A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

When Rylie walks into our bedroom, my jaw drops. We were taking our engagement pictures today, and she looked simply breathtaking.
"You..." I shake my head slightly, trying to form the words. "Damn." Is all I can say. Her blonde hair is down in loose curls that just brush her collarbone, with one side partially pinned back. Although her makeup is light, it brings out the stunning blue of her eyes, as well as the freckles dusting her cheeks and nose.
She wears high-waisted black jeans, rolled up at the ankles, dark grey ankle boots, and a cream colored sweater tucked in at the front. "Do I look okay?" She asks me nervously.
"Do you..." I raise my eyebrows and laugh. "Yes. You look stunning, Ry." I tell her before taking her hands and pulling her towards me. I let my eyes travel slowly over her once more, enjoying the blush that rises to her cheeks.
"You're not looking too bad yourself." She whispers before kissing me. I'm wearing white skinny jeans, a grey sweater and a pair of dressy black ankle boots. I'd pulled my hair into a high bun, but a few curly treadmills still hang down, framing my face. Rylie liked them though, so I let them be.
"You ready to go?" I ask her with a smile.
"Yep. We don't even have to worry about being late to meet the photographer." Rylie laughs.
"I guess it helps to be engaged to someone that owns a nice camera and tripod, huh?" I wink before pulling her and Harvey out the door.
The drive to our destination is long, but we get there just in time, and the lighting is thankfully perfect. Another upside is that we don't see any other people around, just like the last time we came here.
"What made you think of this place for our engagement photos?" Rylie asks as we climb out of the car.
"It only made sense to come here. This is still the most beautiful location I've found, to this day. After the shoot with you, I didn't really want to share it with anyone else, but it's perfect for our engagements."
We were back at the marsh where I'd taken Rylie's pictures for my project. It was slightly colder this time, considering it was mid summer then, and it's October now. It was just as pretty as before, though. That much hadn't changed.
I grab my camera and tripod from the trunk and start setting up. Since I hadn't wanted to hire a photographer, I was going to use a small remote for my camera, and just set the tripod wherever we wanted. It made it pretty easy.
Harvey trots along happily behind us as we head down the barely visible trail leading through the reeds towards the old pier. Rylie and Harvey walk ahead while I stop to set up my camera and make sure all the settings are good to go. Once I'm done, I walk a few feet ahead to join them.
"Do you have any poses in mind?" I ask Rylie with a grin.
"A few." She replies in a low voice before pulling me towards her. I'm stunned momentarily, and nearly forget to push the button on the small remote clutched in my hand.
Rylie does a great job of posing us, and we move to a new spot every few minutes when I want a different background or the lighting in front of us instead of behind us. Harvey follows along happily, and we make sure to pull him into a lot of the pictures.
The ones with Harvey only makes us laugh, and I have to change the settings on my camera to just take picture after picture, but I think it works out just fine, based on what I see when I check the pictures while we take a break.
"These are stunning..." Rylie says softly from beside me.
"They really are." I reply, stopping on one of us at the end of the pier. The sun is shining down on us as we kiss, casting a glow around us. Harvey sits at our feet staring up at us, and I laugh. "Why is he so good at posing himself?"
"I don't know! It must've been something Chester taught him." Rylie giggles.
"He would do something like that." I agree before stopping to pet Harvey. "You're definitely getting extra treats tonight." His ears perk up at 'treats' and Rylie and I laugh.
When we finish up with the photos and I'm happy with what we got, Rylie takes my hand and we walk back towards the car. "Do you still want to stop by my mom's for a while?" She asks.
"Of course. We haven't seen them enough lately."
"Yeah, work, school and planning a wedding can take up a lot of time." Rylie laughs.
"Oh, speaking of. We need to go over the venue and catering with your mom. I don't think she'll have any objections but I want to make sure it'll work."
"Sounds good to me. I'm really proud of you, Aspen. Even though you're insanely busy with work and school, you're still planning the majority of the wedding."
"I wouldn't say the majority... plus it helps that we're keeping it small." I argue with a grin.
"Big or small, you've done so much."
"You've done a lot too, Ry. We make a good team."
Rylie smiles once we're in the car and she leans over to kiss me. "We do, don't we?"
When we reach Kristen's house, we're surprised to see Rylie's dad's truck out front. "Maybe the boys wanted a playdate with Harper?" Rylie guesses, and I shrug. I wasn't about to tell her what I knew. She'd find out that it was an engagement party pretty soon, anyway. Why spoil the surprise?
Sure enough, the moment we open the door, dozens of people call out excitedly. "What!" Rylie gasps, gripping my hand tightly. "You knew about this."
I can't keep the grin from my face. "I did. It all worked out perfectly since we were already down here for pictures."
"Thank you, Aspen." She says softly.
"It was mostly our moms." I say with a smile. "I was just in charge of getting you here."
"Still." Rylie smiles before kissing my cheek.
We walk further into the house to greet people, and I smile as I meet the many people in Rylie's extended family. I don't even try to remember names. The moment she sees her brothers, Rylie is scooping them into hugs and tickling them.
Watching her play with her younger siblings was one of my all time favorite things. I could see how much she loved them, and it always made me wonder about if we would ever have children of our own. I'd always wanted kids, and after Rylie's letter and how good she was with her siblings, I was pretty sure she felt the same.
Even though it was probably several years in the future, the thought of starting a family with Rylie made me so unbelievably happy. I watch as she takes Harper gently from Spencer, and the way her face lights up when Harper giggles. The baby was nearly five months old, and she was getting adorably chunky.
After greeting all of Rylie's family, I finally find my mom. "Hey!" She grins, pulling me into a hug. "How did your photoshoot go?"
"It was great! I think you'll like the pictures we got." I reply with a smile.
"That's great! I'm sure they're beautiful. So listen, I have a surprise for you." She grins.
"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow. My mother pulls me around the corner and I come face to face with my Aunt Cassie.
My jaw drops, and she quickly embraces me. "Cassie! When did you get back in town?" I ask once we break apart.
"Yesterday." Cassie grins.
"Are you back for good?"
"Not quite, we've got a few more places we want to go first. But, we needed to come back anyway, so this engagement party is perfect timing." She smiles.
"What else did you need to come back for?" I can't help but ask.
"Your engagement slash wedding present."
"Cassie, you didn't have to..."
"Oh shush. You're my favorite niece, of course I'm going to get you something. And before I tell you what it is, just know that I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Okay..." I reply hesitantly. Knowing Cassie and her love for gift giving, I was expecting something a little more on the expensive side.
"First off, how are you and Rylie liking the apartment?"
Weird segue...
"We love it! It's a really great location for both of us with work and school, and you already know the view can't be beat."
"Great! That settles it, then."
"Set... settles what?" I ask, confused.
"The place is yours."
My jaw drops. "I... what?"
Cassie laughs before explaining. "Makade and I love traveling, you know that. Sure, we'll be coming back occasionally, but it doesn't make sense to have the apartment and his house, especially while we travel. You and Rylie love the apartment, and I know y'all will take care of it. So, consider it yours."
"Cassie, this is..."
"I said I won't take no for an answer." She grins.
"I know there was no point in arguing. Once Cassie set her mind on something, there was no changing it. "Thank you, Cass." Is all I can say as I pull her into another hug.
"You're welcome, Aspen. You deserve this happiness, and I'm glad you found it with Rylie."
"Me too." I agree with a slightly teary smile.