Rough Water (Songbird #7)

by Melissa Pearl

  The images shifted to pictures I didn’t recognize. There was one of a small apartment then images of wedding dresses, flowers, shoes, cakes, photos, venues. My forehead crinkled until the screen went black and the words popped up: I … want … to … make … your … dreams … come … true.

  I covered my mouth and sucked in a gasp. My wedding business, the one I’d given up on without even realizing it.

  The song finished, and I turned to him with wide eyes.

  “What are you saying right now?”

  He closed his laptop and placed it aside before turning to me. Taking both my hands, he rubbed his thumbs over my knuckles and started talking.

  “When I first asked you to marry me, I thought our life was going to be perfect. Everything fell into place so easily—the wedding, the house, the jobs. But then we got hit by this massive tsunami that neither of us saw coming. We were so unprepared. All the dreams we’d had, everything we thought we’d become got pushed aside as we tried to survive.” His face bunched with regret. “I didn’t let you in. I drove you away from me.” He raised my hand to his lips and brushed my knuckles. “But as much as I’ve hated it, I wouldn’t take any of it back. We’ve still got a long way to go, Sparks, but if this has taught me anything, it’s that life isn’t perfect. We’re still going to have some rough times, but in the midst of all that, I know for certain that I want you by my side. No matter what happens, I want to help you make your dreams come true.”

  His eyes warmed with a smile.

  “We’ve been doing this all wrong. I should never have taken that job with your dad. I should have told you I didn’t want it. And even though this job for Echelon has taught you so much, you don’t need it. You are talented enough to stand on your own two feet. You don’t need Enrique DeMarco’s name behind you. We can do this. We can have the wedding business you’ve always dreamed of. Why wait? Let’s take a risk and do it now, together.”

  I squeezed his hands. “Together?”

  “Yeah. I had eleven hours to think about it on the plane. We don’t have to be big and famous. We can start out small, offer couples affordable wedding packages. You design the dresses and the theme. We find venues, hire caterers for them, work with freelance photographers. I can put together wedding albums, videos, design invitations. We can take care of the business together. We’ve always been the perfect pair. Let’s prove it to the world. Let’s prove it to ourselves.”

  My mouth wouldn’t close. I was too in awe of my husband to do anything more than give him a breathy giggle. Justin was back, but better. There was a determination and confidence coursing out of him that I’d never seen before.

  “I…”

  He grinned. “You love it.”

  “I do!” I threw my arms around him and jumped into his lap with a squeal.

  His chest vibrated with a chuckle as I kissed his neck and face.

  Out of breath, I pulled back and looked him in the eye. “I want to move out of that house in Pacific Palisades.”

  “Me too.” He tipped his head back. “I’ve never liked it.”

  “Me neither!” I let out a delighted laugh. “I just want to find our place. I want to find us. We’ve always been surrounded with other people. We’ve never had to make it on our own. You followed Blake, and when he was gone, you were lost. I tried to become the perfect designer and ended up failing in the one thing most important to me.” I caught my breath then blew out a thoughtful sigh. “I just want to love you, and be with you… Build a life with you.”

  Justin ran his fingers up my back and over my shoulder to cup the side of my face. His fingers pressed into my neck, and he pulled me toward him.

  And then, after a slow, languid kiss, Justin did make all my dreams come true when he said, “Always. I promise you, no matter what, I won’t give up on us.”

  I smiled and sang the first line of “Rough Water.” He didn’t smile like I expected him to. Instead, he brushed his fingers down my face and whispered, “Never again. I’ll never let you go again.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Justin

  I held Sarah’s hand as we gazed up at the Eiffel Tower. The sun, having shone so brightly all morning, decided to take the afternoon off. Puffy clouds, tinted gray, were hovering above us, threatening rain. We had no umbrella, but neither of us seemed in a rush to head back to the hotel.

  Sarah was supposed to be fussing around backstage at a fashion show, but having quit, she decided to bail. She checked in with Julian, and he said he’d cover it. He was too busy and flustered to ask too many questions.

  Once the call had been made, Sarah flopped onto the bed and cried. I had to prepare myself for that. Just because we’d decided not to quit on our marriage didn’t mean we’d be free of working through the aftermath of Blake’s death and Sarah’s one-night stand.

  But I’d let her in on my dark secret and already I felt the shift inside me. She was right—I just had to keep my eyes on her. I glanced down as she lifted her phone and took another shot of the tower. She was wearing her white denim skirt with the tattered edging and a powder blue tank. She’d matched it with her favorite pair of blue and white Skechers. Her long hair hung loose around her shoulders, and her only jewelry was the two rings that told the world she was mine.

  Sarah studied the picture on her phone screen. “Even in gray skies, it’s pretty.”

  “Some things are beautiful no matter what the conditions.” I stared at her the whole time I said it.

  Her cheeks rose with a smile and she wrinkled her nose.

  I squeezed her hand then turned back to the tower. I’d always wanted to visit Paris. Under different circumstances would have been nice, but winning your wife back fell into the epic category, so I’d take it.

  We were still worried about our future. So many unknowns and changes ahead—moving house, setting up a business. I had some savings set aside, but we’d still need to borrow some money to really kick things off. It was all so huge and overwhelming, but we had to try. We had to break free of where we’d been. We had to start afresh.

  “I’ve got an idea,” I murmured.

  Her eyes were large and bright when she looked up at me. “What’s that?”

  A light rain started falling. It was more mist than raindrops, the kind of sprinkling that tickled the skin and kissed your clothing.

  I grinned, tugging her along the large concrete area in front of the tower. Thanks to the weather, it was sparsely populated.

  “We’re in Paris.”

  “We are.” Sarah slipped her phone back into her handbag.

  I stopped a few steps later and turned, drawing her against me and threading my fingers behind her lower back. “It’s beautiful.”

  She rested her hands on my arms and smiled. “It is.”

  “We’re in love.”

  “Forever,” she promised.

  I pursed my lips and looked up at the tower then back down at her. “So, let’s make this our new wedding anniversary. Let’s pretend that today is the first day of our lives together.”

  Her mouth broke into the kind of smile that could knock a guy on his ass. I held on to her, relishing its light as she nodded. “I like that.”

  Clearing my throat with just a touch of pride, I pulled my phone free. The lyrics from our engagement video whistled through my brain, and I decided that since this was our new wedding anniversary, I needed to do something pretty damn romantic.

  “Are we taking our new wedding photos?” Sarah leaned against my chest, already posing for a selfie.

  “In a minute.” I grinned. “First, I want to dance with you in the rain.”

  Finding the perfect song, I pressed Play and turned up the volume before slipping it back in my pocket.

  Sarah’s eyes sparkled as soon as she heard “All About Us” start to play. I stepped back and reached out my hand. With a twinkling smile, she placed hers in mine. I gently squeezed her fingers then raised her hand over her head so she could spin beneath my arm. With
a little giggle, she turned back to face me, and we assumed the waltzing position. It was our first dance in the rain…right in front of the Eiffel Tower.

  People stopped to watch us. A group of Chinese tourists started to laugh and snapped a few photos. We didn’t even care. All we saw was each other. It was the beginning of something new. It wouldn’t be perfect, and we’d have our ups and our downs…but we’d be in it together. And that’s all that mattered.

  Epilogue

  Sarah

  “Okay, so you like it?” I asked, my nose wrinkling without my say-so.

  “Uh, yeah!” Kelly couldn’t take her eyes off my drawing. Having met with her the week before, I had a pretty good idea what she was hoping for in a wedding dress, but it was nice to see I’d surpassed her expectations. “It’s so beautiful.” She touched the pencil sketch, tracing the line of the bodice. “I’m going to look amazing.”

  “You could walk down the aisle in a paper sack and you’d look amazing,” Marcus piped up from the other side of the room. He was hovering over Justin’s computer, talking business…while eavesdropping on our conversation.

  Kelly’s cheeks flared with color and she winked at me then bit her lip before gazing back at the design with a dreamy smile. I’d spent hours lovingly putting the sketches together, dreaming up different fabrics and cuts to accentuate Kelly’s figure. It would be nothing but a pleasure to arrange Kelly and Marcus’s wedding for them. They were the first clients of All About The Bride and Groom, but Kelly had already promised more business. Two of her bridesmaids were both getting married, and they all had friends who were in the wedding stage of their lives. If we pulled this off and made Marcus and Kelly’s the wedding of the year, we’d be sure to pick up more clientele.

  The last few weeks had been insane. We’d touched down in LA and hit the ground running. Within three days, we’d found a tiny apartment and boxed up all our stuff. We’d then flown to New Mexico to tell Justin’s parents about our plans. He had expected them to be disappointed in his decision, but when we talked it through, they eventually came around to wishing us luck and offering to help us get started.

  We decided not to take their financial offer. We’d made a commitment to do this thing on our own, and although family support was helpful, we didn’t want to be tied to anyone but each other.

  Dealing with my parents was a much harder task, but we stuck to our guns and moved out of their place the day after we returned from Albuquerque. Our new apartment was seriously tiny, but we turned the upstairs loft area into our bedroom, hid the pokey kitchen behind a screen, and set up our living and dining area as All About The Bride and Groom central.

  With Marcus and Kelly’s deposit, we were able to get the ball rolling on their wedding plans. So far, we’d found them the perfect venue, conceptualized the right theme, and were well on our way to creating their dream wedding. It was great to be able to test the waters on such awesome people. We’d met three times already to go over their ideas, making sure what they wanted was central to everything. The conversations had helped Justin and me put together questionnaires that would cover all the needs and wants of a couple preparing for their big day. Thanks to Justin’s training, he was able to draw up contracts that would protect both us and the couples we were working with. Clay had been nice enough to give them the once-over.

  Justin and I were committed to listening to the couple above all. If they wanted something crazy, then we’d make it happen for them. We knew all too well the pressure of pleasing everyone around them. Weddings were supposed to be about the bride and groom, not everybody else.

  Pulling a shoebox out from under the table, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure the guys weren’t watching before placing it in front of Kelly. I lifted out the first swatch of fabric and set it next to the picture. It was a square of Prussian blue silk. Over it, I placed a swatch of white lace, intricately woven with twisting stems and closed rosebuds.

  “I was thinking of this for you. I know it breaks the norm, but this blue would look so amazing with your skin tone, and it’ll bring out the color of your eyes. The white overlay softens the darkness, but it will look so stunning if you pair it with a bunch of white and blue roses. Simple round bouquet, nothing fancy. And then I was thinking makeup-wise, we could go for the smoky eyes and then a sparkling, glitter lipstick.” I pointed to my sketch of the dress with my pinky finger. “With this neckline, you don’t need too much jewelry. I was thinking a simple diamond bracelet and earrings, nothing more. Hair up, something classy like a French roll…and no veil. We’ll put some sparkles in your hair…or maybe a few baby rosebuds to match the bouquet.” I was talking quietly so the boys wouldn’t hear me. I probably shouldn’t have been discussing the dress with Marcus in the room, but I was too excited not to show Kelly what I’d dreamed up.

  She blinked a couple of times then looked at me with her wide eyes and started nodding. “I love it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a choking hug. I giggled and patted her back as she squealed in my ear. So very un-Kelly DeMarco.

  I pulled away from her and laughed some more. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dancing. “I love how different and untraditional it is.”

  “How different what is?” Marcus stood straight and spun to face us.

  “Nothing!” we said in unison, diving in front of the fabric so he couldn’t see.

  He rolled his eyes and turned back to Justin. “It’s not bad luck to see you in your dress before the wedding. I don’t believe in that crap.”

  “Maybe so, but don’t go stealing my surprise,” Kelly quipped. “I want you to be so blown away by my beauty that you’ll lose the ability to think straight.”

  He looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Happens every time I open my eyes in the morning, baby.”

  “Yeah, right.” Kelly rolled her eyes and spun back to pick up the fabric. Her lips rose into a dreamy smile, and I couldn’t work out if she was picturing herself in the dress or still a little giddy over Marcus’s sweet sentiments. Maybe it was a little of both.

  I rested my elbows on my workbench and clasped my fingers together.

  This was going to be the best job ever—surrounded by couples in love while working with the man I loved. Yeah, we’d probably encounter a few bridezillas along the way, but we could work through that. I was pretty sure we could work through anything.

  I turned to find Justin’s eyes on me. His affectionate gaze warmed me from my ponytail to the tips of my toes. I bit my lip and winked at him. He winked back then returned to his computer screen, showing Marcus the idea he’d had for the invitations.

  An hour later, I’d taken all of Kelly’s measurements and we’d gotten their approval on the wedding invites. I flopped into the chair next to Justin and pointed at our “To Do” list on his screen.

  “You can tick that off as well.” I pointed at Approve bridesmaids’ designs. I’d shown those to Kelly after she’d stopped swooning over her dress. She loved my ideas for that too, only wanting to tweak a few suggestions I’d put forward. If things kept going at the rate they were, our first wedding job would be a breeze.

  “I’m loving this.” Justin let out a contended sigh.

  “Me too.” I grinned. “I know it’s not always going to be this easy, but oh man, it’s such a good start!”

  Justin chuckled and pulled me into his lap. “It’s good because it’s ours. This is going to be great, Sparks. I’ve already gotten a call from Kelly’s friend, Isla. She’ll be bringing her soon-to-be husband over tomorrow.”

  “No way!” I gripped his shoulders. “This is really happening.”

  “It really is.”

  Our smiles pressed together as we took a short “kiss me” break. We’d been enjoying quite a few of those throughout the process, and it was only helping our business. Well, it was in my opinion anyway.

  The alarm on my phone started buzzing. I let it ring a few times before re
luctantly leaving Justin’s lap to turn it off.

  “I better go get Jane.” I sighed, still worried about what I might find. She’d left for England to go and discover herself. I only hoped she’d found what she was looking for. I was anxious to see her, yet hesitant as well. She’d dropped offline while she was away, merely updating me with brief texts and the odd email. I’d been so focused on reorganizing my life, I’d let her aloofness slip by and felt like a bad friend because of it.

  Justin and I were finally back on track again, and I wondered how that might affect my relationship with Jane. She said she’d never be able to fall in love again, but would she be jealous or hesitant to hang around now that Justin and I were loved-up once more?

  I couldn’t imagine looking at a future with no one by my side. It’d be such a lonely road for her. I was determined to be the friend she needed, but I wasn’t above pushing her in the right direction if I found a guy worthy of her.

  My eyes skirted over Justin as I collected my things. How would he feel about Blake’s one true love meeting someone else? It could potentially be really awkward, but I had to keep the bigger picture in mind. Jane was my best friend. If she returned from her self-discovery trip with some big, life-changing revelation, then so be it. But if she walked off that plane as the lonely girl I expected, then I was going to work.

  The beauty of being in love far outweighed a life of solitude. Jane needed a man, and I was going to find her one.

  Clearing my throat, I decided not to say anything to Justin until I’d assessed Jane’s emotional state. I had the entire drive home from the airport to analyze her.

  Swinging my bag onto my shoulder, I swayed over to my husband and straddled him. My skirt rode up past my butt with the help of his deft fingers. Squeezing my cheeks, he rubbed me over his crotch with a playful smile. “We should do this when you get back.”