Page 20 of Fall to Me
“Carter, I have something to tell you . . .”
“What?”
“Well, maybe it’s better if I show you.”
Her thumb hovers over the screen. She hesitates for a second, looking up at me, then presses play.
I catch her watching me in my periphery as I watch the video . . . woah. Did . . . did I thrust into her?
Fuck me.Thatwas hot.
When the video ends, she swipes to the next video.
When I hear, “Carter Graham, will you marry me?”, I feel my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. The crowd whoops and hollers, as I spin her around, pumping my fist into the air and yelling something that sounded like, “Hell, yes.”
Another swipe . . .
“Where’s Alice?” River slurs, then hiccups. “Has anyone seen Alice?”
“With the Mad Hatter,” I respond, barely articulating my words. “Painting roses red and . . . and . . . fuck, I’m drunk.”
When the screen goes black, River slides the little white line at the bottom forward until we come into focus again.
God, I look completely tanked, and she looks no better. River stumbles toward me with a bouquet of black roses in her hand as an Alice Cooper impersonator sings some rock song I can’t make out. She tosses back a black veil in frustration as it clings to her face, stumbling in the process. The video plays on with us saying our vows, and after the kiss, she swipes out of the app and tosses her phone back into her purse, looking everywhere but at me.
A laugh starts deep in my chest and rushes out of my mouth. My head tilts back against the seat. Then, she starts laughing too, and relief settles in.
“Oh, Thank God.” I let out a long heavy exhale. “You have no idea how convinced I was that I played the villain here. I thought I had pressured you into this. Plot twist, this entire time I was completely innocent.”
She snorts. “Well, I don’t know about completely innocent . . . you stripped off your shirt in the middle of Fremont Street and danced on a pole.”
“Where’s that video? You know what? Never mind . . . I’m sure that was all your idea too,” I tease.
Her eyes roll as she says, “It was on the bingo card. That’s the last thing I wanted to see out of you.”
Lies. All lies.
“Tell me the truth, Kitten . . . that’s why you married me, isn’t it? You saw my moves and thought, ‘Oooh, I want that forever’.” I give her a wink, and laughter flies from her mouth.
I want to make her laugh like this every day, bottle up that sound, and listen to it play on repeat. Light shines through the window and catches her brown eyes, turning them an amber color.
Grinning, she shakes her head. “You’re an idiot.”
“I’ve been chasing your ass for over a year and all it took was me taking off my shirt and grinding on a pole to for you to say, ‘I do’. That’s shallow, River. Real. Fucking. Shallow.”
She laughs harder, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. “I had to see what you were made of first.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve seen what I’m made of every time I’ve rotated my hips during warmups. Don’t lie. I’ve caught you watching.” I wink.
Her laughter trails off, but she doesn’t stop smiling, and she doesn’t deny what I already know to be true.
Cal’s been downstairs, squaring some things away with the vendors, while the other guys, who should’ve already been here, remain MIA.Fuckers.The choppers will be here in a few hours to charter us all to The Valley of Fire for the ceremony, then we’ll come back here for the reception, but I went ahead and put on my tux in case I get caught up in best-man duties. Taking a seat in the groom’s suite, I wait for Cal to return.
Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees, staring at the ring on my finger. I can’t help but think this is how River’s wedding should’ve been. The flowers, the venue, the wedding dress . . . hell, even the groom she wanted. Her dad to walk her down the aisle to whatever song she picked instead of her walking herself to some random rock song. She’s better than that.
Someone sits down in front of me—akin to how I’m sitting—and stares. I know he’s staring because I can feel his eyes boring into my skull, though I haven’t lifted mine to find out who it is yet. I’m too lost in thought to care.
He bends down a little further, his face coming into full view as he holds my eyes hostage. And instantly, I know I’m looking into the eyes of River’s father. Other than the difference in hair color, she looks like him. Same features, same brown eyes. Straightening up, I lift my head, then hold out a hand to shake his.
