I promised you I'd follow through
On all the things I said I'd do
But most the time it wont work out that way
The horizon seems to fade away
It's further now than yesterday
Cause where you are is where I belong

Push Play, "Where I Belong"

Chapter Fourteen

"Do you know where Tyler is?" Chantal asked Adam as she rushed over to him in a hurry.

"Why? And why are you in such a panic? He's around somewhere." Adam replied casually, clueless as to what was going on around him.

"Probably going over his vows," Nick chimed in.

Just then Stacey hurried over to them in a flutter. "Do they know?" she asked Chantal.

Adam and Nick both looked at each other confused. "What are we supposed to know?"

"I was just about to ask them," Chantal told Stacey. "Adrienne is missing."

"Well, she's not missing. Someone saw a woman wearing a bridal gown rush outside and catch a taxi. So where's Tyler?" Stacey pressed his friends eagerly.

Adam glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since he heard Chantal—" He looked at Chantal who wasted no time giving him a look that said, "go on, I screwed up. But stop rubbing it into my face." Instead, he pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, dialling Tyler's number. After four rings, Tyler picked up.

"Hello?"

"Where are you? There's supposed to be a wedding going on—your wedding only you and the bride seem to be missing." He pulled the phone from his ear and pressed the speaker button, holding it out for the others to hear as his friends huddled around him.

"I know. I suppose I should have told you this earlier before I left but the wedding is off. It's cancelled."

Adam ran his free hand through his short hair. "Fuck, man, don't you think you should have told me this sooner. I would have had your back."

Chantal whacked him on the shoulder, snatching the phone out of his hands. "What do we do now?" she spoke clearly into the phone.

"Um…don't answer that," Stacey intercepted. "We'll handle it."

"Thanks," Tyler said. "Can you tell everyone I'm sorry? And take care of Noah for me."

"Where are you?" asked Nick.

"I'm doing something that I should have done a long time ago."

"Wait, what?"

"I've got to go. I'll tell you about it later."

Then there was nothing followed by the sound of a dial tone as Chantal handed Adam his phone with a smile on his face.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked her.

"Let's just say, I don't think today is entirely screwed up by me."

Isabella pressed stop on the vacuum cleaner, laying it down on the floor then made her way into the kitchen, pulling on the pink rubber gloves under the sink along with cleaning spray and she began scrubbing the top of the stove. She figured she could release all of her frustration of today's events on the stove, the floors, the laundry and anything else that needed cleaning. It was a perfect way to clear those unnecessary feelings not to mention the perfect timing considering she could get more work done when Noah and his little fingers weren't in the apartment to make a mess.

Isabella then heard a knock on the door and contemplated ignoring whoever was standing outside her door. It was probably no one special. After all, everyone she knew was attending a wedding today. And besides, she wasn't exactly sporting the dressiest of clothes. Who would want to see her in track suit pants with no style and a drab t-shirt? She hadn't even bothered to comb her normally luscious blonde hair. Instead, she had pulled it into a messy ponytail on the top of her head. In this ensemble, she'd more than likely be a contender for the worst dressed list than titled to best dressed. Then when she heard another knock on the door, this time sounding more persistent, she gave up ignoring them and went to the door, the bottle of cleaning spray still in her hands as were the gloves she was wearing in hopes to get them to leave just as they quick as they came.

But as soon as she opened the door, Isabella knew that she wouldn't be resuming her cleaning frenzy as quickly as she would have liked.

She was stunned—in total and utter shock. She wasn't expecting this. She opened her mouth but the words didn't come out and figured her expression was more than enough words. "What are you doing here?" Isabella asked him. "Shouldn't you be getting married about now?" She looked around him. "Where's Noah?"

"He's alright," Tyler assured her and in between each word followed a breath. "He's with my parents and probably playing with Holly."

Isabella sighed with relief. But turned the matter back to Tyler and why he was here. He looked out of breath. Had he run all the way here? No, he had probably caught a taxi. New York City was a big city. Sure, Tyler had been and still was a talented sportsman but he wasn't as good of a runner as people thought. Even athletes had their weaknesses.

"You alright?" she asked him.

He took another deep breath, holding his stomach. "I will be once I catch my breath. You know the elevator is broken and there are quite a few levels until you reach the level yours is on."

Isabella chuckled softly, wiping a bead of sweat from the side of his face. "Come in. I'll get you a glass of water."

But something stopped her from moving. She looked down and Tyler had reached out, grabbing her gently by the arm. At his touch on her skin came the return of the butterflies she had remembered feeling the first time he kissed her in high school.

He pulled her closer, bringing his arms around her waist as Isabella kept hers fixed to her side. Tyler used his finger to slowly tilt her face upward so that she was looking at him, her blue eyes anticipating his next move. "It's you," he whispered.

"What is?" Isabella asked.

"I'm supposed to be with you. I always have." Tyler bowed his head, leaning in to kiss her but Isabella raised her hands and pushed him away.

"What do you mean you're supposed to be with me? Do you want to be with me or are you just telling me this because you know it's what I want to hear and you don't really mean it?"

"I think—"

Isabella shook her head fiercely. "No, that's not good enough. I need to know that you can commit to being with only me because I can't just consider me or you and me in the relationship. I have another person to think about. Whether you're here to stay or not, I'm somebody's mother and that is never going to change. I have to put Noah first."

Tyler stood there with Isabella and hugged her, resting his hands on her hips. "I don't think. I know. I have known I've wanted to be with you since you first made that bet with me." His nose nuzzled hers.

Isabella laughed. "Oh, right, the bet. How could I forget? You cheated just so you'd get a chance to go out with me."

"I had to cheat. I wanted you to go out with me and it worked because we did. I guess you couldn't resist my charismatic charm and you still can't." His mouth closed in on hers and Isabella didn't push him away. She let his lips slowly brush hers as he kissed her tenderly. Then when he stopped, she bit down on her bottom lip with a little smirk. "Mm, your kissing has definitely improved though I'm surprised you still want to kiss me even if I look like a mess."

"Sweetheart, you need not worry how you look to me. You're gorgeous in track suit pants, a pretty little dress and even when you wake up in the morning. I've seen you at your worst and babe, I'm still here. I still want to be with you. You haven't sent me running for the hills. You had me falling for you in high school and despite you and I breaking up to go away to college, I wasn't quite sure if I had ever truly gotten over you. Then you walked back into my life and even when I was in a relationship, I'd still be harbouring these uncertain feelings for you. You're the only girl for me. You, Isabella, are my forever—you and Noah."

"Forever and always," Isabella murmured back to him.

Tyler lifted Isabella into the air as she begged him to set her down onto the ground but instead he brushed her loose strands of hair out of her face and kissed her again before he carried her into the apartment. And she welcomed him into her apartment, not just as her son's father but as her boyfriend. When Noah's wish for a father came true last Christmas, never in a million years did Isabella think she'd be renewing her relationship with Tyler. He had been a young man on the brink of marriage. But she also didn't expect to have him stand here on his wedding day and declare his love for her. They still had a lot to work out but they'd be able to do it as a proper family—for once and for all.