"How could your family treat you like this?" He hesitates, "You know what? It doesn't matter, I want you to get into a hot bath so you can relax."
He helps me out of all my clothes and covers me with a terrycloth bathrobe. Then he leaves me sitting at the edge of the bed as he runs the bath for me. When he comes back, he leads me towards the bath and I get in. The hot water immediately loosens up the knots I have in my back and in my arms.
How does he know exactly what I need, when I need it? This man. I love him so much. And I need to tell him, but first he's got to know about my family.
"Will you sit down and listen?" I ask him.
"I will listen to everything you have to say."
That's how I start my story about how my father decided it was my time to marry and found two of his businessmen buddies that wanted me in exchange for high quantities of money. How I looked into the dating site with the goal of getting away, and finding him gave me hope.
"Connor, I don't know if this is the last we'll see of them. He was going to make a lot of money from those business partners."
"Freya, I love you. What do you want to do? I'll follow your lead."
"I love you, too, Connor. I want us to get married as soon as possible."
"Then that's what we'll do. A ring. We need a ring."
"That's okay, we can go ring shopping after we're married."
"No, I've got one. Wait for me here."
He rushes out of the bathroom and goes to his bedroom, or at least that's where I think he's going. After a few minutes he comes back with a lovely ring box and opens it in front of me. A simple band with a pear shaped diamond rests on the box as he looks at me as if I'm the most beautiful woman in the world.
"Freya, kitten, will you marry me?"
"Yes! Of course I'll marry you. When did you get this?"
I offer him my hand so that he can place the engagement ring on my finger, and after he places it, he kisses my hand as if I were royalty.
"Come here and celebrate with me, Connor."
He takes off his clothes at record speed and joins me in the giant tub. Water splashes everywhere when he gets in but we don't mind the mess. We'll clean it later. What we need to do right now is to seal the deal. We're getting married and nothing or no one will stop us.
Chapter 10
Freya
Today is my wedding day. A normal girl would want her dad to be here and walk her down the aisle, but I'm keeping my distance from my family these days. Besides, I'm building a new family with Connor and the community at Hunter's Peak.
My dress was made by a local seamstress and I couldn't love it more if I tried. The people here have been open and kind to me and have been eager for this day to come. Perhaps not as much as me, but a lot. Sasha and Savannah are here to help me dress, and I'm glad for the friends I've made here so far.
"You look beautiful, Freya." Sasha says.
"This brings back memories from my own wedding day." Savannah says.
"Thank you both for being here today. It means a lot to me."
"There's nowhere else we'd rather be." Sasha says.
"Come on, your guy is waiting for you out there."
I wanted an outdoor wedding, but there was an urgency to get married. Connor said to wait a few weeks so that things would thaw a bit and we could do something in the Hunter's Peak Inn courtyard. I'm glad we waited, but it was a worrisome time for me.
We line up at the start of the path, and if I move to the side a bit, I can see Connor in the distance. He's looking extremely sharp in a suit and looks yummier than I've ever seen him. The flower girl goes first, and then my bridesmaids start right after her.
First Sasha, then Savannah. They walk in front of me, leading the way to my soon to be husband. I start walking and am glad I don't have a veil on. I chose a crown of flowers for my hair, and let my hair loose around my shoulders.
