River mixed together the ingrediants of one of Hayze's favorite foods.

Italian brushetta

She needed everything to be perfect for the suprise party she was throwing him.

The food needed to be presented properly on shiny dishes and the decorations needed to be minimum but pretty and in his favorite colors.

The gifts she'd gotten him from the money she saved up were hidden away well and the people she invited had all confirmed that they were coming. They too had gifts and cards.

River had gotten Rudi to take Hayze out to a 'business semiminar' two hours away so she could set up everything and be prepared to surprise him.

Once all the hor devoures were finished, she moved the wine and beers from the freezer to the fridge. Hayze only liked his alcohol cold so that's what she did.

Hayze had been getting annoyed with her constant cleaning of the house and told her all week that if she wanted a clean house he could just hire a maid for a day. But she refused. She wanted their house to be cleaned by her own hands so he could see how much she loved and appreciated him.

Every mirror, table, window and floor was scrubbed and wiped down until the sun coming through the windows was practically reflecting off of the surfaces.

The bathrooms were cleaned so well that the marble sinks looked brand new and the tubs as well.

She had redone the room, though with a little of Hayze's help and she'd added a few polaroids of the two of them together even though Hayze complained that their room looked to girly now.

It didn't. He still had his cool, gray-blue toned silk sheets and the four poster bed was still manly and intimadating.

The monotone pictures of his finished projects still hung in frames around the room and the curtains were still an acceptable blue color.

River whistled for Blue once she was done with all the food stuff and he came trotting in, a happy doggish grin on his face.

He seemed to notice there was a special occasion.

She giggled as she slipped a bandana around Blue's neck and clipped it into place. It made him look like a business man; well, dog.

The door bell ringing made her jolt up in a panic and she reminded herself that she had guests coming over before scurrying over to the doors, smoothing out the dress Hayze had bought her but she was saving for a special occasion.

Today was that day.

"Hi!" She greeted excitedly as she opened the door and spotted Hayze's parents. "Come in."

The two of them stepped in and Hayze's mom pulled her in for a hug. "Hello darling. Oh my, it looks wonderful in here," she gasped as her eyes scanned over the hall. "Doesn't it Mika?"

He smiled gently. "Oh yes. It does. Its good to see you River."

"You as well, Mika," she smiled shyly.

"You can go have a seat in the living room and Vito will bring out some drinks for you. Make yourself at home."

The couple smiled and thanked her before drifting off further into the house.

The sound of the oven beeping made her sprint into the kitchen and she quickly took out the lemon sponge cake she had made earlier.

She hummed as the smell filled the kitchen and she placed it onto a cloth on top of the island to cool down.

She jogged over to the door again when she finally noticed someone was ringing the door bell and she opened it with a excited smile on her face.

"Mama! Papa!" she squealed as she threw her arms around the two of them.

The couple laughed quietly and enveloped their daughter into a tight hug. "River, you look gorgeous. Hayze must be spoiling you," her mom gushed.

"Oh yes," she giggled. "He is."

"River-rose, give your papa a kiss will you," her father said as he tapped his cheek.

She smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "How are you papa?"

"Fine thank you. Are we late?"

"No, not at all. Go have a seat in the living room. Vito will bring you a drink."

The two of them strolled into the kitchen and River noticed Nani step out of a car.

"Hey Nani!" she said excitedly and then burst out laughing when Nani's heel slipped over the gravel. "Are you okay?" she asked as she tried to stifle her giggles.

Nani glared playfully. "Don't laugh at me," she huffed and then pulled River into a strong hug. "I'm glad to see you're better. That vacation must have done wonders for you."

River nodded enthusiastically and bit her lip to hide the sneaky smile threatening to break out on her face.

Nani's eyes narrowed. "What is this party for?"

"For Hayze silly. I wanted to celebrate how hard he works and he always does such amazing things for me, so it would be nice to make him feel appreciated."

Nani nodded suspiciously. "Okay, whatever you say. Where's your chameleon, I want to see it."

River pointed to a door down the hall and Nani nodded before slipping away to look at it.

Thirteen minutes later, a few people from Hayze's business arrived and she let them in before directing them the living room along with a few of his family members which she'd never really met.

There was a really tall teen boy with Hayze's brown hair and he was really cocky. She didn't remember seeing him at the wedding but then again the only thing she really remembered from that day was how good Hayze looked and smelled and the delicious cupcakes.

"My names Kyron," the boy grinned. He didn't look much younger than her and he was obviously somehow related to Hayze, because he was quite handsome. Not quite as handsome but you could tell he caught a few girls attention.

"I'm River-rose."

"That name is almost as pretty as you," he smirked and ruffled his brown hair.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Thank you. I feel like I remember my husband telling me something similar."

"Oh, right. You're married," he grumbled. "How old are you anyway?"

"Kyron!" his mother gasped. "Its impolite to ask a woman her age."

River giggled and waved him off. "Its fine. I'm nineteen going on twenty. So, a bit too old for you. Try again with someone in your grade."

River pulled out her phone from the pocket in her dress when she noticed it buzzing. She gasped and the nerves hit her stomach all at once. "He's here! Everyone be quiet!"

They all scrambled to the back of the living room and waited quietly for Hayze to come inside.

"Honey, I'm home!" Hayze shouted as she heard the door open and then close.

River blushed wildly when she heard a few people whisper an 'aww' or they laughed quietly.

"River? You here? Something smells good," Hayze said as his footsteps started nearing them. "Turns out the seminar was cancelled so I had Rudi stop at the bakery out of town so I could pick you up some of those m-"

"Surprise!"

River laughed as she spotted the shock on her husbands handsome face. He laughed and raked his hand through his hair as he slumped over slightly to hide his smile. "What's all this?" he asked, the light in his icy blue eyes shimmering.

She stepped away from the group and jogged over to him as he opened his arms for her. She ran into them and blushed as he kissed her forehead and then switched her over to the side of him.

"Well who let all these beautiful people in here?" he chuckled as he gave River's waist a gentle squeeze.

She looked up at him adoringly, a little content smile on her face. "Its a surprise party for you. So you know how much me and everyone else appreciates you," she said quietly so only he could hear her. Everyone else was watching with smiles on their faces and cameras in their hands.

He grinned and twirled her in front of him before pressing a passionate kiss on her soft lips. She melted into him, her body heating up as he grabbed her small waist.

"I love you so much. Thank you bella rosa."

Excited cheers erupted from behind them and River blushed and pressed herself closer into Hayze's chest.

It was obvious their marriage was a lot more than a business opportunity. It had turned into love and that was a lot more than either of them could have ever wished for.

°•○●○•°

"Did you make all this yourself?" Hayze asked happily before he licked the tomato sauce off of his thumb.

She nodded shyly and played with the ends of her hair nervously. "Its nothing like yours, but I tried to get it as Italian as I could."

"Everything tasted delicious, babygirl. Honestly, thank you." She bounced happily in her seat and he chuckled and grabbed her hand to press a kiss to the back of it. "Don't you guys think my beautiful wife did a wonderful job on this party!"

"Hayze," she hissed in embarrassment.

Claps and whistles rang around the room and she bit her lip and covered her face with her small hands to hide the extreme blush on her cheeks.

Once everyone was done with their food and dessert, River nervously shuffled to the middle of the room. Her hands fidgeted nervously with the ribbons tied around the ends of her hair. Her eyes drifted to Hayze who was staring at her with a warm look in his eyes and a small crooked smile on his plump lips as his hand held his chin.

He nodded encouragingly to her and she took a deep breath before shyly speaking up. "Um... excuse me." The room fell silent at the sound of her soft voice. "I just... I don't know if everyone really knows the reason why I put together this party, so i'll tell you now." She swallowed nervously and smoothed her hands down her dress. "I put this together because... I just felt like we don't see each other enough. But, more specifically..." her eyes drifted back to Hayze who was looking at her intently. "I wanted Hayze to realize how much, God, this is so sappy but; I wanted him to know how much I love and admire him."

The sound of 'aww's drifted around the room and the look on Hayze's face had her face heating up and the area between her legs as well.

"He's taught me a lot and I won't go into detail but... Hayze, I'm just trying to make it clear that all the hard work you do for me, your family, my family and your business doesn't go unnoticed. We all notice, right guys?"

Mumbles of agreement floated around the room as well as a few quiet claps. Hayze's hand ran down his face and he bit his bottom lip as he kept eye contact with River.

"And I know how stressed out you get sometimes over projects so I just want you to know that we're all here to help and..." she waved Vito over and he brought a big wrapped box over and placed it in front of Hayze with a cheeky smile on his face.

Hayze looked at it anxiously as it sat at his feet.

"Open it," she said excitedly as he peered up at her.

"Come here bella rosa," he said huskily. "Come help me open it.

She shuffled over and yelped as he pulled her down into his lap and then picked up the box and placed it into her lap. She leaned to one side so he could see what he was unwrapping and bounced excitedly as the box beneath the wrapping started to peak through.

"What?" Hayze breathed in disbelief as he caught sight of the gift. "H-how? How the hell did you get this?" His hands trembled as he picked up the box, his arms still wound around her waist.

"I know you needed a new graphics tablet and one day, i saw that you were looking at this one online. I did a bit of research and realized they were limited edition and only sold in one country, but I had a cousin living out there so I got her to go out and get it."

His mouth dropped open and he placed the box down before he dropped it out of shock. She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a thankful squeeze before pressing a kiss to the back of her neck.

"Thank you so much babygirl. Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said between kisses to her exposed shoulder.

"Okayyy. PDA overload," Rudi groaned and Hayze glared at him.

"Shut up. Let me love her in peace."

The room erupted into happy laughter and a few of the teenagers groaned at the cheesiness, but still they held smiles on their faces.

She giggled and turned around to peck his lips. "I'm not finished yet."

His eyes dilated and he smirked. "You have no idea what I want to do to you right now," he whispered against her ear and a shiver ran down her spine.

Vito brought over a large rectangular wrapped gift and Hayze took it with a quick thanks.

He unwrapped it like an excited child and a grin lit up his face. "You got me a new landscape sketchbook?"

"Yup. Its moleskin. And flexible. And multi media."

She looked down at the hand gripping her thigh, the wedding band glinting on his finger. "Just so you know, when every one's gone, I'm gonna make you feel so. f~cking. good. babygirl," he said huskily so only she could hear.

Rivers's insides warmed up and she squirmed in his lap as his grip on her thigh tightened.

"Um..." Hayze chuckled as she lost her train of thought. "Everyone else has cards and things they want to give you, so you can talk with them while I go get your last gift."

She quickly hopped off his lap and winked at him before walking towards the kitchen.

When she came back, she grabbed Hayze and pulled him to the front of the room.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?" he asked quietly as she brought them past the couch.

She blushed and shrugged.

"Well, you look beautiful," he whispered before placing a kiss on her head. "But when you wear short dresses like this, you're practically begging me to bend you over and f~ck you until you can't walk - while everyone's watching. Do you want me to do that?"

She stumbled over her words and grabbed onto his arms to keep herself from falling over.

He chuckled and helped her stand up straight before brushing her hair out of her face. "Why are we up here?"

"You have to open this so everyone can see," she said with a sneaky smile as she passed the small rectangular box over to him.

"Is this a new fancy pen?" He asked with a raised brow. "This doesn't seem like something that everyone needs to see. Unless it has a really cool laser on it."

She giggled and smacked his arm. "Just open it."

She watched nervously as he unwrapped the box and then flipped it open, her hands fidgeting with the ribbons on her hair.

His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the white stick sitting in the box.

"What the hell?" He breathed. "What does that mean?" He asked as he picked it up and examined it more closely.

A few squeals from women rang around the room while others seemed confused.

His head suddenly flew up in shock and his hands shook.

"What does it say, my love?" She asked softly as he stared at her with furrowed brows.

He looked back down at the stick and his mouth dropped open.

"Y-your pre-pregnant?" He asked breathlessly as he ran his hand down his face.

"What does it say?" She laughed.

He stared at the stick for another thirty seconds before he smiled brightly. "My god. She's pregnant!" He shouted.

Loud shouts, woops and claps suddenly filled the silence of the room but the happiness radiating off of the couple over played all of them.

"My daughters pregnant!" River's mom squealed excitedly.

The smiles on their faces were bright enough to light the whole room.

River squealed as Hayze lifted her into his arms and he squeezed her tight, swaying them back and forth as he gushed over how happy he was.

"River, this is the happiest i've ever been in my whole life. Thank you, babygirl. For doing all of this." She smiled as he pressed a soft kiss to he cheek.

She pecked his lips. "Of course. I'd do anything for you."

"As would i. Ti amo," he whispered. "I love you so much."

And as they embraced each other with smiles on their faces, the noises of everyone else hardly noticed; River had finally realised the true feeling of love.

Love didn't have to come from family. Or a highschool sweetheart.

Love wasn't abuse. It was trial and error, sure. But it wasn't shouting and throwing things.

Love didn't have to come from someone you've known forever. It could come from a stranger.

Love wasn't the nerves in her stomach from the fear of doing something wrong.

Love is patient and kind.

Love was the butterflies she got when she thought of Hayze.

It was the morning kisses she got and the smiles she received when her husband arrived home from work.

It was the way Hayze made her feel when he talked or laughed or kissed her.

Love were the moments she'd remember for a long time.

and if anyone was to ask her what love is...

she'd say Hayze.