Chelsea was still unsure she had heard him correctly. "You two eloped?"
Nick nodded. "That's what I said." There was something about his expression that didn't ring true.
Chelsea looked at Nick and Sara and shook her head. "You couldn't have."
Nick looked smug. "Oh and why's that?"
Sara looked as if she was trying to restrain her smile.
Chelsea raised a suspicious eyebrow at Nick. "There's a 72-hour waiting period in the State of Texas for a marriage license." She looked smug.
The rest of Nick's family watched the interaction between the two siblings with interest, not saying anything, curious as to where this was leading.
"You seem so sure of yourself." Nick replied with a hint of a challenge in his voice and a mischievous glint in his eye.
Chelsea flashed him a 'no duh' expression. "I know the law, Nick." However, her tone implied that she wasn't so sure of herself.
Nick's mother Pamela started to laugh. "Nicky, can you put your poor sister out of her misery?"
Chelsea looked at her mother with disbelief that she seemed to know something that the rest of the room did not.
Nick grinned at his mom. "I will in just a minute, Mom. I just need to say something first."
Chelsea glanced around the room to see if anyone else knew what was going on, but the rest of her siblings and their spouses looked as confused as she did. The only ones in the room who didn't were her parents and her grandmother.
"Chels?" Nick wanted to get her attention.
She turned back toward Nick, her expression was sheepish. "Yeah?"
"You know that I love you." He glanced at his other sisters. "I love all y'all."
Chelsea nodded and glanced at her sisters, somehow knowing they were about to get their comeuppance.
"And while I love you, I need you to keep your nose out of my love life. It's my life and quite frankly, it's none of your business." Nick chided them gently.
Nick's brothers-in-law had amusement on their faces. They all knew how much the Stokes women could get out of hand when it came to their younger brother's love life.
Chelsea looked confused. "But you didn't elope; you're not married."
Nick glanced over at Sara and grinned at her, leaning in to kiss her softly before turning toward Chelsea and the rest of his family. "You're right, we didn't elope, but I did ask Sara to marry me."
All eyes in the room turned to Sara.
A smirk crossed Sara's face. "I said yes by the way."
Megan let out a squeal of delight.
Michael hugged his wife Susan a little closer and chuckled. "Way to go, little brother."
Chelsea looked shocked. "You're not kidding us are you?"
"No, Chelsea, he's not." Nick's dad John interjected.
"You knew?" Chelsea looked at her parents with confusion.
A ripple of laughter spread throughout the room.
Nick cleared his throat. "We called Mom and Dad last night." Suddenly, Nick and Sara seemed to be surrounded by everyone all at once as they received congratulatory hugs.
Nick's grandmother Rose cleared her throat and everyone turned her direction. "Nick, tell them the rest, honey." She was smiling widely.
Nick looked at Sara and grinned. "We wanted to elope."
Sara giggled. "But then there was that 72-hour waiting period you were talking about."
"You could always go to Vegas!" Someone called out
Nick smirked and Sara laughed. He responded to the suggestion. "We decided that we wanted all of you to be part of it, so if you don't have anything else going on, we want to get married next Saturday."
"How can we help?" Andrea queried.
"I'll clear my calendar." Grace interjected.
"That's only a week from now." Chelsea looked nearly stricken.
Nick's grandmother interrupted. "Don't forget, I married your grandfather just a week after he asked me to marry him."
"That's right." Amy had a huge smile on her face.
Sara glanced at Nick with a hint of disbelief. "Is she serious?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah, she is." He turned. "Grandma, do you want to tell Sara your story?"
Nick's grandmother smiled at Sara and began. "This family has always been a little impulsive when it comes to getting married, but it always seems to last."
Soft laughter came from the other side of the room as everyone began to take a seat. "This is perfect, I love this story." Sara wasn't sure which of Nick's sisters had spoken, but the tension in the room seemed to have dissipated. She glanced around and found smiles on everyone's faces.
As Nick's grandmother began to talk, Nick sat down and pulled Sara into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Rose smiled at them. "Well, it was 1936 and I was working as a court stenographer. I was dating this young man named Russell, he was very nice, but wasn't in any big hurry to settle down. Not that I was either mind you. I enjoyed making my own way, and I was good at it too."
There was a scattering of laughter and Sara could see where the Stokes women got their spunk.
Rose continued. "During my lunch hours though, I would usually go to the corner deli and get a sandwich with some of the other workers from the courthouse. One of them was a young man a named Nathan Stokes."
Sara glanced around the room at everyone's faces and felt Nick's lips press against her cheek. A smile spread across her face.
"Well, Nathan and I were good friends. But that's all I saw him as. I was enamored with Russell." Rose paused for a moment and whispered conspiratorially to Sara. "This is the part that always gets them."
"Go on, Grandma! This is the best part!" Chelsea encouraged with a wide grin on her face.
"See what I mean?" Rose smiled at Sara. "Anyway, one Friday while we were walking to the corner deli to get a roast beef sandwich, Nathan just turns to me with the most serious expression and told me he wanted to ask me a question. I asked him what it was he wanted to ask me. He just turned and told me that he wanted to marry me. I don't think I could have been more shocked and somehow I managed to ask him when he wanted to do that. He said either we got married the next Friday or we didn't at all. In retrospect, I think I'd been in love with him since the day I'd met him. I said yes and we got married on the next Friday, just a week after he'd asked me to marry him."
She dabbed at her eyes for a moment. "Nathan and I were married for sixty- one years before he passed away."
Sara found herself tearing up at the beauty of the story. She only hoped that she and Nick would have as many years as Rose and Nathan. "Thanks for sharing your story, Rose, it was beautiful."
Nick hugged Sara a little tighter, tears stinging his eyes as he realized how similar his and Sara's story was to his grandparents' story.
Nick nodded. "That's what I said." There was something about his expression that didn't ring true.
Chelsea looked at Nick and Sara and shook her head. "You couldn't have."
Nick looked smug. "Oh and why's that?"
Sara looked as if she was trying to restrain her smile.
Chelsea raised a suspicious eyebrow at Nick. "There's a 72-hour waiting period in the State of Texas for a marriage license." She looked smug.
The rest of Nick's family watched the interaction between the two siblings with interest, not saying anything, curious as to where this was leading.
"You seem so sure of yourself." Nick replied with a hint of a challenge in his voice and a mischievous glint in his eye.
Chelsea flashed him a 'no duh' expression. "I know the law, Nick." However, her tone implied that she wasn't so sure of herself.
Nick's mother Pamela started to laugh. "Nicky, can you put your poor sister out of her misery?"
Chelsea looked at her mother with disbelief that she seemed to know something that the rest of the room did not.
Nick grinned at his mom. "I will in just a minute, Mom. I just need to say something first."
Chelsea glanced around the room to see if anyone else knew what was going on, but the rest of her siblings and their spouses looked as confused as she did. The only ones in the room who didn't were her parents and her grandmother.
"Chels?" Nick wanted to get her attention.
She turned back toward Nick, her expression was sheepish. "Yeah?"
"You know that I love you." He glanced at his other sisters. "I love all y'all."
Chelsea nodded and glanced at her sisters, somehow knowing they were about to get their comeuppance.
"And while I love you, I need you to keep your nose out of my love life. It's my life and quite frankly, it's none of your business." Nick chided them gently.
Nick's brothers-in-law had amusement on their faces. They all knew how much the Stokes women could get out of hand when it came to their younger brother's love life.
Chelsea looked confused. "But you didn't elope; you're not married."
Nick glanced over at Sara and grinned at her, leaning in to kiss her softly before turning toward Chelsea and the rest of his family. "You're right, we didn't elope, but I did ask Sara to marry me."
All eyes in the room turned to Sara.
A smirk crossed Sara's face. "I said yes by the way."
Megan let out a squeal of delight.
Michael hugged his wife Susan a little closer and chuckled. "Way to go, little brother."
Chelsea looked shocked. "You're not kidding us are you?"
"No, Chelsea, he's not." Nick's dad John interjected.
"You knew?" Chelsea looked at her parents with confusion.
A ripple of laughter spread throughout the room.
Nick cleared his throat. "We called Mom and Dad last night." Suddenly, Nick and Sara seemed to be surrounded by everyone all at once as they received congratulatory hugs.
Nick's grandmother Rose cleared her throat and everyone turned her direction. "Nick, tell them the rest, honey." She was smiling widely.
Nick looked at Sara and grinned. "We wanted to elope."
Sara giggled. "But then there was that 72-hour waiting period you were talking about."
"You could always go to Vegas!" Someone called out
Nick smirked and Sara laughed. He responded to the suggestion. "We decided that we wanted all of you to be part of it, so if you don't have anything else going on, we want to get married next Saturday."
"How can we help?" Andrea queried.
"I'll clear my calendar." Grace interjected.
"That's only a week from now." Chelsea looked nearly stricken.
Nick's grandmother interrupted. "Don't forget, I married your grandfather just a week after he asked me to marry him."
"That's right." Amy had a huge smile on her face.
Sara glanced at Nick with a hint of disbelief. "Is she serious?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah, she is." He turned. "Grandma, do you want to tell Sara your story?"
Nick's grandmother smiled at Sara and began. "This family has always been a little impulsive when it comes to getting married, but it always seems to last."
Soft laughter came from the other side of the room as everyone began to take a seat. "This is perfect, I love this story." Sara wasn't sure which of Nick's sisters had spoken, but the tension in the room seemed to have dissipated. She glanced around and found smiles on everyone's faces.
As Nick's grandmother began to talk, Nick sat down and pulled Sara into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Rose smiled at them. "Well, it was 1936 and I was working as a court stenographer. I was dating this young man named Russell, he was very nice, but wasn't in any big hurry to settle down. Not that I was either mind you. I enjoyed making my own way, and I was good at it too."
There was a scattering of laughter and Sara could see where the Stokes women got their spunk.
Rose continued. "During my lunch hours though, I would usually go to the corner deli and get a sandwich with some of the other workers from the courthouse. One of them was a young man a named Nathan Stokes."
Sara glanced around the room at everyone's faces and felt Nick's lips press against her cheek. A smile spread across her face.
"Well, Nathan and I were good friends. But that's all I saw him as. I was enamored with Russell." Rose paused for a moment and whispered conspiratorially to Sara. "This is the part that always gets them."
"Go on, Grandma! This is the best part!" Chelsea encouraged with a wide grin on her face.
"See what I mean?" Rose smiled at Sara. "Anyway, one Friday while we were walking to the corner deli to get a roast beef sandwich, Nathan just turns to me with the most serious expression and told me he wanted to ask me a question. I asked him what it was he wanted to ask me. He just turned and told me that he wanted to marry me. I don't think I could have been more shocked and somehow I managed to ask him when he wanted to do that. He said either we got married the next Friday or we didn't at all. In retrospect, I think I'd been in love with him since the day I'd met him. I said yes and we got married on the next Friday, just a week after he'd asked me to marry him."
She dabbed at her eyes for a moment. "Nathan and I were married for sixty- one years before he passed away."
Sara found herself tearing up at the beauty of the story. She only hoped that she and Nick would have as many years as Rose and Nathan. "Thanks for sharing your story, Rose, it was beautiful."
Nick hugged Sara a little tighter, tears stinging his eyes as he realized how similar his and Sara's story was to his grandparents' story.