Breathe With Me

by Kristen Proby

  “We’re still on the same page there, these baby making machines are filling this family full of kids just fine without us adding to it, and people get married without having kids every day. But I get it, sunshine. It’s not what you want.”

  “But it’s what you want.”

  He just nods and clenches his eyes shut. I glance up at Mark to see his eyes riveted on his sister and Leo. The girls around us are sniffling, trying to do so quietly, but doing a bad job of it and all of us are quiet as Sam and Leo have their moment.

  “Then let’s do it.”

  “What?” Leo’s head whips up again.

  “Let’s get married. We’re in Vegas for Christ’s sake.”

  “This isn’t funny.” His voice is angry again.

  “I’m not trying to be funny.” She’s watching his face and a smile slowly spreads across her beautiful face. “Let’s get married, baby.”

  “Why? And if you say because I’m moody and you’re trying to placate me, the answer is fuck no. I already told you, this isn’t an ultimatum.”

  “Because I love you, every damn day.” She climbs into his lap and buries her face in his neck. “Because I want you to be happy, and because I’m just with you for your money.”

  That makes us all smile and Leo lets out a small laugh then holds onto her tightly, almost desperately.

  “Really?”

  She nods.

  “When?”

  “Today.”

  His jaw drops and he grips her shoulders to hold her away so he can see her face. “Today?”

  “Why not? We’re here. The people we love are here. Even the band is in town. We can do it tonight. Is this why you’ve been so moody? So distant?” She nuzzles his nose with hers and cups his face in her hands.

  “I always work a lot.”

  “Yes, but you’re not always a grouchy ass about it.”

  He sighs and tips his forehead to hers. “I guess it’s been on my mind a lot lately. It feels right to take this step with you.”

  “I’ve been scared that you wanted out, but didn’t know how to tell me.”

  “Never,” he says fiercely. “I don’t ever want to think about the possibility of not being with you. Nothing matters without you, sunshine.”

  “Honestly, I’ve just been so happy with the way things are, getting married really hasn’t been on my radar.” She grins widely and traces the tattoo on his upper chest with her fingertip. “But now that you mention it, I’m all for it. Let’s do it.”

  “Mom and Dad aren’t here,” Mark says immediately.

  “If this is what you want to do,” Luke begins and when I look over at him I’m stunned to see tears in his eyes, “I can have Mom and Dad here in about four hours. I’ll make the call.”

  “What do you say?” Sam asks, smiling at her man. “Will you marry me today?”

  “This is so us,” he whispers with a shake of the head. “Don’t you want to do all that girly planning stuff?”

  “Nope.” She grins and kisses him hard on the lips. “I have my favorite shoes with me, my family is here, and I’m ready.”

  “Then let’s do it.” Leo turns to look at Luke. “Make those calls. I have some to make too.”

  “I’m on it.” Luke rises but instead of pulling out his phone, he walks around the table to kiss Sam’s head. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Get Mom and Dad here so I can get married.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Wait, what about the kids? They’re with your mom and dad,” Natalie reminds her husband.

  “Mom and Dad will take them,” Caleb says immediately. “That won’t be a problem.”

  “Oh my God!” Jules exclaims. “We’re planning a wedding!”

  “For today!” Meg says and hugs Will. “I don’t feel hung over anymore.”

  “What do we do?” Stacy asks.

  “The first order of business is the food,” Will says, earning an eye-roll from Meg.

  “I’m already looking into it,” Matt says, his fingers flying over his phone. Dom is also fiddling with his phone.

  “I’ve got license info here, man,” Dom says to Matt.

  “Great. I’m looking at chapels. I’ve got two to call.”

  “Who knew that Matt and Dom would turn into wedding planners?” Natalie says with a wide smile.

  “We don’t need all that,” Leo says. “I’d be happy with a ride through the wedding drive-thru and Elvis.”

  “Oh, hello no.” Sam shakes her head and laughs. “I may not need all the fancy trimmings, but the guests should at least have chairs to sit in rather than follow us through a drive-thru.”

  “It’s too bad Alecia couldn’t come,” Jules says and shakes her head. “She’d have it all planned by now.”

  “I know, I invited her, but she had an event this weekend,” Meg says with a pout. Dom clears his throat, catching my attention.

  “I don’t think I’ve met Alecia,” I say and watch Dom’s face. He glances up at me, firms his lips and returns to this phone.

  “She plans all of our events. She’s brilliant,” Jules says. Dom’s jaw ticks.

  “You don’t like her?” I ask.

  “I don’t know her well,” he responds, not looking at me.

  “Dom asked her out and she turned him down,” Will informs me. “Bruised his ego.”

  “Vaffanculo,” Dom mutters.

  “Did you just tell me to fuck off?” Will asks with a laugh.

  “Close enough,” Dom replies.

  “You speak Italian and you’re hot? How could she pass that up?” I ask sarcastically.

  “You think I’m hot, bella?” Dom asks with a slow smile.

  “Duh.” I roll my eyes as Mark growls next to me. “Have you seen you?”

  “Well, this is interesting,” Dom says.

  “Watch yourself.” Mark’s voice is low and hard. Dom shrugs and winks at me then turns back to his phone.

  “You’re awfully possessive,” Stacy says to Mark while nibbling on a strawberry.

  “Fuck yeah, I am,” he agrees.

  “Okay, Sam and Leo, you’re with me. We’re going to get your license.” Dom jumps up and walks away without looking at the rest of us.

  “Mom and Dad are on the way,” Luke announces as he returns.

  “Thank you.” Sam hugs her brother and then she and Leo follow Dom, leaving the rest of us to simply stare at each other.

  “Did that just happen?” Brynna asks.

  “My sister is getting married. Today.” Mark murmurs.

  “Never a dull moment around here,” Logan says cheerfully. “What do y’all do for an encore?”

  “Just wait until they get drunk,” Jax says with a shake of his head. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “We need to get her flowers,” Nat says.

  “The chapels are full-service,” Matt replies, his nose still in his phone. “And I just reserved one online for this evening.”

  “What should we do in the meantime?” Isaac asks.

  “Get our girls recovered from last night so they can do it all over again tonight,” Nate replies with a grin.

  “I’m a mother,” Jules replies primly. “I can’t do it again tonight.”

  “Really?” Meg asks.

  “Oh God, I better go nap now,” Jules replies. “Wanna go nap, ace?”

  “If that’s code for sink inside you and lose my mind for a few hours, then yes, I do.”

  “Thank God you can read my mind.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “You can’t wear leather pants to your own wedding,” Jules insists with her fists planted on her slim hips and a scowl on her gorgeous face.

  “I’m marrying a rock star, Jules,” Sam says with a laugh. “I think I could wear cut off shorts and a tank top and it would be okay. Besides, we’re in Vegas. The JP will just be thankful that I’m sober.”

  “You plan on being sober?” Stacy winks at Sam as she stares lovingly at the red stiletto Loubout
ins in Sam’s hands.

  “Absolutely. Jesus, you guys. I had no idea that he wanted to get married.”

  “Seriously?” I ask and grin when I see a text from Mark come across my phone. The girls are all in Meg and Will’s presidential suite on the top floor of the hotel. This place is bigger than my mother’s old house. The guys have made themselves scarce for the next two hours until the wedding because, like Natalie said, it may be unconventional, but it’s still bad luck for Leo to see his bride before the wedding. Jax and Logan chose to go with the guys because they’d both agreed they’d had enough estrogen for a while.

  Pussies.

  Is Sam nervous?

  I glance up at her and smile at the dreamy grin on her face.

  No, she’s excited. Leo?

  “We haven’t talked about it since the beginning of things,” she insists. “We agreed that marriage wasn’t for us and never brought it up again.”

  “Well, I guess he changed his mind,” Brynna says. “I love Leo, Sam. He’s so great.”

  “Women all over the world are going to be in mourning when this news hits,” Nic says with a shake of the head. “I’m not afraid to admit that I would have been one of them a few years ago.”

  Sam turns to her and chuckles. “And now?”

  “Now you’re my friends and I couldn’t be happier for you. You deserve your happily ever after with your rock star.” Nic hugs Sam close then pulls back with a gasp. “We need to find cake! Damn it, Sam! You can’t get married without cake!”

  “I’m sure we’ll find something,” Stacy assures her and then bounces on her toes. “Sam’s getting married!”

  “Where’s my baby?” Lucy demands as she comes into the suite with Neil right behind her.

  “Mom!” Sam runs to her mom and hugs her close, and I feel my heart catch, suddenly missing my mom something fierce.

  Leo can’t stop smiling. He looks like an idiot, Mark responds, making me laugh.

  “I can’t believe you decided to get married today.” Lucy laughs as she pulls back to look Sam in the eye. “Are you sure?”

  “Never been more sure.”

  “I’m heading down to hang out with the guys and scare my soon to be son-in-law,” Neil says as he hugs his daughter. “But I wanted to come up and hug the bride first.”

  “I’m so happy you’re both here,” Sam replies with a grin. “I guess having Luke around for times like this doesn’t suck.”

  “The boy is resourceful,” Lucy agrees. “Okay, Neil, shoo. This is a woman-only zone.”

  “I’ll see you all soon.” He waves at all of us and heads out of the suite.

  Your dad is on his way to you. Lucy is with us. I send the text to Mark and watch quietly as all of these beautiful women fuss around Sam, laughing and hugging and sipping diet sodas. Lucy fits right in, her face aglow in happiness. These women, this family, is magical. They’ve circled around Sam as if they’re her sisters.

  What I wouldn’t give to be with my sister on her wedding day.

  I tuck the sad thought away for now, determined to be happy for Sam, to concentrate on her happiness today.

  Someday, she might be my sister-in-law.

  The thought stuns me and makes me giddy all at once.

  He’s here. Miss u. Mark’s text makes me grin and my heart light.

  You’ll see me soon. Love u.

  I tuck my phone away and laugh when Jules continues to glare at Sam’s black leather pants.

  “She’s not going to change her mind,” I say to Jules.

  “Black leather pants,” Jules says again, pointing at the offending clothing. “How can she get married in these?”

  “They’ll look hot on her.” I shrug. “The top is beautiful.”

  “You’re wearing black leather pants?” Lucy asks with wide, stunned eyes.

  “Yes. But look at the top!” Sam holds up a white tank top with a high neckline. It has large, white lace flowers and is cropped to hit her right above her pierced navel. “It’s white.”

  “And the sexiest red shoes I’ve ever seen,” Stacy adds.

  “Well,” Lucy says after a moment of consideration. “It’s Vegas, last minute, and you’ve always marched to the beat of your own drummer. I think it’s fantastic.”

  Sam sends Jules a smug grin. “See? It’s fantastic.”

  “It’s ridiculous.” Jules shakes her head and sighs in exasperation as the rest of us chuckle at her. “You should be wearing a beautiful dress.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Sam smiles and pulls Jules in for a big hug. “It doesn’t matter what I wear, Jules. I could be in ratty old pajamas and it wouldn’t matter. All that matters is that I’m marrying Leo. He’s the best part. Not what I wear.”

  “Except the shoes,” Stacy says fiercely.

  “The shoes are always the exception,” Sam says with a wink.

  “I’m so happy for you,” Jules says with a hoarse whisper. “We all know what you and Leo have gone through, and no one deserves to be together more than the two of you. Natalie will make lots of babies for you to spoil.”

  “Yeah, I will,” Nat agrees with a grin.

  “What are you doing about vows?” Meg asks. “Knowing Leo he’ll want something original.”

  “We already wrote them.”

  “You did?” I ask. “You’ve barely seen each other today.”

  “We did it in the cab on the way to get the license. He writes songs for a living. This was a breeze.”

  “I can’t wait to hear them,” Nic says with a sigh. “It’s all so romantic.”

  “When do you think you and Matt might get hitched?” Brynna asks.

  Nic looks surprised by the question, then just shrugs. “No idea. Eventually, I’m sure.” She bites her lip as if she’s thinking about it for the first time. “There’s no rush.”

  “Okay, ladies,” Sam announces and begins stripping out of her casual clothes. “I’m getting dressed and getting married.”

  “Want me to touch up your hair?” Stacy asks.

  “Yeah, can you make it all messy and cool like that night when Will proposed to Meg?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Sam, Brynna, Stacy and Nic all file into the bathroom to primp. The rest of us went to our respective rooms earlier to change into something nicer than jeans and tank tops, although I’m beginning to think it wasn’t necessary.

  Not if the bride’s wearing leather pants.

  Lucy sits beside me and takes my hand in hers companionably. “How are you, darling girl?”

  “I’m great. This weekend has been a blast.”

  “It sure sounds like it,” she says with a chuckle. “I’m glad. You all needed it. A little play time is good for the soul.”

  “It is.” I smile at the kind woman beside me. “Were you shocked when Luke called?”

  “Between you and me? No.” She cranes her neck to see into the bathroom. The noise is echoing in the vast space as the girls chirp and giggle.

  “I’m surprised it took this long,” Meg adds as she falls into a deep-cushioned couch and sips her soda.

  “Sam’s stubborn,” Nat says. “I knew it would happen eventually, but I thought he’d have to work at it a little harder.”

  “I’m just thankful that Elvis isn’t officiating,” Jules says as she reapplies her lip gloss. “Are you almost done in there?” she calls into the bathroom.

  “Coming!” Stacy calls back.

  “Okay, who wants to place bets on who cries first during the ceremony?” Meg asks.

  “Neither are going to cry,” I reply with a smirk. “They’re both too badass for that.”

  “Have you ever heard the song “Sunshine”?” Meg asks. “Leo wrote that for her. They wrote those vows together. There will be waterworks.”

  “I’m not betting against that,” Nat replies.

  “Me neither,” Jules agrees.

  “He wrote “Sunshine for her”?” I ask with a sappy grin on my face as Meg nods. “That’s the most romant
ic thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Still wanna bet?”

  “Hell no.”

  “We have to go!” Nat yells back to the bathroom.

  “I’m ready!” Sam comes walking down the hallway on her high red shoes, those black pants hugging her every curve and that white lacy tank is absolutely stunning, showing off her pierced navel.

  Her hair looks messy in a classy, rocker way and her blue eyes are shining above blood-red painted lips.

  “You’re magnificent,” I whisper and feel my eyes fill with tears. “Oh, Sam.”

  “Oh, my sweet girl,” Lucy sniffs as she stands to hug Sam. “You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Come on,” Meg says with a sniff. “Let’s put my brother out of his misery and get you two hitched.”

  Sam smiles triumphantly. “Let’s do it.”

  ***

  This might be the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever seen. And it’s in Vegas.

  Amazing.

  This particular wedding chapel offers an outdoor garden option. It’s evening, just past sunset. We are sitting in ornate white iron chairs facing an arbor, covered in white twinkling lights.

  “You’re gorgeous,” Mark whispers in my ear.

  “Wait till you see your sister,” I reply with a smile.

  “It’s a different kind of gorgeous,” he says and brushes his knuckle down my cheek. “You take my breath away, M.”

  I take his hand in mine and kiss his palm softly.

  We’re all here. All of the Montgomery siblings and their significant others. Nat and Luke, Mark and I. Jax and Logan. Even Leo’s band and their families are here, smiling and anxious to get this show started.

  Leo, dressed in black ripped jeans and a black button-down shirt rolled on his forearms, escorts Lucy down the aisle to her seat, kisses her cheek and joins the justice of the peace on the small stage. The song “Sunshine” begins to play, signaling that we should all stand and turn to watch Sam, dressed in her unconventional wedding attire, walk down the aisle with her dad. Neil is smiling at his daughter proudly, clasping her hand tightly in his own, and I can’t help but remember that my daddy will never walk me down the aisle. Mark won’t escort my mama to her seat. Tiff won’t stand by my side as I pledge myself to the man I love with my whole heart.