Chapter Fifty-Nine
Alan
She jumped out of the driver’s seat with a big smile when I walked out of the terminal and toward the curb where she’d been waiting behind the wheel of the Sienna.
I didn’t hesitate to drop my bag, wrap my arms around her, and kiss her right there on the sidewalk for all of Charleston International to see.
When we broke apart, I caressed her jawline with my thumb as I looked down at her, knowing damn well I was wearing a goofy, lovestruck grin.
“Hi, baby.”
My only solace was her grin matched mine.
“Hi. I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Me, to—”
“Let’s go, folks! Move along!”
I looked up to see a man in a bright yellow vest that read airport security glowering at us. Nodding at him in acknowledgement, I released my hold on Jess, picked up my bag, and ushered her to the sliding rear passenger door of the minivan to drop my luggage inside.
“Do you want to drive?” I asked as the door slid closed.
“No, you drive. We have to make our guest list so we can email invitations tomorrow.”
“Good idea.”
I couldn’t resist stealing one more kiss after I opened the passenger door for her. After I stepped away, she sighed, “Gosh, I missed you,” then climbed inside.
I practically skipped to the driver’s side.
I couldn’t remember a time that I’d ever felt happier.
It must have shown on my face because as I pulled into traffic, she asked, “What are you smiling about?”
I shrugged. “I’m just glad to be back. I can’t wait to marry you.”
I think I surprised her with my admission, because she was quiet for a beat before she finally murmured, “I can’t wait to marry you, either.”
I reached over and grabbed her hand to bring it to my lips. “I promise to make you happy.”
“Is that going to be in your vows?” she teased, then we looked at each other with wide eyes and blurted out at the same time:
“Are we writing our own vows?”
“What are we doing about our vows?”
****
Jessica
We decided to go with the traditional vows of for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, blah, blah, blah. It was just easier.
Our guest list was a little more complicated. It was way too long until we decided the criteria for making the cut was the person either had to be closely related to us, and/or was someone we’d call if we needed bail money. Or the significant other of someone we would.
That cut the list in half and made it far more manageable.
“We should be able to get those sent out tomorrow with no problem,” he remarked as we approached Haven Springs’ town limits.
“Should we plan on getting together in the afternoon to do that?”
“That’ll work. I’ll come by the bakery in the morning to feed Ruthie if that’s okay.”
“Of course. Do you want to have dinner at the new house so we can actually work on the registry?”
“That’d probably be a good thing to get done, huh? Once people get their invitations, they’re going to be asking where we’re registered.”
I replied, “That’s what I was thinking, too.”
“Do you just want to grab something from Golden Dragon?”
“Perfect! When I was pregnant, I wasn’t able to eat Chinese without getting sick. I’ve missed it.”
He pulled into the driveway of our new place on Morning View Drive. He’d had Adam move anything he’d left at Brian’s so his parents could take up residence there—at their insistence.
When Lainey had protested, Denise had shaken her head and said, “You know what they say about houseguests and fish. Being right next door, we’ll still be close enough to properly annoy you; the difference will be you can send us away.”
Everyone had laughed, but I suspected Lainey was relieved to get her house back.
He put the van in park, and I realized I didn’t want him to go inside just yet, so I tried to make small talk.
“Do you know how long your parents are planning on staying in Haven Springs?”
“Just until the Monday after our wedding.”
“It was really generous of Brian to give up his house like that.”
“He and Jade have been staying at her place, so it worked out. She has a single-story, and it’s easier for Brian to get around while he recovers.”
“What happened to him?”
He tilted his head and said, “You really don’t know?”
“No. I thought it’d be rude to ask.”
“He was shot saving Lainey when she was kidnapped. You knew she was kidnapped, right?”
“I did know that. And I knew an officer had been injured—I didn’t realize it was Brian. Although looking at it now, it seems obvious. I feel kind of dumb for not figuring it out.”
“Well, to be fair, you’ve kind of had a lot on your plate this week.”
“That is an understatement.”
He smiled at me and said, “You sure you can’t stay tonight? I’ll give you a good foot massage while we watch trash TV.”
“That is tempting,” I replied with a smirk. “But I either need to feed Ruthie or pump. And neither my child nor my breast pump is here.”
He stared at me for a beat before leaning over and kissing my cheek. “You’re incredible.”
The compliment made my tummy flip. But I tried to play it cool.
“That was random.”
“Not really. I mean—I think it a lot. I should be better about saying it out loud.”
Now I just felt self-conscious and felt my face go red.
“You’re pretty great, too.”
He continued to study me until finally he put his hand on the door handle.
“I better go inside now, or I might not let you leave.”
As appealing as that sounded, my boobs were starting to ache, so I didn’t protest.
“Yeah, I should go.”
He got out and opened the rear door to retrieve his bag while I came around to the driver’s door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered before planting a chaste kiss on my lips then stepping back so I could get behind the wheel.
Once I’d adjusted the seat and put my seatbelt on, he leaned in and said, “Give Ruthie a kiss for me,” then gave me another peck.
“I will.”
He closed the door, and I quickly rolled down the window.
“Text me when you get home, babe. Don’t forget.”
I knew I was smiling when I backed out of the driveway.
With one last wave, I put the Sienna in drive and headed to the farmhouse where my daughter was probably fast asleep.
I couldn’t wait until we were all under the same roof.