26. Brynlee
“Seriously, we don’t all leave until tomorrow. How do they find this shit out?” Everly bitches as she puts the finishing touches on the train of my dress in her boutique a few days later.
“Don’t get too pissed when you have pins near my ass, please,” I beg as Lindy and Gracie sit with my mom, sipping champagne, though in Gracie’s case, it’s apple juice.
“Do you need any help,” my mom asks Kennedy gently from the other side of the dressing room door.
After a moment, a quiet, “No thanks,” answers back.
This all came together too quickly for Isla to change her travel arrangements, so she left two days ago. And while Kennedy has opened up to me pretty quickly, the rest of the family can be overwhelming on the best of days. And she hasn’t had to deal with all of them yet. Luckily, Deacon said Kennedy’s favorite place in the world is his parents’ inn, so we’re hoping that helps.
She walks out a minute later in a white dress with mint-green trim and a mint-green sash, her dark hair pulled back from her face and a deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes. “No heels, right? I don’t want to fall on my face in front of a ton of people.”
“Kit Kat... you look beautiful,” I tell her with awe in my voice.
She ignores everyone else in the room, focusing solely on me, which I think helps her, then she stops next to me. “You look like a princess, Brynnie.”
Mom makes a noise that makes us all stop and turn.
“Ignore me,” she insists as she wipes her eyes. “You’ll all understand one day when your babies get married.”
“I’m never getting married,” Kennedy tells me. “Boys are stupid and annoying.”
“Amen, sister,” Kenzie tells her through the FaceTime call the girls have set up so she can be here for this since she can’t get off for the wedding. “We don’t need men, Kennedy.”
“Oh, but they’re so much fun,” Lindy laughs, and my mom shakes her head.
Gracie reaches inside my bag and grabs my vibrating phone. “Your phone is ringing, Brynn.”
I take the phone from her and see my doctor’s name.
“Go get Deacon, Grace. He’s next door at Sweet Temptations. Please go get him.” I look from Mom to Kennedy and fight back my fear. We’ve kept this from her on purpose, not wanting to worry her until we have to.
I answer the call quickly, not wanting it to go to voicemail and watching the confusion fill Kennedy’s eyes. “Hi, Dr. Ambrosano. Can you give me just a minute? I’m standing in the middle of a room being fitted for my wedding gown.”
“Sure, Brynlee. I’m going to put you on hold and jump on this next call. I’ll be back in less than five minutes.”
I take a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“Kennedy, you look perfect. How about you get changed and go with Lindy next door to get a cupcake? Would that be okay?”
Her big golden eyes see way more than she lets on as she nods her head. “Are you okay, Brynlee?”
“I will be, honey. Don’t worry about me.” I turn to Everly and plaster on the fakest smile of my life. “Can you please get me out of this dress before Deacon gets up here?”
“Pretty sure it’s not bad luck if you’ve already married the groom, Brynn,” she whispers, then shuts up when I throw a glare her way.
By the time Deacon gets here, I’m sitting on a couch in Everly’s office in a silk robe with the phone on speaker and horrible elevator music filling the room.
His wild eyes catch mine as he squats down in front of me, and my mom and dad walk into the room, carefully closing the door behind them.
“You brought the whole family,” I laugh halfheartedly.
“I called your father when Grace went to go get Deacon,” Mom offers, and I see my dad take her hand in his.
“Your brother is waiting outside the door,” Dad tells me, and I notice the gym clothes and tape on his hands. I guess he was working with Killian when Mom called.
“Miss St. James,” Dr. Ambrosano says as the music cuts off abruptly. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“It’s actually Mrs. Kane now,” I tell her, looking at my handsome husband, who has his hands resting on my hips as he watches my every breath.
“We received the results of your test, Mrs. Kane.” An entire lifetime passes in the seconds before she speaks again. “They came back negative.”
She keeps talking, but as my face falls to Deacon’s chest, I don’t hear a word past negative, and it may be the most beautiful word I’ve ever heard. The phone falls from my fingers, and I throw my arms around Deacon’s neck and let him take all my weight.
He lifts me from my feet and holds me so damn tight, I’m surprised I can still breathe, but I don’t want him to ever let go. “She said negative, right?” I ask through the tears, and my husband shakes his head as he cries tears of joy.
He kisses me so damn hard, I may never breathe again. Like he’s proving to us both I’m alive and right here in his arms. “She said negative, baby. She said negative,” he repeats, like a sacred vow falling from his lips. “You’re going to have a long life, Brynlee Kane. We’re going to fill every single page with the best life you could ever imagine.”
I press my lips to his tears. “The sweetest story, Deacon.”
“Our story, Brynlee.”
Our story.