When they returned to her room, Kinga was sitting up in bed, holding a cup of tea. Her face lit up, especially when she spotted Darcey.
“Hey,” she said, putting the tea on the bedside cabinet. “William told me you’ve been here all night. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Don’t be silly,” Tally said, giving her a kiss before stepping aside to allow Cash to do the same.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’ve been better.” She nodded at the baby. “Can I hold her?”
Tally hesitated. She felt a slight nudge in her back from Cash.
“Of course you can,” he said, lifting Darcey out of the car seat that had turned into her cot for the day. She didn’t seem to mind the inconvenience.
Cash placed Darcey in Kinga’s outstretched arms, and Tally had to bite her tongue to stop reminding him to watch the baby’s head. She couldn’t help her overprotective instinct kicking in every time someone wanted to hold her child. She kept telling herself it was because Darcey shouldn’t have even been born yet, but there she was, six weeks old already.
“Oh, you guys. She’s grown even from when I saw her last week.” Kinga kissed Darcey’s forehead, and right on cue, the baby woke up, her big blue eyes focusing right in on Kinga. “Oh, she’s awake,” she exclaimed. “She slept through the whole of last week, so I never got to see her eyes. Look how blue they are.”
Kinga had perked up, almost as though Darcey was the precise pick-me-up she needed. Colour flooded back into her cheeks, and it was amazing what a bright smile could do. William flashed a grateful look their way.
“It’s the only thing she’s got from me,” Tally said with a grin. “Everything else is Cash.”
“Why don’t we leave the girls cooing and get some fresh air,” Cash said to William in a badly veiled attempt to get him alone. Tally knew he wanted to question William about what the consultant had said.
“Yes, go on, William,” Kinga said. “The fresh air will do you good.”
William reluctantly followed Cash outside, and Tally’s skin prickled at the way his shoulders dropped. Whatever the consultant had said, it wasn’t good news.
As soon as the door closed, Kinga’s bright smile fell. “He’s not doing great.”
“What about you?” Tally said. “What did the consultant say?”
She shook her head sadly. “It’s spread. Fast. He reckons a few weeks at most.”
“Oh God.” Hot tears sprang to Tally’s eyes. She dashed a hand over her face, annoyed at herself for not being stronger.
“Hey,” Kinga said, gripping her hand tightly. “It’s okay, Tally. I knew I didn’t have long. I’ve made my peace with it.”
“Cash wants us to get married as soon as possible,” she blurted out. “He said it’s because none of us know what’s going to happen, but I think it’s more to do with you. It wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t there.”
Kinga’s face lit up. “That’s great news. I’ll be there, even if I have to drag myself on all fours. Of course, if I do that, I’ll still be rocking killer heels and an amazing dress.”
Tally laughed. “I’ll bet you will.”
“Seriously, though,” Kinga said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“I haven’t a clue how I’m going to get everything done that quickly. Any ideas?”
Kinga nodded and pointed to her bag hanging over the back of a chair. “Fetch my phone.”
41
Tally stood in front of the floor-length mirror in her hotel suite and gave herself a critical once-over. The off-the-shoulder floor-length fitted ivory-silk wedding gown clung to her every curve, but at least the control pants seemed to be working. She smoothed her hands over her stomach. No one would guess she’d had a baby eight weeks earlier. Of course, when the pants came off… that was a different story, but she wasn’t planning on doing that in front of their guests.
Despite being critically ill, Kinga had performed nothing short of a miracle. Using every contact she had, she’d managed to secure the Dorchester, including rooms for all the guests. Even Cash had been astonished when she’d told him what she’d accomplished, but she’d just smiled demurely and refused to reveal her secrets.
Tally took a breath, enjoying a quiet moment to herself before chaos ensued, and taking in her last few minutes as Tally McKenzie. She’d said her new name out loud a couple of times but still couldn’t get used to it. Tally Gallagher. Nope, didn’t sound right, although every bride had to think the same. And don’t even get me started on the signature.
Her phone dinged with an incoming text. She picked it up, her mouth lifting in a smile as she read it:
You’re late.
Tally laughed to herself, her fingers shaking as she tried to type a text back. She kept making mistakes, and some of the suggestions from spellcheck were downright hilarious. Finally she managed to stab out a response:
I’m making sure my garter is in place. Something for you to peel off later—with your teeth.
She stepped over to the window and looked at the busy street below. People were going about their business, none of them knowing she was about to marry her soul mate. Even though the day was tinged with sadness because of Kinga’s illness, Cash’s suggestion to pull the wedding forward had been the right one. If she’d had months to plan their wedding, her nerves would have frayed.
Her phone dinged again:
Fuck, baby. What are you trying to do to me? I’ve now got a massive hard-on. Is that allowed in front of a man of the cloth?
She laughed and immediately replied, starting the text off with a shocked-face emoji:
Definitely not.
His reply came almost immediately:
Then get down here, woman. Otherwise, I’m coming up to get you, and given how turned-on I am, we’ll be keeping the guests waiting for at least an hour!
Tally was about to type a reply, wanting to keep this fun game going, when a knock at the door stopped her.
“Come in,” she called out, her head still buried in her phone.
“Well, aren’t you a picture.”
Tally spun around. “Nerissa!” She tottered across the room to greet her friend. She’d have run, but the skirt was too tight, so a totter was the best she could do. She pulled Nerissa into a tight hug. “What are you doing here?”
“You have a very special fiancé. He sent for me. Correction, he sent his plane for me.” Nerissa grinned. “First time I’ve even flown in a private jet.”
“I can’t believe he did that,” Tally said. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“He loves you. You’re a lucky girl.”
“How’s the café?”
Nerissa raised her eyes to the ceiling. “You want to talk business on your wedding day?”
“I want to know you’re okay.”
Nerissa gripped both her hands. “I’m fine. Life is good, Tally. Thanks to you.”
Before Tally could reply, Pete poked his head around the door. “Showtime,” he said, and then he stopped dead. “Wow.”
Tally ran her hands over her hips. “Do I look okay?”
“Oh, Tally.” He strode across the room and hugged her before holding her at arm’s length. “Let me get a proper look at you.”
Tears filled his eyes, and a shockwave hit her. She’d never seen Pete cry, not even when her father died.
“John would be so proud, and I’m devastated he can’t be here. But I hope you think I’m a good enough substitute.”
Tally’s eyes began to sting too. “The best, Uncle Pete.”
“Okay, well, there’s a room full of guests all waiting to see the bride,” he said in a gruff tone. “Ready?”
Tally gave Nerissa a quick hug. “You’d better go. Otherwise, you’ll be following me down the aisle, and I’m sure that isn’t the way it’s supposed to go.”
Nerissa kissed her cheek. “You deserve every happiness coming your way. You’re a special person, Tally.”
As Nerissa left
her and Pete alone, Tally pulled back her shoulders and smiled nervously. “I’m ready.”
Pete stuck out his elbow, and she tucked her hand inside.
When they reached the conference room where her wedding was taking place, Em was waiting outside. So many emotions rolled through Tally that she had to fight to hold back tears, the effort making the back of her throat burn.
“Oh no you don’t, McKenzie,” Em said. “I’m using you as an advertisement for my shit-hot wedding make-up. Think of the exposure in HELLO! magazine.”
“I can’t help it,” Tally said, the words catching in her throat.
“Get her inside, Dozer,” Em said. “At least the folks at the back might see her at her best. Pity Cash is going to be greeted by panda eyes, although I suppose he might still want to marry her despite that.”
Tally laughed, and her tears receded, her friend’s teasing having the desired effect. Em pressed a kiss to her cheek, and as the doors opened, Tally’s breath caught in her throat, and she started to move forward, but Pete held her back.
“Make him wait,” Pete whispered. “Let him savour the view. You’re worth waiting for.”
The guests’ faces were blurred as she walked down the makeshift aisle, although she did spot Meredith brushing aside a tear. The only person she saw clearly was Cash, waiting at the front, Rupe by his side. No one rocked a tux like Cash, and that day was no exception. Their eyes met, and the look he gave her was so scorching she expected to find burn marks on her body when she removed her dress.
As she reached the altar, Pete placed her hand on top of Cash’s outstretched one and stepped back.
“Sorry I’m late,” she whispered.
“Sweetness, I’d wait a lifetime for you.” He bent his head close to hers, whispering so only she could hear. “You look fucking hot in that dress. I can’t wait to strip you out of it later.”
Tally’s face heated as the vicar began the introductions. She barely heard what he said until he invited Cash to say his vows. Rupe passed him a piece of paper, but Cash shook his head.
“I don’t need that.” He glanced down to where their hands were joined and then looked back up at her. “Nineteen months ago, I was in this very hotel, hosting a dinner for my tennis foundation, when my life changed forever because you blew into it. I wasn’t looking for a relationship and certainly not with a journalist.” He winked at her as a light ripple of laughter came from behind them.
“Everyone thought I had the perfect life, but I knew the truth. My life was empty, hollow, and I was desperately looking for something to fill the void. The strength of my feelings for you that night scared me to death, and I did my best to push you away. But you’d already burrowed under my skin, and the first time we kissed, I knew I was yours. All I had to do was convince you that you were mine.
“You saved me from myself on so many occasions with your unwavering love and support. You insisted there was good in me when all I saw was bad. You showed me the light when all I knew was darkness, and you helped me to forgive myself, because if someone as amazing as you could love me, maybe I was worth saving.
“And just when I thought it wasn’t possible to love you any more, you gave me the most amazing and precious gift: our beautiful daughter.”
Tally choked back her emotions as Cash continued, his gaze unwavering. “I will spend the rest of my life putting your happiness above my own. I promise to support you, respect you, and encourage you to be the best you can be. I love you, baby, and nothing will make me more proud than to be your husband.”
He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them both then dropped his gaze. His bottom lip trembled, and she knew he was trying like hell to hold his emotions in check.
Her knees shook as she tilted her head back, but as soon as their eyes met, her nerves disappeared.
“For so long, I watched you from afar, hoping that one day we’d meet and wondering what I would say to you if we did. But not even during the most extreme of dreams did I think I’d be standing here about to become your wife.
“We’ve had more than our fair share of challenges, but I know each and every one has brought us here, to where we are today, and has made us stronger together. You hold my heart in your hands, but I know it’s safe with you, ace.”
His lips curved upward, and his thumb brushed her knuckles tenderly.
“You make me feel so loved, so cherished, so special. You accept me for all that I am and all that I am not. You say that I saved you, but really, we saved each other. And that’s how I know you’re my soul mate, my best friend, my lover. I won my ace, and I’m never letting go.”
Tally glanced over her shoulder to where Darcey was fast asleep in Rachael’s arms. Her heart clenched, and despite fervent promises to herself, tears fell.
“I love you so much for giving me our baby. You’re the most amazing father, as I knew you would be, and if I can be a fraction as good a mother, then our daughter will be the luckiest child in the world.”
Tears began to slide down Cash’s face too, letting Tally see his vulnerability, and she reached up to brush them away with her thumbs.
“I promise to be there for you when you need me and to step back when you crave space. I promise to keep challenging you, to laugh with you when you’re happy, and to hold you when you’re sad. Because of you, I’m living the life I only ever dreamed of, and for that, I give you my heart and soul. You’re my everything, Cash Gallagher. You’re the missing piece of me I sought for so long, and now, standing here, I know that the stitching holding me together will never break, because I have you.”
She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips.
“You’re breaking the rules,” he whispered when she stepped back.
She smiled. “You taught me well, ace.”
They exchanged rings, and then it was all over. Cash tucked her hand inside his and began to walk down the aisle while their friends and family applauded. She caught Kinga’s eye and smiled. As promised, Kinga was rocking a fabulous midnight-blue gown and killer heels, even though she’d had to succumb to using a wheelchair. But behind her bright smile, she was far too pale, and Tally felt a growing panic in the pit of her stomach.
“She shouldn’t have come,” she whispered to Cash as he swept her past.
“Would you have wanted to be the person to tell her that?”
“No.”
“There you are, then. Look, baby, I know how worried you are about her. I’m worried too. But she’d be fucking furious if she thought for one minute we let her illness ruin our day. So for Kinga, if not for us, let it go for today.”
She nodded in agreement while inwardly acknowledging that letting go wouldn’t be easy.
As it turned out, it wasn’t as difficult as she’d feared to forget her worries and enjoy her wedding breakfast, thanks to Rupe’s best-man speech. He excelled himself, telling stories about their escapades from school days, and he didn’t once mention Cash’s rather colourful past with women. But it was how he closed out that made Tally cry.
“All I’ve ever wanted is for Cash to be happy. I’m not going to get all maudlin here, but despite how it looks to the outside world, he’s had a rough time. It was only when he met Tally that he found true happiness. I know it’s a cliché, but she really is the best thing that ever happened to him. And she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. She’s like a sister, and I’ll be forever grateful that she is in my life.”
He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. “Love you, darling,” he said, but as he moved in for another kiss, Cash barred his way.
“That’s enough, Witters. We don’t want the day to end with your face in the cake, do we?”
Tally laughed through her tears at Rupe’s affronted expression, and when she stood and kissed Rupe on the cheek, Cash’s expression made her laugh even harder. “Don’t listen to him,” she said to Rupe.
Rupe shot Cash a triumphant look and flounced back to his seat. He dusted off his hands as
though saying, That told him.
Cash rolled his eyes and rose from his chair. “Come on, Mrs Gallagher. Let’s get you on the dance floor before my ex-best friend tries to steal you away.”
Pleasure rushed through her as Cash wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
“Thank you,” he whispered, his warm breath brushing the shell of her ear.
She tilted her head back so she could look at him. “What for?”
“For making me the happiest man alive.”
42
Cash managed to persuade Natalia to have a few days away after their wedding, but she’d only agreed on the proviso they stay in the UK. As neither of them could bear to leave Darcey behind, he’d booked a cottage on the outskirts of the Cotswolds, close to a small village with a couple of decent pubs.
He promised her a better honeymoon in a few weeks, although he omitted saying they would take it when Kinga was no longer there. He couldn’t say when she is dead, not even to himself. It sounded too final, too brutal.
As he pulled into the driveway of the house he’d rented, Natalia began to laugh.
“You said a small cottage,” she said, looking out of the window at the huge stone detached house, their home for the next week.
He stifled a grin. “I like space.”
He jumped out of the car and unhooked Darcey’s car seat. She’d slept all the way there, but now that the movement of the car had stopped rocking her, she’d woken. Her big midnight-blue eyes, the replica of Natalia’s, were gazing up at him with the same adoration with which he was gazing down at her.
“Hi, baby girl,” he said, nuzzling her nose with his. She let out the most adorable giggle, and his heart almost burst. “Oh my God, did you hear that?”
Natalia closed the car door, her answering smile wide. “Her first laugh.”
Cash clapped a hand over his chest and sagged a little at the knees. “I’m so in love.”
Grand Slam: A Winning Ace Novel (Book 3) Page 24
