Starting Over

Chapter 43- The Reception

“Come with me!” I shouted as I pulled her into the main house, opposite from the reception tent.

“Luke, where are we going?” Bridget asked me.

“Just come on!” I told her as I picked up the pace.

“Slow down! I’m going to fall! I can’t move that fast in this dress!” Bridget exclaimed.

“We’re almost there,” I told her, “I have a surprise for you.”

Bridget didn’t have time to say anything before we were turning the corner into a private suite I had reserved. It was pretty much a sitting room. There was minimal furniture, but a couch, small table, and chairs with a plate of white chocolate covered strawberries sat in the middle of the room.

“What is this?” Bridget asked as she stood stunned by the room.

“Just come here,” I said pulling her to the table and helping her into a chair.

“Luke, we have guests,” Bridget said concerned.

“It won’t take but a few minutes. We won’t miss anything or anyone,” I assured her.

“Alright,” Bridget sighed picking up a strawberry and devouring it.

“First things first,” I said as I went to the closet and pulled out a flowing, white, one shoulder, summer dress, “I thought you might be more comfortable in this for the rest of the evening.”

“Luke, that’s beautiful!” Bridget exclaimed as she pulled me into her arms, kissing me passionately, “Thank you.”

“I knew you would. Brit helped me pick it out,” I admitted to the help I received.

“You were who she was texting all day today!” Bridget said with a grin.

“Yes. Eat the strawberries. I have one more thing for you before we get changed,” I told her acknowledging the button up and jeans of mine hanging from the bathroom door.

Bridget sat back down and I sat across from her. She was obviously hungry since she devoured the strawberries in record time. I smiled at her knowing my next surprise would be the best.

“So, what’s this other surprise?” Bridget asked me.

“Well, it’s something we have talked about for a while,” I told her as I walked across the room pulling a manila envelope out of the drawer of a dresser.

“What is it with manila envelopes?” Bridget laughed.

“I don’t know, but you should really like this one,” I said as I handed it to her.

“What is it?” Bridget asked me as she opened the folder.

The room fell silent as she flipped through the series of papers that were in the envelope. Once she realized what it was tears started streaming down her face. They weren’t tears of sadness or hurt or anger. They were tears of joy and happiness.

“How did you do this without me knowing?” Bridget asked me.

“I’ve had it done for a while. I’ve struggled on how long to wait to give it to you, but after what Kenzie asked me this morning I knew that today was the day. She made the decision for me. I want her to be mine and this will start the process,” I explained to her.

“But how did you get this far without me knowing?” Bridget questioned me.

“It’s only a petition to adopt her. The courts will have to decide to take parental rights from Gavin, but this is the first step and they said that they wouldn’t do anything until we were married. Well, we are married now. There’s nothing stopping me from adopting Kenzie except Gavin and I’ll spend every last penny I have to make sure it happens,” I enlightened Bridget.