In the Rose Garden

Addison stepped into her dress and pulled it up. She held it up while her mom strapped her in. She heard her mom give her the okay and she let the front go. It held in place. She took a deep breath, it wasn't too tight but tight enough to stay in place. Her mom appeared in front of her. She made sure Addison's chest was secure in the dress. Mrs. Turner looked at her and rubbed Addison's shoulders.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," she told her daughter.

Lily stepped beside Mrs. Turner. Addison looked Lily up and down in her floor length light blue dress. "Yeah, I can go cause a distraction while your mom gets you out of here."

Addison laughed. "Mom, Lily, I'm fine, really. I can't wait for this to be done actually."

"Okay," Addison's mom said and kissed her forehead. "The offer is on the table."

"Duly noted," Addison nodded and took a seat in front of a vanity mirror to get her hair and makeup done.

After what seemed like a lifetime, she was finally done. As she was putting on her high heels, Emily stepped into the room and shut the door. She gave Addison an update and asked, "Are you ready?" She checked her watch.

Addison looked at everyone and they nodded their heads. She took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's do this." Emily opened the door and said something to someone out in the hallway. Addison's father and stepmother walked in. Her parents all stood side by side and looked at Addison. She watched as her dad took a swipe at his eye.

"What? Dad, no," she said. "Dad, don't. I just got my makeup done."

"Sorry," he apologized. "You're just... my little girl…"

"Dad!"

"Okay, let's do this before Addison and Ted turn into a hot mess," Emily said and started to usher people out of the room.

"You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Mr. Turner whispered.

"Mom and Lily said the same exact thing."

"Great minds," he responded as their turn came up. They watched as the mothers walked down the aisle and then everyone was asked to stand as the music changed. Addison and her father stepped into the aisle. She stopped as soon as she saw everyone looking at her. She looked towards the ground and heard her father whispering that she doesn't have to do this if she isn't ready. She slowly looked up and made eye contact with her groom. She knew everything was going to be okay.

"I can do this," she whispered back. "Let's go." They made it down the aisle and Mr. Turner gave his only daughter away. Addison gave Lily her bouquet and took her soon to be husband's hands. They exchanged vows and rings and had their first kiss as husband and wife. Since they had a small and intimate wedding, they decided to greet and thank all of their guests before they would head to the reception. They also did pictures at that time.

"What happened back there?" Addison's husband asked when they were finally alone.

"I freaked out for a moment." She looked at him. "But then I saw you and it was okay. Everything was okay." She kissed him.

Everyone watched as the bride's and groom's brothers and Brett Eldredge stepped onto the makeshift stage. Brett Eldredge sat on a stool with his acoustic guitar. The brothers took the microphone and spoke.

"We are honored to present to you for the first time ever, Mr. And Mrs. Chase Rice!" Everyone applauded as Chase and Addison Rice entered the room hand in hand. They made their way to the dance floor and had their first dance as a married couple to Brett Eldredge singing his song, "Mean to Me."

When he was done singing, Brett told a joke and when everyone laughed, he said, "No but seriously, congratulations Chase and Addison. I wish you two many many years of happiness."

"Thank you, Brett. I'm still calling a rematch on that game," Chase said.

"Bro, my team won!" Brett held his arms out. He and Chase laughed. Brett handed his guitar off to Kenny Chesney as Mr. Turner approached the couple for the father/daughter dance. When Kenny Chesney found out they were going to dance to "There Goes My Life," he volunteered to sing the song instead of having them dance to it on his CD.

Chase quickly kissed his wife and handed her over to her father. While Kenny was singing, it finally happened. Mr. Turner started to cry which made Addison cry.

"Dad, I said don't do it!" she whispered.

"I'm sorry! I just feel like I'm losing my baby girl."

"You're not, Dad. I'm always going to be your baby girl. Nothing will ever change that. I'm always your girl first," she said as she wiped his tears and then her own. "I just got married, Dad. That's all. That doesn't change our relationship."

"I know," he said. Neither was sure they believed it though. They finished dancing and then went and joined their spouses.

"You okay?" Chase quietly asked and kissed her forehead.

Addison nodded her head. "I'm good."

The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch. By Addison and Chase's standards, it was the perfect night. They felt they definitely owed it to Emily, their wedding planner. They put her on a tight deadline and she exceeded their expectations. She was worth every penny that would be given to her on a bonus check.

By midnight, most of the guests had left. Addison saw off the Jonas family. Even though she married someone else, they were still happy for her.

"You have to go where your heart takes you," Mrs. Jonas said as she hugged Addison tightly. "I'm proud of the young lady you've become and I have no doubts that you'll be a wonderful wife. Don't hesitate to call if you ever need anything."

"Thanks, Mrs. Jonas. That means a lot coming from you."

"I'm sorry Joe couldn't be here," Mr. Jonas said.

"No need to apologize for him. He has other things to do which I understand. Attending your ex-girlfriend's wedding isn't high on that list." They said their goodbyes and they left. Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato stayed behind though.

Chase found Emily in the kitchen putting stuff in the dishwasher. He stopped her.

"Em, you can go home for the night," he said.

"I don't want to leave your house a mess," she responded. Instead of having the wedding at a venue in Nashville, Addison and Chase got married on his farm.

"It's fine. There's always tomorrow. Besides, I doubt Addison and I will be hanging out in the kitchen anyway. You did an amazing job today and you deserve to go home."

"Okay but I'll be here bright and early in the morning with the cleaners," she warned him.

Chase laughed. "Go."

"All right, all right! I'm going!" She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She said goodnight to Addison.

"I hope you don't mind that I sent her home."

"Not at all. That lady is a miracle." Addison wrapped her arms around his waist and he leaned in and kissed her. They heard the roar of laughter from the backyard so they headed out there. They stood in the doorway together and looked at their best friends sitting around the bonfire. Chase's crew (band and tour manager) were there along with Nick and Demi, and Addison's maid of honor, Lily, and her boyfriend, country singer Kip Moore. Everyone was still in their wedding attire, including Addison. They took a seat around the bonfire.

"Okay, don't kill the messenger but I have to ask. Everyone is expecting me to ask since you're my best friend so don't get mad at me," Lily was saying. "Answer honestly, 'cause everyone is wondering and we're all family here, but are you pregnant?"

"What? No!" Addison said. "If I were, I'm pretty sure Chase wouldn't be letting me drink this Jack Daniels."

"Fuck no I wouldn't," Chase agreed.

"Okay," Lily put her hands up. "I just had to ask because everyone was wondering because you know; you got married after being together for only six months."

"We're just two crazy kids," Chase said and kissed his wife.

"Aww, how cute," Brandon, Chase's lead guitarist, said and gave them a dreamy look. Everyone laughed. They all hung out for a while before Lily and Kip decided it was probably time to go.

"I'm sure you two would probably like to be alone now," she said to them.

"Bow chicka bow wow," Demi sang. "Just in case anyone didn't get that."

"Thank you, Demi," Addison said and laughed.

"I'm here anytime you need me," she responded.

"Chase," Lily started to say, "if you hurt my best friend, I'm going to hurt you."

"Really?" he asked. "Well, now I know to never hurt you. Your best friend, your brother, your father... anyone else wanna hurt me?"

Everyone raised their hands.

"Fuck you guys!"

"You're moving here next weekend, aren't you?" Addison asked Lily.

"Yep! And you won't be here!"

"I'm sorry!" she said and made a sad face. "But I'll be back eventually and I'll come to your place and fuck shit up."

"Yeah, I don't know about that..." Kip said, shaking his head.

"Good luck with that one," Chase said pointing to Lily. "She's nuts."

"Yeah, she's nuts but I love her," Kip replied and shrugged his shoulders.

"You guys are so cute. I can't wait until you two get married," Addison said.

Lily and Kip just looked at each other and laughed. Lily then stood up and said, "Okay, let's get going, Kip."

Chase and Addison saw everyone out. When they thought they were out of ear shot, they heard Demi tell Nick, "No offense to Chase or Joe, but Nick, you should have hit that while you could. Your loss." The newly married couple chuckled. Chase told Addison to head to the room while he put the bonfire out. When he got to the room, she was sitting on the bed with an envelope in her hand. He grabbed his envelope out of his dresser drawer and sat next to her. They traded the envelopes. They both had written two sets of vows when they realized the first ones they wrote contained things they'd rather not say in front of their parents. They both ripped them open and silently read to themselves. But before Addison could start, her phone started ringing. She took it off the nightstand and looked at it.

"It's Joe," she quietly told Chase.

"Go ahead," he responded. Addison nodded her head and left the room.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me, Joe."

"Yeah, I know."

"I uh... I just wanted to tell you congratulations and I'm sorry I couldn't make it. We had a show in Toronto."

"Joe, you don't need to apologize. You had a commitment to Toronto before my wedding came about. You gotta do what you gotta do. Besides, I understand that it would have been hard for you tonight."

"A little bit, yeah. You're always gonna be the one that got away, Addison. I'm always gonna love you."

"Joe..."

"Yeah, that was inappropriate. I'm sorry."

"I'll let it slide this once."

"Are we still on for next month with the album?" He changed the subject. DNCE was working on their debut album and they got Addison to agree to produce a couple of the tracks.

"Most definitely. Listen Joe, I have to go. He's waiting for me."

"Yeah, of course. Sorry." They said their goodbyes and Addison went back to her husband in what was now their bedroom. She pulled up her dress and climbed onto the bed. Even though Chase was staring at her, she offered nothing. He moved so he was sitting next to her.

"I waited to read mine so we could read them together," he said.

"You're sweet," she said kissed him.

"I can be," he responded and began to read.

* * *

I remember the night we met, I went home and wrote in my journal. I wrote, and I quote, "I'm pretty sure I met the man I'm going to marry." Now here I am, taking your last name and making you a promise that I'm going to love you forever.

Lily quietly walked into Addison's room while she was journaling. She sat at the end of bed and waited for Addison to finish. Addison shut her journal and Lily just sat with a big smile on her face.

"Lily!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"You don't have to."

"Oh come on! Tell me! That was some kiss."

Addison blushed. "He's amazing. I don't know. We just had this instant connection, like we've known each other forever." She told her everything that happened at the diner.

"Aww Addison, I wish you could see your face right now."

"Lily, I'm pretty sure I've met the man I'm going to marry. Like, I wish I was with him right now." Addison's phone vibrated. She picked it up to see the picture Chase took of himself. He was just telling her that he was thinking of her and to have a good night.

"If he's really making you this happy this quick then I'm happy for you. I can't wait to meet him!"

*

"Hey Chase," Addison's voice broke through his concentration. "You mention in here the first time we made love, uh, when do you consider that?" He just looked at her. "Maybe I consider mine a different time."

"True but I'm talking about the time on the bus with my dad..."

"Oh! Okay, gotcha."

Addison looked up from her notebook and around the room. She noticed Chase wasn't sitting next to her anymore. Jeremy was. She shut her notebook and set it on the counter as she made her way to the backroom. Chase was sitting in silence with a beer in his hand. He looked up at her with red rimmed eyes. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly checked the date. It was May 18th. It was the day Chase's father passed away back in 2008. She kissed him on his forehead as she sat next to him and put her arm around him.

"Chase, you're not alone in this anymore."

"But you don't understand," he said.

She held onto her patience. "You're right, I don't understand and you can't hold that against me either. But that doesn't mean I can't be here for you. We're in this together now. You don't have to always be strong if you don't want to. Let me be strong for you. Just let me be here for you and let me love you through this. He'll understand."

He took a drink from his beer, thought for a second, and nodded his head. "Okay." He looked over at her and repeated, "Okay."

"Okay," she whispered and leaned over and kissed him. She could taste the Miller Lite on his tongue. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. "Chase," she said as she tried to pull away from him.

"Addie, just this once can you love me the way I want you to? After this, you can do whatever it is you wanna do. Love me however you want but this one time..."

"Babe, there are other people-"

"Just this once, please?"

"I can do that," she said quietly and looked at him. He started to drink his beer again but she took the can from him. "I am not about to have sex with a drunk man."

"I'm not drunk," he protested as he reached to take the white can back. She let him have it. "Not totally anyway." Before he could drink it again, she kissed him.

"Are you sure you wanna do this? I mean, today of all days... And here, on the bus... With everyone here?" she asked him as he ran his calloused fingers up her back.

"They'll understand," he simply said and smirked at her. She locked eyes with him so she wouldn't roll them instead.

He was about to take another drink when Addison said, "I'm about to shove that beer can up your ass in a minute."

Chase laughed and set it aside. "Okay, I'm done." That was the first time she'd heard him laugh that day and it warmed her heart. She then realized his laugh was one of her favorite sounds. But in this moment, it wasn't about her; it was about her boyfriend. He reached out and put his hand on her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied softly as he pulled her black HDEU shirt off.

Chase pulled away from her and said, "I'm gonna go warn the guys."

Addison nodded her head, "Okay." She pushed off of him and watched as he grabbed his beer. He left the backroom and passed through the bunk area. He set his can on the counter and looked at his band.

"You guys, don't come back here." They all just looked at him. "Just trust me." As he shut the door, he heard them all laugh and make sexual noises. He shook his head as he looked at his girlfriend.

"Let me guess, Marcelo is leading the brigade?" Addison asked.

"Would you expect any less from him?"

She thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Nah. I love that kid though."

Chase pulled back the curtain to his bunk. "Your chariot awaits."

"So romantic, Chase."

* * *

Chase watched his girlfriend as she ran a brush through her wet hair and checked her messages on her phone. She stopped and looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head but there was so much he wanted to say. There was something about the way she made it clear to him that his battles were now hers as well. He admired the way she decided to take them on without any concern to herself. She was all about him and that made him love her even more.

"I need to return some of these messages," Addison said.

"Okay, babe. I love you," Chase said and kissed her. He left her alone and went to the front room. She watched him leave. She was a little surprised by him. Giving that he was in a current state of grievance, she expected the sex to be rough and fast but it wasn't. Chase took his time and they really connected.

Chase ignored everyone's looks and sat next to John.

"You uh... feeling better?" John asked before laughing.

"Screw you," Chase responded. "On a serious note though, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, okay?"

Everyone agreed.

"I'm going to ask Addison to marry me. I know it's extremely soon but she's the one. I just know she is."

No one said anything for a moment but being the great friend he is, Jeremy spoke first.

"That's great, man. She's good people and I'm happy for you. When did you buy a ring?"

"I haven't yet. I'm going to tomorrow though. She goes back to Nashville early in the morning 'cause she has a meeting with Carrie Underwood so I'm going to buy one during our downtime."

When Addison finished reading Chase's vows, she climbed off the bed and headed to the bathroom. She washed the makeup off her face and let her hair down. She checked herself and then went back to the room.

"Chase, can you help me with this dress?" she asked him.

"The pleasure would be all mine," he responded.

"Of course you would say that," she said and laughed.

"And just to think you get to deal with this for the rest of your life."

"I'm looking forward to it." He loosened the back of her dress and then stepped back. She slipped out of the dress and put on one of her husband's HDEU shirts.

"I don't know why you put that shirt on, you're not gonna have it on much longer," he said.

"You put a ring on it. Doesn't that mean your sex life is over?"

"Shit that's right. Damn."

Addison picked up her dress and placed it on a chair so she'd remember to have it cleaned and put away. She had a lot to do and almost no time to do it. In two days, she'd be going back out on tour with Chase since he was in the middle of the latest Kenny Chesney tour. Instead of waiting until the tour was over, Chase and Addison decided to get married when Chase had a five day break. Once that tour was done, then they'd go on their honeymoon. After that was Chase's headlining tour, Jack Daniels and Jesus Tour. Needless to say, Chase was going to be busy for the next year but Addison was okay with that. She had her own music to create and unlike with Joe, Chase always took her on his tours with him. She considered herself lucky to have a job that allowed her that freedom and also to be working under Shane McAnally who allowed her that freedom as well.

Bringing herself back to reality, Addison looked at Chase who was taking off his suit. She briefly wondered if it was the same suit he wore to his father's funeral. She quickly chastised herself and then deemed it not possible. Not only had seven years passed but Chase was forty pounds heavier then. She put her hand on her forehead and shook her head.

"What's wrong?" Chase asked.

"Nothing. Just having stupid irrelevant thoughts."

"About me?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," she said and laughed.

"Of course," he said as he climbed onto the bed next to her. He reached over and put his arm around her waist and pulled her over to him. She stared into his blue eyes as she tucked herself beneath him. She hoped their kids got his eyes.

"I love you," she said quietly as she ran her fingers along his trimmed beard.

He leaned in and kissed her. "I love you too." She hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him back to her.

* * *

Addison woke up still in Chase's arms. She stretched and looked at Chase. He looked back at her with a sleepy gaze.

"Did we really get married?" she asked.

"You are most definitely my wife," he said and kissed her. "I like the sound of that, my wife."

"Me too," she agreed and kissed him. She climbed out of bed and threw on the shirt Chase discarded the night before and a pair of underwear. "I have to use the bathroom." She quickly left the room and headed to the bathroom. After she used the bathroom, she washed her hands and face. When she reached for the light switch, she glimpsed her rings. She really did get married.

Addison stepped back into the room and Chase was sitting up, watching something on his phone. She sat next to him and he moved so she could see it too. It was of Jaren Johnston, the singer of the Cadillac Three and good friend of Chase, having a drunken dance-off with Casey, one of Chase's brothers, and Demi Lovato. It was one of their favorite moments of the night.

"You know what's sad, Demi was sober too," Addison said.

"That makes it even better," Chase responded. He pressed the power button on his phone so it went into sleep mode. Addison looked over at him and stared at him. "What?"

"Nothing," she said as she shook her head. She climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm just really happy I get to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I'm really glad I get to spend the rest of my life making you question why you married me."

Addison laughed. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to my life with you." She kissed him. "I'm so glad I picked you."