by Lulu Pratt
When we were done, we made coffee together in the kitchen.
“I can’t believe you’re still here,” Callie said when we each sat down with a mug of instant coffee. “After what I told you, I was sure you would run away.”
Callie had confessed she’d been the other driver, the one who had survived after Jenna had died. I had been shocked to hear the news. What were the odds I would fall in love with the woman who had been involved in the same accident that had taken Jenna from me? And it hadn’t been because I contacted her. It had happened purely by chance.
“I won’t lie. It was a shock,” I said. “To hear that you were there brought a lot of emotions back.”
Callie nodded sadly. I could only imagine the guilt she’d had to endure since Jenna’s death. Being part of the accident had to have affected her emotionally as much as it affected her physically.
“But I don’t blame you,” I carried on.
“How can you not?” Callie asked.
“Because I made peace with how she died ages ago. I know she swerved because of a deer. I know you weren’t in the wrong. Did I resent that you survived and Jenna didn’t? Once upon a time, yeah. But that was a long time ago. I didn’t know you then, and I was bitter about losing a ray of sunlight who used to make this world a little brighter. I’m not upset with you. I don’t blame you. I don’t want to lose you over anything.”
Callie looked like she was going to cry.
“I was in the hospital for two weeks,” she admitted. “I nearly died.” She lifted her hand to her head, pressing her fingers above her ear. She reached for me with her other hand and helped me feel what she was feeling. She had a thick ridge above her ear, a scar.
“I know it put you through a lot,” she said. “Thank you for being so kind about it.”
I pulled her against me and kissed her.
“There’s nothing to thank me for,” I said. “I’m glad you didn’t die too. I would never have met you, my friend would never have had the best wedding of his life, and we wouldn’t have been able to build a future again.”
Callie smiled, and I kissed her again.
We got ready to leave and headed out to the restaurant where the brunch was scheduled. When we arrived. John and Deborah were already present, as well as Abigail’s parents and a few of the other wedding guests who were still in town or lived here. We sat down together, and I took Callie’s hand under the table and squeezed it.
John sat next to me and noticed I was holding Callie’s hand. He looked at me with an amused smile.
The conversation was mainly about the wedding, how beautiful it was, and how happy the couple looked. Callie got a lot of compliments about the wedding, and she handed out her business card to the people who asked for it. It was amazing to see her in action. She networked well, and she was modest about her talents. She could very well have been arrogant about it because she was good at what she did.
After we had drunk a few mimosas and the staff informed us the brunch buffet was ready, we let the women go first. When Callie stood up to dish a plate for herself, John leaned over to me.
“You look very comfortable with Callie,” he said. I knew he would comment on it.
I nodded. “What can I say? She’s an incredible woman.”
“Oh, for sure,” John agreed. “When did that happen? I recall you getting into it with her quite a bit.”
I shrugged. “I can’t really tell you when it happened. I guess it was always there, in a way. I was fighting it, among other things, but I snapped out of it. I guess it just clicked with her.”
John nodded. “That’s how it works with the right relationships,” he said. “It just happens. You don’t know when it crept up on you, but before you know it, you don’t want to turn back.”
“That’s exactly how it was.”
“It was like that with Deborah too.”
John and Deborah had always had the kind of relationship I had admired. I hadn’t thought I would ever get there. I had been too much of a player, and the women I had been with had been too needy or too shallow to tolerate for very long. But I knew what it was all about and how it felt when I met the right woman.
“You better treat her like gold,” John warned. “A good woman like that only comes along once in a lifetime. Carter was lucky to have another shot, but that’s rare. Don’t fuck it up with Callie.”
I shook my head. “Trust me, I’m done with that. I’m watching myself now. I’ll do whatever it takes to hold onto her. I know a good thing when I see it.”
John nodded, satisfied. “Good man,” he said. I was glad he was proud of me. I hated that I’d disappointed him earlier on with how I was acting. But everything was all right now. The past month had been a journey, and I had come out on the other side having learned more. I had found love and friendship and peace and understanding.
How much more did a man need?
I glanced at where Callie stood in the line with her plate.
“So, when are the two of you getting hitched?” John asked, seeing me look.
I chuckled. “I don’t think it will happen anytime soon,” I said. “I have a feeling she’s the one, but I believe in taking my time.”
Callie caught my eye, and we exchanged smiles. She was definitely the one I wanted to settle down with. I didn’t need years to figure that out. But there was no rush. We could take our time.
“That’s good news,” John said. “I don’t think I’d be able to handle another wedding happening within a month.”
I laughed. It had been a hell of a ride, arranging the whole wedding in such a short time. But enough had happened in the past few weeks for a whole lifetime, and even though I wouldn’t want the same roller coaster ride, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Except maybe the strippers.
Callie returned to the table with her plate of food and sat down.
“Is everything okay?” Callie asked. She had seen me talk to John, and she knew we’d had a few ups and downs since I’d arrived. I had told her a few things when we’d spent time together last night.
“Perfect,” I said and intertwined our fingers, bringing her hand to my mouth and kissing her knuckles.
“What did you talk about?” she asked.
I smiled. I wasn’t going to bring up marriage to Callie just yet. It was my little secret for now.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” I said and picked up my plate to dish food for myself.
When I stood in line at the buffet table, I glanced at Callie. She was talking to some of the other wedding guests, laughing with John and Deborah. It made me happy to see how well Callie blended into my second family. I wanted to introduce her to my mom.
I would have liked to introduce her to Jenna. My sister would have loved her. A wave of sadness washed over me, and I took a moment to remember Jenna, to imagine her with us here at the table. But she was at peace, and we had all moved on. And even though I would have loved for her to meet Callie, my life was complete as it was.
I had to start thinking about where Callie and I were headed. I had extended my stay for another few days to be with her, but I would have to go back to Dallas at some point. What was I going to do then? A long-distance relationship with someone as perfect as Callie wouldn’t cut it, and her wedding company was here.
Maybe I had to consider moving down here. With Carter moving here for Abigail, John and Deborah living here now, and Callie being an Austin girl, maybe Austin could become my home too.
Epilogue
CALLIE
– ONE YEAR LATER –
ABIGAIL AND Carter were back in Austin to celebrate their one-year anniversary. They had bought a house here after they had gotten married, but they were barely home. They traveled while they could, seeing the world, and I only got to speak to Abigail once every couple of weeks.
I didn’t mind. My friend was happy, and that was all that mattered to me. Her marriage to Carter had been perfect from day one, and I had never seen a closer co
uple in all the years I had been a wedding coordinator.
“Are you sure you want us out here with you?” I asked when we sat down at the restaurant where Carter had made reservations. “It’s your anniversary, and you should celebrate it without us.”
Carter shook his head. “Not without our best friends. We hardly see you two. We definitely want you both here.”
I glanced at Grayson, who shrugged. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. I smiled at him.
“You’re adorable together,” Abigail said. I blushed, and Grayson rolled his eyes.
“So, tell us about your travels,” Grayson said.
Carter and Abigail told us about the Contiki they had joined that had covered the United Kingdom, the cruise they had done that had visited a cluster of Indonesian Islands, a hike in New Zealand, and visiting the black beaches of Alaska.
“I can’t believe you’ve been to all these places,” I said.
“It’s been amazing,” Abigail said.
I would have loved to travel, but my life had gone in a different direction, and I was happy where I was.
“I can’t believe a year has already passed,” I said. “Time flies.”
“It does,” Abigail said. “Sometimes, it feels like it was just yesterday we got married.”
I nodded. I felt the same. Somedays, I felt that Grayson and I had barely got to know each other, and others, I felt like we’d spent a lifetime together. Grayson laced his fingers through mine, and I smiled at him. He touched me often, craving physical contact, and our connection was stronger than ever. It had been there from the start, but it grew every day.
“Are you planning on traveling more?” I asked.
Abigail glanced at Carter and shook her head. “We’re thinking about settling down, actually,” she said shyly. “Maybe start a family.”
I squealed. “I can’t wait until I get to be the crazy aunt.”
Abigail laughed. “That’s still some time in the future, but we’re talking about it.”
Carter nodded and looked at his wife with a loving expression. He shifted closer to Grayson, and they chatted, catching up while Abigail and I talked about married life.
“What about you?” Abigail asked. “You look like you’re going strong.”
I nodded, glancing at Grayson. “Very strong.”
“Would you marry him?”
“If he asks,” I said. I had thought about it more and more recently. If Grayson asked me to be his forever, I would say yes. When I had met him, he had been an arrogant son of a bitch, but I had gotten to know him inside and out, and he was a wonderful person hiding behind male bravado. I loved him more than I could put into words.
Grayson had moved to Austin from Dallas to be with me. He had insisted he wanted to come to me so I didn’t have to move my business, even though I’d been willing to make a plan for him.
When Grayson had moved to Austin for me, I had discussed with Isaiah the idea of starting a new branch in another town. Isaiah had wanted to set off on his own, but I hadn’t wanted to lose him. So Isaiah had moved to Dallas and opened up his own branch of Somewhere Special Weddings. With him gone, my business had needed a bit of help. Instead of hiring someone new, Grayson had stepped in to help.
He didn’t help with any of the wedding matters like venues and coordinating, but he helped with administration and he did the books, making sure the two different offices worked well and that everything was in place. Grayson also stepped in and assisted with some of the more difficult clients. Perhaps as he had been once in their shoes, he knew that weddings were a difficult time for some people. Isaiah had built up Somewhere Special Weddings in Dallas into something popular enough that he could afford to get his own part-time assistant, and if he continued the way he was, we could open office number three.
It was all just planning for now, and when I explained it all to Abigail, she told me everything sounded like it was going great.
I agreed. It was fantastic. I’d had the best year yet, in every aspect of my life. From business to my relationship to having made peace with my past.
The conversation turned to a topic we could all join in on. Carter wanted to throw John a surprise birthday party, and we were all on board. John was an important figure in Grayson’s life, and he and Deborah had become very close friends of mine too. Grayson and I started throwing ideas around, planning, discussing venues and caterers. Abigail laughed.
“You can see where your strengths are,” she said.
The waiter arrived and put a slice of cake on the table in front of me.
I shook my head. “I didn’t order this,” I said.
“Oh, no. It’s a specialty. On the house from us.”
I looked at the cake. It was a wonderful lemon meringue, my favorite, but it didn’t make sense.
“Does everyone get it?” I asked.
The waiter nodded, but I looked around, and no one else had a slice of delicious cake in front of them. I glanced at Grayson, who shrugged.
“It would be rude to refuse.”
He was right. And it was my favorite. But I was suspicious. What was going on? For a moment, I thought maybe Grayson would try to propose, but I shook off the thought. He would hardly do it with lemon meringue, would he? Besides, there was no ring in my cake. I checked as I ate.
I felt silly for thinking Grayson would do something like this. I was ready for marriage, and I knew how I felt about him, but that didn’t mean he was ready. I didn’t doubt his love for me, but we were happy. We lived together and worked together, and I knew he was fully committed to me. We didn’t have to sign papers to know we would be together forever.
Besides, he had never mentioned anything to me. It was silly of me to jump to conclusions like this. It was merely because I watched weddings happening every day, and I was so deliriously happy that I was starting to think that it was something I wanted for myself. But I didn’t need it to be happy.
The waiter brought flutes of Champagne to our table. This was for the anniversary, I was sure.
“Let’s make a toast,” I said, lifting my glass.
“Excuse me, miss,” the waiter said next to me. “You dropped your ring.”
I looked at the ring the waiter had in the palm of his hand. It was beautiful. It was rose gold with three diamonds mounted in a row.
“That’s not mine,” I said.
“It can be if you want it,” Grayson said. When I looked at him, he was kneeling on the floor next to me. I didn’t know what to say. He had caught me off guard.
“I love you, Callie Scott. I want to share my life with you. Will you marry me?”
It suddenly hit home, and I nodded. Grayson took the ring from the waiter and thanked him before sliding it onto my finger. It fit perfectly. Tears rolled over my cheeks when Grayson kissed me.
“Congratulations,” Abigail said, hugging me. Carter shook Grayson’s hand and gave me a hug.
“Did you know?” I asked.
“It’s why we invited you with us,” Abigail answered. “We couldn’t be happier to be a part of the start of your journey and the beginning of your married life together.”
I shook my head, smiling at Grayson. This was more than I could ever have hoped for. Who would have known that when I had met the arrogant best man that I would end up with him? Who knew there was a happily ever after in store for the woman who made it happen for everyone else?
***
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Never
I signed on to give this baby a second chance for a mother. I never counted on falling for my ex.
I broke up with my high school sweetheart when I went away to college.
I never expected him to
knock up my sister.
It was easy to tell myself it wasn’t my fault. That they didn’t exist.
Until the day my sister died, with a clause in her will begging me to be a mother to their baby.
How could I deny the child?
Except that means seeing and being with Ethan every day.
I watch in wonder as he deals with his little girl, he’s the most loving, caring father.
Soon, my body fills with desire whenever he walks into the room.
I try to ignore his crazy sexy body and even sexier smile, but every day it gets harder.
Now he says he wants me. He’s always wanted me.
And he wants us to be a family.
***A steamy STANDALONE contemporary romance with a smoking hot hero. No cliffhanger, no cheating and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.***
Chapter One
LARA
“OF COURSE she had to go and die,” I mutter to myself, knowing it’s one of the worst things I can possibly say about my sister, and knowing it’s absolutely unfair. Pulling into a parking spot in the lot outside of the estate lawyer’s office, I take a deep breath.
If she had the choice, Alexis would be alive. Easter was destroyed by her death. The family was technically together, but the fact that she wasn’t there, that she was dead, had hung over everyone in the room, the house, over dinner, the whole deal.
I take another deep breath and flip down the mirror to check my makeup. It’s hard to believe it, but a week ago I was finishing my work and planning my packing to go home to see my father, my sister, her husband, and their child, and a few other family members for Easter.
And then I’d gotten the call.
Looking at my reflection, my eyes still look a bit bloodshot, and my mascara has smeared a bit at the corners of my eyes. I make a quick movement to clean it up a bit, and think about the whole big, stupid mess.
I can still remember the way Dad’s voice sounded on the phone. “I know you were planning on coming in a couple of days, Lara, but I would appreciate it if you could get here maybe tomorrow.”
