Chapter 36
Charlie
Marley and I were getting married at the St. Regis Hotel with two hundred twenty guests. Her two step-brothers were flying in, and I couldn’t wait to meet them.
I stood in front of the elegant floral archway with my hands folded, staring at the seated guests who came to celebrate our marriage.
“You look nervous,” Chase said.
“I’m not nervous.”
“Admit it. You are.”
“Fine. Maybe a little.”
“Don’t be, Charlie. All that will disappear once you see your bride walk down that aisle.” He patted my back.
“Where are the twins?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged.
“Marley’s mom was supposed to have them sit with her and Peter.”
The music started to play, and the bridesmaids slowly walked down one by one.
When Olivia reached the end of the aisle, I looked at her.
“Where are the twins?”
“Don’t worry. They’re fine,” she spoke through gritted teeth.
The bridal march began to play, and when I looked up, I saw Marley standing at the top of the aisle, holding Ashley in one arm and Ashton in the other. Tears filled my eyes as she slowly walked down the aisle, looking as gorgeous as ever.
“Wow,” Chase whispered.
When she approached, a tear fell down my cheek. Ashley held her arms out to me, and I took her.
“You are so beautiful.” I smiled at Marley.
“And you’re so handsome. They’re going to stay up here with us until we exchange our rings.”
“I love that idea. Thank you.”
I stood next to Marley with Ashley in my arms. Marley held Ashton while the minister said a few words. When it was time to exchange the rings, Penelope and Olivia stepped up and took the children from us. We turned to each other, said our heartfelt vows, and exchanged rings.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your beautiful bride, Charlie.”
Everyone clapped and whistled as I wrapped my arm around Marley’s waist, dipped her, and kissed her as hard as I could.
“Hello, Mrs. Stone.” I smiled.
“Hello, my husband.”
We had a beautiful reception filled with our family and friends. Marley and I both made some of the decisions regarding the wedding preparations, but she had outdone herself, and I was so proud of her.
“Charlie, congratulations to you and your new bride.” Loretta Stansfield smiled.
“Thank you, Loretta.”
“The wedding is absolutely beautiful. May I ask who your event planner was?”
“That would be my wife.” I smiled, hooking my arm around Marley’s waist. “She’s an event planner.”
“Is that so? Well, my daughter just got engaged, and I would love to sit down and talk to you when you return from your honeymoon.”
“I would love that.” Marley smiled.
“Excellent. If you give me your phone number, I’ll text you mine, and you can call me when you get back.”
Marley rattled off her phone number while Loretta put it in her phone.
“Look at that. The Stansfield wedding will be huge.” I smiled.
“I don’t want to think about anyone’s wedding but ours. Let’s go cut the cake, husband.”
“I’m right with you, wife. God, I love calling you that.” A grin crossed my face.
Six Months Later
It was hard to believe the twins would be one year old, and Marley and I had been married six months already. After a long day at work, I walked through the door, and the kids weren’t the only ones screaming.
“No. You listen to me, you incompetent jackass! Those goddamn statues better be delivered to the address I sent you by Monday afternoon. I don’t care if you have to drive to the Hamptons to get them yourself. You made a promise, and you’re going to follow through, or I swear to God, I will hunt you down myself, cut off your balls, and feed them to your dog!” Marley shouted. “Thank you. I knew you would make things right. Goodbye, Chuck.”
I walked over and picked up the kids. “Remind me never to make you angry.” I smirked at Marley. “What has Chuck done now?”
“He’s trying to say there was a mix-up on the order for the statues for the Garrison party.” She placed her hand on her forehead.
“And what is wrong with these two?” My brow arched as I handed her Ashton.
“They were fighting over a toy, and Ashley hit Ashton in the head with her baby doll.”
“Did my perfect angel hit her brother?” I hugged her tight. “That wasn’t very nice. Did you apologize to your brother?”
“Dada.” She placed her hand on my cheek. “Dada.” She scrunched her nose like Marley always did. She was the spitting image of her.
“Look at that. She’s already a manipulator,” Marley said.
“She is her mother’s daughter.” The corners of my mouth curved upward.
“You will pay dearly for that remark, Mr. Stone.”
“Promise?” I leaned in and kissed her lips.
“Oh, yes. I totally promise.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” I winked.
After dinner and giving the twins a bath, Marley and I put them to bed, but not without a fight from them.
“I love those kids so much, but sometimes?—”
“You think they’re the spawns of Satan?” Marley smirked.
“You know, babe. You really shouldn’t say that about our children.” I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
“Ha, okay. You think it too, and don’t lie.” She pointed at me with her hairbrush.
“Marley, I would never think—who the hell am I kidding?” I shook my head. When I was finished in the bathroom, I turned off the light and climbed into bed. “I know we’ve never discussed it, but?—”
“No,” she said.
“You didn’t let me finish.”
“I already know what you’re going to ask me. You want to know if I want more kids. The answer is no. We have a son and a daughter, and I think we’re the perfect family of four.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “I completely agree with you.” I hooked my arm around her as she snuggled into me.
“Since we’re both in agreement, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life on birth control. So, I’ll call the doctor and make an appointment for your vasectomy.” She patted my chest.
“Now, hold on a second. Who said anything about a vasectomy?”
“You’re right. I’m stopping my shots, and we’ll use condoms until I reach menopause and can’t get pregnant.”
We heard Ashton start to cry through the monitor. Turning our heads, we stared at him, pulling himself up and standing in his crib. His cries became shrieks, which woke Ashley up.
“Parent duty calls,” Marley said, climbing out of bed.
We went up to the nursery. I held Ashton while Marley took Ashley from her crib and tried to soothe her. As I sat down in the rocker to rock my son, he screamed louder.
“I don’t know why they’re crying like this,” Marley said.
“It could be their ears again. Maybe you should get the Tylenol out.”
“Tilly said they were very crabby all day, so you’re probably right. Here.” She handed me Ashley. “I’ll be right back.”
As I held both screaming kids in my arms, I rocked back and forth until Marley returned with the Tylenol. After giving each a dose, we paced around the room with them for over an hour until they finally fell asleep. We lay them down in their cribs, and I hooked my arm around Marley as we walked out of the nursery.
“Call that doctor tomorrow and make the appointment,” I said.
“Oh, I am. You don’t have to worry about that.” She lay her head on my shoulder.