“I get that, but my brother is who scares me a little.” We all laugh. “Either way, I think there’s potential. I owe Jessica a lot, and I think Sean feels the same toward your brother. While owning a chain of inns has never been a goal, I understand horrible fathers and the hell they cause in our lives. I’ll let you know either way.”
“No matter what we are getting out of the company, but if you buy it, my siblings and I will help make sure you don’t lose your investment.”
He nods. “I’ll think about it.”
And with that, we turn the conversation to family and friends.
“When do you want to get married?” I ask Grayson while we’re lying in bed at the hotel in New York City.
“Tonight.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re insane.”
“I am. But that’s what I want.”
His hand runs up and down my spine, and I melt into him. “I don’t want to wait long.”
“I think it’s best for Amelia if we do it before we tell her about the baby.”
“I worry we’re changing so much in her world too fast.”
Grayson gives a short grunt. “If she was showing any signs of being upset, I would say we should hold off, but she’s not.”
Amelia has been more excited than anything. She tells everyone that she asked me to marry them and I said yes. At school, she was the center of attention with that story. My heart didn’t know it could love like this, but Amelia and Grayson have given me so much to care for.
“Still, I want to protect her.”
Grayson kisses the top of my head. “And this is why I want to marry you now. Because you don’t just love me, you love my daughter.”
I lean up, looking in his eyes. “How could I not? She’s a part of you.”
“Seriously, Jess, I don’t want to wait to have you as my wife. I want us to start our new life raising both kids as a married couple. Call me old fashioned, I don’t care, but it’s important to me.”
“It is to me too. So, let’s set a date.”
“I want to do it before this crap with my father goes down.”
Soon, the Parkerson siblings will walk away from everything they’ve ever known and band together. I know that Grayson is grappling with not only what he found out about his father but also that his siblings are giving up so much.
I don’t think they feel that way, but he does.
They’ve lived a very privileged life and have done very well. That will change for them. There’s going to be a period of time where finances could be difficult. Thankfully, they are talking and planning to make things as easy as possible.
Since the land that Grayson owns is huge, Alex and Joshua are going to stay on the property. Once construction starts, it will ensure that someone is always there, and they will also have privacy.
Oliver is going to stay with Stella, which should be hilarious.
I shift so I’m on my stomach, looking at him. “Okay, well, we don’t have a lot of time then.”
“Which is part of my plan.”
“Oh? You have a plan?”
His grin deepens and that dimple I love becomes prominent. “I always have plans for you, love.”
“Good to know, but what about the wedding?”
“I want to get married at the lake.”
“Really?”
“Where did you think I’d want to marry you?”
I lift one shoulder. “No clue, but . . .” I sort of thought he’d pick the beach house. It’s where we became Jessica and Grayson—or Gressica, as I like to joke to make his head explode. I wasn’t actually excited by the idea, but this is, well . . . “I think that’s perfect.”
I love that lake. The lake is new. The lake is where our future is. It’s where we’ll build this new life.
“It’s why we have to do it soon, before it’s ruined by trucks and construction.”
“You have very sound logic.”
He laughs. “I will say just about anything to get you to agree.”
I push myself closer to him, kissing him softly. “You don’t have to say anything more.”
Epilogue
Grayson
“Calm down,” Jack says as he claps me on the back. “She’ll be here. Chicks take a long time for these things.”
“Is this coming from all your experience with women and weddings?”
He snorts. “No, but it was meant to be comforting since I’m your best man and everything.”
“Well, it wasn’t.”
Choosing Jack to be my best man was a no brainer. I have three very competitive brothers, and having to decide between them felt like a minefield where I was surely going to get blown up, so I avoided it.
Plus, Jack is like a brother. There is no one who isn’t blood who I trust as much as him.
“Well, have a shot then, that should calm you.”
I’m not nervous. Not the way he thinks. Jessica will be here, I have no doubts about that. It’s more of an anxious excitement. I’m ready for this. I love her, and I want to start our lives as husband and wife.
Jack hands me a shot of whiskey, and I take it before we raise our glass. “To brotherhood.”
It’s what we’ve said each time we toast. “To brotherhood.”
The liquid burns its way down, warming me along the way.
“Did Amelia get ready with Jess?”
“Yeah, she said she’s a girl and needs to be with them.”
Jack laughs. “It’s really funny that pretty much everyone attending your wedding is actually in the wedding.”
He’s not wrong. Our bridal party is four groomsmen and four bridesmaids, which is more than half of the invited guests.
“We wanted it intimate.”
He nods. “Can I ask you something, Gray?”
I turn, finding the normally carefree air around him is different. “What’s up?”
“How did you . . . well, how did you guys decide to move forward?”
Okay, now that’s a surprise. “You mean try again?”
He nods.
“I don’t know, I guess it was just always meant to be. It wasn’t easy, but I don’t think it’s meant to be.”
“Right.”
“Is this about a few weeks ago?” I ask, remembering the night he showed up completely blitzed.
“No. That was just me being drunk,” he says a little too quickly.
“Who was the girl?”
Jack shrugs, looking away. “No girl.”
“Jack, you were going on and on about some girl.”
“She’s no one. I honestly don’t remember half the night, and I . . . it’s nothing.”
“She doesn’t sound like it.”
Jack’s entire demeanor shifts, and he smiles widely. “We’re not talking about drunk hookups today, brother. It’s your wedding, and it’s about damn time we get out there. I see the Jeep coming down with your bride now.”
I want to push him, but this is Jack, and I know him well enough to know that it’s pointless to keep at it. Whoever this girl is, she clearly has him torn up, and until he’s ready to deal with it, he’ll just deny it.
Josh, Alex, and Oliver walk over in their sapphire-blue suits that match mine and Jack’s. The only difference between our outfits is that they have gold ties and mine is white.
We didn’t go all out with the wedding, but we wanted some of the traditional things to still happen.
I see Stella get out of the car, and she waves.
“It’s amazing that none of the guys we’ve chased away from her have pressed charges,” Josh notes.
Jack huffs. “Yeah, no guy wants to be in between you idiots.”
Damn right. We know Stella is beautiful and too good for any man.
“Which is why we left Gray here to make sure the wolves didn’t descend.”
I roll my eyes. “Please, I think Stella is the wolf.”
Oliver shakes his head. “He’s not lying. She’s scarier than the four of us.”
“Well, five if you count Jack, he’s like a brother.”
Jack laughs and nods. “You could say that.”
Next is Delia, and I look at Jack, who is staring at the girls. He hasn’t taken his eyes off them. I’m starting to think Jess was right when she said that he has a thing for Delia.
Josh clears his throat. “Aren’t you supposed to go help your bride?”
“I don’t know, Jess said something about no aisle and that she was going to walk here?”
Oliver slaps me on the back. “Way to fuck up your wedding before it starts. Didn’t you pay attention?”
“No,” I groan. “I was too busy making sure you fuckers didn’t get so drunk you couldn’t get here.”
Before I can argue or try to think about what the hell the directions were, Amelia hops out of the car, her hands going back and forth quickly as if she wants me to walk to her. When I move to take a step, I hear a chorus of, “No!”
“See, I am to stay here,” I say as though it was my plan.
And then . . . then my heart stops. The world stops turning as she exits the car.
The sun is behind her, peeking through the trees and casting the most beautiful halo around her, making it seem as if she’s glowing.
I know I’m supposed to stay here, but my legs want to go. It’s not until I feel Jack’s hand grab my forearm that I realize I was moving.
Jessica takes Amelia’s hand.
My sister comes toward us first, and when she gets to me, she kisses my cheek. “I’m proud of you.”
I laugh. “Thanks.”
Then she smiles at the rest of the crew behind me.
Next is Delia, who gives me a playful wink as she passes.
Winnie, Jessica’s maid of honor, waves her fingers as she passes.
Her mother is last, and I pull her in for a hug when she gets to me. “You take care of my girl.”
“Always.”
“You know,” she says softly, “I always hoped it would be you. You’re a good man, Grayson Parkerson.”
“I think it was always going to be us, no matter what.”
Mrs. Walker smiles. “I think so too.”
And then it’s just her and Amelia. The two of them start to make their way to me, carefully avoiding rocks as Amelia waves randomly. They are both smiling, and I swear, my heart could fly out of my chest. I’ve never known a person could hold this much love.
“Hi,” Jess says first.
“God, you’re gorgeous.”
She beams. “I’m glad you think so.” Amelia looks up at me. “And you are so pretty.”
“Thanks, Daddy. Are you ready to get married?” Melia asks.
I look to Jessica, our eyes locked and I nod. “Yeah, Monkey, I sure am.”
“Never thought I’d see the day,” Josh says as he hands me a beer.
“That I’d get married?”
“No, that you’d convince Jessica to marry you.”
I laugh. “I did something right.”
“I notice you invited Mom.”
She’s currently dancing with Oliver, and we’ve barely said a handful of words to each other.
“I didn’t want to regret it later.”
“I get it. Does she know we’re all about to wreck her life?”
It’s doubtful that she does. When the five of us demand a buy-out or threaten to sell our shares, my mother is going to have a rude awakening. The lifestyle she’s been afforded will be gone because my father will have to scramble to come up with the money, which means less alimony.
That house will probably be the first thing he tries to sell.
“Not really my concern today.”
“I know, I just . . . I’m glad you invited her, that’s all.”
“It was the right thing to do.”
“Yeah, the women in our lives are pains in our asses, but we love them,” Josh says before taking a long pull of his drink. “Speaking of, where did Stella run off to?”
“I don’t know, I wanted to dance with her.”
“Me too.”
I look around but don’t see her. “I’ll go find her,” I tell him.
As I start to walk over to the tree line, Jessica comes rushing over from across the tented area. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere. I’m just looking for Stella.”
She peeks around. “Well, she’s not here, we should dance.”
“You said you wanted to sit.”
“I did. I sat. I’m fine. Let’s go. I like this song.”
I look over to the floating dance floor in confusion. “There’s no music playing.”
“We make our own music,” she says a bit too quickly.
“Jessica, what are you talking about?”
She laughs, and then I hear something in the woods. Her hand grabs mine, tugging me away. “Come on, babe. It’s our wedding day.”
“So you’re going to pretend? Like . . . it’s nothing?” Stella’s voice is muffled, but I know it’s her.
There’s a low reply, but I can’t make it out.
“We have to deal with this. We can’t . . . we can’t pretend anymore.” There is a layer of hurt and desperation in Stella’s voice.
I turn to my wife with a brow raised. “Is that why you want to dance?”
She releases a low breath, which is much more of a defeated sound. “Let your sister work this out.”
“You know what’s going on?”
Jess snorts. “I know everything.”
“Then who the hell is at our wedding that she—”
I’ll kill him.
I’ll fucking kill him.
I turn, moving quickly in the direction of where the voices are.
“You still have feelings for me, I know you do!” Stella says, and I pick up the pace.
Still?
“I don’t.” I hear Jack, clear as fucking day. “I do . . . I can’t.”
“You can’t pretend with me, Jack.”
“We can’t,” he says.
When I get to the clearing where they’re standing, his hands are on her arms and she’s clutching his shirt. My heart is pounding as I stare at my best friend, staring at my sister as though he’s broken. “God, Stella, we can’t.” Then, before I can say anything, he crushes his lips to hers.
Jessica is trying to pull me back, but I see red. How the hell could he do this? He said it over and over again that he didn’t like her. I never imagined the her would be Stella.
He doesn’t like her? Then allow me to remind him.
“Get your fucking hands off my sister,” I say, my voice sounding foreign to me.
They break apart, but Stella is the first to react and take a step toward me. “Grayson—”
“How could you?” I ask Jack.
“It’s not what you think,” Stella tries to step in.
I know if I open my mouth again, I’ll lose it. Instead of making a scene on what is one of the best days of my life, I shake my head, glaring at Jack the whole time.
He steps forward. “I know you’re pissed, and I get it, but you have to know—”
I raise my hand to silence him. Jessica gives me a sad smile and says, “Come on, love, let’s dance and let them talk.”
“Talk? Did you see that? It didn’t look like talking when he was kissing her.”
Jessica tilts her head to the side, staring at me. “Yes, and it’s not our business. Your sister can handle it.”
The anger I thought I felt before doubles. My best friend and my baby sister. It’s an image I sure as hell won’t get out of my head anytime soon. They’ve been fucking lying, and I can’t even bring myself to think about all the shit he was drunk rambling about. Well, if he doesn’t like her, then he better never touch her again.
Stella steps forward. “Go with your wife, Gray. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
I give one last hateful glance at my worst man and allow Jessica to pull me away. I can’t believe this.
Jess doesn’t say anything, she just walks
carefully and I keep my arm around her so she doesn’t stumble and hurt herself.
My wife, knowing me better than I know myself, leads me to the dance floor where she wraps her arms around me so I can’t gather my other brothers to deal with Jack.
“Well, that was interesting,” she says after a few seconds.
I raise one brow. “That isn’t happening.”
She laughs as though I said something comical. “Oh, Grayson, you silly, sweet man who thinks he can control any of this, haven’t you learned anything? Life is unpredictable, but what’s meant to be will be.”
“Like us?”
She nods. “Exactly. Now kiss me and tell me I’m pretty.”
I do as she asks and vow to spend the rest of tonight pondering the best place to bury Jack’s body.
Thank you for reading Jessica and Grayson’s story. I hope you enjoyed their second chance romance as much as I did writing it.
Next up is Jack and Stella! There is nothing I can say to prepare you for their story. It took me by complete surprise. You have NO idea what’s coming. That’s all I’m going to say. Jack is freaking amazing. Stella is a spitfire and they have quite a bit of explaining to do . . .
Preorder Could Have Been Us and be ready for a story like I’ve never told before!
Books by Corinne Michaels
The Salvation Series
Beloved
Beholden
Consolation
Conviction
Defenseless
Evermore: A 1001 Dark Night Novella
Indefinite
Infinite
The Hennington Brothers
Say You’ll Stay
Say You Want Me
Say I’m Yours
Say You Won’t Let Go: A Return to Me/Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Second Time Around Series
We Own Tonight
One Last Time
Not Until You
If I Only Knew
The Arrowood Brothers
Come Back for Me
Fight for Me
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