Page 75 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
“All ready,” Margret says, taking a step back from me, and I stand, then let out a breath. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I feel tears start to fill my eyes. “And since I know that Maverick dragged you into this, thank you for this too.”
“What are friends for?” she asks with a smile, then adds: “But I hope when Mason and I get married next month, you’ll still be one of my bridesmaids.”
“Of course I will.” I give her a tight hug, then smile at Everly when she gives me a thumbs-up.
I adjust my dress as I walk to my dad, and he gives me a proud smile as he takes my hand and places it in the crook of his arm. “Ready?” he asks, looking down at me.
“Yes.” I give his arm a squeeze, then accept a kiss from my mom on the cheek before she opens the doors.
As the music starts to play, I feel my heart start to pound behind my rib cage, then wait for the girls to all walk out ahead of us before I force my feet to move. As I walk down the aisle, tears burn my throat. Not only are our closest friends and my parents here, but so is Maverick’s sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. Four people I’ve fallen in love with over the last few months. I smile at his sister as I pass, and then the girls in front of me step onto the stage where Elvis is standing, allowing me to see the man waiting for me. Maverick is always beautiful, but today, with his longish hair pushed back away from his face, his skin sun kissed from the Nevada sun, and his eyes soft on me, he takes my breath away. When I reach the stage where Elvis is standing behind the guys, Maverick steps down to meet my dad, and the two of them share a few words that I can’t hear over the whoosh of blood in my ears. Then, with a kiss to my cheek, my dad transfers my hand to Maverick’s, and his eyes scan my face.
“Did you not think I’d show?” I ask him, just loud enough for him to hear, and he shakes his head.
“I would have tracked you down,” he replies just as quietly, and I know he’s telling the truth; if I hadn’t shown, he would have found me, and maybe that shouldn’t make my heart flutter, but it does. “Are you ready to marry me?”
“Absolutely.” I smile as he helps me up the two steps to the stage. Standing in front of him in my dress with him in a tux that fits him like it was designed just for him, I can’t help but feel like I’m in some kind of dream.
“You look beautiful, baby.” His hands holding mine tighten ever so slightly.
“So do you.” I smile when he chuckles.
“Are you two ready to get this show on the road?” Elvis asks, and we turn our attention to him and listen as he talks about the meaning of love and sharing a life with your partner. Even if the words are coming from an impersonator in Vegas, I can’t help but think how perfect it all is and how I wouldn’t change a thing. And when he tells Maverick that he can kiss the bride, I kiss my husband back, never feeling luckier for my string of bad luck, because if everything hadn’t happened the way it had, I wouldn’t have the man or the amazing life I have now.
MAVERICK
Three years later
Walking into my house from the back porch, where Tanner, Blake, Mason, and I have been hanging out watching the football game, I search for my wife but stop when small arms wrap around my legs.
“Dada.” My son, Oliver, who is the perfect mixture of his mom and me, with dark hair like mine, his mom’s and my complexion, and her hazel eyes, holds his arms out for me to pick him up.
“Hey, buddy.” I kiss his soft little cheek as he wraps his arms around my neck. “Where is Mommy?” I ask him as Tanner, Blake, and Mason come inside behind me.
“I’m here.” Jade walks toward me with her hands on her large round belly.
“You okay?” I kiss the side of her head when she leans into me and our son.
“Yeah, we were all in the bedroom using the ultrasound thing that Cybil brought over to check on the baby,” she tells me as Everly, Margret, and Cybil come down the hall from the guest room.
“How’s the baby?” I rub her belly, and she covers my hand with hers.
“Good, but Cybil is talking about making me go on a long walk to start labor.” She rolls her eyes, and I smile.
“Don’t worry,” Margret says, coming to stand with us, her own belly half the size of Jade’s. “I told her that it might be her baby growing in your wife, but she can’t force her to have it early.”
