Chapter 47
ZACH
The courthouse wasn’t fancy. That was the first thing I noticed when we walked up the cracked concrete steps with Jennifer and Lu bouncing between us like caffeinated pinballs.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, looking up at the building.
She turned to face me, those blue eyes bright with excitement and a tiny smile already starting to spread across her lips. “Zachary Westwood, all I want is you. The sooner we can make it legal, the better.”
My heart tripped over itself and I tugged her closer to my side. “Alright, then. Let’s go get married.”
“Let’s.”
The front doors opened and a security guard smiled at the girls, handing them each a courthouse sticker like they’d just arrived at Disneyland. “Enjoy your visit, young ladies.”
They grinned and loped past him, charming every guard and attorney in sight while Adeline and I went through security. The guard at the door smiled at us too, inclining his chin toward the staircase. “You’re looking for room 2B.”
Adeline glanced down at the cream Chanel pantsuit she had on, apparently the complete opposite of the garish but gorgeous gown—her words—she had to wear for our for-the-press wedding in two weeks’ time.
“Is it that obvious?”
He glanced between us, nodding faintly as he let us pass. “Most people who come in here aren’t dressed like that. Or smiling. There’s a lot of handcuffs and prison uniforms and general grumpiness. Judge Ellington has a bubble machine for weddings, though. You’ll love it.”
My eyes widened as Adeline grinned and tugged me forward. “Judge Ellington. That’s who we’re going to see, right?”
“Yep.”
“A bubble machine,” she repeated excitedly, even laughing as she dragged me toward the staircase after the girls, who were acting like they were on the best field trip of their lives.
True to what we’d been told, the judge did have a bubble machine. It sat beside the bench, spewing rainbow-colored bubbles in every direction and filling the room with a vaguely soapy, chalky scent.
Jennifer gasped. “Mommy, he has bubbles!”
Lu tried to maintain her usual level of emotional detachment, but she failed spectacularly when the machine spun slowly, sending bubbles floating in her direction.
“This is the classiest wedding I’ve ever attended,” Theo said as he walked in behind us.
Amber rolled her eyes beside him. “It’s festive. Love is supposed to be festive.”
Adeline laughed, and for a second, I forgot everyone else even existed. She looked beautiful. The pantsuit was elegant and hugged her in all the right ways, and the joy in her eyes rendered me incapable of thought.
Fuck, this feels so right.
The giant wedding was still being planned by our families, but this was only for us, with my stepdaughters, Theo, and Amber as witnesses. Just us, Adeline’s hand in mine, and the girls giggling over bubbles. It was perfect.
The judge let the kids chase the bubbles for a minute before he cleared his throat. “Are we ready?”
“Absolutely,” I said eagerly.
The judge smiled and came to stand in front of us. Adeline looked at me like I was her whole world. I half expected her to disappear if I blinked wrong, hanging onto her hands like she was about to drift into a stormy sea if I eased my grip.
The judge led us through the vows, but honestly, the only parts of the ceremony I fully heard were the “I do’s” and “You may kiss your bride.”
I grinned, tugging Adeline into me for a kiss that made Jennifer cheer loud enough to shake the windows. Lu groaned, but I could hear the smile in her voice. “Gross.”
Theo high-fived the judge and Amber let out an excited whoop, but then yelped when Lu nearly tackled the bubble machine.
I only slowed the kiss when Theo nudged me, but I didn’t let go of my wife yet.
I bent and pressed my forehead to Adeline’s, just letting the truth of it settle that she was finally mine, now and forever.
“You’re sure you were okay with doing it this way?”
“A courthouse wedding was my plan all along, Zach,” she murmured, smiling against my lips.
“I never needed the big wedding or any of that nonsense. I would’ve been fine with eloping or even just getting Theo ordained to marry us over breakfast at the house.
Nothing mattered to me except you, but are you okay with it? ”
I tightened my grip on her. “All I’ve wanted for so long is to be married to you. That’s it.”
She pressed her lips to mine again, and for the first time in my entire life, I melted. Naturally, Theo noticed, oohing and aahing until I grinned and broke away from her.
We left the courthouse together, off to the Chicago Institute of Art. Adeline squeezed my hand as we walked up the museum steps, sending me a soft, knowing smile. “You’re taking me on one of our old dates.”
“You noticed?”
“You brought me here every time you wanted to impress me intellectually.”
I smirked. “In my defense, it worked.”
She laughed. “It really did.”
Lu and Jennifer sprinted ahead with Amber chasing after them, calling to us over her shoulder. “Why are children so fast?”
“Predator instincts,” Theo said wisely, but then he took off after her, both of them chasing the girls while Adeline and I took our time moving slowly from painting to painting, hand in hand, occasionally pausing while she told me facts about artists I immediately forgot because I was too busy looking at her.
At one point, she leaned lightly into my side. “What do you want to do now? We’re almost done here.”
I looked down at her, my wife, and said the only words that came to mind. “Honestly, I’d like to take you home.”
Her cheeks pinked, but she didn’t seem opposed to the idea at all. Unfortunately, Theo, Amber, and the girls were nearby, loudly critiquing modern art. I sighed, knowing that no matter how much I wanted to just take her home, that wasn’t in the cards yet.
Adeline followed my gaze, but she seemed to misinterpret my reasons for looking at them. “Is he next? Theo, I mean. You’re off the market now, which means Alex moves onto the next brother, right?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “You’ll have to ask Alex. He’s the ringleader of this show, so it’ll be up to him. But if history is any guide, then yes.”
“Right,” she said and leaned further into me. “For the record, Amber is taking the girls for the night, so if you really want to take me home, we can do it.”
Every trace of curiosity over my brother’s future and whatever else might’ve been on my mind vanished in an instant. I couldn’t even remember what we’d been talking about before.
I just tightened my grip on her hand and led her over to them to say goodbye.
Theo gave me a goofy, encouraging grin, and I rolled my eyes, silently warning him to shut the fuck up.
Amber hugged Adeline, murmuring something I couldn’t really make out, but it sounded like she was reassuring her not to worry.
When we got back to Westwood Manor, alone and unlikely to be interrupted for the rest of the day and night, I lay on my bed, listening to the shower running in my bathroom. After the big wedding, the girls would be moving in permanently.
Theo was still going to live here, but we could figure that out in time.
It wasn’t like he didn’t have the money to finally grow up and get his own place.
Whether he possessed the maturity to feed himself after leaving was another issue entirely, but in the meantime, this was still his house too and it was more than big enough for all of us.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, interrupting my musings, and I frowned when I picked it up to see a text from Theo. Immediately worried that he’d ditched Amber and the girls or that something had gone wrong, I opened it but then barked out a laugh.
It was a blurry selfie of Theo and Amber at a Dave & Buster’s with Jennifer and Lu climbing all over them while Colin Thayer stood in the background, holding what looked like six stuffed animals and wearing a thousand-yard stare, like he’d just woken up there and wasn’t sure why he was holding so many plushies.
Theo: Family bonding time. Colin lost over three hundred bucks trying to win Lu a giant Pikachu. Turns out what she wanted is something called a Rumi? All good here. Talk later.
I snorted. Honestly, Dave & Buster’s was an odd choice for two men who had more money than the Pope, and I wasn’t quite sure how Theo had roped Colin into it, but the important part was that the girls looked happy and loved.
Lu was grinning so hard, her eyes were nearly shut, and Jennifer’s entire face was alive with a smile of her own. I just hoped they didn’t get sick like the last time they went to a place like that. But if so, I would be prepared to handle it.
Footsteps padded quietly across the hardwood and I looked up to see Adeline emerge from the bathroom. She wore only a towel knotted around her chest, her wet hair falling over one shoulder.
“You’re smiling at your phone,” she observed jokingly. “Who is she?”
“Theo.”
She laughed. “How are they holding up?”
I held the phone out toward her, but instead of taking it, she hopped onto the bed with me and leaned in to look at the screen. “Is that Colin Thayer? Oh my God, he looks miserable.”
“I know. Isn’t it awesome?”
She bumped her shoulder against mine. “I don’t know him well enough to answer that, but since you’re my husband, I’ll take your side.”
“Just like that, huh?” I teased, sending him a quick thanks before dropping the phone somewhere on the mattress, but not even checking to see where it’d landed. “Say it again.”
She smiled and wrapped her fingers around the nape of my neck. “You’re my husband, and I feel like you should take advantage of how easy it’s going to be to get me out of this towel tonight. Because on our fake wedding night, you’re going to have to cut me out of that dress.”
“It’ll be my honor. I’ll cut you out of anything you want.”
She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how much fabric we’re talking about. It’s going to be exhausting.”
“Nah, it’s going to be worth it.” I brushed damp hair back from her face and moved in to kiss her, groaning as soon as my lips brushed hers. “Fuck, I can’t believe you’re my wife. Do you have any idea what that does to me?”
“Ties you down for life?” she teased.
I smirked and kissed her again, each kiss harder than the last. “Yeah, but it also means I get to tie you down for life.”
“I’ve never been tied down,” she murmured thoughtfully, moaning when I ran my hand up the length of her bare thigh. “We should try it sometime.”
“We’re going to try everything,” I promised, finally dragging my mouth from hers to press kisses to her jaw, her throat, and her shoulders.
“We have the rest of our lives together now, Adeline. It finally happened. It’s just us, and sure, the girls will be back tomorrow, but every night, it’s only going to be you and me. Forever.”