Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
B ree pulled a large suitcase from out of the closet in one of the guest rooms. She walked to her room and opened the walk-in closet. Her clothes were hung by style and then by color to make choosing her outfits easier. Shoe racks held more than fifty pairs of shoes because she had a bit of an obsession with shoes. She packed enough clothes for a week.
From there she headed to her bathroom. She’d had it designed for two people even though she never intended to marry. The shower had two shower heads. The jacuzzi tub was extra-large. She had two sinks in the white marble vanity. She packed her toiletries and makeup into a large, train-case-style makeup case and placed it in the suitcase.
Next, she went to her office and picked up her laptop. She had a book to finish and a deadline to meet. Even though it was a self-imposed deadline, she would like to meet it, nonetheless.
Laying on her desk were also three books, one by Amanda M. Lee, one by Lily Harper Hart and one by Jana Deleon. They were all cozy mysteries, which she loved. She always wished she could write those, but they weren’t her forte. She wrote contemporary romance and was perfectly happy doing so. She picked those up, too, and packed them in her laptop bag. She wasn’t sure she would get much reading done, but she liked to read before bed and was prepared.
Once she was finished, she checked the doors and windows to make sure they were locked and went through the kitchen to the garage.
She owned a Ford F150 truck. She’d opted for the truck when she started working in her garden and needed to transport plants and soil. Her garden was on the sprinkler system with drip irrigation. She’d harvested everything up to that point. The vegetables left wouldn’t become ripe for another two weeks or so and she would have to get Adam to give her time to harvest them.
Once she was done with the garden project, she’d decided she liked the truck and kept it. She also had a Dodge Charger, but she didn’t drive it that often, preferring the truck.
Bree texted Adam to let him know she was on her way. She had some trepidation about moving into the home of Brad’s best friend, but she reminded herself that Adam was her best friend, too.
She already knew the code for the gate, since she was a regular visitor to Adam’s home. It hadn’t taken long to drive over there, and he was waiting for her when she pulled in front of the house.
She lowered the window when he walked up to the truck. “What’s up?”
“There is room in the garage.” He handed her an opener. “If you need it, the code is 1719. Just pull in and park in the empty space. I’m moving the Jag to the storage garage when Emily returns it.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind parking the truck in the driveway.”
He shook his head and leaned against the door. “I’m sure. I want you to be comfortable here and that includes parking in the garage.”
Bree took the garage door opener and pressed the button. The door right in front of her, closest to the kitchen, opened.
“This is great. Thank you.”
Adam reached in and squeezed her left hand. “Bree, I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t helping me. I can never thank you enough.”
She gazed down at his hand on her hand, and a sense of warmth flowed through her. “Well, good, because you’ll have to help me now.”
“Anything. What can I do?”
“Let me park and get my stuff inside, then we’ll talk.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He gave her hand another squeeze and backed away from the vehicle.
She pulled in and parked. His six-car garage was wider than normal, so she had plenty of room on either side of her truck when it was parked. It was also deeper than hers because there was plenty of room to walk around the front and the back of the vehicle when it was parked correctly.
She exited the vehicle and opened the back door to get her suitcase and laptop.
“Here, I’ll get that.” Adam reached inside the truck, pulling out her luggage and shutting the door behind him. “Come on in. Lilly is still sleeping…or she was last time I checked.”
Bree chuckled as she walked beside him. “How many times have you been up there?”
He shrugged sheepishly. “Just three.”
“Three! I’ve only been gone for about forty-five minutes. I told you she’d sleep for two hours. Give the kid a break.” She gave him the side-eye. “You’re going to be one of those fathers who checks every time she goes to sleep to see if she’s still breathing, aren’t you?”
Adam didn’t meet her gaze, but he walked through the kitchen to the foyer and up the stairs. “Let’s get you settled.”
Bree couldn’t help but smile at his gruff countenance as she followed him upstairs.
He stopped at the first door on the right. “This will be your room. I hope you find it comfortable. If you want anything changed, just let me know and I’ll make it happen.
“I’m sure it will be fine. After all I’m the one who helped you decorate this house, remember?”
“I remember. I just want you to be comfortable. Change anything you like in the house. It’s been a couple of years since you decorated, so knock yourself out updating it.”
“I’ll consider it. I’ve been thinking though, I’d like the second master across from yours. It’s bigger and I need some room to spread out. A room that is just mine and I’ll still be close enough to hear Lilly if she needs me.”
He snapped his fingers. “Good idea. I should have thought of it.”
“You can’t be expected to think of everything.” She laid a hand on his free arm. Again, the warmth of his body passed through her. “This is a new situation for both of us. We need to be gentle with each other, as well as with Lilly.”
“You’re right. I’m just not used to living with someone.” He walked up to the bedroom across from his. The master bedrooms were very large, over one thousand square feet each. Between the two of them, they occupied half of the second floor. Each one included a full, private bath with an extra-large Jacuzzi tub, double walk-in closets, and a fireplace which separated the sitting room from the bedroom but whose flames could be seen in both. This room differed from Adam’s in that his was done in brown for the curtains and bedspread with cream walls and brown trim. The carpet was Berber wool and was very thick and plush.
Her room was done in shades of blue. Dark blue in the curtains, bedspread and trim. The walls were light blue with dark blue trim and thick, pale blue carpet.
Bree walked into the room after Adam. “Yes, this is much better. I like having space that is just mine.” She hadn’t seen the room since she’d decorated it. The furniture was the same. Whereas Adam’s room was decorated with dark mahogany, as was his preference, she’d picked light oak furniture for this room. The sleigh bed was one of her favorite pieces. She’d picked a large bureau with a mirror and eight drawers. The Tall Boy chest and end tables with a drawer on top and double doors below matched the finish on the bed. Large table lamps were on the end tables rather than the much smaller bedroom lamps most rooms featured. This room also had double walk-in closets with more than enough room for all her clothes and accessories.
Adam’s mouth turned down and his forehead furrowed. “I’m sorry, Bree. I should have realized and never offered you the guest room. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She waved off the apology. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got it straightened out.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to unpack. If you need anything, let me know.”
“I will. I’ll just put this stuff away and then meet you in the kitchen…after checking on Lilly, of course. We should probably put her to sleep where we are rather than alone in your room, at least when we’re not up here. We’ll get a baby monitor and won’t have to worry about that, but we’ll still need the playpen downstairs so she can be safe while she’s down there. We don’t want to hold her all the time. I should have thought of that when we were at the boutique.”
“Regardless, I’ll work some from home. Emily can handle any of the day-to-day stuff and I won’t have to go in except for meetings, but I do have a lot of those. I want to be as hands on with Lilly as possible.”
Bree nodded and clasped her hands behind her. “I understand. I feel the same way. I don’t want her to be raised by babysitters and nannies. I normally work from home anyway, so she can be with one of us all the time.”
“Those are my thoughts exactly. After Lilly wakes up, I’ll take the playpen downstairs. We can turn the library into your office. Would you mind sharing mine until that happens?”
“Not at all. I can write anywhere, really. But I would like to bring my desktop over. I can use the laptop, but I prefer the big computer.”
Adam nodded. “Understood. Well, I’ll see you in a short while.” He made his way to the door and went out.
Bree placed the suitcase on the bed. She wanted to unpack it as soon as possible so the clothes didn’t get too wrinkled.
She’d packed a couple pairs of jeans, t-shirts, black dress pants, two silk blouses, and a swimsuit, one of her more modest one-piece suits. The garment was single shouldered and showed off her figure, which wasn’t too bad. She also brought a bikini and a floral print skirt coverup that went with either suit.
She brought a nice pink silk sheath with matching shoes she could get married in. Nothing too fancy. She didn’t want that, but still not jeans, either.
When she was finished unpacking, she walked across the hall to check on Lilly.
Bree found the baby awake, chewing her right fist and playing with her left foot. “Well, hello, sweetheart. How long have you been awake? I bet you need a fresh diaper, huh?” She walked into the bathroom and got a bath towel. When she returned to the bedroom, she laid the towel on Adam’s bed, folded in half for extra protection. She picked up the diaper bag off the floor by the bed. Then she bent and swept the baby into her arms and headed down to the kitchen.
She didn’t immediately find Adam, so she put a baby blanket on the floor. From the diaper bag, she pulled out a diaper, the wipes and the A&D Ointment. She placed all of them to the side of the blanket. Then she laid Lilly on the blanket while she prepared a bottle. By the time she was finished, she saw that the baby had rolled over and was doing a turtle walk across the Moroccan tile floor.
“Well, aren’t you so smart? I’ve not had a baby belly crawling at six months before. Usually, my brothers and sisters waited at least another month. Yes.” She tickled Lilly’s stomach. “You are just so smart. We definitely can’t just leave you on the bed alone, you’ll roll right off.”
“Who’ll roll right off what?” Adam strolled in from the garage.
Bree looked up as Adam entered. “Lilly can’t be left alone on a bed. She’s rolling and trying to crawl. She’ll roll off the bed if we don’t watch her. So, if you have to put her down for any reason, lay her on the floor on her back and preferably not near the bed. She’s liable to roll right under it.”
Adam raised his eyebrows. “Good to know.” He walked over and squatted next to Lilly. “So, little bit, you’ve been giving your mommy something new to worry about. Taking care of you will be quite the experience for your old dad. But I’ll learn. Nothing will stop me from being the best dad ever.”
Bree chuckled. “You are going to be the best dad. I have no doubt about that because you love her so much. However, now she needs changing and she’s probably hungry. Do you want to change her while I finish getting a bottle ready…just in case?”
He looked up, eyes wide. Then he swallowed hard. “Well, I need to get good at this, so yeah, I’ll change her. You have everything ready, so here goes.” Adam took off the used diaper, cleaned her gently and put the new diaper on…backwards.
Laughing, Bree set the bottle on the table and pointed at the diaper. “That wasn’t bad except you need to put it on the other way around.” She opened the tapes, turned the diaper around and snugged it up around her belly with the tapes..
Adam took notes on his phone. “Ah, that would make it easier.”
“Immensely, now let’s see if she’s hungry.””
“Okay.” He picked up the baby and walked to the sofa in the family room off the kitchen. The room held two sofas, one on the long side of the room. A gas fireplace on the third wall and a large screen TV above the fireplace. Two recliners faced the TV with their backs to the kitchen.
A large round table was between the kitchen and the family room. The three spaces were open to each other, making one big room.
Bree handed him the bottle, then bent and adjusted Lilly in his arms by bringing her head up a bit.
When Adam put the nipple up to Lilly’s mouth, she turned her head. He tried again with the same result. “Am I doing something wrong?”
“Nope, she’s just not hungry. Since it’s nice outside, how about we get changed and get her into her swim pants and get her used to the water. That will make it easier when she actually takes lessons.”
“Sounds good. I have to call the office first, but I’ll be out in about twenty minutes.”
He didn’t sound thrilled at the prospect, so she took pity on him and nodded. “I’ll change her after I get on my suit. Let me have her.”
Adam passed the baby to Bree. “Thanks. I think I can only learn so much in one day.”
Bree chuckled. We’ll see how much you can learn. I bet. it’s more than you believe it is.
Saturday arrived way too soon, but Bree was ready to get it over with. The wedding was on the back patio. It was big enough to hold all the attendees so they could be out of the sun.
She stood in the nursery with Adam and Lilly.
“Is everyone here?” Adam picked up Lilly from her crib.
All the furniture had been delivered and set up in the nursery. They kept the playpen downstairs to let her play in.
Bree was happier than she thought she would be. She really hadn’t wanted to marry, but she couldn’t turn down the chance to live her dream. “Yes, everyone we love is here. All your brothers, your sister, my two sisters and three brothers. Our parents and Emily and her husband. And, of course, Carole and her husband. What time will the justice of the peace be here?”
“He should be here now. Let’s go downstairs and see if everything is set up. I’m sure it is. Carole is nothing if not efficient.”
Bree smoothed her hands over her dress. “Are you ready?” Adam looked very handsome in a blue pinstripe suit with a pink shirt and tie.
Adam was looking at her. “You look beautiful. I can’t believe you’re going to marry me…of your own free will.”
She laughed. “Of course, I am. We both want something that we can only get together. So, let’s go do this and get to the reception or should I say barbeque. I’m so glad you agreed to keep it simple.”
“I want you to be happy and if this makes you happy then it does me, too.”
They walked down to the formal living room off the foyer. The room wasn’t one of Bree’s favorites, but in a house this size, over seven thousand square feet, she supposed it was necessary.
The justice of the peace, a friend of Adam’s, was waiting with his wife. He stepped forward to greet them.
“Adam.” He looked over at Bree. “And you are the lovely bride-to-be. I’m James Coughlin and this is my wife, Rose.”
Bree held out her right hand.
James, who was as tall as Adam, with gorgeous silver hair, shook it.
Then she shook hands with Rose.
“You two make just the cutest couple. And that little munchkin is charming. May I hold her?” asked Rose, a petite woman of about fifty with beautiful auburn hair. Whether it was dyed, Bree couldn’t tell, but if it was, they did a fantastic job.
“Of course,” Adam passed Lilly to Rose.
“Hello, little darlin’. How are you today? Your mommy and daddy are getting married today, do you know that? Hmm?”
Of course, Lilly didn’t answer. Instead, she watched Rose with wide blue eyes and then stuffed her left fist in her mouth.
Bree had dressed her in one of the frilly pink dresses and matching rubber panties and pulled her hair up to the top of her head in a little ponytail, just like Pebbles Flintstone. She looked absolutely adorable.
Adam watched them for a moment and then turned to James. “Are you ready to get this show on the road? I think everyone has arrived and is waiting for us outside.”
“I am. Rose, give the baby back and let’s get you seated,” said James.
Rose frowned and started to turn away, but then smiled and handed Lilly to Bree. “Are you holding her during the ceremony?”
Bree nodded as she accepted Lilly. “I am. She’s as much a part of this as anyone and we want her with us.”
The older woman clasped her hands in front of her. “I think that’s wonderful. I’m glad to see you taking this wedding seriously.”
“We are definitely serious,” said Adam. “This is a fresh start for all of us.”
Bree nodded. “Most definitely.” She’d arranged to have all of her clothes and personal items moved to Adam’s in the last three days. She was ready to begin her new life.
Adam led the way out to the backyard. Along the back of the house was a large, covered patio. Farther out was an outdoor pool and pool house. On the other side of the pool house was Carole’s vegetable garden and beyond that was a couple of acres of manicured lawn.
Bree wondered how he’d feel if she took over part of the yard for a garden. She loved her flowers.
As soon as they walked out, everyone seated began to clap.
Smiling, Bree waved to the crowd and took Lilly’s hand and waved it, too.
The JP took his place at the west edge of the patio.
Adam had ordered a bower of flowers for him and Bree to stand under while taking their vows. They walked there and stood facing each other.
James began the ceremony. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to unite this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Before we start, is there anyone present who knows why these two should not be wed?” He gazed at the gathering and waited for two beats. “Very well. Do you Adam Sean Kincaid, take this woman, Brianna Aurora Taylor, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, through sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.” Adam’s voice rang out loud and clear.
Bree hoped hers would be as strong.
The JP turned toward her. “Do you, Brianna Aurora Taylor, take this man, Adam Sean Kincaid, to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, through sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for as long as you both shall live?”
Bree gazed up at Adam and then at Lilly and smiled. “I do.”
“Do you have rings to exchange?” asked James.
“We do.” Bree and Adam said in unison.
“Very well. Adam, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”
Adam removed her ring from his right little finger and smiled as he held her left hand. “With this ring, I thee wed.” He slipped the platinum band that was covered with ten perfectly round ⒈／⒋ carat diamonds onto the third finger.
Bree lifted her hand and gazed at the ring. She knew it was coming, had even helped him pick it out, but seeing it was still a jolt to her heart. She always believed Brad would be placing the wedding band on her finger. Tears pricked the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away and smiled at Adam and passed Lilly to him.
He held her with his right arm.
Justice James smiled. “Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”
She removed Adam’s ring from her right thumb and then gazed up at Adam while she held his left hand. He hadn’t wanted anything gaudy, but she’d talked him into this ring. The band had one large two carat center diamond, surrounded by four ⒈／⒋ carat diamonds. The metal was platinum. “With this ring, I thee wed.” She grinned.
The justice smiled and clasped his hands over his stomach. “By the power vested in me by the State of Colorado, the County of Arapahoe and the City of Cherry Hills Village, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Adam smiled and leaned down. He gave Bree a soft kiss on the mouth, then smiled widely and turned to the attendees. He moved Lilly to his left arm and grabbed Bree’s left hand with his right one. Then he raised them both up, just like when a fighter wins a match.
The crowd broke into applause and whistles as Bree and Adam moved from the patio to the grass where everyone was seated and down the aisle between the chairs.
The sound startled Lilly, and she whimpered before letting out a full-blown howl.
Adam said soothing words to her and held her close to him.
She calmed almost immediately with only a couple of little whimpers.
The crowd started working their way back to Adam and Bree, offering congratulations and good cheer.
Surrounding them first were Adam’s family. His brothers—Ray, Cole, Nick and Peter and his sister, Megan.
Megan, her dark hair arranged in a half-up, half-down style, with lots of curls flowing down her back, hugged Bree. “Now, I really have a sister. I’ve wanted one my whole life and here you are.”
Bree loved Megan. She’d known her for years and thought of her as a sister as well. “I’m so glad to have you as a sister, too.”
Megan moved to Adam and hugged him, at least, until Lilly pushed her away. “Oh, niece of mine, you are a territorial little thing.” Laughing, Megan looked up at Adam. “I guess she wants Daddy all to herself.”
He kissed the top of Lilly’s head in front of her tiny ponytail. “I don’t mind being the most special man in her life at least until she’s thirty and then she can start dating.”
Bree barked out a laugh. “Thirty, huh? I can’t wait to see how that plays out, or in his case, doesn’t. You’ll be lucky to get her to wait until she’s fifteen.”
“Then I’ll meet every boy and put the fear of God into him if he lays a hand on her.”
Bree smiled. She didn’t think she’d been this happy in a long time. Not since Brad, but she wouldn’t think of their relationship today. This was the first day of the rest of her life. Adam might not think it was forever, but she knew better. She might not have wanted to marry, but she didn’t believe in divorce. Their marriage was forever…for better or for worse.