The Devil's Storm Page 28

  “You rescued me again when you became my friend, even though I was shy and it took time. You were always there, working me out of my shell. When I was living through my darkest, most terrible times, you were there every step of the way, tenacious and willing to share every kindness in your heart. I fell in love with that selfless man who not only showed me kindness and grace, but love, and accepted what little I could give in return. Today, I stand here, a better, stronger person because of you, and I promise to love you with every bit my heart and soul can provide. I promise to take care of you and stay by your side in the dark and the light. I will pretend to understand what you’re talking about when you spout off about something brilliant you’ve invented, and I’ll take your writing advice into consideration. I can’t promise you a perfect future, but I can assure you, I’ll be with you every step of the way. I love you, Adrian,

  and I am so proud to finally call you my husband.”

  He wanted to kiss her all over again but figured he’d best deliver his vows. “I love you so much, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to follow something that good, but I’ll try. Words aren’t my forte; that’s your area of expertise. When I first sat down to write these vows, I imagined you were off in your office, slapping yours down and creating something beautiful without the slightest bit of effort. After sitting there for an hour, I thought, ‘oh my God. What have I done saying I’d write my own vows? Madeleine will be so disappointed.’

  “We were talking later, and you admitted you were having a hard time writing yours, too. I was like ‘oh, good, maybe I’m off the hook and we can just recite something.’ It didn’t occur to me until later why we had such a hard time. Putting something like what I feel for you into words is impossible. There’s no vocabulary for the way you make my heart race when I see you or the way my soul lifted somewhere unreachable and hasn’t come back down since the first time you told me you loved me. What do you call your past, present, and future all rolled up into this beautiful human being who stole my heart from the very beginning? I’m standing here right now, in awe of the fact that I get the privilege to call you mine for the rest of my life. So I promise you, I’ll go to the ends of the earth to keep you protected and happy. I will take care of you, no matter the circumstance, from this day until my dying breath.”

  ~*~

  Tears clouded Maggie Beth’s vision and prevented her from actually seeing the wedding ceremony. As she heard Madeleine and Adrian giving their vows, their love for one another was so apparent and beautiful. While they might not have had the most traditional beginning, Maggie Beth rest assured her youngest son was marrying his perfect match.

  Richard put his arm around her and offered his handkerchief as they exchanged their rings, and Maggie Beth dabbed at her eyes. It was completely in vain, because there were even more tears soon after. Once the preacher had pronounced them man and wife, and they shared their first kiss as a married couple, she watched as Adrian held Madeleine’s face in his hands and whispered “finally”.

  “And now, to all their family and friends, it’s my pleasure to present Mr. and Mrs. Atwood.”

  Maggie Beth cried even more as Adrian and Madeleine, beaming with smiles, turned to face the world together for the very first time.

  “Maggie Beth, goodness. You didn’t cry this much the first marriage...” Richard murmured in her ear the recessional music

  struck up.

  “They’re just so beautiful together,” she whimpered. “I think they’re perfect for each other.”

  Her husband put his hand in hers and led them out of the ceremony. “I think you’re absolutely right.”

  Maggie Beth sought Adrian out as soon as they had made it away from the house and the guests were being diverted to drinks before the reception. Her youngest smiled at her as soon as he spotted her, and though he looked reluctant to let go of Madeleine, he hugged her up as soon as she approached him.

  “Thank you,” he murmured as he stooped down to wrap his arms around her. “I don’t think we would have made it here without you. Had you not tried to get us all to forgive and forget—”

  Maggie Beth shook her head. “It was meant to be, Adrian. I know you’re going to love and care for each other for the rest of your days.”

  Adrian smiled, and Maggie Beth backed away, because it was obvious Adrian wanted his bride back in his arms.

  “Well, I just have one question,” Maggie Beth said to both of them. “When am I getting a grandchild?”

  Madeleine’s cheeks colored. “Um, well, we’re not exactly sure just yet—”

  Adrian shot Madeleine a questioning look, then turned back at Maggie Beth. “Good Lord woman, you’re behind. We started trying last month.”

  Maggie Beth thought she might jump for joy. “Are you really?”

  “Yep, so if you see us disappear from this reception, you know exactly what’s going on.”

  “Adrian Atwood!” she chided. “You know what, on second thought, never mind. You’re a married man now, and I want my grandbaby.”

  Madeleine’s shock faded into an awkward laugh. “Well, maybe you’ll have one soon enough.”

  Maggie Beth’s thought her heart would burst with joy from the mere possibility.

  ~*~

  “If we get married, let’s not do any of this bullshit,” Lee said to Emily as they ambled toward the reception where other guests had already begun mingling. Everything was picture perfect—a beautiful ceremony, a classic, elegant reception all underneath suspended crystal chandeliers and hanging floral wreaths. A sunset that looked too perfect to be real served as the perfect backdrop.

  Emily knitted her brows at him. “What? Have a beautiful wedding? Show the world we love each other?”

  Lee laughed with a shrug. “It’s not really our style.”

  “You mean it’s not your style.”

  “I’ve been through the whole wedding rigmarole, and let me just say from experience, it’s not worth the hassle. It’s time and money that could be poured into something more lasting, like a house, or investments, trusts and college funds for kids. I could go on.”

  “Well, it would be my first wedding, and I don’t think I should get robbed of the experience just because it’s your second.”

  Lee rolled his eyes, but smiled, as he took her hand in his. “Why is it I let you call all the shots in this relationship?”

  “You don’t let me call any of the shots...I just do it anyway,” Emily smirked.

  “And you only get away with it because I love you.”

  Lee loved the way her smirk turned up into a smile that lit up her eyes. All he could think about was how lucky he was to have a second chance to love someone, who loved him right back. “I love you, too,” she answered. Emily went to kiss his cheek, but he turned at the last second and caught her lips instead. He kept it short, but long enough to sample her addictive taste.

  “If you really want a wedding, I guess I can deal with it,” he smiled with a sigh.

  “You think you could handle being married to me?” Emily joked. “You know I’m difficult to put up with.”

  “I love putting up with you.”

  Lee felt the light pressure of a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his father behind him. “Lee, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but Adrian wanted to know if you’d do a family picture with the photographer. He says he understands if you don’t—”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Lee said without a second thought.

  His father looked surprised, and Lee had to admit, as awkward as it would feel, as much as there would always be a small stirring of anger or jealousy here and there, having Adrian and Madeleine in his life was worth putting every molecule of bitterness behind him.

  The look on Adrian’s face when he and Emily came strolling up

  with his father made it worth it as well. He seemed relieved his brother was part of their day, even in this small way. Naturally, the photographer wanted them right next to each other. “Thanks,”
his brother murmured as Lee stepped into the place the photographer instructed.

  “What for?”

  “You know,” Adrian continued. Lee noticed they had garnered Madeleine’s attention. She gave Lee an encouraging smile. “For being here.”

  “You’re my brother no matter what. We’ve had our differences, but we’ll get through it.” Lee answered.

  Adrian’s shoulders straightened, and a genuine smile returned to his face. “Lee, we might just make this family slightly functional after all.”

  “We just might.”