Engagement ring^

"Where are we going exactly?" Alex asked as he looked over at me from the passenger seat

"Dinner" I said and I saw him raise a brow

"I figured that much, but why exactly?" He questioned turning in his seat so he could look at me properly

"Why can to take my boyfriend to dinner once in a while?" I asked making a turn at the end of the road that led to the restaurant before making a stop when the light turned red

"Well the last time you took me out for dinner was when we got the house which was two weeks ago" he chuckled and I shrugged

"This dinner is different though, I promise" I said before driving again once the light turned green.

"Alright" he replied grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together and I smiled bringing our linked hands to my lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

I could feel the small box burning a hole in my pocket the closer we got to the restaurant. I've been planning on asking him to marry for the past five months but every time I did, other things always came up and the ring was still hidden in drawer, until tonight.

I already spoke with his family and they all gave me their blessing with his brothers adding a threat or two in there, but what older brother won't do that though?

We reached the restaurant a few moments later and Alex looked over and raised a brow

"Okay, you only ever bring me here for special occasions" he said and I smiled leaning over to place a kiss on his cheek before getting out and walking around to his side and opening the door for him

"Come on then, don't want to lose our table"

"Hello, welcome to Sorellina, table for two?" The host asked and I nodded

"We actually reservations under Riley Cordelli" i said and the guy nodded before checking his notepad and once he found it, grabbed two menus and asked us to follow him. I placed a hand on Alex's lower back as we walked to the back of the restaurant.

"Here are your menus, your server should be with you shortly," he said with a smile,"enjoy your evening"

"Thank you" Alex and I said at the same time and the host nodded and excused himself.

We sat in silence for a few seconds before a young girl walked over

"Hello, gentlemen, my name is Sofia and I'll be your server for the evening, have you decided what you're going to get?" She asked and Alex and I shook our heads

"Not yet" I replied and she nodded

"Can I start you off with a drink then?" She questioned

"Can we get one of your best wines please?" I asked and she nodded writing it down before saying she'll have that before scurrying away and both Alex and I looked at our menus for what we were to have for dinner.

~~~~

"Okay, so what's the occasion?" Alex asked as we shared a chocolate lava cake and I smiled. I knew he wasn't going to last the night and to be honest, I wanted to just blurt out the question but I needed to make it special. I looked over his shoulder to the host and nodded and he inclined his head before the familiar melody of I Wanna Grow Old With You by Westlife began to play through the speakers and Alex looked up before his eyes grew wide as he watched me down on one knee holding the small blue velvet box open revealing the ring.

It was a black band with two blue on each side of diamond with smaller diamonds all around the ring

"Riley" he whispered and I smiled

"We've been through hell and back the last few years. We've had our ups and downs but no matter how hard it got, we always came on top. We worked through our difficulty moments and laughed during our best. You've been my best friend, lover, partner in crime, confidant but most of all you've been the love of my life since we were in high school and life without you in it would be pointless and empty. You've made me see the world in a different light then I was used to," I said taking a deep breath as I took the ring out and closed my eyes before opening them again and looking at him to see tears rolling down his cheeks and I reached up to wipe them away

"I hate you" he murmured making me chuckle

"I love you too" I teased and he sniffled rolling his eyes

"Our love has surpassed every obstacle that life has ever thrown out way and I know that together we can build a future, a family and a most of all, a home. I love you more than words could ever express, so here I am, down on one knee, holding this ring hoping to gods that you'll say yes" I said letting the breath I was holding and looked at Alex," So what do you say Alex, will you marry me?"

I bit my bottom lip as I waited with my heart hammering in my chest for his answer that came a second later in a form of a nod before his he was pulling me into a bone crushing big as he changed the words yes yes a thousand times yes in my ear making me smile as I laced the ring on his finger once I had removed the promise ring.

"I love you, I love you" he murmured pressing kisses all over my face making me laugh

"I love you too baby, so much."

~~~

*5 years later*

Today marked five years since Alex and I said our I Do's in front of our friends and family and not a day goes by that I don't fall in love with him. That day will forever be engraved in my memory.

I walked down the hall of our house and paused in front of our wedding photo. That day will be forever engraved into my memory. I still remember that day as if it had happened yesterday and not five years ago.

Flashback

I stood in front of the mirror fixing my tie over and over again before a pair of family hands took hold and I look up to see my mother's eyes and gentle smile

"If you continue to play with your tie, Im going to hit you" she said making me laugh as she got to work fixing the tie for me as my hands shook with nerves.

In under twenty minutes I'll be marrying the love of my life in front of our closest fiends and family and I was nervous as hell.

"Relax Riley, everything is going to go fine" she assured and I nodded taking a deep breath as the time ticked away and I closed my eyes relaxing my nerves. No game or job could have ever prepared me for this day.

"God I don't even know why I'm so nervous" I murmured and she smiled

"It's normal to be nervous when it's your wedding day sweetie" she said cupping my face in her hands," everything is going to be fine. You'll be married to the love of your life and you'll a happy life."

I nodded my head and kisses her forehead before looking at the time and taking a deep breath when I saw the time, 2:55 pm. The ceremony would be taking place in 5 minutes. My mom smiled, grabbed my suit jacket and handed it to me before we exited the room. We decided to have the ceremony here at the house with Jared being the one to marry us.

The yard was filled with tents that would hold the reception and a few feet away was where the ceremony was taking place. It was filled with chairs on both sides of the isle that was covered in white rose petals. I looked up at the alter and saw my groomsmen and best man standing there with grins on their faces and Jared had a smirk on his face which had rolling my eyes. He had been the one to marry Brian and Kennedy two months prior to us and a year before he married Cory and Bethany.

"Nervous dude?" Cory asked as I stood at the alter and I nodded

"My heart is literally about to burst out of my chest" I muttered making him and the others chuckle as they heard my reply

"It's normal to feel that way, Riley. I felt the same when I married Molly" Jaden said from his spot behind Cory. I took a deep breath to relax my nerves and waited patiently for the wedding march and as if the world read my mind, the wedding march began a second later and I looked up towards the sliding glass doors and felt my breath leave my lungs as I watched Alex come it with his mother. His wedding party walking before him and stood at the other side of the alter. My eyes began to sting the closer he got and felt Cory's hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze. My god he looked beautiful. He wore a white tux with his hair quiffed on top.

"Who gives the groom away?" Jared asked once both Alex and his mother reached us

"My husband and I" Aubrey said as she placed his hand on mine before leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek then turned to me,"we give you our baby, cherish him and love him and protect him"

"Always" I replied and she smiled, gave me a kiss before walking away to take a seat beside her husband.

Everything after that was a blur. All I could think about was that in less than an hour, Alex will be m husband.

"Alex and Riley have both written their vows" Jared aid breaking me out of my thoughts and I pulled the paper from my pocket much like Alex did.

"Alex, I can't believe we're here. Seriously- I cant believe it" I said making the guests and Alex chuckle

"And it's not because I don't love you with all my heart- because I do. It's not because our family and freinds don't love us and support us-because they clearly do" I continued making him smile

"The reason I can't believe it, is because I remember all of the thoughts that ran through my head when I realized I was bi. They weren't good thoughts: 'Why me? What am I going to do? Will anyone love me? I'll never get married' that's. The one that really hurt. I felt sick. I felt hurt. I felt alone." I said swallowing the knot in my threat as I thought back to the day I realized that I was bisexual. It was the summer before sophomore year and I didn't know how to feel. I was sick, I felt ashamed of myself. I kept calling myself names and making myself feel terrible for feeling the way I did. I wasn't the type of person to feel depressed, fuck let alone suicidal. And then when I met Justin things changed. I thought that if I gave it try and helped him out along the way things would be ok, that I would be okay. And they did, it happen junior year when I met Alex. Everything came I to focus when I saw him.

"But there was something I didn't know back then-something I wouldn't find out for a year. All of that time I felt sad and alone, I didn't know that the person who I wouldn't change my life, the person who I would be proud to introduce to my friends and family, the person who I would ask to marry me, was less than 20 minutes away. That he sat right behind me in class and I didn't even know." I paused, and looked at Alex to see tears streaming down his cheeks and I smiled reaching over to wipe his tears away before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"Now that I found you, I'm never going to let you go. Because you're the person who makes me feel better about myself than it ever felt before. You're the only person who makes me feel truly happy. You're the person giving me the one thing that I thought I would never have: someone who would love me unconditionally and who is willing to form a home with me."

I could hear the women crying in the back ground as their husbands and boyfriends tried to console them. I looked over and saw my parents and Alex's parents smiling with tears in their eyes specially mine, as they knew how I felt. How i hated myself for being the way that I was. Their support over the years have meant the world to me and I couldn't thank them enough for always being there for me through it all.

I looked back at Alex and finished my vows

"I promise to love you- no matter what. Because with you, I'll never feel alone again. I love you"

"Those were beautiful words Riley. Alex you can read yours now" Jared said as he wiped a tear away among me chuckle before my focus was back on my soon to be husband

"I don't know if my vows can top yours" he muttered making me and the rest of our friends and family laugh with sniffles,"But here it goes. Today, I promise you this: I will laugh with you in times of joy, and comfort you in times of sorrow. I will share in your dreams and support you as you strive to achieve your goals. I will listen to you with compassion and understanding, and speak to you with encouragement. Together, let us build a home filled with learning, laughter and light, shared freely with all who may live there. Let us be partners, friends and lovers, today and all of the days that follow."

I smiled as I felt my eyes sting. We've been through so much since we got together. We each nearly died a couples times. We've had disagreements that nearly ended our relationship. We've had fights that almost broke us up. We've lost loved ones along the road but we always came out stronger and always ready to take on the world head on.

"So, I, Alex take you, Riley to be my husband. I promise to always be your biggest fan and your partner in crime. I promise to create and support a family with you, in a household filled with laughter, patience, understanding, and love. I vow not just to grow old together, but to grow together. I will love you faithfully through the difficult and the easy. What may come, I will always be there, each one believing that love never dies. As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep." I cleared my theist as tears began to slowest roll down my face and once again I closed hear the women in our lives crying in the background while the guys cleared their throats to hide that they too were getting emotional.

"I take you as you are, loving who you are now and who you are yet to become. I promise to listen to you and learn from you, to support you and accept your support. I will celebrate your triumphs and mourn your losses as though they were my own. I will love you and have faith in your love for me, through all our years and all that life may bring us. I love you, more than life and more than words can ever say" he finished reading his vows , tears rolling both of our faces but I didn't care.

The next few minutes were a blur until Jared said those magic words

"By the power vested in me by the State of Massachusetts, I now pronounce you husbans. Riley you may kiss the groom" Jared said and I didn't need to be told twice as I pulled Alex into my arms and pressed a tender kiss on his lips as the guests cheered and clapped in the back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, I here by present to you Mr. and Mr. Riley Santiago Cordelli" Jared announced as Alex and I walked down the isle with our wedding party and headed to the reception area.

End of flashback

"Ey? Riley? RILEY!" A voice yelled making me blink and look over tomAlex who raised a brow

"Huh?" I asked and he rolled his eyes

"I've been calling you for the past twenty minutes, what's wrong?" He asked walking cover with little Jasmine perched on his hip

"Nothing love. Just remembering the day we got married" I said and he smiled looking at the picture.

"That day was the best day of my life" he said and I couldn't agree more.

"You and I both. Now what was it that you needed?" I asked and he chuckled

"Just came to see if you were ready. The kids are waiting for you outside so we can head over to your parents for Joshua's party" he said and I nodded. Joshua is Brian and Kenny's two year old son who was actually turning three today the party was at my parents.

"Do they have their swim trunks and bathing suits?"I asked taking the youngest of the six into my arms making her giggle as she looked up. A few months after Alex and I got married and after returning from our honeymoon we decided to start a family so we headed to the orphanage where we instantly fell in love with our oldest. Nicklaus Morgan Cordelli.

He's a ball of energy. He's always running around either it's chasing the dogs or playing catch with his cousins. But also he's one of the kindest and most patient kids I've ever met. He'll let his younger siblings drag him along to play and he'll just smile and not whine about having to play barbies and have tea parties with his sisters or cars and chase with his brothers.

Not even a month after adopting Nick we adopted the twins, Jaime Alexander and Jackson Anthony Coredelli. They're a year and two months younger than Nick. They're completely apposite of each other. Jaime is one of those kids who enjoys peace and quiet while Jackson likes making noise and is always moving around like Nick.

A year later Molly, who we asked to be our surrogate, gave us the news that she was pregnant with our son, Lucas Joseph Cordelli. He's a perfect mix of Alex and I and has both of our personalities. He's got Alex's gentle nature as well as my crazy side. He'll always be watching out for the girls and play fighting with the boys.

Two years after him, we welcomed our first daughter that we named Abigail Victoria. She was also a perfect mix between Alex and I and she was born via surrogate as well. This time it was Isabelle, my sister, who gave birth to her. She was a quiet baby.

And then we have little Jasmine who is only 5 months old. We adopted her after finding her in a trash bin outside a restaurant we had gone to to celebrate Nick's birthday and we rushed her to the hospital because she was in nothing but a bed sheet and was wailing. It had taken us a few weeks to finalize the adoption and when we brought her home, the kids were static to have another sibling.

All six kids have made our family stronger and I couldn't be more thankful for that.

"Alright, let's get going before nonna calls and asks what's taking us so long" I said once i got in the driver's seat after putting Jaz in her car seat that was between Jackson and Abigail. Jaime and Nick were in the seat behind them.

"Speak of the devil" Alex chuckled as my mother's name popped into the screen as I pulled out of the driveway. I rolled my eyes and pressed there answer button

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" She screamed making us laugh

"We're on the way. We had to make sure we had everything before we left" I said as I turned out of street and drove down the road towards my parents house.

"We'll be there in a few seconds" Alex said

"Okay"

~~~~~~

*10 years later*

Ten years of marriage. Its insane to think that Alex and I have been married for ten years, but we have been together for 15 altogether. The kids have all grown into their own person and we couldn't be more proud of them.

Nick, who just turned 18, was months from graduating high school and going to UCLA to study criminal law and forensic science. Words can't begin to describe how proud I am of him. When we first adopted him 13 years ago, he was reserved and it had taken us a while to get him to trust us and to feel safe. And when he did, he became a completely different person with a completely different view of the world. I still remember the day he said

"Papa when I grow up I want to be a police officer so I can help kids like me who get left behind by their mommy and daddy" I don't think I've ever felt heartbroken as I did that night. His social worker said that he had been found in an alley by a couple and had taken him to the hospital before being put in the system. And now here he was, one of the happiest and healthiest kids I've met.

Jackson and Jaime already know what they want to do with their lives once they finish school. Jaime wants to be a vet while Jackson wants to be a doctor. They're a couple of kids with a heart bigger than their chests and I know for a fact that they'll be successful in their careers.