“I don’t know how I ever lived before you.” I rub my thumb against his stubble. “I love you so very much.”
Eli stands and then pulls me to my feet. His arms cinch around me, and we hold on to each other. “I wasn’t living before you. I was waiting.”
“No more waiting.” I smile, remembering the same words I spoke to him years ago.
His eyes meet mine, and there’s so much love in his gaze, it takes my breath away. “I’d wait forever if it meant I found you.”
I can’t wait another second to kiss him, so I do. Eli leads us to the bedroom where we make another memory. This time, there will be no running away after.
I lie in his arms, loving the way we fit together. After some time, my mind fills with a pinch of sadness. My first wedding was a justice of the peace deal, but with Eli, I know he’ll want it all. My sister isn’t here to see us get married, and I have no one to give me away.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks.
He can always tell when my feelings go dark. I seriously need to work on hiding that.
“I wish Stephanie could be here, and my parents. I know my dad would hate you, but my mom would be completely over the moon.”
His arms tighten. “I wish I could give you that, but it’s the one thing I can’t.”
“I know, and I know if you could, you would.”
“There’s nothing I won’t do for you,” Eli promises. “And wait, what do you mean, your dad would hate me?”
I sit up, smiling as I think about my daddy. “No one was good enough for his little girls. Also, he didn’t like you. He had to hear all about how I loved you and how amazing you were. On top of that, he had to listen to all your songs—he wasn’t impressed. He told me to avoid dating any musicians. Clearly, I didn’t listen.”
When Four Blocks Down came out, I was obsessed and told my father one day I would marry Eli. My father told me boys were all stupid and I should stay away, but boys in a boy band were the ones I should run from. I want to believe he’d have changed his tune after meeting Eli. Regardless, it would’ve been funny to watch.
Eli moves so we’re eye to eye and smiles. “I would’ve won him over.”
I touch his cheek; the diamond on my finger catching the light and sparkling. “Daddy would’ve seen that you weren’t a spoiled, self-centered, egotistical jerk who uses girls and leaves them.”
“That’s what he thought?”
I laugh. “Probably.”
He moves quickly, pulling me beneath him. “Well, in a few weeks you’ll be my wife.”
“Weeks?”
He nods. “Weeks. Three to be exact.”
“Wait!” I push him off me. “You want to get married in three weeks? I don’t have a dress or anything! We can’t get married in three weeks!”
Eli is always doing this to me, like the trip he surprised me with to Antigua. He came home, told me to pack, and took me away four hours later. He even had Brody get my time off cleared, he’s crazy. And yet, he’s everything.
“The date is set, everyone knows.”
“Everyone knows?” I push his chest. “You just asked me! We haven’t left the bus, how the hell did you plan a wedding?”
He shrugs and then gives me a smug grin. “I knew you’d say yes.”
I groan and flop back on the bed. I’m not angry, but he kills me. “Okay, I’ll bite, when is our wedding?”
My life is filled with love and a crazy man who plans a wedding before he gets the bride.
He tells me all the details while I stare at him with a stunned expression. He actually planned the entire damn thing. I’m not sure if I should jump his bones or beat the crap out of him. Eli said it was more because of his schedule. He’s starting a movie in Vancouver in a month, so he wants to tie the knot before he leaves.
“You really want us to get married on a boat?” I ask.
This is the one detail I don’t understand.
Eli climbs over me and pushes my hair back. “This is for many reasons,” he explains. “Number one being that I can control the security and guest list. Number two is because I like boats and our first date was on one.” I smile at that one. “Number three is that there’s nowhere for you to run.”
“Run?”
“Yeah, there are no fences for you to climb if you get cold feet. I’ll have you right where I want you, right next to me—forever.”
Epilogue
Heather
Holy crap. I’m getting married today.
I stand in front of the full-length mirror in the master bedroom, stunned. The day after our engagement, I met my wedding planner, Kennedy. She arrived with a van packed with options. I thought his publicist was scary, but she could learn a thing or two from Kennedy.
In two days, I had a dress, flowers, colors, bridesmaid dresses, and the menu selected. It’s amazing what you can get done with a woman who doesn’t understand the word “no” and an unlimited budget. When a vender said they couldn’t do it, she told them they didn’t have a choice.
“Oh, Heather.” Nicole enters and her eyes fill with tears. “You look gorgeous.”
My eyes go back to the mirror, and I take it all in. The hairdresser arranged my hair to be mostly up with tendrils of blonde hanging around my face. My makeup is flawless. It’s soft but still slightly dramatic. However, the dress . . . I still can’t believe it’s me in it.
“You think?”
She stands behind me in the aqua-colored dress I chose and places her hands on my shoulders. “Yes, honey. You’re breathtaking.”
I glide my hands against the satin fabric, loving how perfectly it fits me. Nicole and Kennedy argued over their top choices for what I should wear, and Nic demanded I try on her choice. The scoop neck shows off the right amount of cleavage and is skin tight through the bodice before it trumpets out at the bottom. It’s classic, elegant, and I love every inch of it.
“I can’t believe he planned all this,” I muse, still looking myself over.
“Lucky bitch.” She snorts, and we both laugh.
I know I’m lucky. Each time I look at my ridiculously sexy fiancé, I remember how special what we have is. Sure, we have our ups and downs and things are never always easy, but he’s worth it all.
Kristin peeks her head in. “You guys ready? We need to get to the dock and send the limo to the park.”
I roll my eyes at the lengths he’s gone to, but he said he refuses to let one photo be leaked. Therefore, there are fake limos, and he rented out the park we went to after Steph passed away.
Kristin, Danielle, Nicole, Savannah, and I climb into the other limousine and head to the boat. The wedding is only immediate family and friends, we want to be surrounded by those we love without any fanfare.
“Are you ready?” Savannah asks as we pull up.
Our relationship has become incredibly close. She’s been there each step of the way, helping me find my footing in this crazy public life. I’m so grateful to her, and I’m excited to become sisters-in-law.
“I really am.”
“I’m so happy for you guys,” she takes my hand.