Page 47 of Accidental Love

“You didn’t kick my ass. I lost by like two points,” I said defensively. “But that is okay. I don’t want to give myself the advantage with you dressed so nice. I will beat you one day.” I pointed at him. “Let’s go to that cute ice cream shop by your work!”

“I accept your challenge for another day. To get ice cream it is.”

I smiled, turning to look out the window as we left.

***

A lot had happened since our car accident. Now that I thought about it, the accident happened for a reason, and without it I didn’t know where either of us would be. Would I not be with Liam anymore? Would we be already married? Happy?

We found out that the car accident was indeed not an accident. Liam’s father, Adam, got the driver to talk, who ended up telling him everything. Carmen, Liam’s ex-girlfriend, paid him to run into our car. He wasn’t supposed to hit Liam’s side, but mine. The guy had apparently been watching us for the past week or so, and when he saw us at the stoplight, he got fed up so he ran into the car.

When Liam found out he was pissed. He, his father, and a few officers went to get her, and when she saw Liam in a cast, she caved. Apparently she bawled and begged to Liam, who didn’t want anything to do with her. Now she was sitting somewhere in jail or prison for I didn’t know how long. I’d never met her and didn’t plan on it, ever.

It took Liam and I about a month before we were both healed up. Well, more like his arm healed. Both of our broken and bruised ribs still hurt from time to time, but the doctor said it would take years for them to heal completely. The bruising on my whole side was gone as well as the swelling, but every so often, when I turned dramatically to the side, my ribs would spark with pain; but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.

After I got back with Liam, I did officially quit the diner and had only gone there to eat a few times. Even Sophia didn’t work there anymore. She now worked as a designer with Liam’s mother, Lilly. Once I told her about Sophia and how great she was, she gave her a shot. Now, a year later, she was still working there and finishing up with her degree so she could start her own business one day. She was still happily with Garrett and were going on their year-and-a-half anniversary.

Candy had also done great over the past year. She and Sky moved out of their small apartment and into a cute house not too far from Liam and me. She was now the top hair dresser at the shop she worked at. Tons of people requested her, and she even did my hair. Sky was happy to be near us so she could be around Liam, who was still her prince. Well not so much lately, since she made friends with a little boy in her grade. For a few months now, Candy had also been dating some guy. I didn’t know who he was and she still hadn’t let me meet him, but if she was happy with him, I was okay.

Now with Liam’s mother, Lilly, things were all right. It had taken a while to be able to forgive her for how terrible she was to me, but I couldn’t stay mad forever. She was going to be my mother-in-law, and hearing her apologize every time we saw her made me finally accept her remorse. We still weren’t entirely close, but things were better now than they were. Lilly was helping out with the wedding, making sure everything was in order and perfect. This wedding wouldn’t be happening in three weeks without her. I found out a few weeks after Liam and I got back together that Lilly was the one of the reasons Liam found me. I should have been angry that she practically stalked me to find out where I was staying, but I wasn’t. If Liam hadn’t gotten to me first, I would have gone to him. Well, with the help of Devon and Grayson.

Devon and Grayson were still going strong. They had been together for a little longer than Liam and myself. Grayson still worked in the IT department at Stanford Industries, and Devon worked as a photographer, which would have been nice to know when we were taking our engagement photos a while ago. Over the last year I had become really close to Devon. He was great to be around and I couldn’t be happier that he was with Grayson.

Now with Grayson and Julie, everything was fine. Of course Julie was sad and angry that Grayson was gay, and was angry at everyone for not telling her. But she got over it pretty quickly, especially when she met a handsome doctor at the hospital where she worked. She just finished her first year there, and seemed to be happy with her decision to quit modeling. Of course every once in a while she would pose for an ad, but that didn’t happen often anymore.

Moving steadily along were Blake and Lennon. They were still together and happy. It seemed they were more in love than Liam and I sometimes. I guess they were just making up for lost time, but it was awkward going out to eat with them only to have them make out. Lennon was still her sarcastic self, and still working as a makeup artist and fashion helper to models. Not me anymore, sadly. And Blake was about to take over his father’s company in just a few months. The hotel they built in LA apparently had done great business, which helped Blake look good for the company. I expected him to propose to Lennon any day now.

With all the friends I had made over this past year-and-a-half, I finally felt like I fit in somewhere. Back in high school I thought having friends was a hassle. The two I “had” only let me in their group because they felt bad. We weren’t close at all, so it made me not want any more friends when I graduated. But now I couldn’t be happier with my set of friends. Sure, we were all different and could not hang out all the time, but they were all still there when I needed them.

And I literally didn’t know what I would do without Liam. He had become my rock and everything I could ever want. Liam always made time for me, even helped me with homework I had, always helped me de-stress when I needed to. If I had really left him, I didn’t know how I would have moved on. Liam had made me realize that it was okay to be selfish and do what I wanted. That I could be loved. I knew for a fact that without him I would be lost. He was my everything.

***

Three Weeks Later…

It was time—time to get married. Standing in front of a huge mirror, I looked at myself. I didn’t even look like me. In front of me was a pretty, slightly older, glowing woman. My green eyes were no longer dull, and my cheeks were a rosy color and it was not because of the blush I had on.

I ran my hand over the bodice of my wedding gown. The gown was beyond gorgeous. It took me months to find the right one, and I was glad it did because the moment I laid eyes on this one I fell in love. It was a strapless A-line dress, a mix of white and silver throughout. It hugged my upper body like a glove, and flowed out from the waist down. Everything about it was perfect.

Along with my dress, my blonde hair was curled perfectly and was half up in some intricate design of Lennon’s. Because Lennon was now one of my best friends, she did my makeup and hair for my special day. She made sure that I looked stunning, and in her words, “Make Liam drop to his knees in desire.” My makeup was overly done and made most of my flaws disappear. Of course it wasn’t a natural look; you could tell, but I didn’t care. The silvery eye shadow that Lennon used somehow made my green eyes somewhat brighter, and with some fake eyelashes, they looked beautiful. Lennon also went with a light pink lipstick so it would draw the attention straight to my lips.

All in all I looked incredible, all thanks to Lennon. She, of course, was off to the side doing all the finishing touches for the bridesmaids. I could hear them behind me talking excitedly, but it didn’t seem to help calm my nerves. Ever since last night, when it hit me that I was getting married, I had been a bundle of nerves. My hands shook slightly by my sides, and my heart was beating a million miles a minute.

I kept telling myself that it was just like any other day. I was just going to walk down an aisle in front of hundreds of people and declare my love for the man of my dreams while everyone watched. Yeah, just like every day. My right hand played with my engagement ring as I continued to stare at myself. I can do this. Nothing to be nervous about, I chanted to myself.

“Jenna, it is okay,” Candy said beside me as I felt her touch my arm softly.

“I know. I’m just worried I’m going to trip or that when Liam sees me he will run off.” Those were my two biggest fears at the moment. The tripping in front of everyone was the biggest one. I wouldn’t put it past me to do that.

“Jenna, Liam and you have been together for almost two years now. I don’t think he will be running away from you on your wedding day, especially not when you look like that.” She sent me a smile through the mirror. “And the tripping part, well, if it happens, you play it off.”

“Yeah, like that helped,” I muttered softly.

“You don’t need to worry about anything. You are going to marry Liam and soon have little babies running around.”

“Slow down there, Can. I don’t want kids just yet,” I said. I was only twenty-one for crying out loud. I didn’t want kids for another four years or so.

“I’ve seen the way Liam looks at Sky. It will be sooner than you think.” She winked at me before stepping away.

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