Chapter 26
26
Saturday
Malibu, California
The helicopter lands and a woman with blond hair sprints from the house and down the lawn to greet us. She could only be Jessie. She screams with excitement when Lila disembarks, jumping up and down and then bear-hugging her.
Then she holds Lila’s shoulders and gives her a once-over. “Who is this glamorous New Yorker flying in on her private helicopter? Are you freaking kidding me with this shit?” She seems like she might burst with her enthusiasm.
And then Jessie’s glance slides to me, becoming both intrigued and wary. “And who is this mysterious plus one? Wait a minute! I know you! You’re Colton Maddox! ”
It happens. I hold out a hand to shake hers. “It’s a pleasure, Jessie. Hope you don’t mind me crashing your wedding.”
To Lila, she whisper-screams, “ Colton Maddox is your plus one! Holy shit! How did that happen? You two know each other?”
“You could say that,” I drawl, and Lila gives me a don’t-you-dare-tell-her look.
“I’ve been waiting for hours for you to arrive,” Jessie gushes. “I’m about to put my dress on and I need you.”
“And now I’m here.” Lila gives Jessie another hug. “I’m so excited for you.” Lila places her hand on Jessie’s stomach. She’s barely showing. “Hey, little baby, I can’t wait to meet you.”
But if I’m not mistaken, Lila’s expression has become distracted, like thoughts are going through her head she wishes weren’t.
“Colton, I need to steal Lila from you for an hour, but they’re setting up the bar over there and there are tables or there’s a path down to the beach. Jacob and his brothers should be down there somewhere.”
“I’ll be fine. You two go ahead.”
Lila’s eyes meet mine, but there’s nothing there I can take heart from. She’s completely shut me out.
She and Jessie walk back up to the house, their arms around each other. I can hear Jessie questioning Lila about me and our road trip.
I watch them for a few seconds, feeling strangely bereft. I’m trying to identify the feeling. We haven’t been apart for five whole days and I already miss her. My perfect little sweet, gorgeous addiction. I need my wife. She’s mine.
I need to get a grip.
Shaking my head because I’ve turned into a walking cliché, I do my best to cowboy the fuck up.
I’ll see her in an hour.
It feels like an unbearably long time.
I start walking toward the bar when my phone vibrates in my pocket.
I pull it out, expecting it to be one of those bitches who made her mad at me, but it’s a Zoom call.
From all three of my brothers.
Which almost makes me laugh. I answer the call. “Wow, a group chat. To what do I owe the astounding pleasure of having all three of my brothers interrogating me at the same time? Must be my lucky day.”
“Where are you?” Alexander asks. I can see from the background he’s by his rooftop pool.
“I’m sure you know from your tracking devices but I’ll tell you anyway. I’m in Malibu.”
“At the wedding?” Cash is clearly back in Hawaii. Palm trees frame the background and he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. At the wedding.”
“Dude, we’re worried about you.” Noah’s in the Hamptons, out on his deck. The same deck where I first saw her. It’s hard to believe that was only a week ago. So much has happened since then. “Tell us more about this girl you’ve run off with.”
“She’s the maid of honor.” I offer the bare minimum. “She’s helping the bride get ready.”
“Are things getting serious between you two?” Cash sounds amused by this. Everything’s amusing to him these days, which is a complete 180 from how uptight he used to be before he met Dusty. I finally get why.
Except that I’m even more uptight now. Because what if she fucking leaves me? “You could say that.” Do I rip the band-aid off now? Or wait until I get back to New York? She made me promise not to tell Jessie, but she didn’t say anything about not telling my brothers. Fuck it. “We got married in Vegas.”
It’s not often that all three of my brothers are speechless, especially at the same time. I almost savor the moment.
Alexander recovers first, shaking his head. “Very funny.”
“We got married in that chapel right there on the strip. She’s moving in with me when we get back to New York tomorrow.”
Yes, I’m still ironing out a few of the details, but I’ll get my way because it’s the only end result I can live with.
Noah still thinks I’m joking. “Our lawyers didn’t mention it, but I’m sure you did the only reasonable thing and drew up an air-tight pre-nup before vowing your life away? ”
“Nope. No pre-nup. Just a pure love match that’s going to last a lifetime.”
Total silence.
“Still waiting for the punchline, Colton,” Noah says.
“You want a punchline? Here’s a punchline: I’m in love with her.”
More silence.
Alex is still hoping I’m joking. “And you met her, what, a week ago?”
It’s not that shocking is it? “What’s the problem? Cash, Alex, you get it. We’ve had front row seats to your own total meltdowns and happily ever afters. Don’t judge me. I found the girl of my dreams and now she’s my wife.”
Noah’s incredulous, but Cash and Alex went down just as fast. “That’s it, I’m coming out there. You’ve lost your mind.”
“When you know, you know.” I’m standing near a bench that looks over the ocean. I have a good view of the new arrivals as they get dropped off by the fountain beyond the tables.
Most of the guests have arrived and a few ushers are guiding people to their seats. Music is starting up.
And someone new has just arrived at the wedding.
I don’t recognize his face because I’ve only heard his name in passing but I know exactly who he is.
He’s a few inches shorter than me. He has brown hair. I’m trying to gauge it and I guess he could possibly be described as handsome .
Troy Fucking Beckett.
The girl he’s with is very L.A., with bleach blond hair, way too many fillers in her face and fake tits.
“I have to go,” I tell my brothers.
They all look shell-shocked and concerned, but I’m too distracted to worry about it right now.
“Colton,” Alexander says in his Big Brother voice, but my heartbeat drowns him out.
“We can talk about this tomorrow,” I tell them. “I’ll call you when we’re on our way to New York.”
“Colt—”
I end the call.
Because Troy Beckett’s gaze isn’t directed at his bimbo date.
He’s riveted by the gorgeous little maid of honor in the tight, low-cut pink dress.
The one who’s more beautiful than anything I have ever seen.
The one who’s not wearing her wedding ring.
And that fucker is staring right at her.