“You better believe it, baby …”
I gently lean my head against Ashton’s shoulder as he holds me tighter against him. My eyes wander over to the dance floor and my eyes fall on Mia and Tyler who are swaying gently to the acoustic brilliance of Ed Sheeran, looking as much in love as Ashton and me. They look incredibly happy in their own little wedding bubble. Tyler peppers her with loving kisses and whispers sweet little nothings in her ear, with not a single worry in the world. I’m so honored that we get to share this incredible day with them, that their happily ever after became our happily ever after too.
Today I married the man who not only became my husband, but my best friend, my soul mate. And I know that Ashton and I are not legally married, that to any judge our marriage is non-existent and means nothing, but to me, in my heart and soul it means everything. We made a commitment that will last forever; we vowed to love each other until our last dying breath, and no legalities will ever change that.
I am, however, excited to get our marriage legalized so I can finally rid myself of the family name that tarnished my childhood and took away my innocence at such a young age. I’m still proud of being able to hold on to that name for as long as I have done, since the man who that name originates from is a man that is never far from my thoughts, a man who loved me unconditionally … but that name died the moment my brother did. He made something that was once beautiful into something tainted with poison, and I finally want to break free of the connotations that the Jacobson name holds, for good.
Ava … Bailey. It’s perfect, and an incredible way to start afresh … with my husband and my daughter. It’s everything I always wanted.
I pull my head back slightly and look up at Ashton. “How soon do you think we can get our marriage on paper?”
“As soon as you want, baby. I told you, you can have as many weddings as you want.”
I smile dreamily as we continue to sway to the music. “How did I get so lucky to find you? You’re too good to be true,” I say with a gentle laugh.
“Well every princess deserves a prince,” he says with a sincerity that makes my insides melt. Rising on my tiptoes I brush my lips against his, tasting the intoxicating flavor of sweet strawberries and champagne that linger against his plump lips. Our kiss deepens, and with my hands hanging loosely around his neck, I bring my fingers up to his hair and massage my way through the soft strands. After a few long seconds, Ashton’s moan vibrates inside my mouth, and before things get a little too hot and heavy on the dance floor, I draw back feeling a little breathless.
“What was that for?” he asks with a slanted smile, his breath a little uncontrolled.
“Because I’m your wife … and I can kiss you whenever I like,” I say with a huge smile, causing him to chuckle.
“You sure can, but does that apply to sex too?” His eyes shimmer with amusement.
“If you mean airplanes and family pools, then no …”
“God, we’ve only been married for a few hours and already you’re putting restrictions on our sex life.” He mockingly pouts and I softly laugh.
“Hardly, babe. We’ve had sex so much this weekend that I’ve already lost count.”
“We didn’t last night,” he points out, but the smile is quickly wiped from his face when he realizes his mistake. Last night. My heart clenches at the reminder of what last night almost cost us, but instead of letting it wedge another war between us, I just let it go. Last night is in the past.
“Well … it seems you have some making up to do then,” I say flirtatiously, making light of the situation. He blinks with shock before a smile fills his handsome face with a masculine beauty that takes my breath away.
“Oh baby, I will …” He leans in and whispers in my ear, “I will go all Boyz-II-Men-I’ll-Make-Love-To-You romantic on you.”
My gaze turns dark and seductive as he pulls away. I edge closer to him and whisper, “I’d much prefer you to go all R-Kelly-Bump-and-Grind on me.”
His eyes fixate on mine with a mixture of amusement and lust, his pupils widening. He inclines forward and rests his mouth against my ear, causing shivers to shimmer down my body. “The moment the night comes to an end, I will definitely be going all R-Kelly-Bump-and-Grind on you, and even a little Ginuwine-Pony too.”
A giggle bursts from my mouth as he steps back. “We’re such dorks,” I say. “How is it that only we could make up a sexual innuendo game with songs during our first dance?”
“Because we’re dirty like that.” He smirks as he continues to sway me gently from side to side. Ed Sheeran begins to fade away and is replaced with the sounds of ‘At Last’ by Etta James. I feel a little sad now that our first dance is over, but my sadness is short-lived when I see Ashton’s dad lead Alana onto the dance floor, followed by even more couples. I watch as he gently brings her into his arms and they gradually begin to sway to the music, gazing lovingly into one another’s eyes. Ashton’s eyes follow mine, and he smiles when he sees what’s captured my attention.
“This song is so beautiful,” I hear myself say as I allow the music to ease through me as my eyes stay focused on Alana and Samuel.
“It’s their song. It’s what they danced to on their wedding day.” The smile I’ve had on my face since I became Mrs. Ashton Bailey widens even more.
“That’s so sweet. How long have they been married?”
His brows narrow as if calculating in his head. “Um, thirty-nine years, I think. I know they were married a couple of years before they had me.”
“Wow, that’s such a long time … I hope we’re that happy in thirty-nine years.”
“There’s no doubt about it,” he adds confidently, and his belief in us inspires me. That it is possible to be as happy as I feel right now after thirty-nine years of marriage.
Time passes by and minutes turn into hours. I’m still wrapped in the arms of my husband when Alana and Samuel approach the table we’re sitting at.
“How’s the happy couple doing?” Alana chirps out over the sound of the music playing, with a huge smile on her face.
“Perfect,” I sigh dreamily.
“What my wife said,” Ashton says with a goofy grin on his face as he pulls me even closer to his body. His fingers loosely caress the back of my neck and I’ve spent the past fifteen minutes struggling to keep my eyes open from the sheer pleasure that his touch brings to me.
Alana and Samuel take a seat beside us. “We have something for you both,” Samuel says as he holds out two beautiful gold wedding rings in the palm of his hand, one thinner and daintier than the other. “Since your marriage was such a spur of the moment thing …” he smirks, and I can feel Ashton’s laughter vibrating beside me. “We know that you haven’t had time to get rings, so we’d like you both to have Grandma and Grandpa Bailey’s wedding rings.”
I glance at Ashton with my mouth agape, noticing how he’s matching my shocked expression. Ashton speaks about his grandparents often, always telling me stories of how he and his brothers used to go fishing with their grandpa and how they used to try out their grandmother’s baking or, more accurately, steal their grandmother’s baking; whether it was home-baked chocolate chip cookies or fresh out of the oven peach cobbler. They tried to deceive her, but she always knew which one had had their finger in the pie; usually Ashton, since he was always the one raiding their first aid kit for burn spray for the scalds he inflicted on himself because he was too impatient to wait ten minutes for the desserts to cool down.
They were incredibly close to them, and they passed away within a year of each other when Ashton was in his mid-twenties. Ashton was convinced that his grandpa died of a broken heart; he simply couldn’t live without his wife after she had lost her battle with cancer.