Page 60 of Patch's Bride
“You must be serious if you repeated the test three times,” he says, his voice emotional.
“I took them just now. Sharon brought them. I had a feeling, but didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.”
He sets me down just enough to cup my face between his hands. He studies me like he’s memorizing every line.
“You’re pregnant with our first child. Do you have any idea how monumental this is?”
“Yes.”
His forehead drops against mine. I feel his excitement, and it matches my own.
“I didn’t think I could be this happy,” he says. “I didn’t know it was possible.”
“So, are you going to tell her, or should I?”
Patch grins and reaches for his phone. I stay where I am, one hand still resting over his, the other on my belly.
He says, “Hey, Ma. You busy tonight? We’ve got good news.”
Epilogue
Beth
Two Months Later
It’s my wedding day, and the upstairs guest room is filled with the old ladies and club girls. My sister is here too. Lila is sitting on a soft bench by the window. Her favorite nurse, Barbara, sits beside her, helping smooth out the fabric of the blush-colored bridesmaid’s dress we had tailored just to fit her smaller form. Lila hasn’t stopped smiling since we slipped it over her head and zipped up the back.
Roxy stands at the other window, holding a glass of champagne and watching the chaos unfold in the backyard. Her hair’s up in rollers, a silk robe hanging open over a rhinestone-studded tank top that says Bride Squad across the front. It was her idea, not mine. She grinned wide when she gave them to us last night.
“Siege is yelling at the delivery guy again,” she calls out. “Looks like someone sent folding chairs instead of the garden chairs Patch ordered.”
Caroline lifts a brow. “Did he threaten to bury someone behind the barn again?”
Roxy snorts. “Not yet. But he’s pacing around like a madman.”
Sharon giggles from the vanity, where she’s dusting something shimmery across my cheekbones. “Those poor caterers have no idea what kind of wedding they signed up for.”
“I told Patch we didn’t need anything fancy,” I murmur.
“He didn’t do this for fancy,” Caroline says from behind me. She’s been fixing the fall of my veil. “He did it because he wants to give you a wedding day to remember.”
I blink into the mirror. I look amazing. There’s a flush on my cheeks, and my hair is swept up, with soft curls falling down the sides. My eyes are clear, my face lit up with genuine happiness.
“I can’t believe this is really me,” I say softly.
“Oh, it’s you, honey. You’ve always been beautiful. You just didn’t know how to package it,” Roxy says. “Why do you think I was so jealous of you?”
“Don’t worry, I don’t think the glamour is going to stick. By tomorrow, I’ll be back to my plain Jane self.”
“Not if I can help it,” she throws back merrily.
“I’m glad we got to know each other, Roxy. You’re a nice person, and I’m lucky to have you for a friend.”
She holds my gaze for a moment, then says, “I wasn’t always nice to you. I thought you were just another clingy girl trying to trap one of the club brothers. But when you thanked me after I gave you that ride? When you paid for my gas and looked me in the eye?” She pauses. “No one’s done that before. Not from the outside. Not even most of the guys.”
“You’re a good person, Roxy. You helped save me and Lila’s lives,” I say. “You didn’t have to, but you did.”
She shrugs again, but her mouth softens. “I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you. I’m glad I made the right choice. It feels nice to do the right thing. I probably should do it more often.”
