Page 117 of The Moments You Were Mine
I followed Whitney out of the house to a limousine parked at the curb. The logo etched into the back window showed it was one of Dad’s used to pick up the high rollers who stayed at his casino. The way we’d been using Dad’s staff today, he was certain to hear about the wedding before the night was over.
Would he be angry I’d done this without him? That he hadn’t had the chance to walk me down the aisle? It couldn’t be helped, but I did feel a twinge inside. If things had been different, I would have wanted him here, even if I’d never wanted a full-blown wedding.
After climbing into the limo, I asked, “Did you tell Jim? Or my parents?”
She shook her head. “No. I respected Parker’s wishes, and he told me he’d handle it.”
“I’m sorry we put you in the middle of this, but thank you,” I said, my voice clogging again. Would these hormones ever stop raging? How much worse would it get before I delivered thebaby? “And not just for keeping it to yourself, but for helping me find this lovely dress and trying to make this day special for me. For both of us.”
She squeezed my hand. “I love you, Fallon. You’ve always been family to me, and I am so grateful, so very, very grateful, that you’ve helped Parker see the light. I’ve been waiting for him to realize he didn’t have to sacrifice love and family in order to serve his country. I was terrified that when Jim and I were gone someday, he’d be alone.”
“I would never have let him be alone,” I insisted.
She smiled and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “I know. But havinghimrealize it too…that’s the real win, isn’t it? It’s the silver lining that’s come from the ugliness happening at the ranch.”
I’d tried fervently to put the ranch and the troubles there behind me today. I’d had enough to worry about with us taking this huge step. The doubts and insecurities around this decision were enough for one day. Tomorrow, we’d visit Ike in jail and deal with more of my problems.
Inside The Fortress, the sounds and smells and energy of Dad’s resort greeted us. While the outside looked like a French abbey town, the inside was a blend of eighteenth-century luxury and 1920s Art-Deco charm. Gold gilded nearly every surface, hand-painted murals filled the walls, plush carpets graced the floors, and marble columns glimmered like diamonds.
Getting married here, in the opulence of my dad’s casino would not have been my first choice. I would have preferred the waterfall at the ranch, with an arch of wildflowers over us and sunlight shimmering through the trees, but maybe this was better. Maybe this quick little jaunt saved me from arguing with Mom about the simplicity of the wedding.
That twinge of something that was a mix of guilt and wistfulness wound through me once more because my family wasn’t here.
No matter what kind of wedding we were having, the most important part of the dream had come true. At the end of the aisle tonight, the groom waiting for me would be Parker. And that was the real reason I’d turned JJ down when he’d proposed and why I should have broken up with him long before things had gottenso far out of control. In all my dreams of a far-off wedding day, it had always been Parker who was waiting for me.
The stained-glass doors of the chapel opened to reveal Parker and Theo just inside.
One look at Parker and my heart stumbled to a stop. He’d slicked his dark hair back, making his square jaw even more prominent. The scruff he’d boasted all day was gone, leaving his skin smooth and silky. A black tuxedo was molded to his broad chest and shoulders, and he’d, somehow, found a vest that almost perfectly matched my pale-aqua dress.
His eyes widened as he took me in, using that slow, head-to-toe scan that always set my insides ablaze. Lust. Yearning. Love. And I did love him. More than I could ever express. He was the only person who I’d ever let see the real mess inside me. Not even Maisey had seen my cruelest, darkest thoughts. Parker knew them and still liked me, still wanted me.
“Wow,” he breathed out before closing the distance, lifting my hand to his mouth and kissing the knuckles. The old-time, gentlemanly move set my pulse racing and kicked my stuttering heart into overdrive. “You’re stunning, Fallon. A goddamn star bursting into existence. A phenomenon I’m somehow lucky enough to have at my side.”
Whitney sighed behind me, but I couldn’t break my gaze from Parker’s. I was locked in an embrace with him that had nothing to do with our bodies and everything to do with our souls.
“Even cussing, it’s clear you got some charm from your father, after all,” his mom said.
“Fallonisa princess!” Theo exclaimed, and finally, my eyes tore themselves away from Parker to look down at Theo. His tux was an adorable matching mini of Parker’s. He held out a tiny gift bag for me. “We couldn’t find a fairy godmother, but Parker says it still has magic to protect you.”
My chest swelled with emotion as I took in the two beautiful humans who, after today, I’d forever be able to claim as mine. When I couldn’t respond over the lump in my throat, Theo shoved the bag at me again. I slowly took it, pulling the tissue paper out and unwrapping the tiny object within.
The bracelet was nothing like the one Whitney had let me borrow. This one was two leather bands woven together withbeads. On the beads were letters—an F, P, T, and B and ones that spelled outThe Steele Family. It took one too many heartbeats for me to realize the B was for the baby.
I knelt and pulled Theo to me, kissing his cheek. “It’s the best gift anyone has ever given me, Theo. I’m so honored to be a part of your family.”
The kid flushed and patted my cheek before tucking himself back up against Parker’s leg.
When I stood up, Parker’s smile was so wide, so happy, so calm, most of my nerves disappeared. I was here with him. We were getting married. He truly wanted me. That was all that mattered. Everything else was just unnecessary static.
Parker held his arm out for me and said, “You ready, Ducky?”
I nodded, smiling at him as I slid my palm onto his jacket sleeve.
Whitney held a hand out to Theo and said, “Walk me down the aisle, best man.”
He giggled and did just that, almost running to get to the altar at the end.
I’d been so caught up in Theo and Parker, in the magnificence that was us becoming a family, I hadn’t even looked past the chapel’s entrance. What I saw brought a fresh round of tears to my eyes. Wildflowers were scattered everywhere. Bouquets of bluebells, yarrow, and goldfields were mixed with cattails and ferns and tied together with bright-teal bows. Somehow, impossibly, Parker had brought the ranch to me.
