"Yeah. When we go into town we'll get more condoms, then we can do it any time we want."
"You're marrying me, right - I mean eventually?" she asks.
"As soon as I can get you to say yes, we're getting married."
"So if I say yes now, does that mean we can have sex now - without a condom?"
I freeze after I drop the condom into the trash. Unsure of what I'm hearing, I walk over to the bed and pull her up so she's sitting next to me. "Do you understand what you're saying, Em?"
She nods her head. "That I love you. That I want to have sex with you, I want your babies and yes... I want to be your wife."
Unable to believe my luck, I feel like I need to press it. "Ya know, earlier you were talking about dating other men."
Her hand goes to my cheek, and she forces me to look at her. "I'm not Sophia. I want to live on this ranch. I won't be leaving you at the altar or the courthouse... whichever is quicker, because I want you forever, Brett Barrett."
"Forever, Emma. You're going to be mine forever," I tell her right before I push her down to the bed and show her exactly how much I love her.
Epilogue
Brett
One Week Later
I can't seem to stop fidgeting. This week has flown by, and the chaos and the rush, rush rush and hurry has now ended and culminated in this moment. I'm standing at the front of the church. Not because Emma chose this but because I wanted to give it to her. I didn't want to marry her at the justice of the peace. I only assumed that she's dreamed about her wedding day before. Haven't most women? Well, it's been a pact I made to myself that I was going to try and make all her dreams come true. Even if that means taking off my cowboy hat, shining my shoes, and standing at the front of a church waiting for her. I look over at Raymond and Peter. Neither one of them are any help. They're not happy about getting dressed up, and they look like they're ready for this to be over.
Emma stayed in town at Violet's last night so it's been almost twelve hours since I've seen her, and that's twelve hours too long. The ceremony doesn't start for another twenty minutes, but my mind is going crazy. I may not be able to see her, but I can at least talk to her... make sure she's okay and she's not having any second thoughts.
Fuck, I don't know what I'll do if she changes her mind. Chances are I'll just follow her around like a lost puppy until she feels sorry for me and takes me back.
The door I was told she would be behind is cracked open. I don't have any couth when it comes to Emma so I push it the rest of the way. "Emma," I say into the quiet room. There's no one here. Her sweet, flowery smell isn't even in the room, so I know she hasn't been here in a while.
I start to panic. My heart starts to race, and I bolt out the door and jog down the hallway, pushing open doors. "Emma! Emma!" I holler over and over. In one of the rooms, I knock over a vase, but I don’t care. Nothing matters until I find Emma.
Violet swings a door open. "What in the world are you hollering about? You do know you're in a church, right?"
"Where's Emma?” I ask her instead of answering.
She points over her shoulder inside the room. "In here. What's wrong?"
I hear Emma from the room, but I can't see her. Violet starts to move back and forth as if she's blocking Emma from coming out the door. "Brett, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
I can only now start to breathe again. Hearing her voice calms me like nothing else. "I thought you left," I mutter.
"Left!" she exclaims. She pushes around Violet, and my heart lurches in my chest. She's absolutely the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. She didn't want to waste money on a dress, but I convinced her, and I'm so glad I did. She looks absolutely beautiful in the white fitted dress. Her hair is up, hanging in tendrils down her back. Violet must have put makeup on her, and already I know it's not going to matter because as soon as I get a hold of Emma, it's all going to be gone because I plan on kissing every inch of her.
She literally takes my breath away and instead of reaching for her, I grab on to my chest. "Emma, my God, you're beautiful."
She puts her hand on her hip. "You really think I would have just left."
I hold my hands up innocently. "You weren't in the room that Violet said you'd be in. What else should I think?"
Emma looks over her shoulder at Violet and the guilty look on her face. "What? I knew he wouldn't stay away, so I thought it would buy some time if he started looking for you. I didn't think he was going to tear the church down to get to you though."
We both stare at Violet until she throws her hands up and walks down the hall. "I'll be waiting on you in the church. I guess since you're not where you're supposed to be you'll just bring her with you when you come."
I nod at her, but my eyes are trained on Emma. "I'm not leaving you, Brett Barrett. You're stuck with me."
"Do you promise?" I ask her, but I already know the answer.
She takes a step toward me, and I take a step back. She turns her head to the side and looks at me curiously. "What are you doing? Why are you backing up?"
I clear my throat. "Uh, because I want to get married."
She smiles. "I know, but
