“I guess you could say I’m emotionally compromised after all,” he said and offered a sad smile.
She let out a surprised laugh through her tears.
“One last thing, Callie. If you do still feel the same, if it’s possible that you still want me, I’ll be waiting at the place it all started. This week—same day and time, at the place I first proposed.”
The video ended, but she was lost in the memory of walking past a small Vegas chapel and his saying, “Hey, I have a crazy idea. Let’s get married.” And fueled by alcohol and infatuation, she’d pretty much squealed a yes then jumped up and hugged him,
It had been a Tuesday, about eleven o’clock at night. She double-checked her computer’s calendar—it was Monday. He wanted to meet her tomorrow night at 11:00 p.m. in Vegas.
Everything inside her wanted to go, to meet him and feel his arms around her again. She’d been lying awake every night since she’d left him, dreaming of a chance to be held by him again. But something even stronger was gnawing at her belly, holding her back.
There was no question he was being genuine on that tape. He’d exposed himself in a way she’d never thought he was capable of. But what if he regretted it now?
He’d made declarations to her before, made vows, and then changed his mind the next morning. Would he even be waiting in that chapel, or was the tape something he’d made in the middle of the night and already regretted? Was he working with his lawyers right this minute to get the video taken down?
And even if he made it to the chapel tomorrow night, would he change his mind in a day, a week, a month or a year?
The sad truth was, she wasn’t sure if she could trust him with her heart. Was a potential future with Adam Hawke worth the risk?
* * *
Callie huddled closer to her sister under the bright yellow umbrella as they trudged down the wet Las Vegas street. Her thoughts were all crammed together in her head so hard, all jumbled, and none of them clear enough to even consider properly.
“Stop it,” Summer said.
Callie flinched and then frowned at her sister. “What?”
“I can hear you second-guessing yourself from here.”
“Actually, I haven’t first-guessed yet, so there’s nothing to second-guess.” She’d been too busy replaying Adam’s message in her mind to do much more than walk in a straight line.
“Oh, come on,” Summer said, rolling her eyes. “You’re here. That’s a decision.”
Callie placed a hand over her chest, as if she could brace her heart, and then admitted the awful truth. “It might not even be an issue. I don’t think he’ll come.”
“Of course he’ll be here.” Her sister waved her concerns away with a flick of her wrist. “No one who saw that video—which is everyone in the country—could doubt that he’s head over heels about you. Plus, you’re a trending topic on social media and the consensus is definitely that you’ll both turn up. The people have spoken and they’re demanding a happy ending.”
“That’s lovely of the people,” Callie said, trying not to cringe at being the topic of so many conversations, “but I don’t think the weight of public opinion is going to affect Adam’s decisions.”
“Well, I’m sure he’ll come.” Summer gave her a smug smile. “I hate to say this, but you knew I would at some point... I told you he loves you.”
A seething mass of confusion churned in her gut. How easy it would be to simply believe what he’d said. It would be a dream come true. But life was rarely that simple.
She glanced over at her sister and tried to explain. “Adam changes his mind quickly. Last time, it was less than twenty-four hours after promising me the world that he asked for a divorce.”
“You two barely knew each other back then,” she pointed out.
“Which is why I was blindsided.” In some ways, the pain of that time was still fresh. It was sitting on the sidelines, warning her, trying to keep her safe from being hurt in the same way again. “Now I know him and I understand how much he hates being...emotionally compromised.”
“But you’re here, you’re going to meet him, so what’s the plan?”
Callie stopped and looked out over the light but steady rain that hit the pavement and the palm trees, and was bouncing off the umbrellas of people around them.
“I’m waiting to hear what he says and I need to see him in person for that, not a video message. I’ll know by his eyes.” She had to see how deeply he was affected. In the meantime, the agony of having no idea if this was real or not was killing her.
As they rounded a corner, Adam came into view. He stood alone, a large, black umbrella shielding him from the rain. A few feet behind him, his brothers and their fiancées stood huddled together in an alcove in front of the chapel.
At the sight of him, her body froze, as if it had gone into internal meltdown. She couldn’t take another step, couldn’t even feel—her emotions had become numb, as well.
He wore dark trousers and a coffee-hued shirt, his hair clearly damp, his shoulders tight. Tension flowed off him in waves as he scanned the area around them. She’d never seen a man more magnificent.
As soon as he saw them, his shoulders relaxed a fraction and he strode over. Summer squeezed her hand and nodded her greeting to Adam. Adam returned it and edged his umbrella over Callie. As soon as she was covered, Summer scurried off to stand in the alcove with Adam’s family.
Adam’s gaze was dark and intense. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d be here, either.” She was still cushioned by the emotional numbness, or she would never have been able to get those words out as evenly.
“Didn’t you see the video?” he asked, his voice rough. “I told you I’d be here.”
“You forget, I’ve been through this with you before and you changed your mind once you had time to think it through.” She’d tried to say the words gently—this was about having the truth on the table, not about accusations, but still she saw him flinch.
“That was different, and so long ago. Everything has changed.”
She glanced at the chapel with its flashing neon lights, and then over at their siblings and partners, all gathered and pretending not to be watching them, and her emotional numbness dissolved. The emotions of the past few weeks came crashing in on her in a tidal wave, and it was all she could do to stay upright.
She rubbed a hand over her eyes and then looked at him. “Adam, what are we doing here?”
“You tell me. I’m here to marry the woman I love. What about you?” His eyes were unwavering, challenging.
She shrugged one shoulder, determined to keep her distance until she was ready. “I’m still thinking about that one.”
“If it helps your decision, I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I’ve let go of the comparisons to my grandfather. I’m more like my brothers than I ever was like him, and Liam and Dylan are stronger men, better men, with Jenna and Faith in their lives. I want that. I’m ready for that. With you.”
That did help, but there was more, and she hardly dared ask...
There was no moving forward until she heard his answer, so she straightened her spine and asked outright. “What about your self-control? Letting your guard down?”
“Not an issue. When we were together, I was letting my guard down without even realizing it.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I thought control was the most important thing in my life, but it’s not. You are.”
He reached into his pocket and drew out a velvet box. She recognized the logo of the jeweler who’d customized the rings they’d chosen.
Her bottom lip trembled, so she bit down on it to keep it still. “You really want to get married here, and not at a fancy place with all your friends?”
“You were right. The fancy version we were planning was about everybody else—the trust, the media, your job. That suited our purposes at the time, but what I want now is something stripped back. Something that’s just you and me and the promises we want to make to each other. Although,” he said with the trace of a smile, “I can’t promise my words will be as pretty as the ones Summer wrote for me.”
A huge lump lodged itself in her throat, and she had to swallow twice before she could get her voice to work. “I’d rather plain, stumbling words that were heartfelt and yours alone than all the pretty words in the world.”
Adam’s eyes misted over, and she knew in that moment, beyond any doubt, that he felt this as deeply as she did, and he was making a commitment to her for life, not until he changed his mind. The sight was beautiful and it filled her with joy.
He leaned in and kissed her. It was like stepping off a ledge, flying in free fall, without having to worry about the landing, because this man would always be there for her, she knew that now. Just as she’d always be there for him.
At a certain point, she’d wondered who was there for him, and had desperately wanted to be that person. And now she was. It was almost too much to contemplate all at once.
Dylan’s voice rang out. “Are we having a wedding or what?”
Adam raised an eyebrow in question, his gaze steady on her. “Callie? It’s your call. You know what I want.”
Her heart felt as if it was hitting her rib cage on every beat. “If you’re proposing again—”
“I am.”
“—then yes. A thousand times yes.”
Adam dropped the umbrella, gathered her up in his arms and kissed her again. A cheer went up from the combined family group and she smiled against his mouth, but didn’t break the kiss. The light rain was soaking her dress and dripping down his face, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered but being in his arms again.
When they finally broke apart, he lowered her to her feet. “Come and marry me, Callie.”
Heart overflowing, she picked up the discarded umbrella and took his proffered hand. While they walked with him into the chapel, she was unable to look away from the man at her side. At the door, they were met with hugs and well-wishes.
Liam said, “Should I tell the celebrant we’re ready?”
“Yes,” Adam and Callie said together, smiling at each other as they left Liam to organize the details.
Faith carefully reached into a large handbag she had in the crook of her elbow and came out with a small bouquet of the Bridal Tulip, interspersed with tiny blue flowers.
She slid off a clear plastic cone that had been protecting the flowers and handed the bouquet to Callie. “I had it ready, just in case.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you,” Callie said, touched.
Faith again reached into her bag and came out with a single snowy white tulip and pinned it to Adam’s lapel. Then she stood back and grinned. “You might be having a simple wedding, but we couldn’t have a Hawke brother getting married without any flowers.”
“Or something borrowed,” Jenna said from beside her. She had a glittering tiara in her hands. “This also counts as something old, since it’s been in my family for several generations.”
Callie took the tiara, her heart in her mouth. If this had been in Jenna’s royal family for generations, then it was quite possibly priceless. “These diamonds are real?” she asked, hardly daring to consider the possibility.
“Shhh,” Jenna said with a sparkle in her eye. “I’m not really supposed to bring it out without a bodyguard. But I don’t think Adam is going to take his eyes off you tonight, so it should be safe.”
Adam took the tiara from her fingers. “It’s beautiful, thank you, Jenna.” He slid it onto Callie’s head and smiled. “A princess for a night, but queen of my heart forever. I love you so much, Callie Mitchell. I love you with everything inside me.”
The tears she’d been holding back finally started to slide down her cheeks. Since her face was already damp from the rain, she didn’t need to wipe them away. Everything just blended together.
As Jenna stood back, Callie could see Faith was pinning single tulip buttonholes to Liam and Dylan’s jackets and then she handed Summer a bouquet consisting of a single tulip and tiny blue flowers.
Dylan stepped forward. “Faith said you have something blue in the flowers and that Jenna brought something borrowed and old. So you just need something new.” He pulled out a long silver necklace with a locket. “I had this made for your original wedding—wait, no, that would have been your second wedding. Man, you guys need to stop getting married!”
Callie laughed and kissed Dylan’s cheek. “Thanks.”
“Open it,” he said, and she did. It was a tiny picture from the official wedding announcement photos, which was strange, because he’d thought their wedding was a sham when he would have had this made.
Before she could ask, he said, “I wanted you to know that even after your official wedding ended, you’d always be a part of this family. No matter what was going on with Adam and you, the rest of us would always be there for you. Of course, now you’re making it all official and real, so this doesn’t have the same meaning—”
His words cut out when she threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, this means a lot.”
The celebrant appeared and called them in, so the group moved into the chapel, but Callie hesitated, tucking her damp hair behind her ear.
“What is it?” Adam asked.
“What about our parents? Neither set is here.” This wasn’t the wedding with the complete guest list that they’d been planning, but she was sure all four parents would hate to miss the event.
“My parents are babysitting Meg and Bonnie so Liam and Jenna could come, but Dylan has them on a video call, so they can watch.” He nodded to where they could see Dylan through the arched door, talking into a phone cradled in his palm.
Surprised, she swung her gaze back to her groom. “You told your parents about tonight before you knew whether I’d come or not?” He was always so guarded and unwilling to share information that would make him emotionally vulnerable that this didn’t make sense.
“I have nothing to hide. I want you, and I’m happy for the world to know it.” He kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose and each cheek. “Also Liam said he asked Summer for your parents’ contact details a few minutes ago, and they’re calling your parents now.” On the other side of the short aisle, Summer was talking to someone on a tablet screen, then she handed it to Jenna and moved to the front of the pews, beside a waiting Liam and the celebrant.
Callie shook her head in amazement. “Considering this wasn’t planned, everything seems to be falling into place.”
Adam grinned at her. “I have no idea what we were doing, spending all that time planning the other wedding. This one took hardly any effort at all.”
“Just a video message,” she said and then placed a hand over his heart. She could feel its steady thump through his shirt and jacket. “Adam, I understand how difficult it would have been for you to make that message. It means a lot.”
“It resulted in you coming here tonight, so it was
nothing.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips in the sweetest of kisses.
Prerecorded organ music started playing, and Adam eased back and held out his arm. “Ready?”
“Wait!” Summer called to the room and then whispered something to the celebrant, who flicked a switch on a panel to his side and the music stopped. Summer pulled an MP3 player from her pocket and connected it to the panel with a cord the celebrant handed her, then thumbed a button on the player. The room was flooded with the introductory notes of “The Lady in Red.”
Adam chuckled. “I think that’s become our song.”
“It’s perfect,” Callie said, and walked down the aisle on the arm of the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with.
Ten minutes later, they were married. Again. Each of their five guests threw streamers and popped party poppers. Then they all headed back to a suite Liam had booked for a low-key reception, filled with champagne, room-service food and as much love as one room could hold.
After only an hour or so, Callie met Adam’s gaze from across the room. Within seconds, he was at her side. “Ready to get out of here?”
Callie smiled. “Absolutely.”
Adam cleared his throat and raised his voice. “Thank you for everything you all did tonight. It’s time for us to go.”
“You have to throw the bouquet first,” Jenna called from the sofa.
They all looked around the room. Everyone was paired off except Summer, who said, “I’m fine. Don’t throw it just for me.”
Faith gently turned Callie by the shoulders. “It won’t be just for you, Summer. Jenna and I aren’t married yet, and we don’t know which wedding will come first. We’ll all play.”
Callie picked up her bouquet, turned her back to the women and threw it over her head. When she turned around, Summer was holding the tulips with a look of resigned humor.
Then Adam slid his arms around Callie from behind, and she forgot all about everyone else. All she wanted was to be alone with her new husband.
His 24-Hour Wife (The Hawke Brothers 2) Page 15
