by Liz Lovelock
“I’d be stupid to let you walk away again. I’m never letting you go. I love you, Jojo. Always will.”
The tears I’d been holding back moments ago overflow. “I love you, too.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jolene
“You’re so beautiful, Joey.” My mother gushes as she fluffs out my tulle dress.
A fairytale wedding is what every girl dreams of, and today, my dreams are coming true. I get to spend the rest of my life with my prince charming. My dress has a plain, smooth, fitted bodice and sleeves. It reaches my waist then explodes in tulle and diamantes. Once I laid eyes on this gown, I knew it was the right one. It’s me all over, and I can’t wait to see Kane’s reaction.
I grin at my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. “Thanks, Mom.”
She has gotten a special pass to come out today. We will take her back after the reception. When Kane and I visited her and told her we were getting married, I’d never seen her so excited. It was one of the best days I’d had with her in a long time, and I can’t wait to see how she reacts to my piece of news later. I slide my hand over my, for now, flat stomach.
“How are you feeling?” Adele steps up beside me, placing her arm around my waist.
“I’m good. Feel a little more human today than what I did yesterday.” Of course, Adele knows about the baby and has been keeping my secret. I wanted to surprise Kane with the news today. It wasn’t planned, but I know he’s going to be over the moon. I love him so much, and while the way we reconnected wasn’t normal on any level, I’m so glad it happened. I also felt best waiting until I was twelve weeks before I shared the news with the world, just to be safe.
“How are all the ladies doing?” Keith says as he enters the room.
I twirl around to face him, and his eyes begin to glisten. “Oh, Jo, you look . . .” He chokes on his words. His Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he swallows. “You’re an angel, and I’m so glad you finally tamed that womanizer son of mine. Even if it did take all those years for you to reconnect.” He walks toward me, a smile on his overwhelmed face and places a kiss on my cheek. He may come across as a grumpy old businessman, but he’s anything but—a big softy.
“Thanks, Keith.” I grin. I’m not sure this smile is going to leave my face today. I’ve been waiting for this day for the last seven months. We wanted the weather to be perfect and not too cold.
“Please, call me Dad. Are you ready to go?” he asks, his eyes scanning the room.
I nod. I asked him to walk me down the aisle.
It’s only Mom and Adele in the large white hotel room with the gold trimmings.
“Let me give you a once-over.” Adele steps in front of me and assesses my simple makeup which is all neutral with bright red lips. Of course, something had to be big and bold for the occasion. My hair is down once again—Kane has told me he likes it like that. Adele put some light waves in it, and thankfully, it’s not a rainy kind of day or it would be a massive frizzy ball. “You’re ready to go, beautiful lady?”
She picked her own maid-of-honor dress. It’s pastel pink, slim-fitting, and full-length—it suits her olive complexion. Since I’m only having her, Kane has Crew, one of his mates, as his best man. Simple and nothing extravagant—that’s who I am, simple.
Adele hands me my bouquet of deep red roses and a small printout of the baby scan that we got earlier this week. I grip it tightly in my hand, and my stomach swims with a bundle of emotions.
We make our way down to the wedding venue. It will be held on the grass area of the hotel. They have this special garden for the ceremonies, and then we’ll come back inside for the reception.
Mom kisses me on the cheek. “I love you, Joey.”
“Love you, too, Mom.” I blink rapidly, not wanting the tears in my eyes to fall. She heads out and takes a seat.
Definitely didn’t think I’d be here a year ago.
I hear the light sound of music. We chose ‘Stolen’ by Dashboard Confessional for our song. It’s a little fast, but it’s perfect for us. Kane really has stolen my heart.
After a moment, Adele walks down the aisle, and I see all the guests seated in white-covered chairs with pale pink bows tied around them. When Keith and I step out, everyone stands. I tighten my grip on Keith’s arm, and he brings his other hand up and holds it. My chest constricts. This is all I’ve ever wanted. I search out the only person I’m interested in seeing. His head comes up. His mouth falls open, then forms a thin line. It’s clear he’s fighting back tears. I only have eyes for one man.
Keith and I walk down the aisle. Everyone’s faces are full of happiness. I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Don’t trip. Don’t trip. I chant while keeping my focus on the man of my dreams. That man in a suit makes my lower body parts ache for his touch. His dark eyes glow and follow each of my movements.
When we get to Kane, his father hands me over to him and shakes his hand. He gives him a proud clap on the back, and I even catch a tear falling down his cheek before he swipes it away. Kane’s eyes shimmer with his own tears over the exchange, then land on me. I swallow the nerves in my throat, but they quickly crawl up again, and I can’t stop them any longer. This man in front of me is my everything. He carries my heart in his hands, and he’s going to make one hell of a father.
Turning, I hand my flowers off to Adele, keeping the small picture face down in my palm, and come back to Kane.
“I love you,” he mouths.
“We love you, too,” I say quietly. His brows come together. I hold out the picture and hand it to him. He flips it over, his head low as he studies it. His hand covers his eyes. His shoulders shake. I reach out and rest my hand on his back. His head flicks up, and we’re both crying. Everyone around us has faded away—this is our moment. I’d told the celebrant that I was going to do something special, so she simply stands there, taking in the exchange.
“You’re . . .” He doesn’t need to finish the question.
I nod. “Yes.”
He swoops in so fast and picks me up, spinning me around. Laughter erupts around us.
“I’m going to be a dad,” he announces to all our family and friends. They clap, and I’m thankful that I waited.
He keeps his arms around me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise. And I was pretty shocked as well.” We’re silent for a moment. “Let’s get married,” I finally say.
He nods, tucking the photo in his suit pocket—the one over his heart.
Loving Kane was easy—it was hating him that was the hard part. But what I feel for him now is so much more than I did back in college. He’s my strength. My support. My lover. My baby daddy. He’s everything and so much more. And by the look in his eyes, I’m his everything. I couldn’t ask for anything more than what is standing right in front of me.
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http://www.cockyheroclub.com
My Guy Series
Monday Night Guy Book 1
My Aussie Guy Book 2
My Forbidden Guy Book 3
The Right Guy Book 4
Lost Series
The Lost One Book 1
The Missing One Book 2
The Lost Series Complete Boxed Set – A Billionaire Boss Romance
Letters in Blood Series
Dear Captor Book 1
With Love Book 2
Forever Yours Book 3
Dear Captor – The Complete Boxed Set
Other books:
Dangerous Love- Unforgiven Series Book 1
The Final Play – A Short Story
Someday – Canyon Bay Series Book 1
First off, I’d like to express my tha
nks to Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland for allowing me to take part in this world. It’s been fun.
I’d like to thank my editor, Lauren from Creating Ink, and to my proof-reader, Nicki from Swish Design & Editing. Without you ladies I would be thoroughly lost. Thank you for fitting me in on short notice and polishing my work to make it squeaky clean. You are awesome! Thanks for all your advice and guidance.
A huge thank you to Ben from Be Designs for designing the perfect cover as always. It is everything I wanted it to be. I love it!
Thanks, Christopher John, for a great photograph of Dan. You’re all amazing.
These next mentions are my other halves in the author world. Without their constant support and friendship, I may have given up a long time ago. They are my cyber sisters spread far and wide around Australia and America, so thank you to Jemma Brown aka JB Heller, KE Osborn, and Kaylene Osborn. These ladies are truly amazing. I would be lost without our chats.
To my Flock—I love you, girls. Your support is truly nothing short of amazing. I know I have a safe place in my group with you all. Thank you.
To my readers—I feel blessed to have your continuous support. Thank you.
To my family and my husband—you are truly wonderful. You have never given up on me. You sit and listen when I need to vent out my frustrations, never once complaining about it. I love you.
To my three beautiful children—Millie, Cale, and Finn. You three test my patience, but I am so grateful to have you in my life to love. Families are forever.
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Australian author Liz Lovelock is from bright sunny Queensland, Australia. She has always been a reader. When she was little, she would be up late reading Garfield and Asterix comic books and also Footrot Flats. When she hit high school, she read Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden and from there her love of books continued to grow. She always has a book to read beside her bed along with a notebook for when inspiration hits at those crazy hours.
She is a stationary addict and a one click addict. She loves everything books, authors and of course chocolate and lollies to keep her going.
