Page 95 of Exile & Lula
I couldn’t resist chuckling at my woman’s reaction. Elle heard Lula’s words and began to cry harder.
“This is bad,” Lula said and glanced at me. “You can’t tell him.”
“I’m not saying shit to anyone.”
Clint looked up and opened his mouth to ask who we meant. I saw the moment when he caught on. If Clint were a less controlled man, I figured he’d be doing the tornado move like Sabrina was nearby.
Soon, the entire party was solely focused on Elle’s drama. With so many people aware of the big secret, I wasn’t sure how long it would be before Zodiac heard the news and all hell really broke loose.
LULA’S EPILOGUE
My second wedding felt completely different than my first. With Jarred, we had obsessed over every little detail. Our minds were more focused on the event than on what the event signified.
With Exile, I didn’t care where we got married or what I wore. I only wanted to be surrounded by our people while I admitted my love for one particular man above all others.
In the autumn, when the trees were at their most burnished orange and yellow, Exile and I married at the Sorority House. Cher and Stevie were my maids of honor. Stevie had mostly healed while Cher was out of her casts by then. The latter’s hair was green again and had grown out to the length of a short bob. Rowdy carried Cher down the aisle and rested her in a chair since she was too weak to walk on her own yet.
For this wedding, my dad didn’t need to hold his tongue. In fact, Pax was downright chatty.
“Didn’t I tell you this guy fell hard?” he asked Bebe and me, wanting credit for nailing his earlier assessment.
My mom patted his cheek and gave him what he wanted. “I was wrong to doubt you.”
I couldn’t stop smiling as my parents walked me down the aisle. My wedding dress was a simple cream-colored gown. Exile looked gorgeous in a black suit and a matching cowboy hat.
As a kid, I dreamed of finding what my parents shared. As a young woman, I settled for what felt like the right choice. But at thirty-seven, I was knocked off my feet by a man who owned my every thought.
The reception was relaxed. Exile removed his suit jacket and replaced it with his club vest. I had my vest on over my dress. We kept the booze and pot to a minimum since the kids werearound. The band played acoustic versions of our favorite songs, so York could also have a good time.
Exile and I spent our honeymoon in a beach paradise off the coast of Spain. He wasn’t so sure about a European location, but I wanted to practice my Spanish and get him in his swimsuit as much as possible.
We spent our days in Ibiza exploring the island and trying new foods. On our second night, we rested naked in bed and talked about a baby.
“I don’t want to rush,” I said with my hands resting on his chest. “But I’m not getting any younger.”
“How many are you thinking?”
“One.”
“How would Dillon feel about that?”
“She said she would be okay with a sibling as long as she wasn’t roped into diaper duty.”
Exile smiled at me. His face was lit only by the moonlight, softening his hard edges and leaving behind a man with a beautiful future ahead of him.
“Long ago, when I was a young man in the Marines, I wanted a wife and a kid. I saw what other guys were doing, and I considered making a new family. Nova and I aren’t so different. We both missed those early years when we felt safe in our bubble with our parents.”
“Why didn’t you find a pretty little thing to have your baby?”
“I don’t know. Well, I didn’t then, anyway. I figured that life wasn’t for me. Or that I’d need to pretend to be someone else to make it work. With you, though, I don’t have to fake anything.”
“No, you don’t. If you said you were happy with the way things were now, I’d be okay with it. I’m not dying to go through pregnancy and delivery again. I was on bed rest for months with Dillon. Having a baby isn’t something I crave. However, I do feel the urge to make a baby with you.”
“Then, we can try. If it happens, we’ll be happy. If it doesn’t, we’ll be happy.”
Once we returned from our long, lazy honeymoon, I had my birth control removed and prepared to be disappointed. Two months later, I showed Exile the positive pregnancy test. All his hopes and fears washed across his face in that moment. Finally, he smiled and hugged me to his body.
“Nothing prepared me for meeting you,” Exile said, revealing his fearful heart over how much had changed since he showed up to save me.
