Chapter 57

Wade

"Why are we at Marcus' house?" I ask Lola as we run up the steps at the front of his mansion two hours later.

My stomach is full of crickets jumping about as if it's a warm summer"s night. It felt like the longest journey of my life.

"Because he's the one throwing the party for her," she replies, holding her dress up so as not to get it dirty.

Although, looking around, there isn't an inch of snow to be seen on any of the marble stairs leading up to the house. It's immaculate.

"She did great things for his business. It's his repayment of sorts," Lola adds.

She did great things for me. I see that now. I've been such a fool.

"I can hardly keep a low profile, can I? Everyone knows my face. Christ, this is my dad's house."

My dad's house.

Fuck me sideways.

"Oh, shut up. You're making me nervous. Where now, Max?" Lola asks, darting her gaze around the entryway we've just stepped into.

"This way." Max leads us past the cream marble sweeping stairway with chandeliers bigger than the Bellagio hanging from the ceiling.

"Woah." I can't stop myself from being impressed.

"Maybe you'll inherit this," Lola's voice bright and full of humor.

"Shut up." Maybe she's right. But this is Zane's. I don't want it.

"Are you sure the party is here?" There's no music or sound of people enjoying themselves.

"It's in the ballroom. Down here." Max is a man of few words.

"The ballroom? Fancy." Lola does a funny voice making me laugh, while all I want to do is throw up.

"What if she tells me to fuck off?"

"She might." Lola smooths her hands over the fabric of her dress. "You've been a bit of a dick."

"You've changed."

"I'm your sister. I can call you whatever I want now."

"Is that right?" I love Lola being in my world. It's like she's always been around. I wish she had been; we have so much time to make up for.

"Yes. Sister privileges."

"We're here. It's through this door," Max announces.

Oh fuck, I'm not ready.My throat feels like it's going to close up.

"Let me give you a once over." Lola grabs me by the shoulders and brushes me down, using the palm of her hand. "Very handsome. I need to pee."

"Again?"

"Yes, you go in, and I'll come find you. Try and blend in. Max, can you show me where the bathroom is, please?"

And then she's gone.

And it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

Holding my ear to the door, I don't think I'm in the right place.

Maybe it's well sound proofed in there.

"It's now or never." Grabbing the handles of the double doors, I push them both down and open them at the same time.

And my heart stops.

My feet are frozen to the spot.

Because standing at the end of what looks like an aisle in a black wedding dress is Kali.

And she's smiling. Full on beaming, glowing, and so fucking beautiful.

Feeling emotional, I well up, coughing to clear my throat, overwhelmed by the setting and sea of people seated in gold chairs to the left and right of me. There are flowers and bridesmaids; Ellis, Joy, and Lola who is just entering the room from a side door, all wearing matching dresses with Ezra, Myles, and Jordy, who I'm assuming are my best men in the same outfit as mine but wearing white tee shirts, lined up on the other side.

"Walk. Happy wedding day, Wade." Max's voice appears from behind me, his big hand between my shoulder blades pushing me forward, prompting me to move.

My feet take on a life of their own. All I see is her, in that wind tunnel that happens every time she's around. It's just me and her in this moment.

Then I'm there, toe to toe with her.

"I'm sorry, Wade." She chews on her bottom lip before saying, "I never meant to hurt you."

"I never meant to hurt you, either. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry for all the things I said." I can't believe I waited this long to tell her. I cradle her face in my hands and kiss her lips for the first time in what feels like forever. "I was cruel, and mean, and I promise I will spend every day making it up to you. I"ve been a fool."

"I got your letter this morning."

"But Lola said…" I drift off. She's been in on this entire thing.

Her eyes, full of emotion, look watery. "I would forgive you, but I have nothing to forgive you for. And I said it before, but I would do anything to protect you and your big, beautiful heart, Wade."

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't see that."

"I only do what's best for you."

"Then don't go to New York," I beg. "Please don't go."

"I was never going to New York."

"You're not?" My pitch is a little higher, sounding cheerful and relieved all at once.

"It was fake. We made that video at the office to get you here."

She's a sneaky minx.

"And the baby?"

"That's one hundred percent true." Her eyes light up.

"We're having a baby?" I say with a smile. I want that more than anything and not scared at all. I'm excited. "Was it LA?"

"Yes, and yes."

"Are you okay?" I reach down and lay my hand over her stomach, fascinated with the life that's growing inside of her. Part me, part her.

"No, we only have a ten-minute window until I'm sick again."

"You look beautiful."

"This is my something new." She points to her dress. "Something old is my shoes. Your favorite ones." She winks. "And you're my something borrowed and blue." Pointing to my eyes, she makes my heart thump faster in my chest.

I love this woman.

"All this is a little unconventional, don't you think?" Nibbling her bottom lip, she looks around.

"Is anything about us conventional?"

"Nope." She giggles. It's the melody I missed. I will do whatever it takes to hear her laugh like that every day until the day I die.

"Did you organize this?" I take her hands in mine, and it feels so good to be touching her again.

"I had a little help. Ash's wife, Lily, worked around the clock to make this happen. Well, her team did. Nicki and Marcus insisted we have it here. We've all helped to pull this off. Marcus was determined to help you to not lose the woman you love." She looks around the room filled with guests, who are all smiling and waving at us. My team and their partners, friends, Kali's family, including her mom and dad, who must have flown in for our special occasion. My support team, Leon, Ash, and his wife, Lily, who has one of the top events planning businesses in all of Canada, with Thomas and Joe next to her.

My eyes land on Marcus, Zane, and Nicki, all sitting at the front on my side of the room; my family.

"No Miranda?" I keep my voice low.

"She didn't want to come."

I may not like Miranda, but her acceptance would have been welcomed. Regardless of how toxic our relationship is, all I ever wanted was for her to love me. I know that's never going to happen.

Part of me is relieved she's not here. I much prefer Nicki and wish she were my mom. She's the next best thing. Well, next to Gretchen, of course.

I'm one hell of a lucky guy getting a second chance at a family and love.

I give Bonnie a little wave. "Pretty dress." I hold my thumb up, giving her my approval, and she curtsies, making everyone laugh.

"She thinks she's a princess today," Kali says, chuckling. "If you hadn't showed up today, she would have been devastated. As would I."

"I would never have let you leave. I love you, Kali Roth."

"I love you, Wade Collins." She can't stop grinning. "Or is it Edwards now?"

"I think we'll go with Edwards." I look over my shoulder to find Marcus smiling at my announcement and Nicki winks. I swear there's even a little smirk of appreciation pulling at Zane's lips.

"I was hoping you would say that. We rushed the paperwork through and licensed the marriage in Edwards. Marcus, I mean, your dad, he knows people, powerful people, pulling strings type people."

"I get the idea. Are you nervous, Ms. Roth?"

"Yeah, very." She fans herself down with her hand. "I think my dress is too tight, and our baby is trying to kill me."

Our baby.

I move in and kiss her soft lips. "I love you. Don't be nervous. Let's get married." Every nerve I was feeling before disappears, as if it was never there, desperate to make this official.

"I don't have any vows prepared." Shit, now I'm the nervous one. "I would have liked to have written my own."

"Read your letter you wrote to me, excluding the apology part. I have it with me. Those are your vows."

She's something kind of wonderful.

"I wish Gretchen was here to see this."

"Check your pocket." Kali looks down at the right-hand pocket of my suit.

I push my hand in. My fingertips feel what she's referring to and I pull out a miniature version of the photograph of Gretchen and me with our good luck ladybugs sitting on our shoulders and I know she's here with me. Kali really gets me, knows what I need, and makes sure I get it. She loves me.

"You thought of everything." I leave it in there, safely tucked away.

"I only ever think about what is best for you. And I will spend the rest of my life doing that, fighting for you, and making you see that going to Tim Horton's and just buying a coffee and no donuts is just plain wrong."

Our guests chuckle, and someone, who I think sounds like Spike, shouts, "What is wrong with you, Edwards?"

Edwards. I like the way it sounds.

"Ready?"

"I was born ready, baby."

"Now it's time for the vows, you first, Wade." The wedding celebrant beams a smile and passes me my unfolded apology letter, which Kali has annotated and highlighted.

I throw my head back, laughing, and turn the page to show our guests. "She liked this bit the most." I point at the words she's highlighted in lime green. "Very swoony." I read out her side note, making our guests chuckle.

"It's a beautiful letter," Kali says as her mouth curves into a smile.

Clearing my throat, I stare down at the words and begin reading them out loud, which is not something I saw myself doing today. "My beautiful Kali." I look up and discover she's already crying, and do my best to hold in the emotions that are bubbling in my chest. "From the minute you walked into my life, I knew you were someone truly special. Someone who challenged me to be a better man, someone who saw what others couldn't see within me, and someone who truly believed in me. The day you stood opposite me in the boardroom was the day I knew the true meaning of beauty. I couldn't take my eyes off you. And it was on that day that I finally knew the meaning of the word besotted, which is what I have been with you since that very first day. Before you, my life felt empty. Before you, there was no me, because without you, I don't feel whole. You've seen me at my worst. You've seen all the ugly parts of my life, but your beautiful heart and soul cancel all of those things out because none of those things matter when I'm with you. In you, I found ‘the one', my soulmate, my forever." I slowly fold my letter in half. "I'm not allowed to read any of the other parts." I step forward and take her hand while the guests chuckle and I hear a few sniffs from people crying.

"Get used to it, this is what happens when you get married." I think it's Ash who says that, pulling more laughter out of the room.

"I'm not finished." I'm flying by the seat of my pants for the next part, but it's what I want to say. "I promise to love you through good times and the bad. I promise to bring you breakfast in bed every morning, and heat the bed up for you before you get in it at night." She laughs through her tears because she hates a cold bed. "I promise to be there for you and our baby, always and treasure you both every second of every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every month, of every year, for the rest of our lives. And I'm going to teach you how to skate if it's the last thing I do, I promise."

"And him?" She lays her hand on her belly.

"Him?"

"It's a feeling."

"And him. I promise. My heart chooses you, Kali."