Chapter 41

Chap ter 41

Amber

Rico and I spend all Saturday morning just relaxing and spending time together. He wanted me to be pampered all day, but I wanted to just relax and spend a quiet Saturday morning with him. We get so few days together with our schedules right now. So, after a quiet day, Stephanie and Bri show up to help me, and Rico disappears for a little while. They help me do my makeup and curl my hair and leave it down. I requested to keep it simple. Then they help me into the beautiful wedding dress, which is a feat at nine months pregnant. The dress is white with a V-neck and small capped sleeves. There's a simple gathering above the belly and then plenty of room for my belly as the dress falls the rest of the way to the ground. It's so simple but beautifully elegant. Bri and Stephanie step back and let my mom in.

"You look beautiful," my mom says, wiping her eyes.

I hug her. "Thanks, Mom."

She grasps my arms. "I couldn't be prouder of you, do you know that?"

"Thanks, Mom." I kiss her forehead. "Is Rico here yet?" I ask.

"We'll get him," Bri says with a knowing smile. In wanting a non-stressful day, I requested that Rico see me before we head over to the wedding. I just want to be near him today. He readily agreed.

There's a soft knock on the door, and I turn around as Rico walks into the room and stops. His eyes run over me. He stares for a full minute before he steps close. "I wish I had the words," he pauses and swallows, getting choked up.

I feel my own eyes water in response. "You think it's okay?"

"It's more than okay, Love. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you," he whispers. "You look so beautiful."

"You look pretty good yourself, Handsome."

He grins and pulls me in softly for a kiss. "Ready to go get married?"

I sigh. "Yes." He starts to pull away, but I put a hand on his arm, stopping him. "Rico?" I stare up at him.

"What is it, Love?"

I struggle with my words for a minute. "I just...I want you to know how much you mean to me." His eyes soften. "I," I bite my lip, trying to find the words. "I was so lost before you came into my life. You ground me and make me want to be a better person. I love every minute we spend together, and I just...I want to make you as happy as you've made me."

"Amber," he whispers as he pulls me closer. "You have made me the happiest man alive. I love you." He kisses me so tenderly, it aches. He pulls back and looks into my eyes. "I can't believe I get to have you beside me for the rest of my life."

A knock sounds on the door before Seb comes barreling through. "Are we having a wedding or not?" he asks with a huge grin. He puts his hands up. "Sorry, Man. Nobody else was brave enough to come in here."

Rico shakes his head and turns back to me, ignoring his teammate and friend. "You ready to do this?"

"Yes."

"Do you think if we ignore him, he'll just go away?" he murmurs right against my lips.

"Nope," Seb calls out. "Can I just say something?" he asks.

"No," Rico and I both say at the same time.

"Good," he continues. "I just want to say that I called it first. I knew you two were going to get together long before you ever did."

Rico sighs. "Let's go get this thing done."

"Thing?" I ask.

He grins at me. "Yeah, so we can get to the after party."

"Oh man, I love a good after party," Seb remarks from behind us.

"Is he still here?" Rico asks with a frown.

I peek behind Rico's shoulder and see Sebastian leaning against the door grinning. He winks at me, and I shake my head, unable to keep the laughter out of my voice. "Yes, and I don't think he's planning on going anywhere."

"I'm not," Seb calls out. "It's my job to get the bride and groom to show up, preferably on time; and I take my responsibilities seriously." He puts his hand on Rico's shoulder. "So, my man, let's take this party on the road."

Rico shrugs off his hand. "And you weren't invited to the after party I was referring to," Rico says without looking at him.

"Ohhhhh, that kind of after party," Sebastian says, wiggling his eyebrows.

I stare up at Rico. "I thought we weren't doing any of that." We agreed to wait until the baby comes before we came together.

Sebastian cracks up, and we both turn around. "What is so funny?" I ask.

"You two," he says, still laughing. I glance up at Rico, and he doesn't look amused. "I think it's hysterical that you two think you aren't going to go all the way."

"Seb," Rico says in warning.

Sebastian puts his hands up grinning. "I'm just saying. I'm a happily married man, and there was no way I was staying away from my gorgeous wife on the night of our wedding."

There's a knock on the door, and Stephanie walks in looking gorgeous. "Seb, what's taking so long? You were supposed to get them out the door."

"Oh, he's just talking about your wedding night," I inform her.

Her eyes widen, and she turns to Sebastian and puts her hands on her hips. "What?"

"They think they're not going to do anything tonight," Sebastian says, motioning at us. "I was just telling them how wrong they are."

"Oh." Her face scrunches up as she turns to us. "Yeah, that strategy's going to fail as soon as Rico takes his shirt off. Okay." She claps her hands. "Are we ready, people?" I stare at her. "What?" she shrugs. "I married a hockey player too."

"Yeah, she did," Sebastian says, grinning wickedly and pulling her in for a kiss that's not at all tame. I look away and meet Rico's eyes.

His eyes darken, and he pulls me close. "I'm pretty sure that works in reverse too."

I smirk and look up at him. "When I take my shirt off?" I ask quietly.

He groans. "Come on." He snags my hand.

Sebastian and Stephanie walk out ahead of us. "Let's go, People," Sebastian calls out. "We have a wedding to get to."

We walk outside and load into cars and make the short drive to the place where I'll officially become Rico's wife. It's cold out, but Rico keeps me warm in the back seat. It's a dreary, cold day in February, but I can't stop smiling. When we get to the small chapel where we're going to get married, we all head inside.

The next few hours are a blur. Rico and I pledge our vows to each other, pledging to love each other and stick with each other no matter what. After that, we head to the restaurant that Rico rented out for the night and celebrate with our friends. I spend the night laughing, eating cake, dancing with my most favorite person in the world, and celebrating with everybody we love.

At one point, Rico's mom and sister approach. I eye Peyton warily as Mrs. Garcia takes my hands. "You make my boy so happy. I've never seen him this happy in his entire life."

"Well, he makes me really happy too."

She pulls me into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too."

When I can't stop yawning, Rico makes our goodbyes and we head out to his truck. He helps me inside and leans forward for a kiss. "Hey, Mrs. Garcia," he says softly. I can't stop my grin.

"Yes?"

"How about we go home?"

"I like the sound of that."

We make the drive to Rico's house, now my home. I packed a bag of what I need for now, and Rico said he'll help me move the rest this next week. When we park, Rico comes around and helps me out of the truck. I look over and see the SUV sitting next to his truck. "Is somebody here?" I ask.

"No."

"Whose car is that?" I ask as we walk past it towards the front door.

"Yours," he says without skipping a beat.

I stop. "What?"

"I got it for you to have before the baby comes. Think of it as a wedding gift."

I turn so I can look up at him. "You bought me a car?"

"Yeah, Baby. I need you to drive something reliable, especially with the baby coming."

"You didn't need to do that."

"I wanted to."

"I didn't get you anything like a car," I admit.

He smiles. "I don't need you to. I just want you."

We head inside, and I can't help but smile as we walk into our home. It's so much the same and yet so different. I've spent so much time here over the last several weeks; it seems so natural to take this next step. Rico puts his hand on my lower back. "Do you need anything to eat or drink before we go to bed?"

"No, I'm good. How about you?"

"I'm good too."

We make our way to his room and step inside. I take in the room. "You have a fireplace?"

" We have a fireplace," he corrects and then gives me a funny look. "You never noticed it?"

"I don't come in here all that often. I can't believe there's a fireplace."

"I'm glad you like it." He drops the bag he carried for me in the corner.

"Do you want to take a shower before bed?" he asks.

"I do. I remember how nice your shower is."

"I'll get it going for you." I dig through my bag and find underwear but come up missing for pajamas. When I've taken nearly everything out, I huff in frustration. "I can't find my pajamas anywhere."

"Here." He opens a drawer and pulls out a shirt and hands it to me. "That should work."

"Thanks, Rico."

"Of course, Love."

Somehow, I manage to get out of my dress and into the shower. It's as nice as I remember from before. When I've stayed in long enough to start shriveling up, I finally climb out and dry off. I slip on Rico's t-shirt and throw my hair up into a towel. After brushing my teeth, I head out of the bathroom. "Where is this shirt from? It's so soft."

Rico's eyes scan over me, lingering on my legs. "You look good in just my shirt."

I smile. "Thanks."

He shakes his head, seeming to snap out of it. "I don't remember. I'm going to take a shower next." He starts to walk past me, but I stop him with a hand on his arm.

"Oh, wait. I think I used all the hot water. I'm sorry; that was terrible of me."

"No worries. I'm taking a cool shower anyway."

"A cool shower? Who does that?"

"I do, Gorgeous. Feel free to get settled. I'll try to be quiet when I get out in case you're already asleep," he says.

"Wait, which side do you sleep on?"

He looks back at the bed. "I usually sleep in the middle, so you can take whichever side you want."

"In the middle? That's weird."

He laughs. "Okay, well you can change me. I'll sleep on whatever side you don't want to sleep on then."

"I'll let you sleep on the side by the door. That way if there are any intruders, you can deal with them."

He grins. "I'll protect you, Baby, from all the intruders."

He disappears into the bathroom, and I come up with anything and everything I can to keep myself busy and not have to climb into bed. The door to the bathroom opens, and Rico comes out dressed in a pair of sweats. Only sweats . And just like that, my mouth dries up.