A few days after the wedding, Arielle and Christopher were staying with their mom when Avery picked Arielle up for their special date.
Arielle was wearing a light blue floral pleated loose dress with a pair of light blue ankle strap dress shoes. She had on a sterling silver love heart bracelet and a pair of sterling silver hoop earrings for jewelry. Her mom had braided her hair, leaving only a few loose strands.
When she came down the stairs all dressed up, Christopher smiled. " You look so beautiful, sis. He is going to fall all over himself."
" Thanks, Christopher. " She smiled back. " When are you and Amy going out again?"
" Tomorrow night. We're going to go see a movie."
" I can't believe how fast you two have grown up," Ashley said. " I remember when you both were born so clearly, that it's hard to believe."
" Hey, you still have two more kids to watch grow up. There's no need for tears, mom." Christopher said laughing.
" I'm not crying," Ashley said, even though she was wiping tears out of her eyes. " My allergies are just acting up."
" Mom, you have no allergies." Arielle laughed. " And Christopher is right. You still have Arianna and Cameron. So cheer up."
Ashley couldn't help but laugh as well, and soon they were all giggling. " I'm so lucky to have you two as my kids."
" What about me?" Asked Arianna, who came running into the room.
Ashley help her arms open and Arianna gave her a big hug. " Of course, I'm glad your my girl."
" And I'm glad you're my mommy."
The doorbell rang just then, and Christopher let Avery in.
When Avery saw Arielle, he couldn't help but whistle at her. " You look so amazing, Arielle."
" Thank you, Avery. You look amazing too."
He was wearing a blue button-up short sleeve shirt and black pants. The only jewelry he wore was his Timex Chrono supernova black watch.
" Thanks." He said, handing her a bouquet of pink roses and lilies.
" These are beautiful! Thank you." She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.
" So where are you two going for dinner?" Ashley asked, taking the flowers from her.
" Well, we both have always wanted to go to The Melting Pot, so I thought we would go there. I promise to have her home by..."
" Don't worry about it, Avery. Just go ahead and have a great time." Arielle grabbed her purse and they left.
Ashley was so glad that everything was turning around for everyone. She never thought that the drama would ever end, and it finally did. They never had to worry about Brian again, as he had been killed by another prisoner in jail.
Andrew had asked her out just the other day, and she had happily accepted. But not before checking with Avery first. She wanted him to be okay with it. He had admitted it would be hard for him to see him with anyone else, but that he wanted his dad to be happy.
While their kids were scattered amongst family, Taylor and Natalie were on their honeymoon in Fiji. That way they could enjoy some alone time.
And now that Zac was back together with Kate, everything was pretty much back to normal. He came around as often as he could to spend time with Cameron but was happy to be back with the love of his life. They were planning their wedding, which was happening in a couple of months.
" Do you want to pick out a movie for us to watch, Christopher? I could pop us some popcorn." Ashley suggested.
" Sounds good to me!" Christopher said excitedly and started browsing through their DVD collection.
Arianna jumped up and down happily chanting Harry Potter. She loved those movies, and since he did too, he chose Chamber Of Secrets and got it ready.
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When they got to The Melting Pot, Arielle couldn't wait to seat. She hadn't eaten since breakfast so that she would be hungry enough for dinner. He mentioned on the way there that he had done the same.
Once they had their beverages of sweet iced tea, he ordered the flood at her request since she wasn't picky.
He went with the Wisconsin cheddar for their cheese, the California salad, chicken potstickers, wild mushroom ravioli, teriyaki marinated steak, and shrimp. For the cooking style, he went with coq a vin. And for the chocolate fondue, smores.
" It smells so good in here." She said after the waiter had walked away.
" I agree." He took a sip of his tea and smiled at her. " I have a feeling it will be as good as we both have heard."
She smiled back. " I'm glad that you moved here, Avery. And not just because you saved my brother's life, but because in some ways, you've saved mine too."
" I feel the same way about you, Arielle. Before me and my dad moved here... it felt like my life was going downhill."
" Really?" She asked, sipping on her tea.
" Yeah. I lost one of my friends in a motorcycle accident, and his family blamed me because I had been with him when it happened. Even though he was the one driving."
" That's terrible, Avery. I am so sorry." She took his hands in hers. " You didn't deserve that. I'm just glad that you won't seriously hurt."
" Thanks." He said sadly. "I'm not sure how I got lucky and he didn't. But when I moved here and we literally ran into each other, I felt like maybe things would turn around for me. And they did."
Their salads showed up, and they began eating. After agreeing on how it was, they went back to their conversation. They changed the subject though and talked about a variety of things as they enjoyed their meal.
Halfway through their dinner, they saw Zac and Kate walk by as they were being seated nearby. Once they were sitting at their booth, Arielle and Avery went up to them to say hi.
Kate was happy to see how well things were going with Avery for Arielle. She didn't worry so much about her anymore now that he was in the picture. Not since he generally seemed to really care for her. He showed everyone in her family that he was good for her and that he would never do anything intentionally to hurt her.
They chatted with them for a few minutes, and then went back to their table. And when they were finished with their amazing dinner, he drove them to a nearby park for a walk under the stars.
They didn't walk too far away from the car, just in case something were to happen. And once they were seated at a park bench, he handed her a small gift-wrapped box.
" What is this?" She asked with a smile on her face.
" Just open it." He said nervously.
Opening it carefully so she wouldn't rip the wrapping paper too much, she couldn't believe it when she saw a beautiful blue heart-simulated opal wave knot ring in sterling silver. " Avery, I... this is... it's so beautiful."
" This is my promise to you that no matter where life takes us, we will always be together. Because I... I love you so much, Arielle. And I can't imagine not having you in my life."
She put it on her finger and kissed him. " I love you too, Avery. More than you know."
Arielle couldn't believe it was actually happening. She had been so scared that she would never meet the man she was meant to be with. Maybe because of everything she had been through. A part of her had felt like maybe no one could want her with how damaged she had been. But now she felt hopeful that one day, they would get married and have the kind of life she had always wanted.
