44. Cordelia
When we got home from Las Vegas, I didn’t think Kai could be more annoying than he was on our way home. He constantly asked if I was okay or if I needed anything. He got me pillows and other crap I didn’t need. He pulled over every two hours for me to stretch my legs and make sure I drank water, so I obviously had to pee a lot.
I’m sitting in bed, propped up with more pillows around me, as Kai loads clothes into the wash. “Kai, when the doctor said bedrest, she didn’t say bedridden. I can do things like make dinner.”
“No, gem. You rest. I will do it.”
I sigh and look at him. He doesn’t have a shirt on, but his ribs are wrapped. I hate seeing him beat up like this. “You should be resting, too.”
He stops shoving clean clothes into the dresser and sighs. “Take out?”
I nod, and he grabs his phone, tossing it to me.
We eat in bed like we’re college kids and laugh like it’s the old days. We’re watching How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, but I’m hardly paying attention as I look up at Kai from lying on his chest. “I need to go brush my teeth.”
He looks down at me and grabs my chin. “No, you need to kiss me.”
“Good thing you got a girl who can do both.”
He chuckles and gently presses his lips to mine. I kiss him back, but it’s not rushed. It’s filling and satisfying. Like a cup of water when you’re parched. Every time I kiss him, it reminds me of how my heart struggled to beat until he kissed me for the first time.
“I love you, gem,” he whispers. I smile against his lips and kiss him again, grasping his nape. He groans, and I toss my leg over him, trying to get closer. “Babe, I don’t think you should exert yourself,” he says gently.
I grin. “Fine, but the doctor didn’t say no sex.”
“Maybe later?” he negotiates. A burst of laughter bubbles from my chest. I laugh so hard that I cry, and he laughs with me. “What’s so funny?”
“I just think it’s funny you’re telling me no sex.”
“Well, I don’t want to hurt you, and the doctor said rest. Last time I checked, sex with you was not rest for either of us.”
“Oh, your rib,” I mutter.
He huffs a laugh and kisses my cheek. “It would not be the best performance, mi amor,” he says against my skin, pressing kisses on my temple.
“Fine,” I sigh.
He puts his large, warm hand on my stomach and sighs. “I’ll add that word to your rapidly expanding vocabulary.”
I grin and shake my head. “Come on, let’s brush our teeth and get some sleep.”
***
“There are a few churches in the area I think would be a great option. Some are modern, though I would love to see you get married in this beautiful classic cathedral.”
I flip through the pictures and the color schemes Esmarie prepared for me.
After the accident, Kai talked to the family, and Esmarie said she would take care of everything for the wedding. When my brothers-in-law learned about what happened at the competition, they were pissed. The season is over for a while, so someone messing with Kai’s bike isn’t a problem anymore. We don’t know if someone did, in fact, mess with it or if it was a freak thing. Mechanical stuff breaks down all the time at the most inopportune moments. Kai is anal about checking his bike before he rides, but he’s also human. Humans miss things. None of them think Kai made a mistake, and I’m leaning that way, too. But what’s done is done. Whoever wanted to hurt him badly, maybe even kill him, didn’t get their way.
I smile, flipping the pages. “I think Kai and I definitely need to visit the cathedral. I think it would be a great option.”
She smiles. “I’ll schedule an appointment for tomorrow.”
“Mom, what are you scheduling now?” Kai asks, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a beer from the fridge. Sawdust is on his shoulders and almost covers his hat. He’s been working on my rocking chair. I already have a backup sitting in my cart, but he might surprise me. I love the idea that he wants to make things for us. My man is not only a pretty face, but he’s good with his hands, too.
“Where your wedding is going to take place,” she quips.
He groans and takes another swig. “Gem, are you sure you want this big wedding with all this…attention?” I shrug. I do want it, but it does make me a little nervous.
“I do want it, Kai. I want my mom to come. Despite our relationship, I do want her to be there. And I can’t lie, I want to get a real wedding dress and walk down the aisle filled with flowers.”
He smiles at me, and light bounces around in his eyes. “What my wife wants, she will get.”
“Wonderful. I will see you both tomorrow to take a look at the cathedral.” Esmarie hugs and kisses us, then floats out the door.
“Let the games begin, mi amor. Mom loves planning things,“ Kai says.
“It seems like you don’t want this wedding.”
He sighs and drops onto the sofa. I wince, knowing I’ll have to vacuum the sawdust off later. It’s going to take a while for me to train the bachelor habits out of him. Kai leans forward, puts his beer on the table sans coaster, and then reaches for my calves, putting them on his lap. As his large hands squeeze up and down the muscle, it sends a shiver up my spine.
“I already got what I wanted, so if you want it, then it’s fine with me.”
I smile, rubbing my belly. “And what did you want?” I ask. He chuckles and squeezes his hand from my calf to the back of my knee to my thigh, sliding it higher and higher. He grips my thighs tightly and pulls me so I’m sitting across his lap.
“You,” he whispers in my ear.
I lean into him, careful of his ribs, and tuck my nose into his neck. “Now, who said you can’t have it all?”
He hums and kisses my forehead. “I have no idea.”
***
The cathedral is beautiful, with marble floors and tall columns, creating a renaissance-like atmosphere. A beautiful church decorated head to toe in white cabbage roses, pink roses, and whatever else Esmarie comes up with will be stunning.
“Wow, this is…huge, gem,” Kai says while we hold hands, walking down the aisle.
“I think that’s the point,” I mutter.
“That’s something about us Coldwells. We go big, or we go home.”
I laugh and hug his arm as we reach the altar in front of us.
“Kai?”
He hums and looks down at me. “What?” he asks.
“I understand why we have to do it. I have to admit it’s a little unorthodox, but if Esmarie says it will do what it needs to, then fine.”
He sighs and brings us over to the pews, sitting us down. “As odd as it is, it’s worked for us up to now. We’ve had minimal issues, and she’s right about one thing. I want there to be no mistake that you are my wife, so if we need to get married again to do that, then so be it.” I look back at the windows, considering his words. I think his father liked the image of professional athletes for sons who are constantly being talked about. It makes him look better.
“So, my lovebirds, what do we think?” Esmarie asks as she glides over to us.
“We think it’s perfect, Mom,” Kai says for me. I nod, swiping my tears quickly.
“Wonderful. I will get it booked. I think we will need roughly two months to pull it all together. Do you have a specific date in mind? It will be cooler in October, but it will be comfortable.”
“Can you plan a wedding in a month?” I ask her.
Esmarie taps around on her phone for a minute before answering. “Sweetheart, I can do whatever you want. Consider it done. I will call you later, and we can finish discussing color schemes.”
“Sounds good, Esmarie. Thank you.”
She hums and clicks out of the sanctuary, with Clarence a few steps behind her. The altar has a large cross hanging in front of the windows, which don’t have stained glass but unique designs within the glass itself, casting colors in the prism from the light. Their beautiful colors shine brightly with the Californian sun.
Kai pulls me closer and tosses his arm over my shoulder. He winces and shifts around, making himself comfortable. “It will be a nice wedding.”
I stare at him, thinking about all they have had to go through. All the things he and his family have had to do. “Do you think you will ever be free of him? Do you think he will ever just…leave us all alone?” I ask him.
He glances at me and starts rubbing his thumb on my shoulder. “I don’t know,” he sighs.
“Have you ever thought about…uh, getting rid of him?”
Kai’s head snaps to me in surprise.
“Sorry,” I mumble, looking away from his scrutiny.
He lets out a gruff laugh. “Yeah, gem, all the time. My brothers and I have looked for ways to do it and even thought of hiring someone to take care of it. Emerson thinks it should be us, though. There’s a certain…Biblical justice to it. When I say that, I mean ridding the world of evil that helped bring you into it. It’s morbidly ironic. But Emerson has always thought that would be too easy of an end for a man like our father. He’s selfish and thrives on power. The best way to make him hurt is by stripping him of it all.”
“I hate that you’ve had to do the things you’ve done to keep everyone safe.”
He lifts a shoulder and tilts his face up to the large windows. “Sometimes we have to do things that we don’t want to. Sometimes, the ends justify the means, only it feels like it’s stained our souls from the beginning. My mom didn’t want this for us but saw no other option. When we were younger, the chances of him catching up to us were higher. It’s why we were in hiding, it’s why we didn’t get to play with kids down the street, it’s why she hired people to train us so if someone did come for us, then we had a chance at making it out alive.”
“Do you ever feel like you are as bad as…” I snap my mouth shut because it’s a question I shouldn’t ask. It implies that they could even be on the same level when they aren’t even close.
“What would you do, gem? What would you do to protect your family, the people you love?” he asks me.
I lean into his side as his thumb continues and consider his question. I think most people would say anything but not actually mean it when they have to face it. It’s easy to say things, but it’s different to carry the heavy words themselves.
“Anything, Kai. I would do anything,” I say confidently as I look down at my belly. I would do anything. If it was between me or Kai, it would be me. If it was between me or my son, it would be me. I wouldn’t hesitate.
Love is powerful like that. It is the ultimate sacrifice to die for someone you love so that they may live. It is an example of the ultimate love that was shown to us. I glance up at the cross, then look at Kai. He’s already staring at me, and I smile softly at him.
“So would I, gem. So, to answer your unfinished question, yeah. Sometimes, I do feel like we are just as bad as him. But then the other part of me says we have protected what’s ours at all costs. We can only hope He forgives us,” Kai says, looking back up at the large cross.
“I’m no expert, but I do know we should protect our family, especially from evil. Ours happens to have evil attached to it,” I say.
“Hopefully not for much longer,” Kai mutters.
“Does that mean there’s a plan?” I ask him.
He shrugs again. “We’ve been planning off and on for a long time, but in order to carry out that plan, you have to anticipate your enemy’s movements. We’ve been unable to do that. My fear is that he surprises us, and we are given no choice but to retaliate,” he says.
I hate that he has to even think about these things. He should be thinking about our wedding and our son. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“I really hope it doesn’t, gem.”