“Mmhm,” I murmured as I tapped a message out on my phone before jogging over to scoop her small body out of the truck. Them and a whole lot more if all was going as planned. We stepped onto the wide wraparound porch and Leah pointed to the sign taped to the storm door. “I guess we’re supposed to go around back according to that. That’s a little strange. Are we having a barbeque today?”
“Um, I don’t know. Mom didn’t mention anything, maybe Chris suggested it since it’s such a nice day out. You know how he loves his barbeques.” I laced my fingers through hers and pulled her off the porch, smirking at her questioning expression. “C’mon, we’ll do as the sign says. I know how you’re such a rule follower.”
“Oh, yeah and you’re so much better,” she responded sarcastically but quickly followed behind me. As soon as we rounded the corner, a chorus rang out made up of all of our family and friends, gathered under a large tent set up in the middle of the backyard. “Surprise!”
Chapter 32
Leah
I jumped in surprise, pressing my body against Chase’s, when ‘surprise’ rang out through the back yard. I quickly scanned everyone who was gathered and spotted almost every one of our family and friends standing underneath a large white tent, staring back at us with wide smiles.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?” I hissed out through the smile that I had pasted on my face. He knew how much I hated surprises and I already knew without even asking that he had a part in this. I had no clue what exactly the surprise party was for, but it was apparently for us, unless they had awkwardly just yelled out surprise to the wrong people.
“Calm down, baby. You know you love me. You can punish me later if you want to.” He winked a green eye at me, before pulling me towards the crowd of our loved ones.
I quickly forgot about being upset after I saw all who was there. Teddy, Ally, Mark, and Remy were all grouped together and I rushed that way to wrap each of them into a tight hug. Surprisingly, Mr. and Mrs. James were standing directly behind them and they each gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi Leah, dear. It’s so good to see you.” Mrs. James patted my back gently and passed me along to Mr. James. “Now get out of here, kid, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up later. I think there are a few people who would like to see you.” I left them with a smile, knowing that we would have to do just that.
I hadn’t seen them in so long, it was strange. They had been like the parents I never had while I finished high school, always there for Caleb and me whenever we needed anything, even though I was never one to ask for handouts.
As soon as I stepped away from them, my legs were wrapped in a hug from behind by two sets of arms and I twisted my body around, my fingers instantly sinking into the dark brown curls of Caleb and grabbing lightly onto Belles tiny ponytail. I noticed Roy standing behind him with a small smile on his face.
“So, Chase conned you into this whole surprise thing too. I figured you out of all people would have told me, Roy. I thought we had an understanding here. You’re supposed to tell me everything, remember?” He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly and stepped closer to wrap an arm around Caleb.
“Sorry, there was no way I was going to ruin it. My lips were sealed, especially around this little guy. He had no clue where we were going today when I strapped him into the car, you should have seen how excited he got when we pulled into Grandma Mary’s driveway. When he found out they were having a party for you and Chase, I think he almost passed out from the joy. Surprises are fun sometimes, Leah.”
“I know, Roy,” I groaned out, even though a wide smile had broken out onto my face. I was so happy to have Caleb here, I didn’t care what the occasion was and even that it was a surprise. I heard a shrill whistle and everyone’s attention turned to the makeshift stage that was set up near the front side of the tent.
I felt a hand wrap around my waist and even without looking, I knew it was Chase. The crowd of our family parted as he led me towards the front and we stopped right near the edge of the stage, where Mary was perched in the center.
She cleared her throat once everyone had quieted down and her eyes zeroed in on us. “Leah, you’re probably wondering right now what in the hell is going on. You surely know by now that my sweet boy had a helping hand in planning this entire thing out.” She waved a hand out in front of her, pointing to all of our loved ones who had shown up.
“I know how you hate surprises, sweetie but I think we all agree when we say you two definitely deserve it. So, happy anniversary you two!” She held up a glass of champagne in cheers and Katie shoved two glasses in our hands so we could raise them with everyone else.