by M. A. Foster
Elizabeth shrugs. “The circumstances are different.”
“Well, if they have a problem with it, then I guess I won’t play for them.”
“Zach—” I start, but my mom cuts me off.
“As much as I want to strangle you both right now,” my mom says in a hushed voice, “we’re in the middle of a graduation party, and there are too many witnesses. We’ll talk about this later.”
After the party, Levi drives us back to my house with Troy riding shotgun, while Zach and I are in the back seat nervously preparing for a showdown with our families. I’m not an idiot to think they wouldn’t find out. I figured they would, just not so soon. There were no pictures to go along with the breaking news, so the source must work in the marriage license office.
Levi eases his company-issued SUV through the gates of my neighborhood, waving to Zeke, one of the Joes in the guardhouse who fills in as backup on my security team. Once inside the gate, Levi whips the car to the side of the road and throws it into Park. Even though I trust Levi with my life, a pang of anxiety forms in my chest.
My anxiety issues had been under control until I was attacked.
“What are you doing?” I rush out, eyeing Levi in the rearview mirror.
I sense Zach’s curious stare boring into the side of my head, but my focus is locked on Levi.
Levi turns in his seat, peering around the headrest, jaw tight. “Congratu-fucking-lations. Are you two trying to get us fired?” he growls through his clenched teeth.
“What are you talking about?” I scowl.
“You fucking eloped in St. Thomas under our watch.” He gestures to Troy, who hasn’t moved a muscle. “That makes us look like we weren’t doing our jobs. Your mom is probably going to fire our asses the second we step inside that house. This epic fuckup will probably get our asses demoted to picking up dog shit in Heritage Park.”
Apparently, he hadn’t been paying attention. Crossing my arms over my chest, I tilt my head. “You obviously didn’t read your contract. My mother can’t fire you. Not now, anyway. You’ve been working for me since the day I turned eighteen. The only one who can fire you is me.” I raise a brow, challenging him to argue.
I would never fire either of them. First of all, I like Levi and Troy, a lot. Levi is a broody smartass like his cousin Evan. Troy’s not big on conversation and usually blends into the background, even though he’s a big fucker. In a way, he reminds me of Bass. But we’ve been through a lot together and I trust them both implicitly.
The car is silent for a beat as Troy turns his head to look over at Levi, and then a loud boisterous laugh bursts from his chest. “Bro, even I knew that.”
Levi scowls at Zach and me before turning in his seat. “I didn’t,” he murmurs, shifting the car into Drive. Then suddenly he slams on the brakes, causing us to jerk forward.
“Dude, what the fuck?” Zach barks out.
Levi throws the truck into Park again and turns in his seat once more. “Why did you panic?”
My brows knit together in confusion. “Hmm?”
“When I pulled over, you panicked. I saw it. Why?”
I shrug and turn my head to look out the window. “It was just a knee-jerk reaction. It’s not you.”
“Fuck.” He turns back in his seat and exhales sharply as he puts the truck in Drive and pulls away from the curb. “I’m sorry.”
Zach undoes my seat belt and pulls me into his lap, burying his face in my neck.
“Don’t be. I’m fine,” I tell him. “I mean, I will be. I appreciate you, Levi. And you, too, Troy. You guys make me feel comfortable and safe. And sure, I could’ve fired you when I turned eighteen, but that would’ve been the biggest mistake of my life. Because although I want freedom and normalcy, I’m never going to have it. I’ve accepted it.” I huff out a humorless laugh. “So buckle up, boys, because this ride that is my life is about to go off the rails.”
“Well fuck me, if this isn’t karma at its finest.” Mimi cackles before turning and pointing at me. “Don’t get me wrong, baby girl. I’m extremely disappointed in you for denying your family the chance to be a part of something important.” Her expression turns pained, her voice shaky, as if her heart’s breaking all over again. “Do you have any idea how heartbroken we were when your mother ran off and eloped with your father? Mac Daddy never got the chance to walk his only daughter down the aisle, to give her away. Tell me what you two were thinking.”
I know exactly what I was thinking. “We were thinking that life is short, and the people we love can be taken from us when we least expect it, so why not live it to the fullest with no regrets? We weren’t trying to be deceitful, and we didn’t mean to hurt our families. We did it because we love each other, and after everything I, Zach, and this family have been through—” I suck in a deep breath through my nose, fighting back the urge to cry, and focus on the space over Mimi’s shoulder. It was never my intention to hurt my family. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry. We’d still like to have a wedding, if you’re up for planning one, but it has to be before I leave on tour.”
“The tour is in six weeks,” my mother exclaims. “You’re basically giving me a month to plan a wedding. Where the hell is this wedding supposed to take place? Most venues are booked out at least a year in advance. And you need a dress. Jesus, Jayla.” She presses her palm to her forehead in frustration. “Why can’t the wedding wait until after the tour?”
“Because that’s not what we want,” I argue. “We’re already married. This isn’t LA. I don’t need some big fancy wedding. You and Dad raised me out of the public eye, and I want to keep it that way.”
She jabs her index finger at me. “The day you stepped on that red carpet, you put yourself in the public eye.”
“I’ll make some calls,” Mimi jumps in to cut through the tension. My mom looks like she’s about to lose her shit.
“I’ll help,” Liz adds. “Mimi and I have a lot of connections with all the charity work we do. I’m sure we can find a venue between the two of us.”
“If not, then we’ll have it here at the house.” I wave my hand around the room.
“We can’t have it here, Jayla,” Mom argues. “There isn’t enough room. Even if we keep the guest list to a minimum of family and friends, it’s at least two hundred people.”
“How do you figure?” Zach asks as he walks into the room and stands at my side, curling an arm around my waist.
Mom holds up her hand and begins ticking off her fingers. “Let’s start with the friends. Between the two of you, we’re looking at what, at least fifty people, right?” I look over at Zach, and he gives a slight shrug. He has no clue. But that sounds about right. I turn my attention back to my mom and nod. “Add in our immediate families and their plus ones. Then add in our extended families and their plus ones. Do you see where I’m going with this? Then you have to consider the other people who’ll be in your lives. There are people at the record label, the law firm in LA, and the Royal Mayhem foundation. That’s just your side, Jayla. Zach, it’s your day, too. Your parents have friends, and then there are your father’s business associates and colleagues. And—”
“Sounds to me like eloping wasn’t such a bad idea.” Zach scoffs, tightening his grip on my waist.
I turn and press a kiss to his cheek. “We had our day, Z. Let’s let them have theirs.”
“Are you two planning on taking a honeymoon?” my mom asks.
Zach turns to me. “Are we?”
I lift my gaze to meet his. “Maybe a short one. We could go back to where it all started, Z.”
“Disney?” He smirks.
“Why not?” I bump my shoulder against his.
Tilting her head back, my mom pinches the bridge of her nose and exhales harshly. “I need a minute.” She storms off toward her bedroom, and a moment later her door slams shut.
My gaze flicks to Bass, who’s wearing an unreadable expression before he turns on his heels to follow her.
Zach wraps both arms a
round me and pulls me to his chest. I sigh. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”
“Okay.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I should probably talk to my parents, too.”
Leaving Zach in the kitchen, I make my way to my mom’s room. The door is still closed, so I knock softly before opening it and stepping inside.
My mom is stretched out on her bed with Bass lying beside her. Both of them are staring up at the ceiling. Bass is stone-faced, and my mom is crying.
Stopping at the edge of the bed, I say, “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“You broke my heart, Jay,” she says through a shuddered breath.
“That was never my intention. You have to know that. Honestly, we didn’t think anyone would find out. We were just going to let everyone think we’re engaged.”
“Oh, well that makes me feel much better,” she says sarcastically. She moves to sit with her back against the headboard. “Come here.” She pats the empty spot on the edge of the bed, and I slide onto it.
“Why did you do it, Jay?” she whispers.
“Because we love each other, and it just felt right. I know you don’t approve, but I don’t regret it. Hurting my family? Yes. Marrying Zach? No. I know we haven’t been together long, but after the attack….” I trail off, and she tenses at my side. “Everything is different now. We’ve both made mistakes and acted immaturely at one point in our relationship, but none of that matters. I could’ve died that day, and Zach would’ve been left with memories of our time together. The good times. Not the time I ignored him for a year because he broke my heart. And not the time he freaked out about the pictures on social media. None of that stuff is important. All that matters is that I didn’t die. Instead, I walked away from that nightmare with only this.” I point to the small scar in my hairline. “Please stop crying.”
“I’m crying because I now know how my parents felt when I eloped with Marcus. They were so mad, but I didn’t care. I was in love. So I get it, Jay. It still hurts, but I really do get it. You take after your father. When he wanted something, he was relentless, and he made no apologies for it.”
Bass hums in agreement.
“B?” I say quietly.
“Yes, princess.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you, princess. I’m just feeling a little caught off guard, that’s all. I thought I’d have a few more years with you before handing you off,” he admits. “And if I had been with you in St. Thomas, I wouldn’t have allowed you to go through with it.” That was most likely a dig at Levi and Troy not doing their jobs. But what he doesn’t understand is that they were doing their jobs. I asked for privacy, and they respected my request.
“B, you know as well as I do that the moment Zach and I got together, I was already gone. I’ve followed the rules my entire life until now. Now I’m an adult. You two just need to accept that this was going to happen sooner or later. I’m begging you both to please trust my judgment. I love Zach. I always have. He’s my guy.”
Jayla
Something hard presses against my butt cheek, and a muscular arm curls around my waist. “Good morning, wife,” Zach says in that deep, raspy morning voice that shoots straight to my lady J.
“Good morning, husband,” I reply sleepily.
“I like the sound of that.” He buries his face in the crook of my neck and presses a kiss to my favorite spot just below my ear. “I was just thinking, now that your mom knows we’re married, I can finally move my shit in here.”
He lifts his head from my neck as I turn to look over my shoulder. “You mean I have to share my closet with you?” I feign annoyance.
Zach rolls his eyes. “Babe, your closet is bigger than half the boutiques in Heritage Bay. You can spare a drawer or two.”
“But can I really?” I ask dryly.
He slides a hand down the front of my pajama shorts. “Do you need some persuasion to share your space?”
“Keep doing that and I’ll happily share my space,” I quip.
His hard body shakes with silent laughter.
A soft knock on the door interrupts our playful banter, followed by my mom’s voice. “Are you guys awake?”
“Yeah,” I call out. “Hold on.”
Zach lets out a frustrated groan and rolls to his back as I slide out of bed and make my way to the door.
My mom walks in carrying a notebook and heads over to my sitting room. She plops down on one end of the sofa and opens her little notebook while I settle on the other end. “What are your plans today?” she asks.
“Relaxing,” I tell her, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs.
She gives me an annoyed look. “Unfortunately, there’s not going to be a lot of time for relaxing. There’s a lot to be done if you want this wedding to happen in four weeks. Mimi called her contact at the Heritage Beach and Country Club last night, and we were able to book the grand ballroom for the twenty-fourth. Are you okay with that?”
“That’s perfect.”
She pulls out a pen and scribbles something in her notebook. “Okay, great. Now we still have to talk about flowers, cake, food, music—”
I cut in. “Ranunculus, chocolate—”
“Steak and pasta,” Zach chimes in. “And I get to pick our wedding song,” he finishes.
I smile at him. “Do you already have a song in mind?” I ask.
He grins. “I do, but I’m not telling you. You’ll have to wait until our first dance.”
Mom clears her throat. “I like that idea, Zach.” She returns her attention to me. “I’m thinking we should do a three-tiered cake with different flavors. Not everyone likes chocolate.”
“It’s my wedding,” I joke, but her expression tells me she doesn’t find me funny. I roll my eyes. “How about red velvet and yellow cake?”
“That’s better.” She jots down my choices in her notebook.
“Do we get to sample the cake?” I ask.
“Probably.”
“Okay. Just give me a day and time, and we’ll be there. Right, Z?”
“Yep.” He smiles.
“We still need music,” Mom says. “Do you want me to talk to Lucas?”
I raise my brows. “That’s not a bad idea. I was also thinking it would be a perfect opportunity for Project Mayhem to get warmed up before the tour.”
She nods. “I like that. Talk to Alex and see if he and Lucas can put together a set.”
“Okay.”
She scribbles in her notebook again. “Well, that was easy. Tomorrow Mimi and I will be working on invitations. The rest is up to you.”
“Like what?”
“Like picking your wedding party.”
My brows pinch in confusion. Her gaze flicks between Zach and me before she rolls her eyes. “Your bridesmaids and groomsmen. You need a maid of honor.” She gestures to Zach. “And you need a best man.”
“Oh.” I snort. “I already know who I want to be in the wedding.” I look over at Zach. “Do you?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Jesus Christ,” my mom murmurs, pressing her fingers to her forehead. “You have to ask them to be in your wedding. It’s part of the planning. Traditionally, you present them with a gift. You go with them to pick out their bridesmaid dresses. Do you know what colors you want?”
I frown. “I thought you guys were planning this?”
“We are,” Elizabeth says as she enters the room and perches on the arm of the sofa beside my mom. It’s so weird to see them getting along. Mom didn’t really have any friends in California other than Grace and Weenie’s mom, but she was always traveling with Weenie. And Elizabeth was such a bitch in the beginning that I couldn’t see how anyone would want to be her friend. Of course, my opinion of her has changed. “Zach, you and your friends need to go get fitted for your tuxes.”
“That’s easy enough,” he replies, running a hand over his messy hair. My gaze zeroes in on his bicep, and I have the sudden urge to kick thes
e two out of my room so we can finish what he started this morning. He catches my stare, and a knowing smirk tugs at his lips.
“What about a dress?” Elizabeth asks, breaking our lust-filled stare-down.
“Crap,” I groan. “I need to go dress shopping.”
“Don’t worry about your dress just yet. Let me make some calls first.” Mom stands from the sofa, and Elizabeth straightens. “We’re going to work on the flowers, cake, and food. You two get your shit together and secure your wedding party. Preferably today.”
I drop my shoulders and breathe out a sigh. “Fine.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Zach reassures her as she makes her way to the door with Elizabeth trailing behind her. He wiggles his eyebrows at me as if to say ‘lock the door behind them and get back in this bed.’
Mom stops and turns in the doorway, her gaze flicking between the two of us before she raises a brow. “I know what you’re up to, and there’s no time for it. Get dressed and get your wedding party together. That’s your task today.”
Zach barks out a laugh, and my whole body flushes in embarrassment. “Oh my God, Mom.”
Zach
Cole answers the door with a smirk. “Well, if it isn’t the happily married couple.”
“Ha ha,” Jay huffs out dryly, pushing past him and stepping inside. “I don’t want to hear any shit from you, teen dad.”
Cole narrows his eyes and mumbles, “Shut up.”
“Speaking of, where are Willow and Harper?”
“Willow is with my mom, and Harper is in the pool house.”
Jay turns on her heels and heads toward the back of the house. Cole watches her until she disappears through the back door before he turns back to me. “The fuck is her problem?” he asks.
“Emerson,” I say, closing the door behind me and following him into the kitchen.
He grunts in understanding as he heads for the fridge. I stop at the french doors overlooking the pool deck. Jay is standing at the edge of the pool, her hands shoved in the back pockets of her denim shorts as she looks down at Aiden, who’s in the pool. A familiar-looking blonde in a bikini is sitting on the edge, leaning back on her hands and using her feet to sling water at Aiden.
