Just Breathe Series (Trilogy Box Set)

by Martha Sweeney

  Today, we’re rushing around, getting ready for Jared’s and Nathan’s wedding. Jared stayed with us at the penthouse while Nathan stayed with Jimmy and Allen in theirs. Who knew they’d want to honor a wedding tradition like a night apart until they’re both walking down the isle. They played Rock Paper Scissors to see who was going first. Pop-Pop is escorting Jared while Nathan’s dad takes him. Maggie and I are both groomsmen along with Joe and Henry.

  The wedding is taking place in one of the Covelli hotels in town, actually in the very one where we celebrated their engagement. Jared and Nathan have kept it small, only allowing immediate friends and family to attend, making it only about a hundred people. Mrs. Silkworth and Mr. Armani are present as well, along with a few other fashion industry people. Robby acts as flower girl with Jade while Jet and Rey are the ring bearers. Since there aren’t bouquets for the boys, Jared and Nathan ordered two for Maggie and me. While we stand at the altar with the priest, my two favorite men in the world, okay my two other favorite men in the world, are just across from me, on the other side of Jared and Nathan.

  Joe has our son in his arms, facing me and I get distracted a few times from what’s happening when I try to play peek-a-boo with him as I cover my face a little with the flowers or just watch him looking around the room. Jared nudges me and I’m suddenly back in the present.

  “Sorry,” I mouth as I hand him the ring box.

  “Nathan,” Jared begins, sliding the ring onto Jared’s finger, “You are my best friend. The love of my life. The yin to my yang. We are two wholes coming together, creating anew, shining brighter in unity as we continue from this day forward as one.”

  “Jared,” Nathan starts, stumbling a little as he gets the ring past Nathan’s first knuckle, “You are my best friend. The love of my life. You are the yin to my yang. We are two wholes coming together, creating anew, shining brighter in unity as we continue from this day forward as one.”

  “Ladies and gentleman,” the priest calls. “It is my great honor and privilege to present to you Mr. Jared Welsh Young and Mr. Nathaniel Welsh Young. You may solidify your commitment to each other and may kiss your love.”

  Cheers erupt as Jared and Nathan plant a long, heartfelt kiss on the other one and go back in for another one. Maggie and I are crying our eyes out and I even see a few tears gathering in Joe’s eyes.

  At the reception, we party into the night and I dance for most of the night with my two best loves, Joe and Joe Jr., when I’m not dancing with Joe’s brothers, John, Pop-Pop, Jared and Nathan. Tony is a gentleman, for most of the dance, and is only shooed away by Joe when he his hands travel a little too south past my hips.

  Abigail tries to crash the party, but our bodyguards prevent her from even entering. My heart goes out to the woman. She’s been lied to by her father, or worse, has been apart of it the whole time and is blaming the rest of us for his, and perhaps her, own mistakes. The news was not kind to her father, especially since Mr. Grant was attacked and targeted as the media claimed thanks to his gunshot wound.

  We’ve already done a press release with the board members, explaining that we are correcting the challenges for Hammer Corporation and hope to have matters resolved by the end of the year. Unfortunately, we had to lay off about a third of the company. The good news is, those who were laid off, ninety percent of them were aware of what Mr. Ward was doing and never reported the situation — so I don’t feel so bad. Certain divisions of the company were broken off and sold, allowing the company to gain back some capital to settle debts and start reducing the fees it incurred from the environmental dumping. The Good news is that because the Covelli family and my shares combined to consist of forty-two-and-a-half percent of the whole company, which just barely surpassed Mr. Ward’s shares of forty percent, and because our other companies already have a strong history of environmentally sustainable methods, the government has reduced the fines and fees by about half. The authorities did recoup the majority of the money that Mr. Ward had siphoned from the Hammer Corporation, and since he didn’t have a mortgage on two properties, they weren’t seized by the government, allowing Abigail and her mother to still live comfortably. Abigail’s parties have come to a halt, forcing her to find employment work while her mother, who hasn’t worked for over twenty years, has been able to at least return to a former magazine that she used to manage.

  “Hey, beautiful,” Joe calls, returning me back to the present.

  “Hey, you,” I return with a grin.

  “How’s he doing?” Joe checks, running his finger down our son’s cheek who is breastfeeding.

  “Good,” I answer. “I think he’s almost asleep.”

  “Good,” Joe states. “I get to have you to myself then.”

  “I’ve got to burp him,” I remind with a smile.

  “I’ll do it. Then, Anna can take him while we go have a dance,” Joe insists.

  “We’ve danced half the night,” I whine in mock protest. “My feet hurt.”

  “You won’t need your shoes,” Joe answers. “And, we’ll go slow. I promise.”

  “Okay, fine,” I humor. “On one condition.”

  “Name it,” Joe replies, perking up.

  “You need to give me something about the honeymoon that you have planned,” I comment.

  Joe laughs. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” I check, not sure if I like how he’s agreeing to it so quickly.

  “Okay,” Joe repeats.

  “So?” I probe.

  “Lets just say . . . that most of the time . . . you won’t be wearing any clothes,” Joe reveals as he kisses my neck.

  “That doesn’t give me anything,” I complain.

  “Next time you want to barter, beautiful,” Joe laughs. “You need to be more specific regarding the information you want.”

  “That’s how you want to play this?” I check.

  “You started it,” Joe states.

  My eyes narrow at him playfully.

  Joe takes his son and starts burping him as I fix my bra and clean up. He hands Joe Jr. off to Anna and leads me out the dance floor. “Just think, beautiful. This will be our day soon,” he states with a smile.

  I grin and nod, knowing that our day can’t come fast enough.

  One Hundred Fifty Nine

  “You can’t go in there,” I hear Anna say to someone as I’m finishing getting my dress on in the next room.

  There’s a little bit of commotion from all the ladies with me and I can’t see or hear exactly what’s going on.

  “Joe,” I hear Maggie say. “What do you think you’re doing. It’s bad luck . . . .”

  “Since when do you think Emma or I believe in things like that?” Joe interrupts. “Besides, don’t worry. I won’t see her. I just want to talk to her for a second.”

  Maggie darts back into the room where I am. “He wants to talk to you,” she shares as if I haven’t heard anything.

  With a smile, knowing I need to hear his voice to calm my jitters, I reply, “That’s fine.”

  “But . . .” Maggie starts to whine in protest.

  “Close the door most of the way,” I instruct. He can talk to me without seeing me.

  “Fine,” she huffs. “But if we end up running late . . . .”

  “I know. I know,” I soothe. “I’ll take responsibility.”

  “Good,” Maggie says with a pleased smile. “We’ll be just outside in the hall. Okay?”

  “Maggie,” I giggle.

  “Okay, fine,” she says. She takes my arm and leads me away from the door. “Don’t move,” she directs. Maggie disappears into the other room. “And, you. You better not peek, Joseph. I know you and I know you’ll try.”

  “I won’t,” Joe defends. “I promise. Scout’s honor.”

  I giggle, knowing Joe was never a scout.

  “Do you want me to take him?” Maggie asks sweetly.

  “No,” Joe politely refuses. “He misses his mommy.”

  “Okay,” she confirms with her v
oice getting softer. “And, no peeking!”

  “I promise,” Joe chuckles.

  The sounds of fading commotion leave the room with nothing left but the faint sounds of my son cooing from behind the door.

  “Emma,” Joe calls after a few seconds.

  I take a few steps toward the door, pressing my forehead against it. My right hands slides around the edge of the door frame that is sticking out the majority of the way from the wall since it’s a sliding door. “Yeah,” I confirm weakly. “I’m here.”

  “Hey, beautiful,” Joe greets, gliding his fingers over mine. “Where’s mommy? Where is she?”

  I hear Joe Jr. babble a little and the warmth in my heart grows as I fight to keep myself from crying. I can’t believe that he’s already seven months and one week old.

  “Hey, handsome,” I call. “Where’s my little guy?”

  “Do you hear her?” Joe asks him. “Where is she?”

  Joe Jr. babbles again.

  “Look,” Joe says, letting go of my hand. “Look. Who’s hand is that?”

  I wiggle my fingers as I say, “Hi, my love.”

  Joe Jr. makes more noise as his tiny little fingers take ahold of mine.

  “Hey,” I greet. “Mommy’s right here. Can you find me?”

  “Where is she?” Joe coaxes. “Oh. Did you see her?”

  A second shadow blocks a portion of the opening in between the door and the wall and then disappears.

  “Where is she?” Joe asks again. “Where’s mommy?”

  Joe Jr. babbles as his shadow returns and suddenly we make eye contact.

  “Oh. Did you see her?” Joe asks. “Where’s mommy?”

  “Can you find me, handsome?” I call, excited to see his happy face again. “Where am I? Where’s mommy?”

  “Oh. There she is,” Joe answers when my son and I see each other again.

  “Da da da da,” Joe Jr. calls.

  “No,” I giggle. “I’m mama, remember?”

  “Da da da da da,” he repeats.

  I can’t help but laugh.

  “Hey, beautiful,” Joe calls as he returns his fingers to mine. They dance together as our son’s hand gets a hold too.

  “Hey, you,” I return, fighting to remain composed. “Checking to make sure I showed up today? Huh?”

  “No,” Joe denies.

  “Joseph?” I call questioningly.

  “Okay,” he sighs. “Maybe a little.”

  “I don’t blame you,” I tease. “You know . . . just in case.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t leave,” Joe soothes. “I . . . we just wanted to hear your voice beforehand.”

  “I’m glad you guys came,” I reply. “Maggie’s going to yell at you about my makeup. But, I’m glad you came. And, I’m glad you brought him with you.”

  “Just ten minutes,” Joe reveals.

  “The longest ten minutes of my life,” I say with truth, but try to brush off the myriad of emotions swirling through me.

  “Not here fast enough,” Joe enforces.

  “Yeah,” I sigh.

  “I love you, beautiful,” Joe says sweetly. “We love you.”

  “I love you too,” I reply. “Both of you.”

  “I guess we should go,” he says reluctantly. “You know . . . or else Maggie will have my head. She’s like the bridesmaid Nazi.”

  “Yeah,” I agree with a giggle. “She means well, though.”

  “I know,” Joe replies. “It’s funny and scary at the same time.”

  I laugh a little harder.

  “See you in a few minutes. Okay, beautiful,” Joe checks.

  “Yes,” I confirm. “Just a few minutes.”

  Joe reluctantly peels his fingers away from mine, being forced to leave the room when I hear Maggie coming back in from behind the door. She directs him to leave and has the rest of the girls assist me with getting my veil on.

  “Ready?” Mr. Nelson checks as we round the last corner of the walkway that leads to the guests waiting for me to arrive.

  “Yes,” I agree.

  “Your mom and dad would be so proud of you,” Mr. Nelson declares.

  “You’re going to make me cry again,” I remind. “Remember, Maggie will kill anyone who messes up my makeup.”

  Mr. Nelson kisses my cheek. “Don’t care. It’s worth it because it’s the truth. You’ve come a long way, darling. Aside from your parents, Beatrice and I are proud of you. All of your family out there is proud of you. You’ve grown into a beautiful woman . . . and now mother.”

  “Thank you,” I return, fighting back tears.

  “We better hurry. Joe might be on me too if I take too long to get you to him,” Mr. Nelson jokes.

  “Okay,” I giggle. “Lead the way.”

  My eyes stay on the path as we head toward the guests out on the little patio area of Queen Emma’s Summer Palace. Confident in my footing, my eyes lift and immediately find Joe, my Joe, holding our son. He smiles, but there are also tears in his eyes which are starting to make me cry too. The people standing on either side of the isle blur as my eyes stay focused on my son and my soon-to-be husband. Who knew it would take just over two years from the day I met him that my life would be turned upside down and marrying the love of my life?

  Joe gently bounces Joe Jr. in his arms, coaxing him to find me in the crowd of people before them as I inch closer. When my feet hit the first step, my son spots me and his smile grows. Mr. Nelson hands me off to Joe and I lean in kissing my son before turning to face the priest.

  “You ready, Kitten?” Jared asks from my left in a whisper.

  I smile my reply.

  Maggie and I make eye contact, then my eyes find Nathan’s.

  I turn to face the small crowd behind us and my attention is drawn to Leslie, Brittany, Martin, Celia, Maggie’s and Nathan’s family and then Joe’s.

  “You ready, Emma?” the priest inquires, drawing my attention.

  “Yes,” I confirm eagerly.

  “There’s no way you can run now,” Joe teases in my ear.

  “I wouldn’t dare,” I return with a smile.

  “Good,” Joe states with a widening grin. “Hunter and Taylor were instructed to tackle you to the ground if you did try to run.”

  “Seriously?” I check with a giggle.

  “Just a little bit,” Joe laughs. “I was ninety-nine percent certain you would stay.”

  “You had one percent doubt in me?” I question, trying to present mock hurt feelings.

  “Okay,” Joe corrects. “Maybe a half of a percent.”

  “You’re going to get it for that?” I goad.

  “Good,” Joe replies with a devious smile. “I’ve packed all of our toys for the trip just in case.”

  “Seriously?” I question. “You want to tell me that with a priest standing right in front of us?”

  “Does it make you wet just thinking about it?” Joe pries amusingly.

  Taking a deep breath, I say, “A little. Yes.”

  “Good,” Joe chuckles. “Besides, you like it, Mrs. Covelli.”

  “I’m not Mrs. Covelli, yet,” I remind.

  Joe chuckles. “You will be soon enough, beautiful.”

  Epilogue - Joe Covelli

  My life is still a little surreal to me, even with it being the third week of my honeymoon. I’ve always been happy, but I’m beyond happy since my best friend, Emma, is now my wife, and our beautiful baby boy just turned eight months old today.

  I’m so excited to be sharing my life with her, with them, and we’ve got plenty of money to create the life that we want. The money is just a tool, a resource, to aid in our enjoyment of our time together. It doesn’t matter how much we have. It could all be gone tomorrow and it wouldn’t bother me. Between the two of us, Emma and I could easily make more if we wanted — if we needed.

  Our son is asleep in my arms as I carry him back to our suite in the hotel. We just spent a few hours on a private yacht I rented for the early morning — it was Joe Jr.’s first t
ime on a boat. Surprisingly, he handled it pretty well — he didn’t get sea sick at all. Not wanting to disturb him, I lay down on the bed with him on my chest. I breathe in his sweet smell, always enjoying his baby fresh scent — it’s serenely peaceful next to the smell of my wife — the smell of home. Sadie and Jasper curl up next to me on the bed as we wait for Emma to join us.

  I watch Emma putter around the room, trying to get things settled before Joe Jr. wakes up hungry. The ring on her finger catches my eye and I can’t help but smile — I am home. She is my home. Our son is my home.

  “You know he’s going to wake up soon,” I remind her.

  “I know,” she answers.

  “Emma,” I call.

  “Hmm,” she replies, not looking at me.

  “Beautiful,” I say.

  “What do you want?” she questions with a grin, sliding onto the bed.

  “What do you mean?” I inquire.

  “You always want something when you call me that with the sexy voice,” she says playfully.

  “I don’t always want something,” I challenge.

  “Yes, you do,” Emma says, crawling over the dogs and kneeling over my body. She kisses Joe Jr. on the top of his head before offering her lips to me.

  God, she still tastes as good as the first time I kissed her. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.

  “So?” she questions. “What did you want?” Her lips move from mine, trailing up my jaw all the way to my ear.

  “I just wanted to enjoy the moment with you before he wakes,” I answer.