by Mia Carson
“As I’m sure many of you have heard, I have searched for someone I could share my life with and who would help me build my own branch of the company.” He stared over the heads of the crowd and grinned when he saw a flash of red. “Would the new Mrs. Allard please join me up here?”
Every head turned to stare expectantly at Georgette, but Jaylyn broke away from the crowd in her red silk dress, her shoulders back and head held high. Walker held out his hand for hers and pulled her close so he could kiss her. She took a deep breath and smiled as she turned to face Leo and the rest of the guests.
“Who is this?” Leo snapped, confused.
“This is my wife,” Walker announced. “Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Jaylyn Allard, previously Jaylyn Wilson.”
“Wilson?” Leo stared between them. “As in the daughter of Darien Wilson?”
“Yes, that’s the one,” Walker answered. “Problem, Father?”
He searched for Georgette in the crowd. “No…no, you married her.”
“Sorry, but I didn’t. Georgette and I didn’t exactly get along in that way.”
“I will not allow this. You cannot marry her.”
“We’re already married,” Walker reminded him. “And you said if I found someone else, it wouldn’t be a problem. Jaylyn is that someone else.”
Leo’s face paled as he yanked his glasses off his face. “She is the daughter of a man you ruined. You truly think she married you because she loves you? She wants the restaurant back.”
“Of course she does,” Walker snapped. “We took her family’s legacy away from them as if it was nothing. You never think about the people you hurt while doing business, but I do. I don’t want to run my life or my business the way you have.” He held Jaylyn’s hand firmly in his. “This is the path I want to take with my life, by marrying someone I love.”
Whispers sounded in the crowd, but Walker tuned them out. No one here mattered except Jaylyn.
“I won’t let you do this,” Leo seethed.
“Too late. You signed the contract and there’s no way to get out of it. I checked.”
Leo pointed an accusing finger in Jaylyn’s face until Walker moved between them. “You—you did this to him. You manipulated him.”
“No,” she responded. “I hated your son when I first met him because I assumed he would be like you, but he’s not. Maybe it’s time you take a look in the mirror and then look at your son, see how great he is. I fell in love with him. Even if you destroyed my father’s restaurant, I’d still love him, so get off your high horse and come back to the real world.”
Walker’s chest swelled at her words, giving him the strength he needed to tell his father, “You can either accept my life and my wife, or you can choose not to see me again. It’s up to you, Father. Please,” he said, turning to the guests, “enjoy your drinks and have a great rest of the evening.”
He started walking away, Jaylyn on his arm.
“Walker. Get back here. We are not finished discussing this.”
“You might not be, but I am,” he called over his shoulder, not hesitating. He didn’t stop until they reached his truck and he opened the passenger side door for Jaylyn. “Where are we going?” she asked as he helped her inside.
“One more surprise for you,” he said. “Settle in for the ride.”
Jaylyn wanted to yank the blindfold off her face, but Walker had already threatened to turn the truck around three times if she did it. “Do I get a hint?”
“Stop trying to ruin the surprise.”
“You’ll wear me out with surprises,” she murmured. “Seriously, Walker, where are we going?”
The truck turned and she heard him put it in park. “We’re here.”
The door opened and closed and then hers was opened. A rush of chilly night air hit her, but he slipped his jacket over her shoulders and led her across a hard surface. Parking lot. She nibbled on her lip as he said to wait so he could open a door. Warmth surrounded her and she sighed in relief to be out of the cold.
“Now you can look,” he said and removed the blindfold.
Jaylyn’s hand flew to her mouth as she stared around Jaybird’s Roost, empty except for Mariah, Hannah, and Frankie. Walker placed something in her hand.
“These are yours now,” he said, closing her fingers over the keys. “It’s your restaurant.”
There were no words to say how much this meant to her, so she kissed him instead. She kissed him until those present cheered and whooped. She kissed him until they were breathless and another voice announced dinner was served.
“John,” she said and hurried over to hug the other chef.
“It’ll be good to have you back,” he told her sincerely. “Your dad would be beyond thrilled.”
“You staying on?”
“What do you think? I’m not competing against you for business,” he teased and kissed her cheek. “Now, food. Time to eat and celebrate. Jaylyn is back.”
She wandered back into the kitchen as John served the food. Walker followed her. She ran her hands along the counters with relief that this incredible journey was over only to start another one.
“Are you happy?” he asked.
She spun around and hugged him. “You have no idea.” She’d waited for weeks to share another piece of news, wanting to be sure this plan worked the way it was meant to. “Good timing, too. I’ll have a few months to get the kitchen in good shape before I have to step away from it again.”
“Step away?” His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I imagine it’ll be hard to maneuver around this kitchen when I’m nine months’ pregnant.”
He gulped and paled, and she worried for a second he would pass out. “Pregnant? You’re…you’re pregnant?” She nodded and he whooped with joy, picking her off her feet to swing her around. “I’m going to be a dad. We’re going to have a baby.”
“What?” Mariah yelled from the dining room. “Baby. She’s having a baby.”
Walker kissed her and picked her up to carry her back out to the dining room. Champagne was poured and the rest of the night was spent dancing and laughing together with the knowledge that their family was growing. Jaylyn wasn’t worried about Leo. During their scene in the yard, she saw his love for his son plain on his face. He’d be by sooner or later, and she would welcome him with open arms. Life was too short to hold grudges. Walker led her out to the makeshift dancefloor for a slow waltz, and they held each other close as the rest of the world passed them by.
18
Two Years Later
“See? Did I not tell you how brilliant a plan this was?” Jaylyn mused from the bar.
“You did, but I still can’t believe it. Won’t this make things…odd?” Walker replied, swirling the ice around in his highball class.
She tilted her head. “You know, I actually didn’t think that much about it.”
“How could you not?”
They both grinned when their twins giggled and shrieked with laughter, sitting in between their grandmother and grandfather, Mariah and Leo. A boy and a girl, named after Darien and Victoria. Jaylyn was in awe most mornings that she and Walker made people. Little people that ran around and drove them both insane as much as they brightened their days. The Allard mansion was never boring. Even Leo visited at least three times a week to spoil his grandkids. The first time Jaylyn heard him laugh, she went to feel his forehead to make sure he wasn’t ill. It had taken time, but Walker told her he was reverting to the man he used to be before Victoria’s death.
“I know you said they’d get along, but are they…they’re holding hands, Lyn,” he muttered.
She giggled mischievously. “And so my plan begins.”
“What plan?”
“I told you. They’re perfect for each other. She’s making him smile.”
Walker sighed, exasperated. “You do realize if this works out the way you want it to, that will technically make us step-siblings.”
“We’re a bi
t past that, I think.” She patted his hand. “I should get back to the kitchen. The restaurant is packed.”
“Frankie can handle it.”
She stood on her toes, trying to peer through the swinging door when Hannah, their newest bartender at Jaybird’s Roost, set another whiskey sour down in front of her. “Here, drink this and relax. I think we’re going to have another wedding in our future.”
Walker choked on his drink and Jaylyn smacked him helpfully on the back. “There’s something wrong with the two of you.”
“Do you regret everything now? Wish you’d married someone else instead?” Jaylyn teased.
“Do I regret how much we’ve both changed each other’s lives? No, not even close.” He kissed her warmly, one arm draped around her shoulders. The kids laughed loudly again, and they broke apart to watch. “You really think this is a good idea?”
“Eh, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”
They stayed by the bar, watching their family and feeling the love expanding. Jaylyn glanced at the photograph of her and her dad on the wall, and knew he’d be happy for how her life, and her mom’s, had turned out. They were happy and that was all anyone could ask for.
About the Author
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