Page 78 of Fierce-Gabe

Chloe moved over and hugged her. “I know you’re right. It’s what Royce and I talked about too when we made the decision. But the closer it got the harder it was for me to feel good about it.”

“You’re entitled to have this week with Royce. You know as well as I do, Willow is going to be completely fine with your parents. She’s in daycare all day, so her routine will stay the same. If your mother has any issues or needs a hand, Dad and I will be there. Your brother too. If Willow sneezes, your mother will have Dane checking her over.”

Dane was a pediatrician. In her mind, Chloe should know they all had this covered.

But she supposed if it were her kid, she might struggle too for a week.

“I know,” Chloe said. “It’s all going to be good. It’s been a crazy year and this will be good for Royce and me. We aren’t going far. We can come back easily enough early if we need to.”

They were only going to the Bahamas.

“That’s right. Think of it that way. It’s not even a week. You’re leaving tomorrow morning and coming back Friday afternoon.”

“You’re right,” Chloe said. “Five days is more than enough time away.”

“Show time, ladies,” Dane said, coming into the room. “And look at you.”

She watched as Dane made his way to Chloe. There was so much love in the siblings’ eyes. They were adopted, she knew. No blood relation at all but a bond as thick as hers and Royce’s.

“Don’t get me upset,” Chloe said. “You know it takes a lot for that to happen.”

Dane kissed his sister and then left.

“The guys are all up front and ready to go,” Doreen said.

She turned and saw her niece being pulled into the room with Doreen. Dane must have secured the baby in there well, but Chloe went over to double-check and give her daughter a kiss.

“She looks adorable in that white puffy dress.” Her niece was picking at the tulle as if it was a toy. Whatever kept the baby happy.

“Willow likes being in a dress,” Tiffani said. “Just like me.”

Tiffani twirled in her dress. It was similar to Willow’s with the tulle but the same shade of light green as Elise’s.

She loved that she got to pick her own dress out. The shade of green too. Chloe wasn’t fussy and said the colors of the wedding were going to be spring like. Pastel colors and for her to choose the dress color from that.

Zander and Royce were in black with touches of green. Chloe’s bouquet was a mixture of all colors.

The music started and then turned when Mark Grey came in. “I had to wait until the last minute because your mother told me I’d cry.”

“Don’t do it, Dad,” Chloe said. She saw Mark’s eyes get a little misty.

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”

“Go time,” Elise said as the music shifted. Her heart was racing. She knew there’d be a ton of eyes on her too and hated that.

There was only one set of eyes she wanted and she knew it was going to happen and just hoped she could not give anything away when she made contact with Gabe.

Doreen had moved the wagon out, then walked down with Dane, leaving Willow with Tiffani and her watching them.

Then she stood behind Tiffani and gave her the go to start down and they heard a lot of laughs, giggles and oohs and ahhs as she’d expected.

When Tiffani was halfway down, she walked out next and prayed she didn’t trip with the nude heels she had on. She’d tried to get as comfortable of a pair as she could that’d still be stylish with the gown. Since the gown stopped at her ankles, she knew her shoes would be seen. She’d done that on purpose so she didn’t get tangled up in the chiffon material.

She was about five steps in when she noticed Gabe to her right next to his parents. She hoped to hell no one saw her gasp at the sight of him in his suit. She turned quickly after she smiled and continued on to the end where her brother was waiting.

She knew the moment Chloe arrived behind her because her brother’s eyes started to fill and she might have felt hers doing it too.

Crap, the last thing she wanted was to make a mess of her makeup, but it might just end up being one of those emotional days.

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