The Wedding Nobody Expected
Chapter 19 - The Wedding Nobody Expected
Jax proposed to Rachel four years after they reunited.
Not at a restaurant.
Not at Community Day.
At Miller's Diner.
Same counter.
Same seat.
He placed the old photograph between them.
Rachel looked at it.
"You finally got a ring?"
"No."
She frowned.
Jax slid a folded paper toward her.
Rachel opened it.
Seven words.
Rachel, can we finally stop wasting time?
She laughed.
Then cried.
Then hit his shoulder.
"That is the worst proposal I've ever seen."
"Is that a yes?"
"No."
Jax looked stunned.
Rachel smiled.
"Ask properly."
He stood.
Everyone in the diner turned.
Jax looked uncomfortable.
"Rachel Dawson."
Helen started crying before he finished.
"Will you marry me?"
Rachel waited.
Just long enough to make him suffer.
"Yes."
The diner erupted.
Lily hugged Ethan.
Caleb cried openly this time.
Helen rang the service bell repeatedly.
The wedding took place six months later behind the diner.
Small.
Simple.
No expensive decorations.
The old Community Charity Day photograph sat on a table beside pictures of family members they had lost.
Lily walked Rachel down the aisle.
Ethan stood beside Jax.
Before the ceremony, Lily handed Jax an envelope.
He opened it.
Inside was a new birth certificate.
Lily had legally added his name as her father.
Jax couldn't speak.
She smiled.
"You can cry."
"Motorcycle grease."
"You're wearing a suit."
"Very persistent grease."
Then Lily hugged him.
"Dad."
One word.
May you like
Sixteen years late.
Still perfectly timed.
