Chapter Twenty Four

The first person Tara told she was engaged was Teeny. Her sister-in-law was delighted and wasn't the least bit surprised that Dwayne had proposed to her.

"I think I always knew that he loved you," Teeny said during their telephone conversation. "I know that sounds crazy but it's true. There was just something about the way he acted around you whenever you were together. It was only a matter of time before he asked you to marry him."

Dwayne's family were over the moon about the engagement. Over the next few months, their life became a crazy whirl of wedding plans and the media going berzerk of Dwayne becoming engaged after getting divorced just four years before. Dwayne let the media have their moment. Dany, Simone and the rest of his family weren't the least bit upset over him becoming engaged to another woman. As Dany had said herself, she would rather Dwayne be happy with Tara; than to have stayed with her out of misguided loyalty and be miserable.

By now, everyone in the WWE knew they were together; and were very impressed that they had managed to keep their relationship quiet for as long as they had, esepcially as Dwayne was a movie star. Nothing every seemed to stay private with the media. But Tara had had years of practice at keeping work and her private life seperate. It was a talent both she and Brian had possessed - an uncanny ability to keep their relationships to themselves. It was only when he had gotten married that a lot of people had known he was seeing someone.

Tara couldn't quite believe that she was engaged. Not only that she was engaged to the man she considered her best friend. When they had first met all those years before, Tara never thought that they would have ended up thinking about getting married. She hadn't thought that Brian and her friend, Luna Vachon, wouldn't be there to see her get engaged. Tara suddenly felt incredibly sad. Here she was, planning her wedding and the two of them wouldn't be there to celebrate with her.

Luna Vachon had passed away after an overdose, the previous year in August 2010; only eight months after she had lost her home and all of her possesions in a fire. When Tara had heard, she had called her friend and offered to help her out in any way she could. Luna had been over the moon when she heard Tara was dating Dwayne and had gused about how he was so right for her. She had also been very impressed that she had kept it quiet for so long; but had respected Tara's reasons when she had explained that she had wanted to see if it would last the distance.

It was then that Tara had realised that everyone seemed to have guessed that the Samoan had been in love with her for some time. Maybe it was because she was naturally oblivious to such things that had caused her not to pick up on it.

"So, am I the last one to know, then?" Tara had asked.

Luna's adorable laugh cackled down the telephone. "Yes, I think you are."

Tara hadn't really wanted to deal with another funeral only three years after her brother had died. But there she was, attending her best friend's funeral at the ranch that had once been owned by Andre the Giant. Her parents were so pleased to see her there. Luna had always spoken so highly of Tara.

Tara sighed and went back to looking at wedding dresses online. Dwayne walked into the kitchen and saw Tara seemed to look a little distracted. He knew well enough that Tara was feeling somewhat down after losing her best friend. He enquired if she had found a suitable dress before leaving her alone. Tara just found she was unable to concentrate and closed the laptop. Walking up behind Dwayne, Tara wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his back.

"You feeling okay, babydoll?" Dwayne asked as he finished making Tara's latte.

"Yeah, fine, I think I'm just a little tired," she replied gently. "Weddings are more hard work than I thought."

"Are you sure that's the only thing bothering you?"

"I just wish Brian and Luna were still around to see me getting married. That's all."

Turning around and sweeping her up in a hug, he gently kissed Tara on the forehead. Tara rested her head on his chest. No matter how she tried to dress it up, Dwayne knew she was

"I'm sure, wherever they are, they're happy for you and very proud of you," Dwayne reassured her. "I know I didn't really know them all that well, but I know Luna always spoke very highly of you."

Their wedding took place after Wrestlemania 28 in 2012. They married on the beach in the Caribbean in front of close family and a few close friends. Tara wore a white dress with dark green, leaf style pattern on the bodice. She wore her hair up in a high ponytail, the ringlets trailing down her back. It was the biggest event of the year. The media went nuts over it especially when the couple refused to have any media involvement. They didn't even do a magazine deal. They agreed that it was their own private day with the people they loved.

A little while after, Tara was offered a job as a trainer for the WWE at their Florida training facility. Tara thought about it for a while before finally accepting the job. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she missed the wrestling world. Being a kept woman was all very well and good but Tara wanted to be doing something again. The time away from the ring did her good and Tara enjoyed her time back. At least this time the job wasn't quite as physical and she didn't spead months on the road away from everyone she loved.

It was tough with Dwayne being away so much, filming his movies. He would be gone for months at a time and Tara desperately missed him. During these times, Tara would spend time with Teeny and her niece, Lucy, whenever she had time off. One day Teeny asked her when she and Dwayne would be starting a family. After all, Tara wasn't getting any younger. She was approaching 39.

Up until then, Tara hadn't really thought about having children. After the whole thing with Jeff, a man she honestly thought she would have a family with, Tara hadn't really considered the whole children thing anymore. But now that she was married to Dwayne and settled in a beautiful - and huge - home in Miami, it started to creep into her mind. Tara and Dwayne discussed the idea of having a family. Although Dwayne already had a daughter from his first marriage, he loved the idea of having a child with Tara. Tara wasn't sure how easy it would be for her to fall pregnant, especially as she was leaving it late in life to get pregnant.

They decided that they wouldn't let age put them off at least trying. If they weren't successful naturally, they planned to go for either surrogacy or adoption. They were trying for nearly a year naturally. It wasn't always easy to find time to be intimate with the two of them working. They had a few false alarms which left Tara extremely disappointed.

Eventually, it happened. Tara hadn't been feeling right for a couple of weeks and her period was late. Tara suspected she might be pregnant but she was yet to take a test. She didn't want to say anything to Dwayne just in case it was another false alarm. Tara was stood in front of her bedroom mirror, looking at her abdomen. She stood side on and gently ran a hand over it. Dwayne, who was wondering where his wife had gotten to, entered the bedroom and saw the way she was acting.

"Are you..." He began to ask.

"I don't know," Tara replied, honestly.

Tara admitted to feeling sick and her period being late. Dwayne persuaded her to take a pregnancy test. Watching as the blue line appeared, Tara broke into a smile. It looked like they would finally become parents after all.