Part 67
As the bus rolled through the night, Chelsea snuggled close to AJ. “Tonight was so……..”
“So what?”
“I can’t think of a word to explain how I feel. You always manage to surprise me and tonight….the message and the ring.” She held her hand up to look at it. “It’s so beautiful, Alex.”
“Not nearly as beautiful as you.” AJ stopped to think about what he was going to say. “Chelsea, I don’t want to hide us from the fans. I’ve never kept my life a secret…my girlfriends, my family…..”
“Your addictions.”
“Yeah. It’s not going to be easy for you because the fans are going to talk and they can get mean and I know you don’t want any ‘extra’ attention which I respect but I love you….and I want everyone to know how much you mean to me.”
Chelsea was silent, thinking about what AJ had said. She knew what she faced. She’d already experienced it in Virginia and they weren’t even a couple then but she wasn’t worried about herself.
“Alex, I can handle what they are going to do and say to me and about me. It’s Annie I’m worried about.”
“I really don’t think the fans will go after her in a mean way.”
“Wait until they find out she’s Kevin’s daughter and that Kevin and I had a relationship before he and Dianne got married.”
“Nah, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, Chelsea.”
“Okay…so, do you want to announce it to the fans during a concert or what?”
“I’m not gonna announce it in a concert but if I’m asked during sound checks if we’re engaged, I’m not going to lie. Maybe to officially announce it, we could do an interview for a magazine or something.” Taking her hand in his and playing with the ring, he asked, “What are YOU going to say because they will eventually see the ring?”
Chelsea lay back and closed her eyes. Until now, her relationship with AJ had been somewhat private. Oh, there had been pictures of them when they first got to LA and before the surgery and she had been seen with him at the personal appearances to promote the new CD. AJ had even introduced her as his girlfriend. Now, they were engaged. She loved him without a doubt but how would she handle it?
AJ rolled onto his side and put his hand on her stomach. He could see the tears in the corners of her eyes and he felt his heart stop. As he wiped one, he said in a little boy voice, “Please, Chelsea….don’t bail on me.”
Opening her eyes, she saw all the love she felt for him mirrored in his brown orbs but she also saw the fear too. “I’m not going to bail, Alex,” she whispered tenderly as she touched his cheeks with her fingertips. “I love you….ALL of you and if you want to shout it to the world, I don’t care.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really!”
“And you won’t mind that I dedicate a song to you….during sound checks?”
“You can do it during a show if you want. Alex, I fell in love with ALL of you and that includes the celebrity side of you. So what if the fans are jealous!”
“Do you still want to get married on August 6th?
“How are we going to get married if you have a show?”
“We’ll get there the day before so you can make sure everything you want is ready and we can do it before the show.”
Chelsea thought about it for what seemed like forever to AJ. Then, a slow smiled spread from her lips to her eyes. “Ever since we first talked about getting married, I’ve been thinking of my new dream wedding.”
“And?”
AJ lay back and Chelsea settled her head on his shoulder as she told him everything.
