The Commitment (24 page)

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that your mom brought the pastor with her,” Drake smirks as he walks by.

“Isn’t that a nice surprise?” Emily grins at us from her spot beside Renee.

“It’s good to see you again,” Chase says quietly, reaching across to shake his hand when words fail me and I stand gaping at Pastor Henry in shock.

“You, too, Chase,” he says cordially. “Last time I saw you, I think you were only about ten…”

“I’m so sorry you had to hear that,” I blurt, cutting him off as my cheeks flare, much to Emily’s amusement. “We didn’t know you were coming.”

“Pardon me?”

“Not that it makes it okay,” I continue. “I mean, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. We love each other, you know? That counts for something, right?”

“Oh no,” Chase groans from my side.

“Yes,” Pastor Henry says, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s good to have love in your heart.”

“We do,” I nod immediately. “I mean, some of the stuff you heard maybe doesn’t sound like it, but we’re totally in love with each other.”

“Baby,” Chase tries quietly from my side.

“And I know that all sins are supposed to be equal in the eyes of God, but that can’t be right, can it?” I continue my nervous rambling. “I mean, murdering someone has to be way worse that having sex before you’re married, especially if you’re in love, which we are. I love him. And I love Jesus.”

“This is an awesome party,” Emily smiles widely.

“Jesus, Sophie, please stop talking,” Chase begs almost silently.

“I can’t,” I admit in a panic-filled voice. “We give money to charity,” I blurt. “Which I realize is completely unrelated to premarital sex, but I still thought it was worth mentioning...”

“Would you excuse us, please?”

“Of course,” Pastor Henry says with a terse nod and Chase gently directs me toward the house, sliding the door closed behind us.

“What the hell was that?”

“I panicked!” I confess, turning to find his face filled with mortification. “I’m sorry, Baby! I didn’t know your mom was bringing the freaking pastor with her. Why didn’t you tell me he was out there?”

“I didn’t know either,” he says, letting out a sigh as he pinches the bridge of his nose before giving me his eyes. “This is a disaster. I have never in my life seen someone say so many inappropriate things at one time.”

“I know,” I whine. “It just snowballed and I couldn’t stop. This is so embarrassing.”

“I don’t know how we’re ever going to look that man in the eye again.”

“Are you kidding me?” I ask him in shock. “I’m not talking to him ever again, Chase!”

“Sophie,” he smirks. “Baby, you have to.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s marrying us!”

“We’ll just have to find someone else,” I say with resolve.

“It’s Friday night,” he says, shaking his head. “We’re getting married Sunday. We’re not going to find anyone else in time.”

“Oh my God,” I groan. “Are you very sure I still can’t drink? I’m so close to my due date.”

“You definitely can’t,” he says, laughing at my joke. “Which is probably best anyway, the last thing we need to add to this is rum.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I sigh, leaning my head against his chest. “Okay, I can do this. It’s only a couple of hours tonight, then a couple hours tomorrow and Sunday and then we never have to see him again, right?”

“Right,” he agrees, kissing my hair before taking my hand and leading me toward the backyard. “Besides, I’m sure no one else even heard you talking to him. We’re probably worried for nothing.”

“Yeah, and thanks to your irresponsibility, everyone out there heard us having sex at Thanksgiving, so the shock value is just… It’s gone,” I say with feigned confidence, looking up to find him smirking down at me.

“I’m sure no one’s even going to mention it.” Sliding the door shut behind us, we turn to find everyone engaged in separate conversations, seemingly oblivious to the fact we’ve rejoined them. “See? It’s fine, Baby,” he says quietly, massaging my shoulders as I release a breath of relief. “Just act natural and…”

“Well, look who finally decided to join us!” Pops calls out loudly from across the lawn, instantly blowing our cover. “The Screamin’ Demon and The Ragin’ Cajun!”

Fuck me sideways.

Sophie

Fortunately, we made it through the rest of the night without further humiliating ourselves. After I put JT to bed and came to sit with Chase and his family on the porch, I even surprised myself by realizing I’d had fun.

Since we were spending the day getting things set up for our wedding tomorrow, we set the alarm for seven the next morning. When I roll over with a groan of defiance at the early hour, I’m surprised to find Chase sitting with his back to the headboard, wide awake.

“Hey,” I say in my thick, post-sleep voice with a yawn.

“Good morning, Baby,” he says quietly.

“I’m surprised you’re awake,” I say.

“Don’t be,” he says, rubbing his palms over his eyes. “Just assume from now on, I’m awake.”

“What’s the matter?” I ask him, slowly sitting up to try and make sense of his odd behavior.

“Summer camp,” he starts, still not making sense.

“What?”

“Summer camp… And the measles and diapers and puberty and fucking college, Sophie.”

It’s finally happening. Chase is finally freaking out.

“Baby…”

“And that’s not even considering if I’m right and we actually
are
having a girl,” he cuts me off. “Then we have to add on prom and boys and fucking PMS and shit…”

“Chase…”

“I can’t pay for two kids to go to college! I mean, maybe like refrigerator school or something, but I can’t make them go to refrigerator school, Sophie. And how the hell am I supposed to pay for another wedding? Ours is tiny and it’s costing a fucking fortune! Even if this kid never gets sick and wears shitty clothes, we have to feed her. I don’t know how to fucking garden or hunt, Babe. I’m trained for none of that shit…”

“Chase!” I say, grabbing his arm. “Baby, you have to breathe!”

“How? How am I supposed to do all this? And why am I just now freaking out?” he asks, finally looking at me. “Why are you laughing? This is serious!”

“I know, I’m sorry,” I tell him, biting my lip.

“So, what are we going to do, Baby?” he asks. “I mean, the baby’s coming. Like anytime now.”

“Trust me, Baby,” I tell him, rubbing my giant stomach. “I am very well aware of that.”

“So what’s the game plan? If we don’t have one, these kids are gonna take us down, Sophie.”

“Chase,” I say, laughing lightly. “Calm down. I don’t know what we’re going to do about measles and puberty, but the inheritance my dad left me is virtually untouched and will cover putting both kids through college.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yep,” I nod, smiling at his relieved, albeit shocked expression. “If you get sick of working for Drake, I’ll send you, too. You won’t even have to take up farming.”

“Holy shit,” he sighs his relief, making me chuckle. “Oh thank God. That was terrifying.” As I laugh louder, his eyes find mine and he shakes his head. “I’m serious, Babe. I’ve been up since like five.”

Chase and I have never had the official money talk. Not because I don’t trust him, just because he never asked and I honestly don’t think about it. I meant what I told him in my apartment when we first came back from Camden, the money doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s little more than a reminder of the man I had to say goodbye to when I was sixteen. I’m grateful, especially now that we were expecting a child of our own, but I’ve never considered my inheritance a free pass to never work again.

Although I never would have thought so about him, the fact that Chase has never asked about the contents of my savings account is just another reason to love him. The breath of relief that leaves his chest breaks my thoughts.

“You okay?” I ask with a smirk, watching him stare up at the ceiling.

“Yeah,” he says, letting his eyes fall to mine as he finally gives me a wide smile. “Hey, you know what?”

“Hmm?”

“Today’s the last full day you’ll be Sophie Ryan,” he beams, reaching for my hand and gently tugging me to his side.

“I know. After tomorrow, I won’t be your girlfriend anymore,” I blush as I look up at him. “When someone asks you if you have a girlfriend, you’ll have to say no,” I lean my head on his chest and release a sigh. “And then they’ll hit on you and I’ll have to punch them in the face.”

“Nah,” he chuckles, gently tugging my braid and pulling my eyes to his. “You’ll always be my hot girlfriend.”

“Say you swear,” I say softly.

“I swear,” he whispers, bending to meet my lips. After sending my head spinning with a kiss so soft and perfect it should be outlawed, he pulls away and holds my eyes. “You ready to marry me?”

“Yes,” I beam. “Are you ready to marry me?”

“Sophie, I’ve been waiting my whole life to marry you, Babe,” he sighs, resting his hand on my belly and kissing my forehead. “Tomorrow can’t come fast enough for me.”

Drake

As I watch Analise rushing from one end of the house to the other trying to get everything ready, I make my way into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

“Baby,” I call out, causing her to slow her movement.

“Yes?”

“Can you come here, please?” A moment later, she makes her way to me and I can see the nervous tension in her grey eyes. It’s the same tension she’s been wearing all week trying to get everything perfect. Brushing her dark hair away from her face, I rest my palm on her neck and hold her gaze. “What time did you get up?”

“Four thirty,” she admits, causing my head to spin.

“Baby, I’m up early every single day and even I know that’s crazy,” I tell her. “Have you eaten anything?”

“Yes Sir,” she nods. “I had a banana when I got up.”

Glancing at my watch, I see that it’s seven and I shake my head.

“That’s all you’ve had?” I ask, watching her nod.

“Yes Sir,” she says with a yawn.

“Okay,” I tell her, taking her hand and leading her to the small breakfast bar that separates the kitchen from the dining room. “Come on. Sit here, you’re eating breakfast.”

“Drake, I’m really not that…”

“It’s not up for discussion,” I tell her, kissing her forehead as I hand her my coffee and walk into the kitchen. “Drink that and talk to me about anything non-wedding related.”

“Um…” she starts, biting her lip as I pull eggs from the fridge. “Well, Sophie’s been having contractions.”

“Nope, nothing about Sophie or the baby either,” I smirk.

“Why can’t I talk about that?”

“Because I think Sophie’s great and I’m very happy for her and Chase,” I start. “But we’ve talked about nothing but them for the past four days. Before we spend another two helping with their wedding, I want to spend my last few hours of privacy with
you
. I don’t care if we talk about Dancing with the Stars or your thoughts on how MacGyver could have cured small pox with a paperclip. I just want to talk to my fiancé while I make her breakfast.”

“Okay,” she blushes. “Well, in that case, I read a book last week and it was very good.”

“Perfect,” I smile, reaching into the refrigerator for spinach, mushrooms and cheese for an omelet. “What was it about?”

For the next ten minutes, I listen to her tell me the winding plot of the latest Harlan Coben book she’d read. Every so often, she’ll come to a part that was more suspenseful and her words leave her in a rush, the timbre in her normal voice changing slightly. I glance over at her and watch the expressive movements of her hands, unable to hide the small smile that stretches over my lips.

“It was insane!” she says, shaking her head as she lifts my cup to her lips.

“That sounds pretty insane,” I agree with a smile as I slide her omelet onto a plate before spreading cream cheese onto our bagels.

“I never would have imagined it ending that way. I always think I’ve got it figured out and then right there at the end, he gets me every time.”

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it, Love,” I say as I set her plate in front of her.

“Thank you,” she smiles.

“You’re welcome,” I say, pressing my lips to her temple as I set a glass of orange juice onto the bar and sit beside her.

Talking about nothing in particular, we enjoy the quiet before everyone arrives to begin setting up for my cousins wedding. I meant what I’d told her before. I couldn’t be happier for Chase and Sophie. However, over the course of the past couple of weeks, we’ve not had many moments like this.

Not only has she been waist deep in helping plan for the wedding, we’d had a busy few weeks at the office trying to tie up our latest project. On top of everything else, I’d been talking to Brad more about expanding the company. Since nothing had been set in stone, I’ve waited to talk to Ana about the idea of moving. However, I’d had a few conference calls this week and the opportunities are even better than I’d initially imagined. Now that we had a definite plan in motion, I knew we’d need to talk. With so much going on this weekend, I’m hoping we can find time to discuss everything.

“What do you think?” she asks, turning to face me and noticing my sudden quiet demeanor as her soft voice breaks through my thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Babe,” I say, returning my attention to her. “My mind was wandering. What did you say?”

“Are you okay?” she asks, her features filled with concern.

“Yes,” I say, nodding. “Some work stuff just popped into my head and I got sidetracked. I’m sorry, Love.”

“It’s okay,” she says quietly, leaning back into her chair.

“Are you finished eating?”

“Yes Sir,” she says with a small smile. “Thank you. It was very good, I’m just stuffed.”

“My pleasure,” I tell her, kissing her temple and carrying our plates to the kitchen.

I’m rinsing them and sliding them into the dishwasher when her voice breaks the quiet again.

“Drake?”

“What Baby?” I ask, turning to face her when she doesn’t answer right away. She looks nervous, something I’m not used to seeing from her. I instantly hate the feeling that creeps into my chest. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says immediately, walking over to me. “Nothing is wrong, I just… Is there something you need to talk to me about?”

“Why do you ask?” I ask as I try my hands on the towel sitting by the sink.

“A minute ago when we were eating and you said you got sidetracked, that’s not like you,” she says. “If it was a one-time thing, I probably wouldn’t have thought much about it, but you’ve been doing it for the past few days. I just get the feeling that there’s something bothering you, something you want to say but haven’t.”

“No,” I tell her, shaking my head and pulling her to my chest. “No, Baby. Nothing’s bothering me I just have a lot going on at work. Some stuff has come up that I need to iron out so that’s been keeping my mind occupied.”

“Can I help?” she offers as she holds my eyes, resting her palms on my chest. “I mean, I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t know very much about construction. I do know that sometimes talking things out helps me, though. Is that weird?”

“Not at all,” I tell her, leaning to kiss her forehead. “You’ve heard me talking to Brad about expanding?”

“Yes,” she says quietly, listening intently.

“I’ve done a lot of research, made some phone calls and I’ve decided that it’s a good opportunity,” I start, resting my hands on her waist. “When we fell on hard times before, I wasn’t sure we’d be able to pull through. I had to let a lot of good people go, something I never wanted to do, but I didn’t have a choice. Expanding out of state is looking like it might be the smartest move, but we have to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak. The company here, it’s doing well enough. We’ve been able to bounce back, flourish even, but I don’t ever want to be in that place again. Not to mention, there’s always opportunity to do more, achieve more.”

“And you feel like you can do that in Florida?”

“I really do,” I tell her honestly, watching her swallow hard and divert her eyes. “Look at me,” I say softly, waiting to reclaim her gaze. “I meant what I told you, Analise. I’ll never make you do something you don’t want to do, okay?” I tell her, watching her nod. “At the same time, I have to think about my people, too. I’ve got a lot of really good men working for me, not to mention family. They stuck by me when times were really tough and this is their livelihood, same as ours. If I’ve got a shot at offering them job security for the long-term, a shot at you and I being able to maintain the kind of life I want to give you, it’s foolish not to take it.”

“So, let’s say you did this,” she starts slowly. “You’d definitely have to be in Florida?”

“Well, I’d definitely have to be there for the first year or two, depending on my crew,” I sigh, watching her eyes fall. “I’ve checked out some places, gotten some bids from suppliers. Brad’s smart and he’s very good at what he does, but he doesn’t have the experience it would take to get everything off the ground. Chase does, but I’d never ask him to go with Sophie getting ready to have the baby,” I continue, watching her nod her understanding. “So, the best option if we do this would be to leave him in charge of things here while I get everything started up there. I can fly home on weekends, fly you out to stay with me.”