Chapter 32 #2
“Dead serious. Either we go back to Elk Ridge together, or we go back to Florida together.”
A short laugh bursts out of me. “This is blackmail. Wait, extortion?”
Her nose scrunches up. “Coercion, maybe?”
A flurry of nerves erupts in my stomach. I want to go back, more than I could possibly say. I want to watch Addy walk down the aisle and hold her bouquet while she pledges her life to Harrison.
“I don’t want to ruin your wedding day.”
“Then stop being stubborn and come back with me. The only way you can ruin my day is by making me get on that plane. I really want to get married today, Tia.”
Adrenaline shoots through my veins at the prospect of facing the Ellis family again.
I think about the disdain from Diana as I dropped off my letter.
About all the whispers moving through the crowd at the rehearsal dinner, the way everyone’s faces got more and more wary with each revelation.
I think of Owen, who must feel so betrayed by me leaving without telling him.
The idea of seeing that hurt on his face makes me sick to my stomach.
But—God willing—Addy will only get married once. And if she wants me there, nothing can keep me away.
“Okay,” I say, and Addy jumps up like she needs to get us moving before I change my mind.
“Thank god.” She tugs on my hand, using her full body weight to force me to stand. “I didn’t want to cancel this wedding.”
She wraps her arm around my waist, and I throw mine over her shoulder, closing my eyes against the moisture pricking them. I let her blindly lead me from the gates to the airport exit, and when we step through the sliding doors, a round of cheers goes up.
My eyes pop open. There’s a giant group of Ellises right outside security.
The crowd is littered with posters with handwritten phrases in blocky letters, surrounded by glittery swirls and stars and hearts.
I spot Camila holding one with a stone-faced Mira that reads, COME HOME, THEA.
The twins are in there with their own signs—DON’T LEAVE US and WE MISS YOU ALREADY.
Vaughn’s next to them with a sign that reads REMEMBER I LOVED YOU FIRST. Others jump from the back, trying to lift their own posters over their taller cousins’ heads like fans outside the Today show.
And right there at the front, his hands stuffed into his pockets like he’s physically holding himself back, is Owen. He doesn’t look betrayed or angry like I expected. All I see is stark relief shining out of those stunning eyes. There’s no stopping the tears this time.
“What are you all doing here?”
Owen steps forward, his hands still restrained but now within reaching distance of me if he let himself. “We couldn’t let you leave.”
“I drove,” Gabriel yells from behind him.
Camila smacks him upside the head, muttering a curse in Spanish. “Can you let them have their moment, please?”
“Just saying,” he grumbles, and a watery laugh flows from my lips.
Owen lets one of his hands free to run it down his face, mumbling something I can’t hear before bringing his gaze back to me.
“This week’s been intense, and there’s a good chance you’ll walk away because who in their right mind would want to keep this family, but there are things I need you to know before you do.”
He steps closer, bringing our bodies almost flush and sliding that freed hand along the side of my neck. An embarrassing whimper escapes me at the contact, and his eyes flare.
“I won’t say ‘I love you,’” he starts, and my stomach bottoms out. “I know you don’t believe in love after such a short time.”
“You can’t know someone well enough to love them in a week,” I say, regurgitating the same concept I’ve always believed, but something deep inside me revolts. What could this feeling be if not love?
His mouth twitches. “Yes, I’ve heard the spiel. And when I say those words to you, there will be no doubt in your mind that I mean them.”
When. Not if.
Shit, my heart’s going to give out.
“But what I can tell you,” Owen continues, like he hasn’t done enough damage to my cardiovascular system, “is that I’ve loved every part of you I’ve gotten to see.
I love your sense of humor and your questions.
I love how passionate you get when you’re upset and that you let me see the emotions underneath it all when you’re ready.
I love how protective you are of the people you care about, that you’re willing to fight for them if necessary.
I love the way your brain works and that one touch from you wakes me up, like I’ve spent my life asleep until your hand brushed my skin. ”
“Didn’t need to know that one,” Gabriel calls out, and the crowd laughs.
Owen doesn’t take his eyes off me, even as his smile grows at the goading.
“I’ve spent my whole life trying to make others happy. You’re the first thing I’ve wanted enough to go off the path. I know the past twenty-four hours have been miserable, but if you give me the chance, I’ll spend the rest of our lives overwriting them with happy memories.”
Owen’s a blur before me, and it’s by instinct alone that my lips find his.
He sighs, his other hand weaving through my hair.
The kiss is a clash of contradictions. The sweetness from whatever pastry he had this morning mixing with the salt of my tears.
His lips are soft on mine while the hand in my hair grips tight like he owns me.
I’m not sure if I want to collapse into him and cry, or if I want him to drag me into the closest bathroom and fuck me until I’m certain I’ll always be his.
“So happy for you two, but could you do this after Addy and I get married?” Harrison says from the crowd, and Owen and I pull away, laughing.
“Let’s get you back where you belong,” Owen whispers, his forehead dropping to mine.
We head back to the bus that Jourdan’s been circling around the drop-off lane for the past thirty minutes. My eyes scan the group, and I see so many people I’ve gotten close to this week. Everyone but Diana and Cece.
Addy’s arms are wrapped around Harrison as she beams up at him. Owen seems content as he weaves our fingers together, pressing his lips to the back of my hand. They’re all happy. Untroubled. But I can’t help but wonder how long the happiness will last with what’s waiting for us at the inn.