Chapter 31

IVY

One Year Later...

The flight from Nashville to Montana was a lot longer than expected. A flight delay in our first connection in Atlanta put us way behind schedule, and we missed our second connection in Minneapolis. We finally arrived a day late in Montana, hand in hand with big smiles and vibrating with excitement despite a bad case of jetlag. Rhys grabbed our luggage from the carousel as he talked about how excited he was to finally spend some downtime following his first extensive stadium tour as an opening act for a famous country music artist. After Rhys and I left New York, we spent the remainder of the summer together in Nashville. When I started my first year of Journalism school in Mississippi, Rhys signed with a major record label and released his debut solo album. It blew up the charts with hit after hit, and he quickly became country music's next big craze. I was so proud of him.

The distance between us proved challenging, but no matter how busy Rhys was making music or with the press, radio stations, or talk shows, he travelled to Mississippi every weekend to see me. Soon enough, tabloids propelled photos of Rhys and me eating at restaurants, walking in downtown Mississippi, and hanging out on campus. At first, it was bizarre to adjust to this high-profile life with Rhys, my country music star boyfriend. I was just starting to get used to a life where Rhys Wyatt was finally mine. It took me a while to adjust to this new version of us – together and public with our relationship. Especially when Blaine came to Nashville for Rhys's album's launch party with his new French girlfriend, Jacqueline. Rhys and Blaine had made peace a few months prior, and I was happy Blaine had attended. At first, things were a tad awkward between us, but his girlfriend Jacqueline seemed like a very smart and friendly girl with a gorgeous head of shiny brown hair.

Their father, Reginald Wyatt, came too – despite his original distaste for Rhys's music career.  I had called him mercilessly and begged him to attend. Rhys and his father hadn't talked since Rhys dropped out of college. However, once Mr. Wyatt saw how talented and successful Rhys had become, he had no choice but to accept music was Rhys's future. His father's congratulations and acceptance meant everything to Rhys.

Sometimes, it was hard with Rhys always in the spotlight – a country music sex symbol on display for the world to idolize. Girls may have loved him before, no doubt, but with his recent fame, gorgeous face, and raspy voice, let's say panties were getting thrown at him daily. Luckily, Rhys made me feel like I was the only girl in the universe, and I loved him for it.

After I finished my first year of Journalism school, Rhys was signed as an opening act for a famous country musician and committed to a tour across Canada and the United States. And, of course, I went with him. For a girl who hadn't travelled much, I was sure doing a lot of travelling now that Rhys secured a huge twenty-five-stop tour.  Living on a tour bus for the past three months taught me to pack lightly and adapt to sleepless nights in cramped quarters. It's also taught me that Rhys likes to hog the blanket when he sleeps, and regardless of whether he plays football, he's a dedicated runner and wakes up every morning at the crack of dawn to get a quick run in, no matter where the road takes us. But despite every road bump we've experienced along the way, everything seems worth it when I see Rhys rocking out to a screaming crowd of adoring fans on stage.

I steal glances at him as I drive us into Moose Creek. With the darkening sky behind him, he looks undeniably gorgeous in a baseball cap, plain white t-shirt and charcoal grey pants. His expression on his scruffy face is content and relaxed; if I weren't focused on driving, I'd lean over and kiss him. He glances over at me with his cock-sure smile and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ears.

"I love you," he says, then leans back into the leather seat. "You are the best fiancé a guy could ask for. I mean hell, you agreed to drive so I could catch a few minutes of shut-eye before we get to the ranch."

"I am pretty great, aren't I?" I smile over at him.

He nods and laughs. "The greatest, Goldie."

As I continued to drive with my hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, the sparkle of the diamond shining from my left hand caught my eye. I glance down at it with a smile. The two-carat princess-cut diamond was so simple but beautiful. It was the ring I had dreamed of getting from Rhys Wyatt since I was a little girl.

We hadn't set a date yet, what with Rhys's new crazy life and unpredictable schedule as a country music star, plus I still needed to finish my second year of Journalism school. I didn't mind, though. Being together and knowing we were committed to being with one another forever, regardless of the wedding date, was enough. Plus, our family and friends had no idea we were engaged, and part of the reason we came home was to let them all know of the news in person. Except tonight, Rhys insisted we spend time alone at the ranch to unwind before we saw everyone. Even though I was dying to see my family and friends, I respected that he wanted peace and quiet after a whirlwind tour.

When I pulled up the ranch driveway, I was emotional at the memories of my summer with Rhys. It seemed like so long ago. Especially after living through the time, I thought I'd never see him again, and everything was ruined with no chance of things being okay between us ever again. But as I made it up the hillside, I was sure that if Rhys and I could overcome all those obstacles that once kept us apart, we could get through anything.

At first, I thought I was seeing things when I parked the car. "Is that Missy standing on the front porch of the ranch?" I asked

"Sure is." Rhys sighed, almost annoyed.  When I glanced over at him curiously, he leaned over and dropped a kiss on my neck. "Come on, let's go."

Confused, I opened the car door and stepped onto the gravel. "Missy, what are you doing here?"

"Well, she was supposed to be waiting inside." Rhys shot a knowing glare at Missy.

"I know. I'm sorry," Missy gushed and wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me. "Everyone told me to stay inside, but the anticipation killed me. I just needed to get some air, and you guys just happened to pull up simultaneously. I hope I didn't ruin the surprise."

"The surprise?" I asked, shifting my gaze between Missy and Rhys.

Rhys laughed and shook his head. "Well, if you hadn't ruined it by being outside on the porch, you did now."

Missy scrunched her nose and gave me an apologetic look. "I'm just going to go back inside. Pretend I was never here."

Missy slid back into the ranch and closed the front door behind her. I glanced over at Rhys, who was now standing in front of me, holding onto both of my hands.

"Rhys, what is going on?" I asked.

"This didn't exactly go as I had planned." He grabbed my left hand and kissed the top of my ring. "But nothing about us has ever gone as planned."

"What are you saying?" I nervously laughed.

"I'm tired of waiting to make you, Mrs. Wyatt," he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and his blue eyes gazed into mine. "Marry me right now."

"What?" I laughed again. "Who is inside that ranch?"

"Everyone we know and love," his blue eyes narrowed with his smile. "I didn't bring you home to Moose Creek because I needed a breather. I brought you home to marry you, where I fell in love with you."

I was at a loss for words. My heart was racing, and my legs were about to collapse. This was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.

Rhys kissed my nose. "Ivy, please say something."

"Yes!" I squealed, delighted at the thought. I jumped up and down and wrapped my arms around Rhys's neck. "Yes! Let's get married."

He exhaled through his nose. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"And everyone except me knew this was happening?"

"Yes," he conceded, pulling open the front door.

I honestly couldn't believe Rhys pulled this off without me finding out about it. Some girls dream of their wedding day in a big white church, wearing a long white gown with bridesmaids at their side. But all I've ever wanted when I said 'I do' was to be with the man I love in a place that means the world to us. And this couldn't have been more perfect.

We walked hand in hand to see everyone we loved cheering loudly as we stepped into the elegantly decorated ranch. Somehow, Rhys managed to have the foyer and kitchen completely ornate with flowers everywhere. I could hardly catch my breath when I spotted my mother smiling at me beside my proud-looking brother, Eddie. A Minister was in the far corner, and beside him were Mr. Wyatt, Liz, and Arlene. My eyes shifted to the right to see Missy, Charlie, and Grayson with several friends from the ranch. And lastly, I saw Blaine smiling over at us with Jacqueline at his side. It warmed my heart to see him so happy for us. I glanced over at Rhys, losing focus as my eyes blurred with unexpected tears.

"I am so excited," I whispered.

"Me too." His dimples deepened as his smile widened. "Ivy Wyatt. I do love the sound of that. I can't wait to marry the shit out of you."

"God. I love you." I said, looking up at him and smiling.

"I love you too."

Rhys leaned forward and kissed me gently as warmth coursed through my cheeks.

"Hey," I pulled away laughing. "I haven't said 'I do' yet."

Rhys winked. "Well, Goldie, we better get to it then."

THE END

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