Page 53 of Tangled in His Embrace

Epilogue

Jax stood in front of the large fireplace at his parents’ house, listening to his dad and Alexander talk about some new drug that was on the market. He was only half paying attention as their family and friends filled up his parents’ living room. They’d borrowed some chairs and set them up in the living room for people to sit on during the small ceremony, and almost all of them were full.

His dad had built a fire earlier that morning to warm the room. It was a good thing, too, since every time the front door was opened cold air wafted in from outside and crept into the living room. Not that Jax needed the extra heat. He was sweating under his suit and it had nothing to do with the temperature in the room. He was nervous, plain and simple. Not about marrying Gabby—he couldn’t wait for that—it was more that he wanted this day to be perfect for her and was afraid this rushed wedding wasn’t going to live up to her expectations.

He had no rational reason to think that, however. Gabby had insisted a small wedding was exactly what she wanted. She didn’t want to wait the year or so it would take to pull off something more extravagant. In her mind, they’d wasted enough time and, in that respect, he couldn’t disagree with her. They had wasted too much time and it was entirely his fault.

Pushing the self-loathing aside, he focused on the present. Gabby had been right when she said they both needed to forgive each other and themselves. Living in the past didn’t solve anything and would only hinder their future.

Thanks to both of their mothers, they’d somehow managed to put together a wedding in a little over a week. They’d both fully embraced Jax and Gabby’s engagement and jumped in with both feet to help however they could. He still wasn’t sure how they’d done it. All the talk of cakes and decorations and seating had made his head spin.

His gaze fell on the Christmas tree a few feet away. Usually his parents’ Christmas tree was decorated with various ornaments from his childhood. But since this was a special occasion, his mom had insisted the tree needed to look the part. It was covered in a mixture of silver, gold, red, and white and looked as if it had come right out of a magazine.

A flash of red caught his attention and he zeroed in on it. The sound of female laughter filtered in from the hall a moment before Grace moved into his line of sight.

The only family member who’d been a bit skeptical was Grace. When they’d told Gabby’s mother, Caroline, she’d just smiled and said she knew it would all work out eventually. Grace, however, had looked at them both as if they’d lost their minds. He knew it was out of fear he’d break her sister’s heart again, and to be honest, he couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t as if he didn’t deserve her skepticism.

In an effort to mend fences, Jax, Gabby, Grace, and Alexander, whom Jax was still trying to get to know, all went out to dinner two nights ago to clear the air. He wasn’t sure everything was peachy keen now, but at least he was confident Grace knew his intentions when it came to Gabby and Taylor were honorable.

Grace strolled into the living room holding Taylor’s hand. His daughter looked adorable in her fancy dress—the perfect little flower girl. He only hoped her dress made it through the ceremony without her getting something on it, a rather large accomplishment for a three-year-old.

“Gabby’s still getting ready and Taylor was getting restless. I told her we’d come see what her daddy was doing.”

Without comment, Jax lifted her into his arms and settled her onto his hip. “Have you been helping Mommy get ready?”

Taylor nodded and proceeded to launch into all the ways she’d been helping her mother.

“I should probably get back to Gabby,” Grace said. “When I left they were putting the finishing touches on her hair.”

Alexander extended his hand to Grace and she took it. He pulled her close to him and whispered something in her ear. Jax didn’t hear what was said, but whatever it was had Grace blushing. She nodded and walked away.

He didn’t get to think about it for too long before Wes, one of his cousins, headed toward him. Jax smiled as he neared. He lowered Taylor to the ground and then embraced his cousin. “It’s good to see you.”

“Same here. It’s been years.” Three years to be more precise. When Jax had left he’d cut himself off from everyone except his parents.

He felt a tug on his pant leg and looked down. Taylor was staring up at him. “I’m gonna go help Mommy.”

Jax nodded and she was off.

Wes chuckled. “She’s growing up.”

“Yeah.”

Wes started talking about sports, always a popular subject with him. Football, basketball, hockey... it didn’t matter. He could talk for hours and still not get tired. A half hour later, he was still standing there talking sports. He and Wes had been joined by another one of his cousins and three of his uncles. Jax wasn’t a big sports fan himself, but the conversation had helped get his mind off his nerves.

His father came up beside him and clapped him on the back. “Sorry to interrupt, gentlemen, but I believe we’re about ready to get this show on the road.”

As soon as the words were out of his dad’s mouth, all the anxiety returned.

Soft music began playing, signaling to everyone it was time to take their seats.

His dad moved to stand beside him, taking his position as Jax’s best man. “Nervous?”

Jax glanced over at his father. “Is it obvious?”

Nate Brooks chuckled. “Only to those of us who’ve been in your shoes. You’ll be fine as soon as you lay eyes on her.”

Nodding, Jax took a deep breath and tried to let the music soothe him.

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