I narrowed my eyes in confusion. “My mother?”
Jessie nodded quickly. “Yeah. And, um, like, I know that we don’t get along but I also remembered how I was kind of a jerk to her in the past because I knew she didn’t like me. You know? Like, I wasn’t exactly polite. And I knew the mature thing to do would be to go up and say hi to her, because, well, we’re family now.”
I stared at her.
“And she was, like, decent and all, but still really cold. And I grew up without grandparents and I don’t want the same for Olive, I want her to have a big family with a lot of diversity and stuff.”
“And, like, I was trying to break the ice and make a joke and I said something about how we’ll have to get along now, for Olive’s sake, and then she told me that that couldn’t possibly be true, because you just got engaged.”
My jaw dropped. “What the fuck,” I growled. Hot anger towards my mother grew inside of me and I reached into my pocket for my phone but Jessie stopped me. She reached for my arm and grabbed it. The sensation of her soft, warm hands against my skin sent a jolt of electricity down my spine and despite my hangover and the intense moment – or maybe because of it – I felt a rush of lust overwhelm me.
“No,” Jessie said, shaking her head. “Don’t call her. At least, not right now.” She pressed her juicy lips together. “Hear me out, okay?”
I clenched my jaw. It suddenly occurred to me that the situation between us was reversed. When I’d first come back, I’d had to beg Jessie to listen to me instead of acting.
Now, she was doing the same thing. Despite the raging, vengeful anger I felt towards my mother – which was stronger than any anger I’d ever felt in my life – I pushed it aside and gave a slight jerk of my head, indicating for her to continue.
“And you know, at first, I’m so sorry, Ben,” Jessie said. She lowered her head. “I believed her.”
Then, Jessie raised her head and looked into my eyes.
“And I’m so sorry that I did, I never should have listened. All this time that we’ve been together, everyone has been trying their damndest to yank us apart.”
I nodded.
“And I thought you’d just been screwing around with me, that you really wanted someone else,” Jessie said softly. She looked down at Olive. “I didn’t think you wanted to be a family with us anymore.”
“Jess, I want to be a family with the two of you more than anything,” I said in a low voice.
Her lower lip trembled and I saw her eyes mist with tears.
“But I was talking to my mom, telling her about the breakup, and I realized that your mom lied to me. She’d always hated me, she didn’t think I was good enough to be part of your family. And my mom, well, even she didn’t think I was good enough. That made me realize the truth.”
Jessie paused, holding her breath for a long second.
“I realized that you loved me, and that you have all along,” she said. “And I’m so sorry it took me so long. I ... I don’t know what was wrong with me.”
I took her hands in mine. Jessie was trembling, her curves heaving with every breath she took. Her hair was a tangled mess and she wore no makeup.
She looked more beautiful than I’d ever seen her.
“I love you,” I told her firmly. “And honestly ... knowing that you came to that on your own, without my having to tell you, even though I tried ...” I trailed off. The fake engagement plan had been, without a doubt, the stupidest thing I’d ever come up with. Margot had been right – it had never been necessary. Jessie and I had been through everything together. We were meant to be, and nothing could ever change that.
“I love you, too,” Jessie said softly. I squeezed her hand, then released it and looked down. Olive was sitting on the floor, playing with a stuffed animal. Turning her to her, I squatted down and took one of her little hands in my own.
“What are you doing?” Jessie asked.
I didn’t answer her.
“Olive,” I began, as solemnly as I could.
“Yes?” My daughter looked up at me, her big brown eyes shining just like Jessie’s.
“May I ask your permission to marry your mommy?”
Olive took a moment to process the request, then let out a happy squeal and began clapping her hands.
“Yes!” Olive shrieked. “Yes!”
I turned to Jessie and raised an eyebrow. “Well?” I asked. “Will you do it? Say yes and make me the happiest man alive?”
A tear ran down Jessie’s cheek and she nodded furiously before throwing herself against me and kissing me with more passion than ever before. Olive was clapping and shrieking and cheering, but I barely heard her. All I could focus on, all I could think about, was that I had finally made my way back to the love of my life.
And now, nothing would ever tear us apart again.
33
Jessie – One Month Later
“Jess, you look so gorgeous,” Henny said as she slipped into the room. Our gaze met in the mirror, and I turned around to face her.
“Really?” I asked. “You don’t think this is too casual?”
Henny shook her head. “It’s totally you,” she said. “Like you’d be caught dead in some poofy white gown.”
I laughed. “Yeah,” I said.
Henny walked closer. “You feeling okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said.
“Nervous?”
I laughed again. “A little,” I admitted. “Maybe.”
“I think that’s totally normal,” Henny said. She came closer and admired my outfit – my favorite jeans that I’d had since college and a new shirt, blue, just the color of Ben’s eyes.
Henny and I stood in the “dressing room” of the Wilmington courthouse – an office used during the week by consultants or auditors. It wasn’t much, but it was just what I wanted.
When Ben had first proposed, he’d told me to pick wherever I wanted to get married. The beach, the downtown stretch along the Cape Fear River, even Margot’s restaurant.
The only place that he’d told me was off-limits was his parents’ house.
“I doubt I’ll ever speak to my mother again, after the stunt she pulled,” Ben had told me.
Even though I had been angry at his mother, too, I didn’t want that. I wanted Olive to grow up with as many people around her who loved her as possible.
“And you think she’ll love Olive?”
“Who couldn’t not love Olive,” I’d countered.
In the end, we’d settled on a justice of the peace at the courthouse. The beach would have been nice, but it was still early spring and not nearly warm enough. Plus, then I’d have felt pressured to invite more people.
This way, it could just be us.
Well, us and Olive for a flower girl and Henny and Jared and Margot. No parents, we’d decided.
“It’s almost time,” Henny said as she checked the time on her phone. “You ready?”
I nodded. “I’ve been ready for this for years,” I admitted. “But now ... well, it finally feels right. Does that make sense?”
“Of course,” Henny said. She nodded. “Absolutely.”
I turned my attention back to the mirror, fiddling with my brown curls. The sound of the door opening made me start and I gasped to see Ben, looking stunningly hot in a pair of dark jeans and a black button-down shirt that fitted his muscular abdomen perfectly.
“You can’t be in here!” Henny cried. “You can’t see the bride before the wedding!”
Ben smirked and chuckled. “Yeah, well, I was about to see her in a few minutes anyway,” he said. “We have to wait in line together, don’t we?”
Henny flushed.
“Can I have a moment alone?” Ben asked me.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “What is it?”
Ben grinned. “A surprise,” he said. “Come on. Please?”
I blushed. “Okay,” I said. “Sure.”
Henny winked at me from over Ben’s shoulder before slipping out of
the room and closing the door behind her.
“I have something for you,” Ben said. He was still grinning at me as he stepped closer and took a small box from his pocket.
“What is it?” I asked softly.
He chuckled. “You have to open it,” he said. “Please.”
I giggled nervously as I flipped open the lid of the box. Inside was a ring – a gorgeous, platinum band with three round gemstones in a bezel setting.
“Ben,” I said, looking from the ring to him. “You’re supposed to give this to me at the wedding. Not before.”
Ben laughed. “I know, babe,” he said. “But I have another ring for that. I didn’t have a ring when I proposed, so I had this one custom made for you.”
I felt tears well up in my eyes and I blinked, hoping I wouldn’t cry off all of my mascara before it was actually time to get married.
“It’s our birthstones,” Ben explained as he pulled the ring from its velvet nest and gently slid it onto my finger. “Yours, mine, and Olive’s. Sapphire, ruby, and topaz.”
“Oh my god,” I said softly. “Ben ... that’s so sweet, I can’t handle it.” The gesture was so touching, so thoughtful, so Ben, that it filled me with love and gratitude. No one had ever done anything like that for me before, and I knew that I’d treasure my new ring for the rest of my life.
Ben pulled me close and gave me a tender kiss that sent a flame of desire licking through my body. He smelled so good that I moaned softly into his mouth. Ben ran his hands down my back and squeezed my ass, groaning and pressing his body against mine.
“Think we have a chance for a quickie before the ceremony?” Ben teased, his teeth nibbling at my earlobe, making me shiver.
“Ben, you’re so bad,” I moaned, throwing my head back and letting him plant a row of scorching kisses down the side of my neck. His lips met my collarbone and I gasped softly as I felt him kiss me gently, then bite.
“I know, baby,” Ben growled. “But the things you do to me, my god.”
I shivered. Pushing him off was the hardest thing I’d ever done – I was suddenly, maddeningly horny – but I did it, gently.
“We have to get married before you get another piece of this,” I teased.
Ben groaned. “You’re killing me,” he said, clapping a hand to his forehead. Then, he dropped the act and raised an eyebrow at me. “Not the worst thing in the world, though. I want to take my time with you.”
His words made me shiver with desire and I swallowed hard, already regretting turning him down.
I didn’t have too much time to dwell on that, though. In a matter of seconds, the door opened again and Margot stuck her head inside.
“It’s time to go, kids,” she said, smiling at me as Ben and I walked past her.
I returned the smile. Ben took my hand and the three of us joined Jared, Henny, and Olive who looked adorable in her flower girl dress – the only “real” wedding tradition that I’d wanted. She even had a basket – her Easter basket from the year before, filled with rose petals from Jared’s garden.
As my family – both blood and found – walked down the hall to the justice of the peace’s office, my heart was filled with love and happiness. The nervous butterflies I’d felt fluttering around in my stomach before Ben had given me the ring were completely gone, replaced only with excitement. The justice of the peace showed us into his office, where he had me, Ben, and Olive stand in front of him.
I barely remember saying my vows – all I could do was stare at Ben’s face. Look into the sapphire-blue eyes of the man who loved me so much. The man who was the father of my daughter.
The man who I never wanted to let out of my sight ever again.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the justice of the peace said. Ben pulled me into his arms and dipped me into a low kiss. As Olive and Henny giggled, Jared let out a piercing wolf-whistle that made me blush.
“We’re married now,” I whispered to Ben, putting my hands to the side of his face and kissing him again.
“Damn right we are,” Ben growled, in a voice too low for anyone to hear. I flushed happily as he took my hand and lifted it up into the air. Margot, Henny, and Jared cheered.
Even the justice of the peace looked oddly touched as my small group left the room. When we emerged from the courthouse, Margot turned to me and cleared her throat.
“Jess, I know we haven’t been really close,” she said, looking somewhat guilty.
“Margot, where’s this going,” Ben said irritably. “Come on – it’s our wedding day. Let’s enjoy it.”
“I am, idiot,” Margot said, rolling her eyes. I had to hide a giggle behind my hand as she turned back to me. “But I want to make up for lost time, okay? I want to really get to know you ... I know that you have a lot of sisters, but I don’t have any. And now I do,” she said.
I felt my eyes getting misty again and I sniffled, feeling more than a little embarrassed. I wasn’t a crier, and I’d come close to crying three times in a single day.
What the fuck was happening to me?
“That ... means so much,” I said. “Really. It does.”
Margot smiled, and I smiled back.
“Which is why I got my restaurant to close for the day, except to us,” Margot continued. “We’re all heading there for a celebratory dinner right now.”
As she spoke, the look on Ben’s face changed from annoyed to loving and proud, almost the way he looked at Olive.
“Margot, that’s really awesome,” Ben said. “Seriously.”
She turned to him and smiled. “Happy wedding, big bro,” she said. “Finally.”
“Finally?” I blinked.
“Nothing,” Ben said hastily. He pulled me in for a kiss. “I just love you, that’s all.”
The group of us walked to the restaurant, Ben carrying Olive after she complained about her new sandals hurting her feet. I felt like I was on top of the world as we made our way down the sunny sidewalk. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and I had to resist the urge to smile at complete strangers and tell them that I’d just married the love of my life.
When we got to the restaurant where Margot worked, she opened the door with an excited gleam in her eye. Once inside, I gasped. All of the tables had been pushed aside except for one long table in the center, which was loaded with flowers and candles.
“Ben told me that you hate fancy stuff, but it’s your wedding,” Margot explained. “You gotta be a little fancy,” she added matter-of-factly.
I blushed. “It’s beautiful,” I admitted. “Really.”
“But not too fancy,” Margot said. She was still grinning as she let out a whistle. Seconds later, the kitchen doors opened and several waiters came out, each laden with trays. When I saw the food piled on plates, I laughed.
“Oh my god,” I said. “This is too much!”
Margot pointed at each plate, smirking as she narrated the contents.
“Buffalo wings – three spice levels! – and sliders are here,” she said, pointing at a platter loaded with more wings than I’d seen in my entire life. “And down here, we have loaded potato skins, mozzarella sticks, and a taco bar.”
I burst out laughing, then pulled Margot into a bear hug. She was laughing too by the time she pulled away.
“It’s just perfect for you,” Jared trilled. “My super-classy sister!”
Everyone laughed except for Ben, who stood there shaking his head and pretending to groan.
We all sat down and started eating – Ben, of course, ate his buffalo wings with a knife and fork and Olive, of course, made a mess of her entire face, her dress, and even her white tights.
As I sat there, surrounded by the people whom I loved most in the entire world, I was so filled with happiness that I thought I would burst. Reaching for Ben’s hand, I laced my fingers with his.
He turned to me and smiled. “Are you happy, baby?”
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” I said.
And it was true. Circumstances be
yond our control had ripped Ben a half world away from me, but he’d managed to find his way back.
And now that we were officially together for good, a family, I knew there was nothing stopping the rest of my life from being beyond perfect.
Epilogue
Jessie – One Year Later
“Mommy, when do I get to stop going to school?” Olive asked from the passenger seat of the Land Rover, interrupting my train of thought. I’d just picked her up from kindergarten, and we were swimming through traffic on the way home.
“What?” I asked, turning to her. “Sorry. Mommy wasn’t paying attention,” I admitted. Because I’ve got something much, much more pressing on my mind, I thought guiltily.
“I asked about school,” Olive said. “When I do get to stop going to school?”
Her serious demeanor brought me out of my own head and I laughed shortly, turning to look at her. Olive gave me a funny look.
“What’s so funny,” she asked suspiciously. “Aunt Margot said she didn’t finish school. Do I have to finish school?”
I groaned, making a mental note to ask my dear sister-in-law to stop giving academic “advice” to my five-year-old daughter.
“Yes, sweetie,” I said. “Aunt Margot had a really hard time in life because she didn’t finish school. You don’t want that, do you? You’re going to go to college and everything.”
Predictably, Olive wrinkled her nose.
“But how long,” she whined.
“Well, you’ll be seventeen when you finish high school,” I told her. “And then twenty-one or older by the time you finish college.”
Olive looked horrified. “That’s forever,” she said.
I laughed. “It’s not. It goes by really fast. And honestly, being in school is way better than working.”
Olive didn’t look satisfied with the answer I’d given her. She pouted as she flopped back against the seat.
“Did you have a bad day, honey?” I asked.
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