Chapter 35
Charlie
I had the best weekend and birthday of my life. One night spent alone with my sexy fiancée was more than I could have asked for. I’d spent most of yesterday hungover from the birthday bash Chase and Lila threw me. But I had to quickly sober up because Marley’s father and Miranda were coming over for dinner. They were thrilled about our engagement and celebrated with us.
“Did you and Marley set a wedding date yet?” Chase asked.
“We did.” I smiled, leaning back in my office chair. “We’re getting married in five months.”
“Five months? It took Lila and I a year and a half to plan our wedding. How the hell are you two doing it in five months?”
“She told me she has it covered and not to worry. Don’t forget she’s an event planner, which brings me to something I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“For a wedding gift, I want to buy Marley a building for her event planning business, filled with staff and everything she needs.”
“Is she planning on doing events again? I figured with the twins, she wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, she’s planning on it. She wanted to wait until the twins were at least six months old before taking on any new clients.”
“I think you should talk to her first, Charlie.”
“I plan on it.” I smiled. “I’m going to call Grant and have him start looking for the perfect building for her.”
“Since Lila got laid off from her administrative assistant job, maybe she can help Marley out.”
“I’m sure Marley would love that. She and Lila are close.”
Two Months Later
Marley
I stepped out of the dressing room and stood before my mom, Olivia, and Penelope, sitting there with champagne glasses.
“Marley. Oh, my God.” Penelope walked over. “It’s gorgeous on you.”
“That’s it, girl. That’s the one.” Olivia smiled, wiggling her finger.
“Mom?” I asked, noticing the tears in her eyes.
“It’s perfect, Marley—absolutely perfect.”
“And it’s almost a perfect fit.” Glenda, the sales associate, smiled. “We’ll just need to take it in a little bit here.” She grabbed my waist. “I have the perfect veil to match if you plan on wearing one.”
“I really didn’t think about a veil, but I’ll try it on.”
Tears sprung to my eyes when she placed the veil on my head.
“She’ll take it.” Olivia held up her champagne glass.
After finding the perfect wedding dress and having lunch, I headed home. When I walked through the door, it was abnormally quiet.
“Are they asleep?” I whispered to Tilly.
“Yes. They’ve been sleeping for about an hour.”
I went upstairs and peeked at the twins sound asleep in their bassinets. Fifty percent of the time, they were truly angels. The other fifty percent, I was convinced they were the spawns of Satan. There was a loud bang at the door, which startled the twins and me. They began screaming, and I raced down the stairs to see who the hell it was. Upon opening the door, a burly man stood there in his brown UPS uniform, holding a large box.
“Really?” I cocked my head as Tilly ran up the stairs to quiet the twins. “Was it really necessary to bang on my door like that? Was it?”
“I need you to sign for this,” he said, handing me his pad.
“And I need you to be respectful of parents with babies in the house. You woke up my twins with your loud banging!”
“What’s going on here?” Charlie walked up the steps.
“This UPS man banged very loudly on the door and woke the twins up!”
“Ma’am, I needed your signature, and if I had lightly tapped, you wouldn’t have heard me. I don’t have all damn day to stand around waiting for someone to come to the door.” He took the pad from me and walked away.
“What is your name?” I shouted.
Charlie picked up the box and stepped inside the house. “Let it go, babe. What is this?”
“I think it’s our wedding invitations. Set it on the island in the kitchen. I’ll open them after I help Tilly with the twins.”
“I’ll go help Tilly. You open the box and admire how beautiful the invitations look.” He smiled as he kissed my lips.
“You’re the best. Thank you.”
“After I get the twins settled, I need to talk to you about something,” he said.
“It sounds serious. Do I need to be worried?” I twisted my face.
“No.” He chuckled. “Not at all. Order us some dinner, and we’ll discuss it.”
“What do you want?” I shouted as he walked up the stairs.
“Anything you do. You pick. You know what I like.”
I ordered Thai food and asked Tilly if she would like to join us. She politely declined because she had a date with a guy she’d met a couple of weeks ago.
“You be careful. Guys cannot be trusted,” Charlie told her.
“I will, Charlie.”
“You call if you need us, Tilly. I mean it.”
“I will.” She looked at me over his shoulder, and I rolled my eyes.”
After Tilly left, I hooked my arm around him and placed my hand on his chest.
“Practicing for when Ashley starts dating?” I asked.
“No. Why would you ask that? My daughter is never dating.”
“Oh, okay, overprotective daddy.”
“I’m serious, Marley. If I even see a boy lurking around here, I can’t be held responsible for what I might do to him.”
“And what are you going to do when she goes off to college at the age of eighteen?”
“She’s not going off to college anywhere but here in New York, close to home.”
“Don’t be an asshole, Charlie.”
“I’m not being an asshole. I’m merely protecting my daughter.”
“Protecting her from men like you?” I smirked.
“Yes. From the men of how I used to be before you blew into my life and changed everything.”
“And what about our son? Is he allowed to date?”
“Of course. He’s a man. I don’t have to worry about him.”
“Ah, I see.” I arched my brow. “And you don’t think there’s women out there waiting to get their claws into the young, handsome son of a billionaire?”
“Right. He’s not allowed to date either. Let’s go sit down and eat.”
I placed the plates and the food on the table. Charlie and I sat down and ate while the twins were swinging in their swings.
“I want to invest in your event planning company.”
“What?” My brows furrowed.
“It’s my wedding gift to you. I want to invest a large sum, buy you a building with your name, and hire staff to help. You’re a huge upcoming event planner that all the elite in New York will want to hire.”
“Charlie, are you serious?”
“Very serious, babe. I’ve been in touch with Grant, and he has a couple of buildings to show us whenever you want to look at them. You said you would take on new clients when the twins reach six months. It’s time to expand your business.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.” He grinned.
“Yes! Oh, yes.” I jumped up from my seat and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck and planting kisses all over his face.
“I think we should take this upstairs.” He smirked.
“What about the twins?”
“They’re sound asleep in their swings.”
“Let’s go.” I smiled, grabbing his hand.
We were halfway up the stairs when both children started crying. We stopped for a minute and listened, praying they’d stop. They didn’t, and their cries grew louder.
“Well, it was a good idea for a hot second.” Charlie sighed.
“Yep. It sure was.” We turned back around and went down the stairs.
“I’m nervous,” I said to Penelope and Olivia.
“Don’t be. He’ll understand,” Olivia said.
“You think?”
“Yes. It’s what you want. You’re the bride.” Penelope smiled.
“But it’s every father’s dream to walk his daughter down the aisle.”
“Times have changed. Traditions are out. Your dad is a grown man and will understand.”
“Here he is now.” Penelope stood up. “Good luck.”
“Hey, sweetheart.” My dad smiled, kissing my cheek. “Look at my precious grandchildren. Hi there, Ashton. Hi there, Ashley. It’s your grandpa,” he said, staring at them in their stroller.
“Thanks for meeting me here, Dad. Can I get you a coffee?”
“Sure. Just a regular black.”
I held my finger up to Olivia. She knew exactly what to make my dad.
“So, what did you want to discuss with me?”
“I—I?—”
“For fuck’s sake.” Olivia walked over and set my dad’s coffee in front of him. “Marley loves you but doesn’t want you to walk her down the aisle. She wants to carry the twins down with her, by herself, to Charlie.”
“Really, sweetheart?” My dad cocked his head.
“Yeah, Dad. I’m so sorry.” I shot Olivia a look.
“Nah, don’t be. I think that’s a wonderful idea. Does Charlie know you want to do this?”
“No. I want it to be a surprise. I’m not even showing him what the kids will wear.”
“I love the idea, and so will he.” My dad smiled.