Forever (Empire High Book 8)

Chapter 41

Friday

Brooklyn

It looked like Matt was going to drown in his pain. I saw it flash across his face, if only for a moment. And he was misunderstanding what I was about to say.

He already knew I couldn’t say all that back to him. I’d fallen in love with someone else. Had a life with someone else. Had a baby with someone else. I couldn’t tell him that I loved him and only him. But I could tell him exactly how I felt.

“I can’t…” I smiled. “…possibly put this as eloquently as you did.”

Our family and friends laughed.

“Really not funny,” Matt said.

“A little funny.” I smiled up at him. “Did you seriously think I was about to run from the altar?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I had to chase you. But like I said…you’re worth fighting for, Brooklyn.”

His words made my heart beat funny in my chest. My uncle had told me that exact same thing. And I couldn’t believe that Matt remembered how much that meant to me. After all these years, Matt truly did remember everything about our time together. And it felt like fate. Because that was exactly how I was planning on ending my vows to him. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me. And I wanted him to know that’s how I felt about him.

Matt was so full of surprises. And he was making me like surprises again. For so long I was scared. But I was done running.

“I’m in love with you,” I said.

“Good, I’m in love with you too.” He smiled down at me.

“You’re not supposed to respond to everything I say. Let me get this out.”

The crowd laughed and Matt nodded silently.

I stared up into Matt’s eyes. “I’m serious. I can’t top what you just said.” Seriously, why had I let him go first? “But you’re right about all of it. When I first met you, I felt invisible. I used to stare at you because you looked so…happy. And I was so sad. I thought maybe, if I was lucky, that some of your joy would rub off on me. And that maybe I’d learn how to smile again. You were the breath of fresh air in a city that didn’t feel like my home.

“I have this whole thing with home. Because I kept losing mine. But I always had you. Even when I thought I didn’t. Even when I stayed away for 16 years, you were still there. Waiting. Perpetually waiting. Fixing up homes that we were always meant to share together. Because you are home to me, Matt. You’ve always been home to me.

“I can’t stand here and say I regret anything that’s happened. But I can say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you 15 years ago when I escaped. I’m sorry I ran away from you when I promised I’d never run away. We promised that we’d always talk things through…”

“Baby.” Matt grabbed my hand. “It’s okay. It’s…”

I shook my head. It wasn’t. I’d hurt him. And I couldn’t undo that pain. “I will spend the rest of my life making up for that hurt. By loving you. By choosing you. By being Mrs. Matthew Caldwell.”

He smiled.

“Because I never forgot you, Matt. I baked so I could smell cinnamon in the air. Watching football reminded me of you. Crisp fall air reminded me of you. Certain songs reminded me of you. I put all my hopes and dreams on you for so long. And that doesn’t just go away. Not even in 16 years.

“No, you’re not the same boy I fell in love with. And I’m not the same girl that you fell in love with. But you still are and always will be the boy I stare at when I think no one’s looking.” Tears started streaming down my cheeks. “I still want your joy to rub off on me. And I still dream of being your wife. Today it feels like all my dreams are coming true.”

Matt reached out and wiped my tears away with his thumbs.

“You were my first love. And my last love. And I will love you until the day I die, Matt. Always and forever. I promise to never run away from what we have ever again. Because you’re worth fighting for too.” I went to slide the ring on his finger, but he pulled me into a searing kiss instead.

God I’d never grow tired of Matt’s kisses.

I heard Rob whistle.

And the pastor cleared his throat.

I put my hand on Matt’s chest.

He slowly pulled back.

The pastor looked down at the ring in my hand.

Oh, I’d almost forgotten. I grabbed Matt’s hand and slid the ring onto his finger. I smiled up at him. That felt like a long time coming. I was so lucky that he’d waited for me. And I meant what I’d said. I’d spend my whole life making up for all the time we’d spent apart. We were finally allowed to be happy. We were finally free.

“Matthew Caldwell,” the pastor said. “Do you take Brooklyn to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold until death do you part?”

Matt smiled down at me. The kind of smile he used to have back at Empire High. Like everything was right in the world. “I do.”

“Brooklyn, do you take Matthew Caldwell to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold until death do you part?”

A thousand percent yes.“I do.”

“Then by the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Go ahead and kiss your bride again,” he said with a smile.

I laughed.

Matt leaned down and kissed me as cheers erupted from all our friends and family.

Our first kiss as husband and wife.

Sixteen years in the making.

And I was going to make it count. I grabbed the lapels of his jacket to deepen our kiss.

His hands slid to my ass.

And I didn’t even care. I didn’t care who was watching. Or silently judging us. All that mattered in that moment was him and me. The kiss was somehow sweet and sinful, and salty from my tears. And I never wanted this moment to end.

But then I felt something land on the tip of my nose.

I pulled back and stared up at the light snow that had started to fall. Today had been much colder than the original forecast had predicted. And no one had predicted snow.

I smiled. I knew in my heart that this was Miller’s doing.

I lifted my hand and watched a snowflake land on my palm and melt away. I closed my hand in a fist and looked back up at the falling snow. Each flake that landed on me felt like a kiss from Miller.

Miller and I had gotten married in the snow on Christmas day. Just the two of us. The only witness the silent falling snow.

Yes, this was definitely him. His blessing. He’d meant what he’d written in that letter. He wanted me to keep living. To keep loving. To never take a single day for granted. Another snowflake landed on the tip of my nose and I smiled at Matt. “It’s snowing.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Matt said. “We’re married!” He lifted me into his arms and spun me around.

“We’re married!” I yelled and lifted my hands in the air.

“You’re supposed to start walking,” Mason said. “Everyone’s freezing their asses off.”

I laughed and Matt lowered me to my feet.

“We’re married,” he said again, this time like he couldn’t believe it. Like he really did think he was dreaming.

“You’re my husband.”

“You’re my wife.”

Hearing him say that made tears pool in the corners of my eyes.

Sixteen years ago we’d dreamed of a future where we’d be married. Our future was finally here. Our happily ever after.

I grabbed his hand and lifted it in the air.

Everyone cheered again.

And then we ran through the falling snow toward the restaurant.

For some reason I kept laughing. Like I’d been holding on to all this joy in my chest and it finally wanted out.

From this day on I was choosing to be happy.

From this day on I was Brooklyn freaking Caldwell.

It was a blur of pictures and congratulations. We took a lot of pictures inside but ventured outside in the falling snow for a few in front of our bridge.

Rob almost pushed Tanner into the freezing cold water, but luckily Tanner had excellent balance.

But I was barely paying attention.

I kept waiting for someone to pinch me.

Because for a while there, I was so scared I’d never smile again. And now I couldn’t seem to stop.

“So this was the dress you picked out in high school?” Matt whispered when we were supposed to be posing.

“With a few alterations.” I put my fingers on the tulle between my breasts.

Matt groaned. “Who knew that 16 years would make you such a tease.”

I laughed and pushed on his arm.

“But seriously, baby. You are the most beautiful bride.” He intertwined his fingers with mine. “And I am the luckiest man alive.”

For so long I’d felt like bad luck. But it was easy to believe my luck had changed when I was standing here in my wedding dress. “I feel pretty lucky myself.” I squeezed his hand.

“This is the best day of my life.”

“You might feel differently in several months.” I put my free hand on my stomach. He didn’t know the joy of holding his child for the first time.

He dropped his forehead to mine. “I’m scared for someone to pinch me.”

I smiled. I’d just been thinking the same thing. “Oh, this is very much real.” I reached out and pinched him.

He laughed.

“Pinch me back.”

He lightly pinched my elbow.

I smiled. “Guess we’re not dreaming.”

“Mommy, Mommy!” Jacob ran up to us through the snow. “Snowball fight!” He threw a very tiny snowball right at Nigel.

“Oh, it’s on, Mr. Jacob.” Nigel leaned down and started to make a much bigger snowball.

“Nope,” Matt said sternly to Nigel. And then Matt turned back to Jacob. “We’ll do that later, kiddo. But right now I need you to smile for the cameras.”

Jacob reached up to him, the way he did when he wanted to be lifted up.

Matt immediately picked him up.

They already understood each other. We were already a family. And I couldn’t wait for it to grow even bigger.

The photographer kept snapping pictures.

Tanner and Nigel started moving farther and farther away from everyone. I tried to wave them back over. But it was pretty clear that they both hated being photographed. And I couldn’t force them.

Soon Nigel was just standing by the photographer, helping organize everyone for photos.

And Tanner kept telling me how to pose.

“Tanner, this doesn’t feel right,” I said as I awkwardly arched my back. No one stood this way.

He grabbed the camera from the photographer, turned it around, and let me see the photo.

Oh my God.I’d never looked so good in a picture before. All the awkward angles actually looked so normal in the photographs. I looked up at him. “How do you know all this stuff?”

“I’m the founder of Odegaard, remember? I know my way around a fashion show. And certainly around the perfect photo.”

I shook my head. He had said that to me before. But it made no sense then and it made no sense now. Because Odegaard was older than he was. And he was a venture capitalist, not a photographer on a runway. “You mean you own Odegaard?”

“Isn’t that what I said?” He shrugged.

No, it wasn’t. “Tanner, please get in some of the pictures.”

He cleared his throat. “Um…I can’t.”

I just stared at him.

“It’s a billionaire thing. Matt wouldn’t understand.”

Matt laughed. “Dude. James and Penny are in the pictures.”

“Old wealth versus new wealth me thinks.”

Me thinks?

“They do have old wealth,” Matt said. “Ish.”

The Hunter family was very wealthy. But I knew James had made his own personal fortune as well.

“Ish,” Tanner said. “The ish is the difference.”

“Between paupers and princes,” Nigel said.

“That’s not what I said.” Tanner stared at him.

Nigel shrugged. “But it’s what you meant.”

“I wasn’t calling our friends paupers,” Tanner said.

“But you’re saying they’re all destitute.”

“No,” Tanner said firmly. “I didn’t mean that.”

“But you said…”

“Hush, child,” Tanner said. “Let’s help the photographer more.” He walked away before I could question him or pester him to be in the pictures again.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Why had Tanner called Nigel a child? Nigel was a grown man. Well, mostly. He did look awfully young actually. “How old is Nigel?” I asked Matt.

“I have no idea,” he said. “A little younger than Tanner?”

“Huh.” The more I looked at him, the more I thought he could pass for a teenager. He just had this young suave look about him.

Tanner kept giving us instructions, the photographer snapping away.

Soon my cheeks actually hurt from smiling so hard. And I started to shiver.

This time I didn’t protest when Matt took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“Do you think that’s enough pictures?” Matt asked me.

I knew he wanted this to be perfect for me. But honestly, all I wanted to do was kick off my heels and curl up in front of a warm fire with him. And there was a fireplace in the restaurant…

“I think that’s plenty.”

“Thank fuck,” Rob said. “I’m freezing.” He looped his arm through mine and pulled me away from Matt.

“What are you doing?” I asked. I tried to look at Matt over my shoulder, but Rob kept guiding me farther away.

“Escorting you inside. And taking a moment to congratulate you.”

“Well, thank you.”

“And Daphne said I need to apologize for last night. I didn’t know anything would be set on fire. So I am sorry it got a little dangerous. But the rest worked, right? You’ll always remember that prank and forget about the one from 16 years ago?”

I smiled up at him. “Yes, Rob. I’ll always remember last night instead.”

“Good. So I thought now might be a good time to talk about our next prank…”

“Rob,” I groaned.

“I like when you say my name like that.”

I slapped his arm.

“I like that too, Sanders.”

I gave him a hard stare. “Caldwell.”

“No fucking way. That’s what I call Matt or Mason when they’re being dicks. You’ll always be Sanders to me.”

I smiled. I actually loved that nickname.

“And don’t worry, I’m not planning another prank. Yet. That’s my wedding gift to you. No more pranks for…a year.”

“A year?”

“Yup. Scouts honor.”

“Were you even in boy scouts?”

Rob shrugged. “Never heard of it.”

I laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Just wait until my speech.”

“You’re not giving a speech. Only Kennedy and Mason are.”

“Psh.” Rob dropped my arm and opened the doors to the restaurant for me. “It’s like you don’t know me at all. Of course I’m giving a speech. Matt’s my best friend. Just because I’m not his best man doesn’t mean I’m letting this day pass without making fun of him publicly. Besides, it’s going to be epic.”

Oh no.That’s exactly what he’d said about the pudding prank last night. “Why exactly is it going to be epic?” We walked over to the fireplace to warm our hands. Please don’t set anything on fire.

He smiled. “Because it’s going to make you blush.”

“Robert Hunter, stop flirting with me. I’m a married woman.” I waved my hand in his face, showing off my new ring.

“Eh. It’s never stopped me before. Flirting with off-limits women is kind of my thing. Specifically my friends’ spouses. Just ask Penny.”

I hadn’t heard Matt approaching, but he put his arm protectively around my shoulders.

“Is this strange man bothering you?” Matt asked.

I laughed.

“You’re married!” Rob yelled and jumped into Matt’s arms.

I laughed even harder as Matt almost fell over from the impact.

A flash made me turn my head. The photographer hadn’t captured the moment, but luckily Kennedy had.

“Congratulations,” she said and put her arm around me. She rested her head on my shoulder. “I’m so happy for you. Who ever thought that when we were having sleepovers in your old apartment that one day we’d be here?”

“I never could have predicted any of this.”

“Maybe we could have predicted it a bit,” Felix said as he walked up to us. “Congratulations, Newb.” He leaned down and hugged me.

“Thank you.” And he was right. I could have predicted it a little. I’d wanted Matt back then. And I’d always thought Felix was a good fit for Kennedy.

“Is everything good with your dad?” Kennedy asked as I pulled back from the hug.

I looked over at my father. He was talking to Mrs. Alcaraz. “Yeah. I think it really is.”

“You should get a picture of that,” Tanner said as he joined us.

“Hm?” I looked up at him.

“Richard and Kennedy’s mom.” He pointed back at them talking.

“Why?” Kennedy asked.

“Because I have a feeling they could be a perfect match.”

Kennedy scrunched up her nose. And then immediately said: “Sorry. I just…it’s your dad.”

I laughed. Trust me, I got it. Trusting him was going to be an adjustment for everyone. But as I saw Mrs. Alcaraz laugh, I wasn’t sure if Tanner was that far off. And he’d mentioned something about my dad and Kennedy’s mom before. I turned back to Tanner. “A perfect match, huh?” I asked.

“Almost as perfect as you and Matt.”

I looked over at my husband. My husband. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to think that without smiling. James was giving him a big hug.

“But they met 16 years ago,” Tanner said with a sigh. “Why has everyone always met before I introduce them? I never get any credit.”

“Credit for what?”

“The match.”

“I promise I’ll give you credit if our parents get together.” I looked at Kennedy and she laughed.

But Tanner just sighed again. “If only.”

I didn’t get a chance to ask him what he meant because Justin hurried over to us. Without saying a word, he grabbed my hand, pulling me away from my Kennedy and Tanner. And then he did the same with Matt, pulling him away from James and Rob.

Justin walked us into the middle of the restaurant where all the tables had been moved for a temporary dance floor.

“You two are very hard to corral.” He pushed me and Matt together. “I know you’ve rented out the restaurant for the whole night, but there’s still a schedule to keep. And it’s time for your first dance as husband and wife.”

“For the first time ever, may I present, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Caldwell!” the D.J. said from behind me.

Our song came back on. The original version this time.

“Now dance, you two.” Justin slapped my butt before walking off the dance floor.

I laughed as Matt pulled me in close.

“I really hate the way everyone keeps inappropriately touching my wife.”

I just stared up at him with stars in my eyes. I’d never grow tired of hearing him call me his wife.

His fingers sunk into my hair. “I thought I’d go through my whole life thinking about what could have been.”

I ran my hand down the back of his neck. I thought about Matt all alone for a decade and a half, thinking about our time together as teenagers. In his head about all of it. “This is our fresh start. Our new beginning.”

“Hm. I like the sound of that.”

It felt like the world around us hushed. It was just the two of us. In our own little bubble.

I took a deep breath, the smell of cinnamon swirling around me. “You know…dancing with you will always remind me of you being super drunk at homecoming.”

He laughed. “I was hoping it would remind you of prom now. And me proposing.”

I smiled. “Nope, still thinking about drunk Matt.”

He twirled me around. “Well now you’ll think about our wedding whenever we dance.”

“It’s going to be really hard to top homecoming.”

“What about all our dancing in the kitchen?”

I smiled. I loved dancing with him in the kitchen. And I loved this moment too.

He spun me around again. “I know how to make it memorable.” He let go of me for a moment and shimmied his shoulders.

I laughed and he pulled me back in close. What I loved so much about dancing with him at homecoming was that he’d been so honest with me. I’d gotten to really see…him. But he was always honest with me now. And tonight was unforgettable. “Okay, fine. Maybe this beats dancing with you at homecoming.”

He leaned closer and his lips brushed against my ear. “This definitely beats homecoming. Because you’re finally, officially mine, Brooklyn Caldwell.”

“I’ve always been yours.” A piece of me. I knew it was true. And I was done feeling guilty about everything. I was ready to live in the moment.

He kissed the spot right behind my ear.

I swallowed hard. I didn’t think anyone had ever kissed me there before. And I felt so…loved.

He dipped me low as everyone clapped. When the last note of the song played, he pulled me back up to his chest. “I can’t wait to rip this dress off of you.”

I laughed. “I want to keep it though. In case our daughter wants to wear it one day.”

Matt’s eyes grew round and his gaze fell to my stomach.