Chapter 35

On the day of the wedding, Mary and Eve were helping her get ready. Ace stayed with Brett at his and Eve’s apartment overnight and got ready there. For the first time in his life, he was kicked out of his own home. John was taking care of Adrian while the women got ready. He got a laugh when he saw the look on Ace’s face when Rosalee told him he had to leave home until the wedding. Thank goodness his daughter still wanted to follow some wedding traditions. The women were finally ready, and when John saw Rosalee in her dress, he couldn’t stop the tears from filling his eyes.

Going over, he stood in front of her. “You look so beautiful. I just wish your mother was here to see you get married.” He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up. “But then again, I’m sure she’s looking down at you and smiling.”

“I wish she was here too. I miss her so much.”

“I do too. Ace better take good care of you and treats you right. If he doesn’t, you tell me and I will come here and make him sorry.”

“Oh dad, you don’t have to worry about that. He’s a wonderful man and a great father. Why, he’s almost as good as you are.”

“He’s a very lucky man to have you,” he said as a single tear trickled slowly down his cheek. “It’s almost time, are you ready to go to the church?”

She nodded her head and smiled. “Oh, I am so ready. I should check on Adrian and make sure he’s not giving Mary a hard time.”

“She’s already left for the church with him and the others. You don’t have to worry about him, he’s in good hands, and she has a way with babies.”

Meanwhile, at the church: Ace and Brett were in the backroom inside the church waiting for the signal for them to go out front.

Brett watched as his friend paced back and forth nervously. “It’s not too late to back out, you know.”

He turned to look at Brett. “I have no intentions of backing out. I’m a little nervous, but I’m so looking forward to being able to call Rosalee my wife. I just wished I had done this sooner, like before Adrian was born.”

Brett went over and straightened Ace's tie. “She’s an amazing woman, and you’re a very lucky man to have her in your life.”

“Yes, I am. Who would have thought that just one night changed my life forever? The moment I saw her walk into my office after having spent the night with her, I knew I was in love. I tried to fight it in the beginning, but something kept drawing me closer and closer to her.”

“Well, it all worked out. You have a beautiful son, and you’re about to marry the love of your life. Just make sure you treat her right, or you’ll have me to deal with.”

“This isn’t the first time you threaten me,” Ace said, giving Brett a pat on the back.

Just then, Eve poked her head in the door. “Hey you two, it’s about to start, so get your asses out front.”

“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Brett said, going over he gave her a quick kiss. “I love you.”

She kissed him back. “I love you too, now get your ass out front.” She turned and left the room to take her place.

“You ready, buddy?”

Ace smiled back at him. “You better believe I am.” It was true, he was more than ready and couldn’t wait for the moment they were pronounced husband and wife.

John took her hand in his. “Before I walk you up the aisle, I want to tell you once again how very proud I am of you. I want nothing but the best for you and for you to be happy. I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you too, Dad, and I want you to know that you and Mom were the best parents any child could ever ask for. I just hope that Ace and I do as good a job as you did.”

“I have no doubt that he will be a wonderful father, and I know for a fact that you are going to be a fabulous mother. Now I guess I have to walk you up the aisle and give you away to another man. Are you ready, sweetheart?”

She smiled. “Yes, I’m ready.”

Ace stood next to Brett and watched Eve coming down the aisle when the music began. His eyes kept looking past her; he was anxious to see his bride-to-be. Then when the wedding march started, a huge smile crossed his face when he saw an angel walking toward him.

Their eyes locked as she and her father made their way to the front. John gave her a kiss on the cheek after placing her hand in Ace’s hand and went and sat down next to Mary.

“I love you,” he said, looking into her eyes.

“I love you too,” she replied, staring right back at him.

After the usual words that a minister says when they’re about to perform the ceremony, he looked at Ace.

“Do you take this woman to be your wife, to love and cherish for all the days of your life?”

Ace couldn’t take his eyes off of her; she was absolutely gorgeous and his heart was so full of love and happiness. “I do,” he said, giving her hand a light squeeze.

The minister turned to look at her. “Do you take this man to love and cherish for all the days of your life?”

She was suddenly feeling hot, her heart was racing, and her stomach was churning. There was utter silence inside the church, and when she didn’t answer after a few seconds, Ace spoke softly to her.

“Rosalee, sweetheart, aren’t you going to answer?”

She looked at him and pulled her hands out of his. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she said as she turned and ran down the aisle.

Leaving Ace standing there with a look of shock on his face. Everyone let out a gasp and started whispering among each other as she ran past them and out the door.

Brett placed his hand on Ace’s shoulder. “I’ll go talk to her.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll go after her. You just tell everyone to stay put.” He then took off running after her.

He checked a couple of the empty rooms, and when she wasn’t there, he thought he would check the ladies' room. There she was, rinsing her mouth out with some water.

He stood there for a moment, his heart was breaking into pieces. “Rosalee, if you changed your mind about marrying me, you should have told me before now.”

She looked at him through the mirror. “Ace, I’m so sorry.”

He couldn’t help the feeling of anger that washed over him, anger and heartbreak. “I’ll go tell everyone the wedding is off,” he said and turned to leave.

She turned around and placed her hands on the sink. “I’m pregnant,” she called out before he could leave.

He turned back around to face her. “What?”

“Of course, I want to marry you, more than anything in the world. But before I could say I do I became nauseous and knew I was going to throw up. I didn’t want to do it there in front of everyone so I ran in here. Please forgive me.”

Without saying a word, he took two long strides towards her. Cupping her face in the palms of his hands, he kissed her. The feeling of relief washed over him like a raging river. To hear that she still wanted to marry him and the reason why she ran away filled his heart with joy.

He finally released her. “Oh sweetheart, that is wonderful news. You had me scared there for a while, I thought you changed your mind about marrying me.”

“I would never change my mind. But you know what this means, don’t you?”

He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers as he looked lovingly into her eyes. “Yeah, it means we’re having another baby.”

“It also means that we are going to have two children under the age of two. You know how much work that is going to be?”

“I will be there to help you, and I’ll hire someone to come in to help out.”

Just then, Eve peeked her head inside. “Humm, is everything okay in here?”

Ace looked over at her and smiled. “Everything is perfect. Please go and tell everyone that we will be out in a few minutes and the wedding will continue.”

“I’m sorry for running out like that, I just didn’t have time to explain to you what was happening.”

“There’s no need to be sorry, I totally understand, and so will everyone else.”

“Let’s not tell them yet. I wouldn’t want them to think that the only reason we’re getting married is that I’m pregnant again.”

“How far along are you, and when did you find out?”

“I wasn’t feeling too good this morning, so I took one of those pregnancy tests. It looks like I’m close to three weeks along.”

He kissed her again; he wanted to shout it out to everyone in the church. But he was going to respect her wishes and wait to tell them. “Are you ready to get married now?”

Her eyes lit up, and she gave him the sweetest smile. “Oh, you bet I am.”

Eve went back inside where the ceremony was going to take place and went to the front. “Our sweet couple will be back in a second. It’s nothing to worry about, folks. Rosalee ate something at breakfast that didn’t agree with her stomach, and she felt sick. But they are definitely getting married today. Oh, and here they come now.”

Rosalee and Ace held hands when they got to the altar. He looked at the minister. “Please continue where we left off.” He did not want to go through the whole thing as he was excited to be married and didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary.

“Do you, Rosalee Keller, take this man to love and cherish for the rest of your life?”

“I do,” she said, staring into Ace's eyes.

When the vows were said and the rings placed on each of their fingers, the minister pronounced them husband and wife. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Ace wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. His lips came down on hers in a passionate kiss. He only broke the kiss when he heard everyone whistling and clapping. Instead of walking down the aisle side by side, he picked her up and carried her bridal style out of the church.

When they got outside and before the others joined them, he kissed her again. “I should have mentioned this before, but you look so damn beautiful in this dress. I feel like I am the luckiest man in the world to be married to you. I promise to always be faithful and to love you.”

Before she could answer him, everyone came rushing out to congratulate them. Her father came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“It does my heart good to see how happy you are. I have to ask you though. What was that about back there when you ran out of the church?”

“It was nothing, Dad. I just had an upset stomach.”

He nodded his head, but something was telling him there was more to it than just an upset stomach. But he was going to let it go for now because it was her special day and she looked so happy.

When it was time to head to the reception hall, Rosalee and Ace sat in the back seat of the car while Brett drove and Eve sat next to him in the passenger seat. But Eve, being the smart girl that she was, turned to them and smiled.

“Okay, now that we’re alone, you can tell me the truth.”

Rosalee stared back at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You can’t fool me, girl. I know it wasn’t something you ate for breakfast that made you sick. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

Adrian was sitting on Rosalee’s lap; she and Ace looked at one another. Neither one could believe that Eve guessed it.

“Yes, I am, but we don’t want anyone to know yet.”

Now Ace was proud as punch that someone knew he was going to be a father again. “I just found out when I found her in the lady's room. At first, I thought she didn’t want to marry me, but then when she told me the reason why she rushed out, I was just so happy.”

Brett looked in the rearview mirror at him. “Why you dog, Adrian’s not even a year old and you’re going to give him a sibling. Congratulations, and don’t worry, we won’t tell a soul.”

“How far along are you?” Eve asked as she smiled back at them.”

“About three weeks. I don’t want anyone to know yet because you know how people can be. They will gossip and say that’s the only reason why we got married.”

When they pulled up to where they were having the reception, they got out of the car and were greeted by the guests who had beaten them there. Right away, Adrian reached out his little arms to Mary, who took him.

Once inside the hall, a waiter came by carrying a tray full of champagne. Rosalee took her glass and, turning to Ace, whispered in his ear, “Oh my God, I can’t drink this, and people will start to ask questions if they notice.”

“Don’t worry, just bring the glass to your lips and pretend you’re drinking. When no one notices, I will drink it for you, that way they won’t suspect anything.”

His plan worked, and just so that he wouldn’t get drunk, he found different ways to dispose of the alcohol without having to drink it.

Now it was time to sit down to eat, and during the meal, people kept clinking their glasses to get the couple to kiss. Of course, Ace was more than happy to oblige them.