by Allie Able
“I’m suppose to give this to the Bride,” he says.
“She’s busy at the moment, but I will pass it along,” Lexie responds.
I hear Nick’s deep laugh. “Okay.”
“Lexie shuts the door and walks towards Summer. “What is it?” Summer asks, while she tries to wipe all of the goo off of her face.
Lexie shrugs her shoulder’s and smirks. “Open it.”
I hear paper tearing and then I hear Summer gasp.
Chelsea is done with my hair and she has started applying my makeup, but I try to look around her to see what Summer is holding. She chuckles and steps back, giving me a wink. I smile in thanks and turn to look at Summer, again.
She is holding a necklace with one hand and covering her mouth with the other.
“What is it?” I ask.
“It’s a locket. It says, ‘You’re my friend, you’re my love, you’re my life. I can’t wait to make you my wife.’ Oh my God.”
“He’s so cheesy,” Lexie says, wiping tears from her eyes.
Summer nods her head and smiles through her tears. “I know. God, I’m so lucky.”
“Open it,” I say.
She pulls at the claps and opens it. She gasps again and closes her eyes. Tears start streaming down her face and I actually think about going and getting Grant. I don’t know how to deal with tears.
Lexie looks at the pictures inside the locket and pulls Summer into a hug.
I look on, curious to know what made her so upset. Like she can hear my silent question, Lexie looks over at me. “It’s a picture of her Mom and Dad on one side and her and Grant on the other,” she explains.
I nod my head and give Summer a sad smile. Her parents died in a car accident while she was in college. I hate that she is having to go through her wedding day without them, but I’m glad Grant gave her something to remember them by.
Summer eventually take a step back and fans her face.
“Okay, deep breaths,” she mumbles to herself, as me and Lexie chuckle in response.
She gives us both a big smile. “I’m marrying my best friend today.”
“Yes, sweetheart, you are,” I respond with a smile.
“Let’s do this,” she says.
* * *
From my seat on the front row, next to Zack and Mrs. Clara, I watch Summer walk down the isle towards Grant. She looks so incredibly beautiful, but I can’t help sneaking glances at Grant. The love he has for Summer shows on his face every time he looks at her. Through his huge smile, I see a tear trail down his cheek and he doesn’t even try to wipe it away. This is what love is supposed to look like.
She doesn’t make it all of the way down the isle, before he starts walking towards her. Everyone chuckles softly, as Grant kisses her lips gently and leads her the rest of the way to the alter.
“I couldn’t stand the thought of you ever having to walk alone,” I hear him whisper to her when they pass my row and I almost melt into a puddle.
God, everyone deserves to find a love like that. The minister jokingly scolds Grant and we all laugh, as he instructs us all to sit down.
The rest of the wedding goes by relatively quick. Lexie is standing beside Summer and Nick is standing beside Grant. I have to force myself not to look his way, even though I can feel his eyes on me. I am doing so well ignoring him and focusing on the bride and groom, until the moment they start reciting the vows they have written for each other.
“Summer, I take you to be my best friend, my faithful partner, and my one true love. I promise to encourage you and inspire you and to love you truly through good times and bad. I will forever be there to laugh with you, to lift you up when you are down and to love you unconditionally through all of our adventures in life together. This is my promise to you.”
He slides the ring on her finger and lifts one of his hands from where they are holding hers and wipes her tears. My eyes move to Nick and I see that he is already staring at me with a soft look in his eyes. I can’t handle his looks right now. I wish he would just fucking stop it! I turn and look back at Summer and Grant, when Summer starts reciting her vows.
“Grant, you are the love of my life. I thank God for you everyday. I believe that He sent you into my life to give me something to fight for, to show me there is love in this world, to give me hope and to bring me joy. Today I ask you to be my husband, my partner, my friend, for the rest of my life. I offer you all that I am capable of giving. I will be loyal to you, love you, and adore you. I will support you in whatever your heart tells you to do. This is my promise to you.”
She slides the ring onto his finger and with a gentle smile she reaches up and wipes his tears.
The minister is announcing them husband and wife and Grant is kissing Summer, but all of that fades into the background as I stare into Nick’s tear filled eyes, as he mouths the words ‘I love you’ to me. And the worst part is, as I sit here beside another man, I know I will never stop loving Nick, no matter how much I want to hate him.
Chapter Thirty
Nick
THE RECEPTION IS IN FULL swing and I don’t think I have ever seen Grant and Summer look any more happy than they do right now. I take a sip of my beer and look around. They went all out on the decorations. With all of the lights hanging everywhere, the back patio looks like a completely different space. I spot Katie and Lexie at the bar talking and I finish off my beer, so I will have an excuse to go over there.
I watched her throughout the entire wedding. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, even if she was sitting beside dickhead Zack. She looks beautiful in her light blue dress. She has her hair down in waves and she isn’t wearing too much make-up, allowing me to see her cute freckles.
I slide up beside her and she turns to look at me, before glancing back at Lexie.
“So, where did you say they were going on their honeymoon?” she asks.
“Umm…” Lexie stutters, looking back and forth between us.
“They are leaving for Paris tomorrow afternoon,” I answer, even though she wasn’t asking me.
She keeps her back to me, but I see her shoulders stiffen.
“I’m just going to go check on Summer right quick,” Lexie says, as she picks up her wine and walks away.
Katie looks towards Grant and Summer. She stares at them for so long, I finally look over to see what caught her attention.
They are standing on the dance floor, slowly swaying to the music and Grant is whispering something in Summer’s ear.
I clear my throat and lean in towards Katie. “I saw that for us, you know,” I whisper, “I saw us getting married, moving in together, waking up with good morning kisses, smiling for no reason, having the cutest little babies together, and never leaving each others side. I saw us together, forever.”
She turns and looks up at me. There are tears swimming in her eyes and all I want to do is pull her close to me and forget the last six months ever happened.
“Then why did you do it?” she asks quietly.
“I didn’t feel like I had a choice, baby.”
She shakes her head and looks down. “That’s bullshit, Nick. I waited for four months to hear from you after I left that hospital. Every day I fought the urge to call you or text you, telling myself that if you wanted to talk to me, you would.”
“Please look at me,” I beg. I wait until I have her eyes, before I try to explain.
“Katie, I did want to talk to you. I wanted to be with you and Abbi everyday, but I was hurting.”
“I could have helped,” she responds immediately.
I shake my head. “I didn’t want help. I didn’t want you to see me like that.”
A tear escapes her eye and I raise my hand to wipe it away, but she jerks away from me. God, I deserve that, but it still fucking hurts.
“No, don’t touch me. You knew exactly what you were doing when you kicked me out of that hospital room, but you did it anyway. That’s what hurts the most,” she hisses in anger.
“
Umm… guys. You’re kind of making a scene,” I hear Lexie say and I reluctantly take my eyes off of Katie and turn to look at her.
I look past her shoulder and see several people are staring in our direction, my parents included. I glance back at Katie to see she looks so embarrassed. Her face has turned bright red, but before I can say anything, she quickly walks towards the house and disappears inside.
“Shit,” I mumble under my breath.
“For Christ sake! Go after her, asshole,” Lexie says, giving me a push.
I walk as fast as I can through the living room, but I don’t see her. I make my way towards the front door and I see a flash of blue running down the steps.
“Katie, please wait!” I yell.
My voice must sound as desperate as I feel because to my surprise she stops at the end of the driveway, but doesn’t turn around.
I carefully walk down the stairs, trying to think of something to say to convince her of how sorry I am. I feel like this is my last chance. If I let her walk away now, I may never get this chance again.
“Katie, I’ve missed you everyday. I literally hurt when I think of my life without you. I feel like I’ve said this a hundred times already, but please believe me when I say I was only trying to protect you.”
I wait, but she never turns around or says in anything in response.
“Baby, please look at me.”
She slowly turns and looks up at me. Her beautiful eyes hold so much pain and I feel gutted.
“You still did it though, Nick. You not only hurt me, but you hurt Abbi, and I swore to myself I would never forgive you for that.”
I take a chance and reach for her. She comes to me without any protest, but she keeps her arms wrapped protectively around herself.
“Katie, I’ve been through hell and back, but the hardest thing I’ve ever done was walking away still loving you. I love you so much. Just give me the chance to prove that to you.”
She shakes her head. “I just don’t know if I can do that.”
I stare at her in silence as she looks up at me. We are standing so close. My arms are wrapped around her and this is the first time I’ve touched her in so long. I can’t help myself, when I bend down and softly press my lips against hers. I hold still, waiting for her to push me away, but she never does. I kiss each corner of her mouth, before slanting my head and taking the kiss deeper. She opens for me and I moan at the first taste of her. God, I’ve missed this so much. I never even thought of another woman during the time we were apart. Katie is it for me and I know that.
Her hands come to my sides and she pulls me closer. Our mouths move against each other and our tongues take turns exploring each others mouths. I pull her closer to me and she gasps against my mouth when my erection digs into her hip.
“I missed this. I missed us, so much,” I whisper against her mouth, “but we really shouldn’t do this here, sweetheart. Will you come home with me? We don’t have to do anything. I just want to talk to you.”
She blinks up at me with those beautiful green eyes and I’m a second away from getting on my knees and begging. Finally, she nods her head.
“My car’s parked there,” she inclines her head, indicating her parking spot, “I’ll follow you.”
“Okay.” I breathe. I lay my lips against hers again, before walking her to her car and holding her door open, my fingers lingering against her arm as I help her in.
On the drive to my house, I keep checking my rear view mirror, making sure she’s still back there. I send a text message to Lexie and Grant apologizing and letting them know that we wouldn’t be back.
Their responses were about the same, ‘It’s about damn time’, but I won’t let myself feel relief. Katie could get to my house and see what I have to deal with and want to leave. I wouldn’t blame her.
I pull into my drive way and quickly jump out of my truck, making my way to her car. I open her door and I notice she looks wary.
“I meant what I said, baby, we don’t have to do anything. I just want to be around you and talk to you.”
She nods her head and I put my hand on her lower back, as I lead her to the front door.
“I started renovations this week, so please excuse the mess.”
She gives me a tight smile and follows me inside.
We started the renovations in the living room and it’s a complete mess in there, so I lead her into the kitchen. I toss my phone and keys onto the counter and run my hands through my hair. I’m so fucking nervous. I feel like one wrong move could send her running away.
“Do you want anything to drink? I don’t have wine, but I have beer,” I ask opening up the refrigerator door.
“Just a water is fine,” she says, as she looks around.
I grab two bottles and walk over to her.
“How is Abbi? Is she with your parents tonight?” I ask.
She opens the cap and takes a drink before responding. “She’s fine and yeah, Mom and Dad were taking her to a watermelon festival last time I talked to them.”
I nod my head and look around, trying to see my house through her eyes.
“How long are the renovations suppose to take?” she asks, after a long moment of silence.
“About a month, give or take. I couldn’t do it all by myself, so I hired a few guys from the construction company and Grant helps out when he can.”
She nods her head and continues to look around. This feels awkward and forced. It’s never been like this for us and I hate it, but I’m the one that caused it.
My leg is fucking killing me from being on it all day and I shift on my feet, trying not to show that I’m in pain, but Katie notices.
“Are you hurting?” she asks softly.
I hesitate before answering. I don’t like showing weakness, but this is Katie and if she’s going to be with me, she has to know what its going to be like.
“Yeah, when I’m on my feet a lot during the day, it causes some pain. I’m still getting use to the prosthetic.”
“Why don’t you sit down and take it off?” she asks.
I don’t answer. I don’t want to tell her that sometimes I still have to use my wheelchair. Fuck! I hate this.
“Nick?” she questions.
I sigh and rub the top of my head. “If I take it off, I’ll either have to stay in bed or use my wheelchair and I really don’t want to have to do that.”
“Because I’m here?” Her expression is sad.
I reluctantly nod my head. “I don’t want to seem like an invalid.”
She blows out a frustrated breath. “That’s ridiculous.”
I tilt my head to the side and stare at her. “Why is that ridiculous?”
“You’re not an invalid, Nick. Come on.” She sets her water bottle down and grabs my hand, pulling me through the kitchen and into my bedroom.
“What are you doing, Katie?” I ask.
“I’m making you sit down, so you won’t be hurting anymore. I don’t like the thought of you hurting,” she mumbles.
She pulls me into my room and points towards the bed. “Sit down and take it off.”
“You know, those words could be used in a completely different context,” I joke.
She stares at me, without responding, and I sigh as I sit down on the edge of the bed.
“Katie, come here please,” I say, patting the spot right beside me.
She looks at me with a wary expression, but slowly walks towards me and sits down.
I shift so that my body is facing her and I take her hand in mine. “What we talked about earlier, where are you at on that? Do you think you can give me another chance?”
“I don’t know,” she whispers, “You hurt me so bad, Nick.”
“I know I did and I will never forgive myself for that, but I swear to God, I will never do it again,” I say with certainty. I know that if she gives me just one more chance, I can make us better. I will make sure I never do anything to intentionally hurt her ever again. I just need a chance to prov
e that.
She doesn’t respond. She stares into my eyes for a few seconds, before shifting her attention to my leg. “Take it off. I want to see,” she whispers.
“Baby, I haven’t let anyone see, except for my physical therapist and my doctors. This is a little hard for me and I need to know where we are at first.”
She looks back into my eyes. “I love you, Nick and I will always love you. I’m not sure if we will be together. I don’t know If I can trust you, but I do know that I love you. That hasn’t changed and it never will. I don’t like the thought of you in pain, so take off the damn prosthetic,” she says, with a hint of anger.
I nod my head and let go of her hands. I stand up and undo my belt on my pants, but my hands stop and I turn to look at her. “I have to take my pants off,” I mutter.
“Okay?” she asks, tilting her head in confusion.
“I’ll be in just my underwear,” I point out.
“Stop stalling and hurry up.”
I smile to myself at her bossy tone, as I turn around and finish unbuttoning and unzipping my pants. God, I’ve missed her. I don’t know where this is going to go with us and I’m scared shitless of showing her my weakness, but if this is what it’s going to take to get my Katie back, I will do it. I will lay myself out there and let her see why I was trying to protect her.
Chapter Thirty-One
Katie
I WATCH AS HE TAKES his belt off and throws it towards the chair in the corner. I notice a wheelchair on the side of his bed, but it’s folded up and pushed against the wall. I wonder if he has to use it often. I know this has to be hard for him. A man like Nick doesn’t like to feel powerless and I know that’s exactly what he’s feeling right now. I was telling the truth when I told him that I loved him, I always will, but I don’t know where the future will take us. I don’t know where we will be next week or even tomorrow. I can only promise him right now.
I watch as he unbuttons his dress shirt and takes it off. Leaving him in just a tight white t-shirt. He is facing away from me, but I can tell by his back, even through the t-shirt that I was right, his upper body did get stronger.
