Autumn Wish (21 page)

Authors: Stacey Joy Netzel

BOOK: Autumn Wish

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She started down the aisle—all alone. For the first time, it dawned on him she’d never mentioned her parents, and anyone here he hadn’t met was too young to fit the bill. Besides, if they were here, wouldn’t her father walk with her? Father’s gave their daughter’s away, that much he did know.

What the hell kind of jerk was he that he didn’t even know if her parents were still alive? He’d fallen in love with her; with her kind, generous heart, her enthusiasm for living life, and even the occasional crabbiness when she didn’t get enough sleep, but shouldn’t he also know the important details of her life?

Her gaze remained locked on his, her smile firmly in place with each step. Doubt began to fade. He realized he was grinning like a besotted fool and didn’t even care.

“Hey,” she whispered when she reached him.

He took her hand in his. “Hey yourself. You look beautiful.”

Pleasure brought an instant rosy glow to her already radiant face. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”

The minister cleared his throat, and she squeezed his fingers as she handed her sister her bouquet, then turned to face the clergyman. Sam stared at her profile, then followed her lead and faced the stone fireplace as well. As the minister began speaking, the desire swelled within his chest for her to be in his life for as long as the vows would promise.

’Til death do us part.

Or ’til she finds out you lied to her
.

He closed his eyes and drew in a breath. God, he wished he could ignore the voice in his head, but it spoke the truth. His pulse raced at a sickening speed. He glanced back over his right shoulder at his best man as earlier words echoed in his head.

We kept things from each other. That’s no way to start a marriage.

Carter gave him a questioning frown, and Sam returned his attention front and center.

Marriage should never be taken lightly—or be entered into for the wrong reasons.

Emma Winston’s words hit even harder. A glance over his left shoulder met with the sea of faces making up Nikki’s family and friends.

Beside him, her fingers tightened on his, whether in reassurance or warning, he couldn’t be sure. It didn’t matter, because his conscience lifted his free hand toward the minister.

“Stop.” He turned to face her once more, his heart heavier than it’d ever been. This time he would do the right thing before it was too late. “Nik, I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.”

Chapter 22

Nikki froze as Sam’s statement echoed in the tunnel she suddenly seemed to be standing in. Coupled with the apologetic misery in his expression, she knew the answer before she even whispered, “Can’t do what?”

“We don’t have to get married.”

Vivid reality rushed back, making her acutely aware of how quiet everyone had become. Soft music still played in the background, and the fire snapped in the large stone hearth they stood in front of, but the rest of the room was dead silent. Even the minister watched with avid interest.

Could they hear the pounding of her heart? The shallow breaths she attempted to drag into her compressed lungs?

From the corner of her eye, she saw Marissa move a few inches closer, but Nikki stayed her with one hand and focused on Sam. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and kept her shaky voice low.

“We settled this last week. Why are you bringing it up
right now?
”

He pulled a creased envelope from his inside breast pocket and handed it to her. After a frantic glance toward the concerned faces of her family in the front, she unfolded the paper inside and read the contents.

A relieved, joyful smile curved her lips and she lifted her gaze to Sam’s. “I don’t understand. This is great news.”

“It is, but...”

He didn’t smile in return, and realization hit so hard, she took a half step back. The
but
of it was, with the final report already filed and Ella safely in his custody, he no longer
needed
to marry her. Didn’t want to marry her. Tears threatened, but she fought to maintain her composure.

“I needed to show you the letter so you knew you didn’t have to marry me for Ella’s sake.”

Whispers erupted in the room. His face swam in her vision, and she knew staving off tears was a losing fight. She retreated another step and her heel caught on the train of her dress.

Sam lunged forward and caught her before she stumbled backward. Marissa had moved as well and now stood directly behind her, the hand on the small of her back offering silent support. With her balance restored, Nikki expected him to let go, but instead, his warm grip tightened on her arms.

She blinked at the moisture swimming in her eyes, and stared up into his distressed golden gaze. At least he felt bad about pretty much jilting her at the altar.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated as silence fell again. “I wasn’t even going to say anything, but Carter said that’s no way to start a marriage, and Emma Winston said to do it for the right reasons, and then I saw how perfect you’d made everything and I knew I couldn’t let you go through with it without knowing the truth.”

Wait...
what?
He was running his sentences together like whenever he got nervous. The tightness in her chest eased a fraction, allowing her a substantial breath. She lifted the report she still clutched in her numb fingers. “This truth?”

He nodded. Then an unexpected vulnerability entered his eyes, and she noticed his Adam’s apple jerk up and down.

“That, and the truth about how I feel about you.”

Her heart leapt up into her throat again, yet she managed to whisper, “A-and how do you feel about me, Sam?”

He cast a swift glance around the room, then took a deep breath and met her gaze. “I want you to know I’m in this for the right reasons, not the one I’m sure your family, and probably you, think. Yes, Ella played a big part in the beginning of all this between us, but with or without her, I still
want
to marry you.”

His voice had grown gruff with emotion. Tears threatened for a whole different reason. “You do?”

He gave a solemn nod. “I do. I’ve fallen in love with you, Nik, and I know how bad you want a family, but there are plenty of examples in this room that prove without love to back it up, family is nothing more than a word. Standing here with you, I realized that as much as I wished to keep quiet, we can’t do this if you don’t feel the same way.”

She dropped her gaze down to the paper in her hand, a smile trembling on her lips. “You’re right.”

His hands loosened on her arms and fell to his sides. She looked up to see his expression filled with despair. When he shifted backward, she stepped forward and fisted her fingers in his suit lapel to keep him right where he was.

“I
do
want a family, Sam, but Ella’s not the only reason I agreed to marry you.”

“She’s not?”

His eyes lit with a spark of hope. He rested his hands on her hips, and even through the material, his touch sent fissions of awareness coursing through her.

“No, she’s not. What the hell do you think last night was about?” Color tinted his cheeks and she felt an answering heat in her own face. She moved closer to flatten her other palm on his chest. “Think about it. After Joe, do you really think I’d marry someone I don’t love?”

A smile tugged at his lips. “I guess not.”

“You guess?” she echoed with a grin. “Oh, hell no.”

They both laughed at the memory of that line, but then the minister cleared his throat. Nikki sobered. She cast the clergyman an apologetic look, and turned back to the man in front of her.

“I love you, Sam. The chemistry has been there since the beginning, so I did all this hoping someday you would grow to love me, too.”

“Someday is already here.”

The smile that curved his mouth made everything in her world right. “Maybe we should get married,” she suggested with a grin.

Instead of agreeing, he made a noncommittal sound and moved back from her, his expression full of indecision. A frown drew her brows together as he suddenly dropped to one knee in front of her.

“What are you doing?”

“Something I should’ve done last week.”

Excited murmurs came from their guests, but she only had eyes for Sam as he took her hands in his.

“Nicole Rowan, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. Will you marry me?”

Now,
that
was a proposal, unlike when she’d just announced they’d get married. She hadn’t realized how much it meant to her until her eyes misted over as she smiled down at him.

“This is better than the most romantic proposal I could’ve ever imagined.”

His eyebrows rose a notch. “Is that a yes?”

She laughed as she urged him to his feet. “
Yes
.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her amidst cheers and whistles from her family, until a moment later Eric’s voice intruded. “Um...you’re supposed to kiss the bride
after
you say the I Do’s.”

Nikki laughed as she eased back in Sam’s arms.

“You think that matters to the guy who first proposes
at
the altar?” Derek quipped.

Laughter sounded from all around as Nikki and Sam stepped back in front of the bemused minister so he could marry them—’til death do they part.

“
Now
you may kiss the bride.”

As Sam leaned in for the kiss, the moment their lips met, his brand new wife laughed in his face. He gave her a mock glare.

“You said this wasn’t going to become a habit.”

She wound her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his as her laugh subsided to a grin. “I was just thinking how backward we did all this. First the baby, then the wedding, then the proposal.”

“Technically, I did propose before the wedding.”

“I’ll give you that.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And reward you for it later.”

Her sensual promise added a level of heat to their kiss that, in his opinion, didn’t last nearly long enough. Then again, they had years ahead of them to practice.

~ The End ~

About Stacey Joy Netzel

I fell in love with books at a young age, so for me the graduation to writing them was natural. An avid reader and fan of movies with a happily ever after, I am thrilled to call myself a full-time writer after 20 years as a travel agent. I write romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and the occasional paranormal short story.

I live in my native Wisconsin with my husband and three children, a couple horses and some barn cats. In my limited free time I enjoy gardening, canning, and visiting my parents in Northeastern Wisconsin (Up North) at the family cabin on the lake.

~~~

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