave. Tomorrow, specifically.”
Surely she hadn’t heard him correctly. “Wait. Tomorrow? Austin, there’s no way we can get married tomorrow. Apparently you don’t remember what goes into planning a wedding—venue,
dress, invitations, theme. Need I go on? And you can’t just show up somewhere tomorrow like, bam, we want to get married. And I don’t think we have time to try to go to Vegas, not to mention that your family would probably
strangle us both if we eloped.”
Austin burst out laughing. “See, now that’s where you’re wrong. There are all kinds of places that have same-day weddings
that can include just the bride and groom or accommodate a small number of guests.”
Her mouth fell open in disbelief. Is he serious?
He shifted slightly, released her, and dug his phone out of his pocket. After typing for a few seconds, he leaned over so
she could see the screen. “I did a little research and found a few places. A couple are not too far from here.”
Taylor accepted the phone from him, still in shock. Although she didn’t know what shocked her more, his suggestion to elope
or the fact that she was seriously considering it. She scrolled through the pages, noting that, along with the license and
ceremony, they provided the option to have the ceremony at one of their sites or to choose your own, as well as packages that
included a few guests, a photographer, and a nonalcoholic beverage toast. “I can’t even believe they have places like this.”
“So what do you think? Maybe I’m rushing things, but it feels like I’ve wasted so much time where we’re concerned. A few months
ago, a group of us were talking about relationships. One guy who has been married for almost ten years said that when you
find the right person, don’t waste time because tomorrow isn’t promised.”
With the loss of her mother and now the slow loss of her father, she could definitely attest to that fact.
“This isn’t something I take lightly, Taylor. I want you to know when we’re apart that we’re still one, that you’ll have the protection that comes with having my heart and name. But if you’re not ready, we’ll wait.”
Her gaze went back to the screen. It’s not like you don’t love the man, and didn’t you admit to yourself that you’d marry him in a heartbeat if he asked? “No. I don’t want to wait. But it’s already Friday evening. I doubt they’ll have tomorrow available.”
Austin eased the phone from her hand. “That might be true . . . but not if it was booked two days ago.” He shrugged. “I figured
we could always reschedule if necessary, but I didn’t want to take a chance of losing out.”
Taylor jumped up and paced. “Okay, okay. I need to find a dress, shoes. Oh my goodness, I have to do something with my hair.
It’s a mess.” Although she’d had it done a week ago, most days she pulled it into a ponytail. She glanced down at her hands.
Because her job involved using her hands a lot, she rarely got manicures or painted her nails. “Ugh, so are my hands.” She pulled out her phone and opened the Notes app. “I need to make a list. Wait. What time are we getting
married?” Saying it out loud made butterflies dance in her belly. “I have a lot to do.”
He slowly came to his feet and eased the phone from her hand. “Relax. I knew you’d want to have some time to get a few things
done, so we’re getting married at seven tomorrow evening. I didn’t know if you wanted Melanie to be here, so I got the package
that includes a few guests. That’s the other reason I made it for that late. If she wants to come, she won’t have to rush.”
That he’d considered her friend made her love him even more. “You always think of everything.” She groaned, ran a hand across
her forehead, and resumed pacing. “Oh no. What about your family? Mama Yvonne is going to be so upset.”
“Taylor, my family will be fine, especially when we give her free rein to plan a reception—with your input, of course,” he added when Taylor shot him a glare.
“She’ll definitely need some oversight.” When Mama Yvonne got excited, she tended to go overboard. She recalled Kamryn sweetly
vetoing a few of her future mother-in-law’s suggestions.
“I texted Tariq a minute ago and told him the news. He said he and Kam will drive down in the morning. Kam also said she’d
be happy to help you with whatever you need. And he agreed to keep our secret until we share it with the family, which we
can do the next time I have the weekend off.”
That made her feel better. “I figured he’d be the one person you’d call.” Though the four brothers were all close, Austin
had a special bond with Tariq, and for as long as she’d known him, Tariq was Austin’s sounding board and one of his best friends.
“I only wish your dad was well enough to be here for you.”
“Me too. He’s remembering me less and less now, and it’s been really hard.” The fun-loving man who’d always cheered louder
than anyone in the stands when Taylor ran track and graduated from high school and college was now a shell of his former self.
He’d always told her that he couldn’t wait to walk her down the aisle to her young man and that she would be a beautiful bride,
just like her mother. She longed to hear those words from him now and feel his strong arms around her. To watch his eyes light
up when she twirled around in her wedding dress, like they’d done countless times when she was a little girl and modeled her
new outfits.