BELLA POV
As I stepped out of the plane, I could feel it, I was finally back home.
After our amazing two weeks of honeymoon, yep, two whole weeks of it just being the two of us, with no family, no friends, and most importantly, no work. Speaking of work, I start my first day at the office tomorrow morning, and you are officially looking at the newest Junior Corporate Strategy Analyst.
As we walked to get to our car waiting for us, Ace took my hand and said, "I'm glad we're back, but I do miss our alone time," he said with a smirk.
As we got in, he told me, "My mom and yours set up your things in our room, so you don't have to worry about that."
I looked at him and asked, "Set up like how? Did they also arrange my clothes, even the ones my friends got me?" I asked, looking at him to see if his mom and mine had seen the sexy lingeries my friends got me. Oh nooo.
He looked a little confused, but I am sure he understood immediately when he saw my panicked expression. He said, "Well, I'm sure they didn't... maybe?" Then he laughed and added, "I hope not," and I laughed too.
*Flashback to when the mothers were arranging her things*: Mrs. Blank looked down and said, "Oh my," raising an almost bare piece of lingerie. "It seems I have found your daughter's secret weapon," she said, looking at Mrs. Peterson with a little laugh. Mrs. Peterson replied, laughing, "I certainly don't have one of those. Do you?" The two of them just laughed and continued arranging.
*Back to the present*: We had finally gotten to his house oh, my bad, ours and the first thing I did was walk around and take a full tour of my new home, of course with my husband right beside me showing me everywhere. We finally reached our bedroom, and I rushed over to check if the lingeries were arranged too. Just like I thought, they were right there in plain sight. Oh no, I am so embarrassed; I completely blame Stella and Riley. I wonder what our mothers must have thought.
I was lost in my thoughts when Ace came up behind me, wrapped his arms securely around my waist, and whispered, "Don't worry, I'm sure they didn't think too much about it, okay, my love? Come down, I'll make you some ice cream sandwiches."
Oh, he is too good; he knows I completely fell in love with his homemade ice cream sandwiches during our honeymoon. I agreed and followed him down to the kitchen. I stayed close to him while he worked, and we talked about how we would handle our morning commute, deciding we would both go together and come back together like a synchronized routine. I was a little against it at first, but what the heck? The whole world already knew I was married to him anyway, so there was no need to try and keep a low profile. Besides, I was certain there were already plenty of office rumors swirling around, so why not just embrace it all?
We ate and watched a movie together, and then we started making dinner because we were having our friends over to catch up. We prepared a massive spread of garlic butter roasted chicken, creamy Alfredo pasta, honey-glazed salmon, a rich vegetable stir-fry, and a fresh Caesar salad. Once everything was done and the grand dining table was set, we ran upstairs to change and get ready into comfortable casual clothes. Ace threw on a sleek dark designer t-shirt paired with fitted black jeans and clean white sneakers, while I slipped into a soft oversized cashmere sweater paired with light-wash denim and delicate gold jewelry.
We headed back downstairs just as the doorbell rang.
The first to arrive were Riley and her boyfriend, Frank.
"Look at Mrs. Corporate Strategy Analyst!" Riley squealed the second the door swung open, pulling me into a massive hug.
"Welcome home, you two. It's so good to see you both," Ace greeted warmly, pulling Frank into a firm bro-hug. "Man, it feels like ages. How have things been on the force, Frank?"
"Busy as always, bro, but good. Honestly, we missed you guys," Frank replied, stepping inside with Riley right behind him.
Next to arrive were John and Dave together. They had figured that since they were both single, they might as well be each other's plus-ones. John was not initially willing at first because he had secretly hoped his talking stage would finally agree to be his date, but she had unfortunately turned him down, saying she wasn't looking for anything that serious just yet. Honestly, the man really knew how to pick them.
Ace and Dave immediately started teasing him about it the second they walked through the threshold. "Man down! Another rejection for the romantic king," Dave laughed, clapping John on the back.
I immediately stepped in, swatting at Ace's arm. "Quit it, you meanies! Leave John alone, he looks great."
Next was Mike and his gorgeous girlfriend oh, sorry, fiancée Sasha! The two of them had actually gotten engaged while we were away on our honeymoon. Ace and I both gasped, showered them with congratulations, and welcomed them inside to admire the glittering diamond ring on Sasha's finger.
And last to arrive, as usual, was Stella and her husband, Eddie. Of course, it was Stella who had made them both late, but she smoothly blamed Eddie for it, and he just took the blame with a fond smile because he was entirely in love with his wife and she was always right in his eyes. We all laughed, welcomed them both in, and with that, our little dinner party officially began.
We ate first, exchanging lighthearted conversation across the table, before the group naturally split into two separate squads ,the girls and the boys to have our own private discussions. I could already guess what the girls wanted to talk about, seeing as I was instantly dragged away to the cozy sitting area on the other side of the house, while Ace was similarly hauled off by the guys.
The ladies immediately transformed into elite investigators in the field of crime-solving, firing endless questions at me.
"Okay, spill every single detail right now!" Stella demanded, leaning forward with wide eyes. "How was the honeymoon? Did he spoil you? Give us the romance highlights!"
"Oh, absolutely everything," Riley chimed in, crossing her arms with an amused, knowing smirk. "We need the unedited version, Bella. No holding back!"
I flushed bright red, laughing as I began telling them all about our romantic beach dinners, the late-night walks, and yes, even the embarrassing moment with our mothers discovering the lingerie.
Far away from us, Ace and the guys were deep into their own loud, boisterous bro-talk.
"So, married life treating you well, big guy?" Dave teased, leaning back on the couch with a drink in hand. "You look dangerously domesticated, Ace."
"Shut up, man," Ace laughed, shaking his head. "You're just jealous because you haven't found your match yet."
"Oh, leave him alone, Ace," Mike chimed in, flashing his engagement ring proudly. "Look at me, I'm a taken man now. Dave is the last lone wolf standing."
"Yeah, and look at John over here striking out with his talking stage," Eddie added, joining the pile-on with a chuckle as the whole group of guys burst into laughter at John's expense.
After hours filled with endless laughter, shared gossip, and joyful chatter, we finally said our goodbyes to everyone at the door and watched them all head out into the night.
Exhausted but completely happy, Ace and I walked back upstairs to shower and get ready for bed.
As we finally laid down together, wrapped up safely in each other's arms, I looked up at Ace and whispered, "It's really good to be home."
Ace smiled softly, leaned down to press a gentle kiss to my forehead, and murmured, "Mmm, it's really good."
We exchanged quiet goodnights, and slowly, I drifted off to sleep, knowing tomorrow's new beginning was waiting just around the corner.