Epilogue
Nine Months Later
I was starting to panic.
I’d been nauseous all week—but this was bad.
No, it was worse than bad.
It was my wedding day, and I couldn’t keep anything down.
I brushed my teeth for the third time, rinsed out my mouth, and then stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was still in huge curlers, and we were holding off on my makeup, but if we didn’t start soon, we’d be cutting it close.
Jed and I weren’t having a huge wedding, like Jenna and Kade. Their January ceremony had been like a winter fairytale—only with a bunch of men in leather kuttes. It was beautiful and romantic at a venue in Jackson, Wyoming with the most stunning views. Ours would be great, just on a smaller scale. Rather than a weekend getaway event, our venue was only an hour from Gillette in Spearfish, South Dakota. We were getting married outside, and the weather that afternoon was going to be perfect.
While I looked a little pale, other than an upset stomach, I was fine. I had to be. There was no way I could reschedule my day. I took a deep breath, and I thought maybe—just maybe—I was feeling better.
“Okay, I’m back,” called Bella from the bridal suite. “Got you some Gatorade.”
Hopeful some electrolytes would do me good, I exited the bathroom and returned to my crew.
“Do you want me to go get dad?” asked Marlowe, concern tugging at her brow.
I looked to my junior bridesmaid where she sat for Tess, who was curling her hair.
“No. No Jed,” declared Bella, my dutiful maid-of-honor, before I could reply. “It’s bad luck. Here.”
She handed me a plastic sack, and I took it as Jenna weighed in, “You don’t really believe that, do you? Kade and I woke up together on our wedding day, and we’re doing just fine.”
“Better than fine, I’d say,” said Winnie with a knowing grin.
I smiled at Jenna. She was already dolled up for the day and sitting on a nearby couch, holding Tess and Mustang’s six-month-old baby girl atop her own protruding belly. She was just shy of nine months pregnant, their baby boy expected any day now.
“I’m sure it’s just nerves,” commented mami, who was finishing her own makeup.
“But I’m not nervous,” I insisted. “He’s the love of my life. This day couldn’t have come soon enough.”
“Mommy, when can I put on my dress?” asked Ellie, who was to be my flower girl.
“Soon. Abuela’s got to do your hair.” She paused and then eyed me carefully before she stated, “And I have to do your makeup. Has your morning sickness passed yet?”
I flinched at the term.
“Morning sickness? Bella, I’m not pregnant .”
“Yeah? You sure about that? Only one way to find out,” she said with a shrug.
Suddenly suspicious, I opened the sack in my hand and gasped at what I found.
“Bella!”
Laughing, she said, “Drink up. You’ve got a stick to pee on.”
Two seconds ago, I wasn’t nervous.
Now, I couldn’t say the same.
“Lexi—do you think you are? Have you guys been trying?” asked Tess.
“No, we haven’t.”
I stared down at the pregnancy test next to my Gatorade and tried to think if I’d forgotten to take my birth control at any time in the last several weeks. Things had been crazy busy between work and the wedding, but every day before the one in which I stood was like a blur. My period was late, but I assumed that was on account of stress, and I already accepted the likelihood of it arriving on our honeymoon.
The one thing I knew for sure was that my nausea hadn’t started that morning.
“I’m with Bella. Drink up,” teased Winnie.
“Here, here,” laughed Jenna.
I reached for the Gatorade and took a healthy swig. When it seemed to go down okay, I took another one. And another, until half the bottle was gone.
It wasn’t long until I had to pee.
I closed myself into the bathroom and did what I had to do, setting aside the stick as I washed my hands and waited. I paced back and forth in the small space. I couldn’t handle everyone in the other room staring at me in anticipation when I, too, was waiting anxiously.
“Everything okay in there?” asked mami with a knock.
“Yup. I’ll be out in a sec,” I called back, absentmindedly grazing my thumb across the ink on my wrist.
No sooner had I spoken the words than the little plus sign appeared.
“Oh, my gosh,” I breathed.
I looked down and pressed a palm against my stomach. It took a moment for reality to settle. If I hadn’t thrown up twice already, I’m not sure one test would have convinced me—but I had thrown up twice, and I couldn’t explain why. At least, not until that little pink plus sign.
A year ago, I never would have thought a man like Jed Barker might enter my orbit. Menacingly huge and covered in tattoos. Incredibly hot, with that hair, his eyes, and that ‘stache. A dad and Wild Stallion rolled into one. But when he did, he completely changed the trajectory of my life.
For a long time, the fact that he wanted me felt too good to be true.
Now, he’d officially made it possible for all my dreams to come true.
Without pausing to think about it, I grabbed the test and bolted from the bathroom.
“I’ll be back,” I announced.
“Wait, where are you going?” asked Bella.
“To see Jed.”
“No! It’s bad luck!”
With a wave of my hand, I repeated, “I’ll be back.”
I could hear the smile on her face when Jenna murmured, “She’s totally pregnant.”
As I sped up toward the groom’s quarters, I found I couldn’t help but to smile myself.
I got a little turned around on my way to where the men were, but I eventually found the right door. Rather than barge inside, I decided maybe Bella wasn’t all wrong. It was tradition to wait for us to see each other until I walked down the aisle. I wanted to tell him our news, but I didn’t necessarily have to say it to his face.
His face…
I hoped our little one inherited his tiny little freckles, like Marlowe had.
My excitement on the brink of bursting out of me, I rapped my knuckles repeatedly against the door and called out, “Jed! It’s me. Are you in there?”
I waited with bated breath for his reply. The guys had music playing, and I wondered if I could be heard over the sound. When the door handle began to turn, I grabbed hold of my end to stop it.
“Jed, is that you?”
“Yeah, darlin’. Everything okay?”
“Yes. I just wanted to tell you something. Or, rather, show you something—but we’re not supposed to see each other yet, so I’m going to open the door a crack and slip it to you, okay?”
I heard his soft chuckle as he murmured, “Okay.”
After I took a deep breath and blew it out, I pushed open the door a little and stuck the pregnancy test through the narrow gap. When he took it, I pulled my lower lip between my teeth and waited.
It took a couple seconds before he drawled, “Darlin’?”
“Yeah?” I replied, suddenly wishing I could see his face.
“I’m openin’ this door.”
Fighting against my own desires, I was quick to ask, “What if it’s bad luck?”
“You in your dress?”
“No.”
“Then I’m openin’ this fuckin’ door so I can kiss those lips right fuckin’ now.”
This time, I didn’t try to stop him.
I was grinning when he swung open the door.
And the look on his face?
It was everything.
The next thing I knew, I was in his arms, his lips sealed with mine, my feet no longer touching the ground. I clung to his shoulders, giggling into his mouth until he elicited a moan with the sweep of his tongue. He kissed me wet and deep, pulling away from me abruptly as he sought my eyes with his.
“Wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you, gorgeous. Made you mine, and I didn’t think it could get much better. I was wrong. Let’s make you a Barker, darlin’.”
I sucked in a quiet breath as my insides resisted gravity, my happiness completely off the charts. He still did that to me, and I knew he always would.
“I can’t wait to marry you,” I whispered, touching my forehead to his.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—what’s going on here?”
I glanced over my shoulder, and Jed turned us a little just as Alejandro and Axel rounded the corner, headed our way with a couple sacks of greasy food in their hands. Suddenly, a hamburger sounded like a really great idea.
“Hey, what’s in the bag?” I asked.
Alejo raised his eyebrows at me. “What’s in the bag? You’re not supposed to be here. It’s like a thing, right? The bride and groom aren’t supposed to see each other before the wedding.”
I smiled at Jed, not at all worried about bad luck.
“Come on. Break it up,” insisted my twin.
“Yeah, dad, don’t make me pull rank on you.”
Jed grinned, and I was floating again as I laughed.
My groom had made Axel his best man—a title he took very seriously, which I loved. This was why, when Jed returned me to my feet at his son’s insistence, I didn’t mind.
“You never said what was in the bag,” I commented.
“Burgers and fries. All this waitin’ was making us hungry.”
“Got an extra for the bride?” I asked, holding open my hand.
“If I give you one, will you scram?”
“Mmhmm,” I hummed with a nod.
He gave me one, and I thanked him with a kiss on the cheek.
Axel got a kiss, too, just because.
Then, before I headed back to the bridal suite, I took one last look at my man and promised, “See you at the altar, papi.”
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