Page 43 of Romancing Melanie
“He isn’t used to seeing Mommy looking so fancy.”
Noah came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck and then resting his head on her shoulder to look down at their son.
“Well, Mommy had to look extra pretty for Daddy for our party,” Mel replied.
Noah squeezed his arms tighter around his wife. “You would look pretty in a paper bag, Mel. But you’re stunning today. Even Connor knows it.”
Mel turned in his arms, and looked up at Noah. She could feel happy tears pooling in her eyes, as they had frequently over the last few hours. Today had been, without a doubt, the best day of her life. Noah’s belated wedding present to her was a copy of the paperwork so that she could formally adopt Connor. Their mothers had teamed up to throw a beautiful party at The Lucky Strike to celebrate their marriage. She was married to her best friend, and now, a mother to the most wonderful little boy. Mel didn’t think it was possible to be any happier than she was, right now.
It had turned out to be very easy explaining the reason for their secret marriage to their friends and family. They were all quite accepting of the lengths Mel and Noah had gone to, to keep Connor safe. Everyone admitted they were just thrilled to finally see them out as a couple, and Ryan claimed he had predicted them ending up together months earlier. In fact, the worst part of coming clean about their relationship was how much teasing they had to endure for how long it had taken for them to admit their feelings for each other.
No one had heard from or seen Gigi since the phone call to her parents when Connor was born, and as such, a judge had ruled it as maternal abandonment and revoked her parental rights. Even if she did show up one day, it would be up to Noah to decide if she got to be a part of Connor’s life at all. Noah had stayed true to his word and welcomed Lois and Craig to be a part of Connor’s life, and they had eventually stopped apologizing for their rush judgement of him and the attempt to take custody of his son.
Melanie looked over to one of the tables where their friends had gathered.
“Who would have thought, that when I dragged Callie out to The Lucky Strike for a drink all those years ago, we would all be here now,” she mused.
Noah chuckled in her ear. “You’re right, babe. I guess we have you to thank for all of this.”
Mel shook her head. “No way, I’m not taking credit for any of it. I think there must be some sort of weird love potion in the air vents here.”
It was true, The Lucky Strike had opened as a simple brew pub, but over time it had been so much more. It had served as the backdrop for dreams coming true, surprises of a lifetime, and most importantly, true love.
Jake and Callie had been thrilled to finally announce their pregnancy, one month after Noah’s accident. When Callie had first told Mel, there had been many happy tears shed. Mel was thrilled for her friend, and had only a twinge of sadness that Callie was going to experience a miracle that Melanie never would.
Ryan and Anna picked a wedding date, September 20th, which happened to be her Aunt Theresa’s birthday. Noah was relieved Ryan would give their mother an actual wedding to plan and enjoy. He and Mel had decided to send Ryan and Anna on a surprise honeymoon to Hawaii, but that would have to wait until Anna’s final semester of her teaching degree was complete.
In a twist on the norm, Reagan had proposed to Chase. They were in no rush to plan their special day, however, as Chase had decided to record a solo album with a small company that was going to allow him to have almost full control over everything. Reagan’s online brownie business was booming; she and Lucy had more orders than they could keep up with, so had recently hired two assistants.
Everyone was happy and moving forward in life. Reaching for their goals and dreams and supporting each other along the way. Their lives were full of love and friendship, and Mel knew that all of the pain and heartache each of them had suffered, was worth it. Because it had led them to each other.
Just then, it was time for Mel and Noah to give a short toast, as dictated by Noah’s mother. Molly had insisted that they maintain as many wedding traditions as possible, despite the untraditional start to their marriage. So, they walked over to where Jake and Ryan had been pouring small glasses of the peach ale that was a favorite for their group of friends. Melanie balanced Connor on one hip as she raised her glass and looked out over the small group of people she loved. Her family, both by blood and by friendship.
“Noah and I are so grateful to all of you, not just for being here today, but for putting up with us through the insanity of the last few months. I know we drove you guys nuts sometimes…” Mel grinned, and everyone chuckled. “But you stuck with us. You helped me to open my eyes to the love that was right in front of me, you helped Noah recover from his accident, and you helped both of us adjust to Connor coming into our lives. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I just want to raise a glass and say cheers to the best group of family and friends anyone could ever ask for and to The Lucky Strike where all of our happily ever afters began!”
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