by KB Winters
Unlike the first time we’d arrived, only Mia’s immediate family was there. They ushered Mia inside, leaving me behind to deal with our bags. I didn’t mind in the least.
I was being punished. I deserved it. And I needed the time to think. I took the bags to Mia’s room, giving the family some time to talk before I joined them.
Laughter echoed from the kitchen when I finally descended the stairs. The Doyle’s were all seated around the kitchen island, plucking freshly baked cookies from a plate at the center.
“Hudson,” Mia called, almost like she sensed my presence.
I rounded the corner, heading straight for her. The rest of her family fell silent, but I wasn’t going to let them intimidate me. We were there to make peace with them. That wasn’t going to happen if I avoided them all weekend.
Besides, my fingers itched to feel Mia’s soft skin beneath them. I needed her if I was going to get through making amends the only way I knew how.
I pressed my chest to her back and rested my hands on her hips. “You okay, wife?”
Ryan fumed silently at the term, and a vein throbbed in Charles’s temple. Maybe it wasn’t quite the right time to rub that fact in, but Mia turned to me, smiling wide. “Sure, want a cookie?”
I wanted one all right, but the one I wanted wasn’t going to be eaten in front of her family. I took solace in the fact that I’d be alone with her soon enough.
She grabbed the plate from the table and offered it me, a private smile on her face when she recognized the look in my eyes. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, but her eyes shone with excitement.
“Yeah, I’d love one.” I was not lying about that, but to keep up appearances, I accepted one of the chocolate chip cookies on the plate.
“I was just telling everyone about the band we wanted to sign until the backtrack got stuck—”
“And the lead singer pretended stammering the words was part of the song?” I finished for her.
She howled with laughter at the memory. “That’s the one.”
“It’s quite the story,” Alice agreed, still not meeting my eyes.
“It’s been an interesting couple of weeks, that’s for sure,” Mia said, then snapped her mouth shut as realization of the door she’d just opened set in. She reached for my hands, still resting on her hips and twined her fingers with mine as she folded my arms around her.
Ryan fixed his scowl on me. “Yeah, Mia. It has been. How about you tell us about the time your fiancé ran out on you, and then you ended up marrying him a week or so later anyway?”
Mia’s mouth opened, then closed. Her hands started shaking in mine. I gave them a reassuring squeeze and stepped in. It was my battle to fight, not hers.
“Please don’t speak to my wife in that tone of voice,” I began, my voice much calmer than I felt.
“I’ll speak to my sister however I want, thanks. I don’t even know what the fuck you’re doing here.” Ryan snapped at me.
“Language, Ryan,” Alice said reflexively, then fell silent again.
Charles chimed in. “He may have said it harshly, honey, but I agree with Ryan. We’re owed an explanation.”
Mia’s grandfather watched the scene play out without a word.
“You are owed an explanation, sir,” I said. “That’s what we’re here for.”
“Well then, the floor is yours, Hudson. Explain away.” Charles didn’t sound like he was ready to listen at all, but it was my time to talk.
“Before I came here with Mia last time, I hadn’t spoken to my brother for a long time.”
Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. “What does this have to do with your brother?” he demanded.
“I’ll tell you if you’ll let me say more than one sentence at a time.” Mia’s grip tightened on mine. It reminded me that I was the one explaining and apologizing.
I dialed my aggressiveness down a notch or ten. “Dakota and I hadn’t had a good relationship since I left home. I never missed it. Never missed him until I was here with you all, seeing what a family could be.”
Mia leaned back and whispered to me. “You don’t have to tell them about that, Hudson.”
It was so quiet in the room, everyone had heard her anyway, so I didn’t bother with a silent reply. “I do. Being here with you helped me rekindle my relationship with him. It opened my eyes to the relationship that you should have with your brother.”
I looked at Ryan meaningfully. He had the good sense to look suitably remorseful as he flashed Mia an apologetic smile.
“There were so many things happening so fast the first time I was here I didn’t deal with it the way I should have. For that, I am truly sorry. I should’ve explained myself to all of you and not just to Mia. I could have done a lot of things differently—better.”
“Ya think?” Ryan breathed. Alice silenced him with a stern look.
“I do think. No, I don’t think, I know, but looking back doesn’t change the past. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Are you sure?” Alice asked quietly, her gaze drifting between Mia’s eyes and mine.
“I’m sure. I don’t deserve a girl like Mia.” I ignored a low comment from Ryan and tried to swallow the lump that jumped into my throat. I’d never said the words I was about to say out loud to anyone, much less to their entire family.
“I love her. That’s why I wanted to come here. I love her, and I wanted to make things right with all of you so she wouldn’t suffer for my mistakes anymore.”
My heart sputtered to a stop. My entire body felt cold, and my mind, disconnected.
The reactions varied. Mia stopped breathing. Ryan looked thoroughly confused. Alice’s eyes misted over, and Charles looked like someone had dumped a gallon of icy water over his head.
Mia’s grandfather breathed a sigh of relief. “I knew it.”
It took my brain a second to catch up to what he’d said. “What?”
“I knew you loved her.” A slow grin spread on his face. He heaved to his feet, walking right over to me and pulling me into his arms, a hand thudding on my back.
Mia let go of me so I could return the unexpected hug.
Alice was next in line. “You love my little girl?”
“I do, ma’am. With all my heart.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Alice smiled, then wrapped her delicate arms around me.
“We going to get a do over?” Charles’s voice was gruff when Alice let me go.
“If that’s what Mia wants.” I caught her eye. She looked like a deer frozen in headlights.
Ryan came over to me next. “You fuck with my sister again, you’ll be fed from a tube for at least a month.”
I shook his hand. “Deal.”
Mia practically pulled me to her room as soon as her family had finished with me.
For once, I couldn’t read her expression. It scared the shit out of me. My pulse thrummed, and my stomach flipped uncomfortably.
She slammed the door behind us and whipped towards me. “Did you mean it?”
“When I said I loved you?”
She nodded, her eyes wide.
“Abso-fucking-lutely.” I grabbed her hands, tugged her tight against my chest, and asked the question that was burning a hole in my heart. “You?”
She answered without hesitating for a second. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Epilogue
Mia
“Oh honey, it’s so wonderful to hear that,” my mother exclaimed, as I finished telling her about the house Hudson and I had bought together. She was seated on a plush couch my father and brother bought and moved into my parents’ bedroom for the day.
We’d been looking for months, but Hudson had high expectations and refused to settle for anything less. Of course.
“I was starting to think the two of you were going to have to live in a park after you get back,” Tina piped up, winking at me.
I smiled. “I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.”
T
ina stepped up behind me and zipped up my dress, tears shining in her eyes in the reflection of the full-length mirror we were standing in front of.
My mother’s reflection appeared beside us. Her gaze traveled up and down the length of my body, soft tears forming in her eyes, too.
“Don’t, Mom. You’ll make me cry if you do.” I was already right on the verge.
“You can’t,” Tina cried. She’d spent hours on my hair and makeup that morning. “You’ll smudge, and we don’t have time to start over.”
My heart thudded in my chest, and nervous excitement spread through my body.
Less than an hour to go.
“I know.” I waved my hands in front of my eyes, averting my gaze to the ceiling. I’d never understood why people did that when they didn’t want to cry, but it worked, so I wasn’t complaining.
“Can you believe it’s almost time?” My mother breathed behind me, her voice thick with barely contained emotion. At least she was trying to hold it together, but she couldn’t hide the wide smile she’d been wearing all day.
There was a matching smile permanently etched on my face. “No, I can’t believe I got so lucky. I just love him so much. I never thought he’d love me back just as much.”
“More, I would say,” my mother added. “Exactly the way it should be.”
I shook my head at her. She winked at me in the mirror.
“Even so, I’m just so happy you found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with,” my mother said, reaching out to squeeze my hand.
I caught hers and gave it a grateful squeeze. My hand felt empty without the weight of the ring I’d grown so used to. I couldn’t wait for it to be placed back on my finger where it would stay forever.
“I am, too.” I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat. “Thank you, Mom.”
“What for?” she asked.
“Everything.”
She’d been an absolute godsend over the months that had passed since Hudson and I had gotten engaged.
Hudson and I were working as hard as ever, so my mother and Tina had stepped in, and from the looks of things, had created my absolute dream wedding.
It’s your wedding day! My subconscious screamed at me. My heart fluttered. I couldn’t believe it.
But my reflection in the mirror, my body covered with a delicate lace dress and the veil pinned to my head, confirmed that I was about to get married.
For real, this time.
Hudson had jokingly promised me he wouldn’t be pulling me away from the minister this afternoon for anything in the world.
I wouldn’t let him, even if he tried.
I loved him fiercely. Even if I had been Mrs. Blake in the eyes of the world for over a year, I couldn’t wait to make it official. Real.
There was a light knock on the door, followed by my brother’s head popping in. “It’s almost time to head down to the beach. Hudson and the guys just left. So, you’re clear.”
My heart skipped a beat. Hudson was on his way to wait for me at the end of the aisle where he would finally, irrevocably, and really become mine. I was so excited, I nearly ran out of the room after him.
“Thanks, Ryan, we’ll see you down there,” Tina assured him.
Ryan gave me a quick hug, his eyes misting over as he took me in. It was so different from the way it was the first time.
We were still in my parents’ house, still planning on having the reception there, but everything had changed.
Ryan and Hudson were well on their way to becoming actual friends. So much so that Ryan was going to be standing with Hudson and Dakota at the end of the aisle.
The ceremony was going to be held on a small, private stretch of beach nearby.
My dress fit me like a glove, as it should since it had been made especially for me. Hudson had insisted on hiring a top of the line designer to make me the wedding dress of my dreams. The woman had succeeded spectacularly.
The veil on my head had belonged to my mother, and a few pieces of the same lace my dress was made of was sewn onto it.
Tina wore an actual bridesmaid’s dress instead of a random sundress from her closet.
My mother’s outfit had also been specially made for her. Again, Hudson had insisted.
The men were looking so handsome in their suits. Well, the men I was allowed to see that day. The entire family insisted Hudson and I were not to sleep in the same bedroom the night before and we wouldn’t be allowed to see one another before the wedding.
It hadn’t worked out great for us the first time, but since this time was the real deal, I wasn’t taking any chances.
Hudson agreed, but snuck into my room in the late hours of the evening anyway. I tried to chase him out, but he had an iron will and some very effective techniques of persuasion.
My cheeks flushed as I remembered the feel of his hands on my body. His possessive and ferocious kisses. Making love to him until the early hours of the morning.
The man had stamina. I had to give him that. He’d always had it, but recently, he’d been like a man possessed. He said it was the fact that I was finally becoming his. Whatever it was, I loved it. Loved him. I couldn’t get enough of him, either.
“Time to go,” my mother announced, giving me a last spritz of the perfume Hudson had bought me as a wedding gift. Well, one of my many wedding gifts. My cheeks heated as I thought of some of the others.
“You ready?” Tina asked. “And why are you blushing?”
Busted. I cleared my throat. I had to stop thinking about sex, but with a husband as gorgeous and virile as mine, it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t wait to show him the lingerie I’d ordered as a part of his wedding gift. “I’m ready. And I’m just excited.”
I really was. In more ways than one. Tina narrowed her eyes at me in contemplation, then nodded. “Okay, let’s go do this then.”
“Let’s,” I agreed.
My heart swelled with every step I took closer to Hudson. Closer to a lifetime with him.
My father waited at the car that was going to carry me to the man of dreams. He beamed at me, his eyes misting over. “You ready, kiddo?”
I was suddenly overcome with emotion. Bubbles of joy floated through me. My parents finally knew everything. It had taken them some time to fully forgive Hudson, but they had, and they were genuinely excited to welcome him to the family.
My dad and I drove to the beach with Ryan while my mother, grandfather, and Tina were following behind us.
The drive was short, but it felt like it was taking forever to get to Hudson. My heart skipped several beats when we finally pulled up to the beach.
There was a beautiful, ornately carved gazebo, and lanterns that glimmered in the sunset. It was a perfect California day, and the sun was just starting to dip when we arrived.
Right on time.
I waited for my family to make their way to their seats, then accepted my father’s outstretched arm as the wedding march started to play.
As intense as it was the last time it played for me, it was a thousand times more so now, knowing it was real. And knowing my love for Hudson ran all the way to my soul and that he felt the same way.
I stumbled slightly when I laid eyes on him, waiting for me at the end of the aisle made up of a red carpet lined with flowers.
My dad steadied me and pulled me closer to him. But I barely registered it.
Everything in my world narrowed to Hudson. Dakota and Ryan were there. I knew they were, but I had eyes only for him.
The look on his face when he met my eyes was nothing short of a miracle. My heart started pounding so hard it felt like it had wings, like it was hammering against my ribs to get out of my chest and to the person it belonged to.
I had to stop myself from running down the aisle, as magnetic as the pull was to get to him.
There were tears in Hudson’s eyes when my father and I stopped at the end of the aisle. He had the most beautiful smile on his lips.
Hudson whispered into my ear as he
drew me close to him, wrapping an arm around my waist and threading our fingers together. “You look like an angel, Mia. You are my angel.”
Tears sprung to my eyes. God, how was it possible to be this happy? I squeezed his fingers. “Right back at you, angel.”
The ceremony we’d planned wasn’t long.
Hudson insisted that we write our own vows. I couldn’t wait to hear his, and I couldn’t wait to give him mine. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long.
“And now, you can exchange your vows,” the minister told us. I turned to Hudson, who took both of my hands in both of his. “Hudson, if you will begin.”
He locked his eyes on mine. I lost myself in their sky-blue depths, and in the absolute euphoria shining from them. I could spend the rest of eternity staring into them. I planned on doing just that.
“Mia Doyle, you have changed my life in every way imaginable. You brought me back to life. You taught me how to love. You showed me what it meant to be part of a family, then you became a part of mine. You taught me how to be a better son, a better brother, a better man. I promise I’ll never stop working to become the man who deserves you, who deserves the kind of love you show me every day.” He paused, his voice cracking with emotion. Then he smiled.
“I promise I’ll never stop forcing assistants on you when I think you’re working too hard. I promise I’ll feed you tequila to calm you down when you’re freaking out.” Our closest family and friends “awwed” and giggled.
“I promise I’ll keep working hard so I can maybe afford a jet big enough to actually impress you. I promise to get the recipe for your mother’s cookies and to try my very best to bake them for you when you get homesick. Then I promise to call Ryan or your mother and to be patient while you speak to them for hours.”
Ryan sniggered. My mother burst into happy tears. I wasn’t far behind.
Hudson’s eyes softened, the laughter in them fading. “Most of all, I promise to love you with all my fucking heart every day, for the rest of our life.”
A tear leaked from my eye and slid down my cheek. Hudson reached to wipe it away tenderly.
I took a deep breath and tried to collect my thoughts. “Hudson Blake, you are every dream I’ve ever had, come true. I didn’t know it was possible to love someone as much as I love you. I never thought I’d find someone who loved me the way you do. You inspire me each and every single day. You picked me up and taught me how to fly. Nothing could take me away from you, ever.”
