Chapter Thirty-one – Amazed
Chapter Thirty-one
Fallon
AMAZED
Performed by Lonestar
SEVEN YEARS AGO
HER: Why is it that women have to wear uncomfortable things like strapless bras and four-inch heels to be qualified as dressed up, but a guy gets to wear pants and flats?
HIM: Is this for prom? What teen wannabe is taking you? And has your mom or your dad had ‘the talk’ with you?
HER: I’m seventeen, not ten, Frogman. I’ve had the sex talk.
HIM: So you know how all teen guys hope to close out their prom night with one thing?
HER: Maybe all teen WOMEN want to close the night out with the same thing.
HIM: Do not give in to the lure of one night, Ducky. The walk of shame isn’t worth it.
HER: Only a misogynist hypocrite would say I’d be doing a walk of shame when he’s had more one-night stands than I could count.
HIM: Just trust me on this. Prom night is not the night for you.
HER: You offering me an alternative?
PRESENT DA Y
How did I get here?
I stared into the mirror and wondered for the thousandth time if I was doing the right thing.
Then, I took a breath and reminded myself of everything Parker had said earlier, especially when he’d said he loved me.
Sure, it had been in passing, as if it was already a foregone conclusion, but he’d said it.
And he’d said he wanted to be with me, wanted me in his bed, waking up next to him every morning.
Hearing him talk that way, hearing those sweet words, was a beautiful dream come true.
Until I thought of the baby and why he’d jumped off the ledge.
But Parker had sounded so sure when he said that wasn’t the only reason he was doing this. Seeing me on the ground after the bullets had flown had supposedly pulled back his blinders. But would I ever know for sure?
Why couldn’t I just let go of the doubts and enjoy this moment?
Looking into Whitney’s tri-fold mirror in her bedroom suite proved I’d gotten what I’d always dreamed. I was getting married. To Parker.
The door behind me opened, and my future mother-in-law came in with a glowing smile that hadn’t once faded since Parker had told her about our marriage.
She’d been happy every second of our afternoon together, gushingly so. When we were looking for dresses in an exclusive mall off The Strip, she’d told me, more than once, how she’d always thought this would happen. She was thrilled we were making a family for ourselves—one that included Theo.
Now, she took me in from head to toe, in that way that reminded me of her son, before she said, “You look absolutely gorgeous, Fallon. Parker is going to lose his mind.”
I looked back at my reflection.
The Cheongsam-styled dress I’d bought was the palest of aquas, just a shade above white.
It was sleeveless with a Mandarin collar and sheer keyhole side and back inserts.
The sheer inserts were topped with intricate flower appliques in shades of silver and a darker aqua with tiny seed pearls at their centers.
The dress had an organza top layer that floated from my waist to my calves and an inner satin lining that ended above my knee.
As soon as the sales clerk had brought it from the back, I’d known it was the one. Not just the right one for this spontaneous Vegas wedding, but the one I would have chosen no matter how long we’d planned the ceremony.
Even more perfect, I’d brought my favorite dark-teal cowboy boots with me, and they would match perfectly. The flowers on the boots even looked like they belonged in a matched set with the ones sewn on the bodice.
Fate.
That word shifted something inside me.
I tugged at a long curl that had been artfully left out of the updo.
Whitney had finagled a hair and makeup team from the spa at Dad’s hotel to work me into their schedule, paying extra for a house call.
The stylist had taken my normal braid and upleveled it.
She’d twisted my hair into several small braids and then piled them together in an elegant knot at my crown, leaving plenty of long, loose tendrils curling down my back and over my shoulders.
She’d worked the angle of my hair upfront to hide the knot at my temple as best she could, and the makeup folks had carefully applied cover-up over it.
The bruising and swelling were still noticeable, but only if you really looked.
“You don’t need jewelry with the neckline of that dress,” Whitney said. “But I thought you might like this cuff to be your ‘something borrowed.’”
She took my hand and slid the bracelet on before I could object. The gracefully twined vines and flowers of silver wound from my wrist up to almost my elbow. It was as feminine and lovely as the floral appliques on my dress.
My throat momentarily closed.
Reading my wild emotions, Whitney risked messing up my hair and makeup to hug me. “You’re sure, Fallon. This is how you want to do it?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
I hoped it sounded as firm and confident as I wanted.
Her phone alarm jangled. “That’s us, then. ”
I grabbed the small clutch I’d bought with the dress that now contained my phone and a few essentials.
I wouldn’t need anything else for this short jaunt downtown to The Fortress.
We’d be back in a few hours, and I’d no longer just be Fallon Marquess-Harrington, but Fallon Marquess-Harrington-Steele.
I’d have to choose what name to use going forward.
Should I keep something from my heritage, or was it time to start a new era?
Was it time for a family called the Steeles to take over?
Maybe that was all it would take to break the curse Uncle Adam insisted lingered over us.
But I didn’t have to decide tonight. It could wait.
We made our way out of Whitney’s room and down to the first floor. My head swiveled, searching the great room for Parker, but there was no sign of him or Theo. They’d been absent when we’d returned from shopping as well.
“He’s meeting us at the chapel,” Whitney responded to my unanswered question.
My nerves jangled. The independent piece of me that had sworn I could do anything on my own hated needing him here to calm my nerves, but I did.
I needed my doubts to be soothed by more charming words and a kiss that held the promises we were making to each other.
I followed Whitney out of the house to a limousine parked at the curb.
The logo etched into the back window showed it was one of Dad’s used to pick up the high rollers who stayed at his casino.
The way we’d been using Dad’s staff today, he was certain to hear about the wedding before the night was over.
Would he be angry I’d done this without him? That he hadn’t had the chance to walk me down the aisle? It couldn’t be helped, but I did feel a twinge inside. If things had been different, I would have wanted him here, even if I’d never wanted a full-blown wedding.
After climbing into the limo, I asked, “Did you tell Jim? Or my parents?”
She shook her head. “No. I respected Parker’s wishes, and he told me he’d handle it.”
“I’m sorry we put you in the middle of this, but thank you,” I said, my voice clogging again.
Would these hormones ever stop raging? How much worse would it get before I delivered the baby?
“And not just for keeping it to yourself, but for helping me find this lovely dress and trying to make this day special for me. For both of us.”
She squeezed my hand. “I love you, Fallon. You’ve always been family to me, and I am so grateful, so very, very grateful, that you’ve helped Parker see the light.
I’ve been waiting for him to realize he didn’t have to sacrifice love and family in order to serve his country.
I was terrified that when Jim and I were gone someday, he’d be alone. ”
“I would never have let him be alone,” I insisted.
She smiled and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “I know. But having him realize it too…that’s the real win, isn’t it? It’s the silver lining that’s come from the ugliness happening at the ranch.”
I’d tried fervently to put the ranch and the troubles there behind me today. I’d had enough to worry about with us taking this huge step. The doubts and insecurities around this decision were enough for one day. Tomorrow, we’d visit Ike in jail and deal with more of my problems.
Inside The Fortress, the sounds and smells and energy of Dad’s resort greeted us.
While the outside looked like a French abbey town, the inside was a blend of eighteenth-century luxury and 1920s Art-Deco charm.
Gold gilded nearly every surface, hand-painted murals filled the walls, plush carpets graced the floors, and marble columns glimmered like diamonds.
Getting married here, in the opulence of my dad’s casino would not have been my first choice.
I would have preferred the waterfall at the ranch, with an arch of wildflowers over us and sunlight shimmering through the trees, but maybe this was better.
Maybe this quick little jaunt saved me from arguing with Mom about the simplicity of the wedding.
That twinge of something that was a mix of guilt and wistfulness wound through me once more because my family wasn’t here.
No matter what kind of wedding we were having, the most important part of the dream had come true.
At the end of the aisle tonight, the groom waiting for me would be Parker.
And that was the real reason I’d turned JJ down when he’d proposed and why I should have broken up with him long before things had gotten so far out of control.
In all my dreams of a far-off wedding day, it had always been Parker who was waiting for me.
The stained-glass doors of the chapel opened to reveal Parker and Theo just inside.