Champagne Toast (46 page)

“
Well, no wonder my bacon never tastes the same. Sugar,
”
she says, shaking her head.

“
Sugar,
”
I smile.  We continue making breakfast together. But, when everything is ready to be served I don
’
t load our plates with food at the counter.  I place our eggs into a bowl, our bacon onto a plate, and the cinnamon rolls on a small dish.  Kate raises an eyebrow at this change, but goes with the flow. 

I place our empty plates on the table along with our coffee cups and orange juice.  Kate helps me to bring all of the food to the table.

“
Yum, it looks as delicious as I imagined it would.  It smells wonderful, too,
”
  Kate says, reaching for her napkin and placing it in her lap.  As she does this, I place the velvet box on her plate. She looks down at it and lets out a small gasp, a wide grin spread across her face.

“
Ev,
”
she says, putting her hand to her mouth.

“
Open it, sweets,
”
I insist.

“
Yes,
”
she blurts out and I start to laugh.

“
You have to let me ask first.
”

“
Yes,
”
she says again.

“
Kate, open the box!
”
I insist through my laughter.

The hinge of the tiny box creaks as it
’
s opened. I kneel down before her as she stares at the ring. Placing one hand on her knee and the other on my own, I look her in the eyes as tears stream down her cheeks.

“
Katherine Olivia Armour, I knew this day would be special, our first real Christmas together living in the same apartment. But, I need to ask you the question that I
’
ve been dying to ask for months.
”

Kate gasps and a nervous laugh escapes me,
“
Kate, my world made sense the moment you entered it. That very first day at Molly
’
s I knew I would never be the same.  Please, do me the honor of becoming my wife; do me the honor of making me your husband.  I
’
m yours, Kate.  I
’
m yours.  Please be mine for the rest of our lives.
”

Kate takes an enormous breath before answering through her tears,
“
Yes.
”

I place the ring on her finger, a solitaire emerald cut diamond on a platinum band.   She slides off her chair and into my arms.  We kiss and cry and hug next to the kitchen table.  I stroke her hair as I kiss her forehead, her chin and her lips as she repeats,
“
I
’
m yours
”
over and over again.

When we finally pull ourselves off of the icy cold tile, I wipe the tears of joy from my fiance
’
s cheeks. Kate pauses for a moment before smiling a devilish grin and heading over to the refrigerator.

“
What are you doing?
”
I ask with a laugh.

“
You
’
ll see in a minute,
”
she replies, pulling a bottle of champagne from the bottom shelf. She grabs two champagne flutes from the cabinet and places them on the table.

“
We bought that for New Year
’
s Eve!
”

“
We
’
ll get another,
”
she smiles as she hands me the bottle.  Popping the cork, it shoots across and bounces off the cabinet. Champagne spills on the floor and Kate quickly grabs a towel to wipe the foamy liquid from the tile.

Pouring two glasses, I hand one to Kate. I raise my glass as I smile at my beloved.

“
To you, Kate
—”
I say, gazing into her eyes and stroking her cheek with my fingertips.

“
Wait, please let me,
”
Kate asks, her eyes eager.  I nod and look into her eyes.

Kate takes a deep breath in before she speaks,
“
You might not know this, but your toast at Patrick
’
s wedding was a turning point for me.  I
’
ve never, ever forgotten that toast.  Your words gave me the reassurance that you were still the Evan I fell in love with all those years ago, no matter what had happened between us.
”

“
Thank you,
”
I say, nodding, knowing that I
’
d meant every word of that speech.

“
That toast gave me
hope
,
”
she says, a tear slipping down her cheek,
“
and so now, I
’
d like to toast
you
.
”

“
Wow, okay,
”
I say, lifting my glass up and holding it across from Kate
’
s.

“
To you, Ev.  You taught me that love really
is
the most possible thing in the world. And I can
’
t thank you enough for that
”

Her words are simple, yet they mean so much.  If it was possible for me to fall more in love with this woman, it has happened today.

“
I will love you forever,
”
I reply.
“
To you, sweet
s
.
”

Our glasses clink and we each take a sip of the champagne. 

The food is ice cold by the time we
’
ve composed ourselves and are ready to eat.  It
’
s the best food I
’
ve ever tasted in my life.

Picturing Perfect

by Melissa Brown

Prologue

I had a plan.

I knew exactly how I wanted my future to be. I wanted to marry my boyfriend Tucker, to have a nice long engagement as we planned the perfect wedding ceremony. I wanted to work as a teacher until I achieved tenure. And, then, after all of those things had taken
place, I wanted to make the
decision to start a family. I would be prepared, stable, focused and ready. I would not be twenty two years old, standing in the bathroom of my employer, (which, by the way is not even a school) peeing on a stick with my co-worker and dreading the outcome.

“It’s going to be okay, Hadley,” Ellie says as we stand near the sink waiting for the three minutes to go by. The longest three minutes of my life.

“What if it’s not?” I ask her, my eyes red and puffy. Ellie scrunches up her lips and I can tell she has no idea what to say. I’ve always been really observant and perceptive when it comes to people’s body language. They barely need to say anything for me to know exactly what they’re thinking. And, I am dreading Tucker’s body language if I have to tell him that he’s going to be a father in nine short months, rather than the five to eight years we had discussed. He’s not ready for this. And I don’t think I am either.

“It’s been three minutes,” Ellie says, with hesitation in her voice, “do you want me to look?”

I don’t answer her right away. I have to get control of my racing pulse first. I have to stop myself from sweating. I have to stop my hands from shaking as I grip the sides of the pedestal sink.

“Hadley,” Ellie whispers as she strokes my shoulder with her fingertips.

“Yes, please,” I say, taking a deep breath in and out, “I can’t look.”

I close my eyes, waiting to hear the news. I hear Ellie pick up the small plastic stick from the ledge below the mirror. She sighs loudly before she speaks, and just with that sigh, I know my world has just changed. Completely.

I’m pregnant.

I loved writing this book so, so much.  And there were so many people who were instrumental in making it happen.

Janna Mashburn
---without you, there would be no Champagne Toast.  You believed in Evan, you helped to shape him as a character and helped me to realize that he had a story to tell.  I will be forever grateful for our brainstorming sessions talking about these characters that we both fell in love with before they ever said a word!!!  Thank you for all of your support and encouragement with this story.  You are amazing.

Calia Read
,
my wonderful critique partner
.  You make me a better writer and I’m so grateful for you!!!  Your honesty and your passion regarding my characters is beyond awesome!  I’m so thankful to have you for my CP!!!!
  I loveth oureth friendshipeth 


Natasha Tomic
, I can’t thank you enough for your guidance, support and constructive criticism.  You were absolutely amazing to me.  You stood your ground, but you did it in such a kind and caring way.  I can’t imagine writing a book without your input from now on!!

Deb Bresloff
, also known as ‘Mom’, thank you for all of our fantastic conversations regarding this book.  You are such a wonderful sounding board and it made me so happy to hear you falling in love with Kate and Evan!

My awesome beta readers made all the difference with this book:
Tosha Khoury, Erin Roth, Andrea Randall, Maggi Myers, Kim August, Jenn Hall
and
Melissa Perea
.   Thank you all so much for taking the time to read the book, make comments and suggestions and answer my “poll” questions when I was stuck!

Taryn Celluci
, thank you so very much for organizing a blog tour for me.  You are such a kind and organized person and I admire you so much!  Thank you to all of the blogs who participated:  The Indie Bookshelf, Flirty & Dirty Book Blog, Totally Booked,  Lisa’s Book Review, Brandee’s Book Endings,  Three Chicks and their Books, Cristina’s Book Reviews, Natasha is a Book Junkie, Talk Supe, Lisa’s Reads, The Autumn Review, Miss Paranormal’s Book Reviews,  Ms. Reality Book Reviews, Storm Goddess Review, Sugar and Spice and My Secret Romance.

Sarah Hansen
at Okay Creations for the beautiful cover!  It makes me smile every time I look at it!

Lori Sabin
, editor extraordinaire and all around fabulous woman.  Thank you so much for all of your suggestions, input and corrections  You are marvelous!

Chris
, my hubs, thank you for always supporting me in this new career.  I love you so much!

To my writing
“family
”---I adore you all. Thank you for being there for advice, help in writing my blurb, several fits of healthy laughter and incredible overall support.

Thank you to
you
---yes
YOU,
for reading this book.  I have found a job that I truly enjoy, one that I’m passionate about and
YOU
make it possible by reading.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

About the Author:

Melissa Brown is a hopeless romantic living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband Chris and their two children.  Aside from writing, she enjoys reading and baking.  She also has a slight obsession with actor Henry Cavill.
  This is her second novel.

Connect with Melissa Brown online:

Melissa’s Blog:

http://melissabrownauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook page:  

https://www.facebook.com/MelissaBrownAuthor

Goodreads Author Profile:

http://www.goodreads.com/melissabrown

Twitter:

LissaLou77

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