Broken (30 page)

Silence had my heart racing. Was that the end of the conversation?

“You could live for a few more years. Fuck, you could be here for ten years.”

“But I might not.”

“Yeah, well, you might, so live your fucking life and stop being a pussy.”

Will stormed out. With a cursory glance in my direction, he was out the back door, down the wooden steps, and striding toward the rocks. I wanted to go after him, but I wasn't supposed to know anything about the discussion they'd just had, so instead I went in to see Adam.

“Is everythin' all right, babe? Will seemed upset.”

He was lying on his back on the bed, one arm over his eyes. “He's a jackass.”

Sliding onto the mattress beside him, I wrapped an arm over his chest. “Jackass or not, he's still your brother. What were y'all arguin' 'bout?”

He shrugged. “Just brother stuff.”

“Anythin' I should know about? I can throw him out on the street if ya like.”

He peeked out from under his arm, a slight smile gracing his lips. “I love you, you know.”

“I love you too.” I squeezed him tighter.

Reaching over, he pulled me into his side. “How long before Brody wakes up?”

“Maybe another hour.” I snuggled even closer.

“And Will will be gone for a while, cooling off.” He grinned. “Come here, Buttercup.”

Will slunk back in through the door after the sky had darkened and a chill had chased him inside to find some warmth. Trying to thaw out in front of the fire, he gave me a nod in acknowledgement before shaking his head at me.

“He won't budge,” he said quietly, so as not to be overheard by Adam in the next room.

“Okay, so we move to Plan B.”

I'd decided that Adam really did want to marry me, but he was never going to propose, so it was up to me. I needed to appeal to the Adam who wanted to achieve all he had dreamed of, and not the Adam who was afraid of what would happen to me when he was no longer here.

With little time for planning, I decided the setting wasn't as important as the sentiment behind the proposal. Adam was already in the bedroom, having just stepped out of the shower, so I went in, closing the door behind me.

With his chest still bare, he was in the process of buttoning up his jeans. Even from across the room I could see the freshly healed scars from his surgery, the red lines a little less angry-looking as each day passed.

I hesitated, not having put much thought into what I was going to say. “Babe, can we talk?”

Immediately Adam stopped what he was doing and sat on the edge of the bed, calling me over with a pat on the quilt. “What's wrong?”

Sitting beside him, I clutched his hand. “I love you, Adam. I love you more than I thought I was ever capable of lovin' anyone in my life. You and Brody, y'all mean the world to me. You've taught me so much but you've given me so much more. Every day I count my blessin's that I met you, and that you fought your way back to me.”

His eyes shone with so much love as he quietly took in every word I was saying.

“I need you to keep fightin' for us, and part of that is livin' each day without worryin' 'bout what is gonna happen tomorrow, or next week or next year.”

His brow furrowed, unsure where I was going with this.

“If you were well, what would you wanna do now that you're back?”

He smiled, as it dawned on him what I was trying to get to. “I would want to spend the rest of my life with you, being the husband you deserve and the father Brody needs.”

My mouth opened to speak, but he cut me off.

“But I'm not well, baby, and I don't want to burden you with having to grieve for your dead husband.”

“Don't you think when the time comes, I'll grieve for you whether we're married or not? This is our life, our adventure, and we get to choose how we live it.” I paused. “I wanna be your wife. I wanna be Mrs. Evelyn Walker.” Still holding Adam's hands in mine, I sank to one knee.

“Oh, no, you don't.” He pulled me back up beside him onto the bed. “If anyone's proposing, it's going to be me.” With that, he took my place on bended knee. “Evie, I don't know what the future holds for us, but I do know that every minute I spend with you fills me with enough love to last a lifetime. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, things don't go as planned, but the things worth having are the things worth fighting for. And you are worth fighting for. So I promise you, I will continue to battle every day, because I don't want to leave you, or Brody.” He took in a deep breath, his hands shaking. “Evie, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

My head was nodding before the words were out of his mouth. Sinking to my knees, I joined him on the floor, throwing my arms around his neck.

“Of course I will. I love you so much, Adam.”

A loud
whooping
could be heard coming from the living room before Will came racing in, dropping to his knees and joining in on the hug.

Must remember to turn the baby monitor off.

Now that it was official, I needed to make a list of wedding preparations. But first on my ever-growing list was to call Angie.

“Ang, can ya come to the house?”

“Hello to you too. Is there anythin' wrong?”

“No, everythin's great actually.” I paused. “I'm gettin' married and I need you.”

She squealed, nearly bursting my eardrum. “When?”

“As soon as we can get the marriage license and arrange someone to officiate.”

I had told Angie about Adam's condition over the phone the day after he'd arrived home, and she had been in constant contact ever since, worried that I was setting myself up for a devastating fall. But she was also aware of how much I loved Adam and that I had waited for him to return.

“Okay, let me arrange some time off work and for my mom to mind the kids, and I'll be there.”

With the marriage license safely tucked away, I gave Adam the task of finding a celebrant to officiate the ceremony. As soon as discussions were under way, one aspect was perfectly clear—we both wanted something small and intimate, and, if possible, on the beach.

“Did you wanna invite your family?” I asked, trying to work out if we needed to book a venue. “At the moment it's only you, me, Will, and Ang.”

Adam shook his head. “The only person I need there is you.” He leaned over, kissing me softly on the lips.

“And you need me, of course,” Will added with a sparkle in his eye.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Of course. How could we do anything without you, Will?”

I laughed. Will seemed to have become a permanent fixture in our lives.

Adam took my hand. “I'll invite all my family to fly over for a visit after the wedding. I know Mum's dying to meet you and her grandson.”

That was a great idea and maybe we could rent a house nearby for all of them to stay in.

We were deep in discussion over the exact location of the ceremony when Angie's car pulled up outside the house. She had wanted me to go wedding dress shopping in Manhattan, but there were stores enough right here in Southampton to find the perfect gown. So she'd put her life on hold to come and fulfill her duty as my maid of honor. I couldn't believe it was all coming together and in a few days I would be Adam's wife.

As she swung her suitcase from the trunk of her car, I flung the front door open to greet her. She wheeled her case in, leaving it by the door until we could sort out sleeping arrangements.

“Holy shit,” she exclaimed, looking back and forth between Adam and Will. “Now I'm seein' double, and I haven't even had a drink yet.”

Laughing, I introduced her to Will, and she gave Adam a hug.

“I believe I'm staying in your room,” Will said, referring to the fact that Angie used the sofa bed in Brody's room whenever she stayed.

She grinned mischievously. “Well all right, then, as long as ya don't snore, I don't mind sharin'.”

Will's eyes gleamed as they swept over Angie.

“No way,” Adam piped up. “Will, you can sleep out here on the sofa while Angie's here.”

Angie pouted, Will scowled, and I wondered how long that arrangement would last before one was sneaking off to seek out the other.

Adam insisted on us following tradition, so he and Will checked into a little bed-and-breakfast the night before the wedding. As usual, I was up with the sparrows to feed Brody and take Max for a quick walk, only on this morning my stomach was fluttering anxiously with the knowledge that by the end of the day, as the sun was setting, I would become Mrs. Evie Walker.

Angie had arranged everything from hair and makeup, to a catered lunch complete with champagne to help calm my nerves. As an added extravagance, a massage therapist was booked to help relax Angie and me, and dinner had been preordered for the four of us to enjoy after the ceremony.

It was all happening, and I was totally overwhelmed.

“Ya need more champagne,” Angie said, topping off my glass.

“This is the last one. I wanna remember my weddin' day.”

Angie laughed. “You wanna make sure ya marry the right brother. Those boys are identical.”

I sipped my champagne, and smiled. “Funnily enough, I have no trouble tellin' 'em apart.”

“So…Will. What's the scoop?”

I knew it was coming. They had been eyeing each other, circling their prey and waiting for the other to make a move.

“I don't know much really. His name is Will Walker, he lives in England, and is totally devoted to Adam.” I raised my eyebrows at her. “He'll be stayin' here indefinitely, so I guess we'll be seein' you a bit more often.”

She giggled. “Will Walker, as in, Willy Walker. That sounds way too much like Willy Wonka.”

I bit my lip. “Oh. My. God. I hadn't thought of that. I wonder if it's made of chocolate.”

Her head went back as she laughed out loud. “With two candy balls.”

“It's an everlasting gobstopper.”

“Suck it all day and it never gets smaller!”

We sat there giggling like a couple of schoolgirls, and all my nerves faded away.

It had been such a roller-coaster ride with Adam, but there had been so many more ups than downs. I had never doubted how I felt about him, or how he felt about me. Even when he'd made me promise not to come after him, I knew he would come back to me, and he had. He had battled through so much to be here now, on this day, and he would continue to fight because his love for me outweighed anything else in his life. And I would be there beside him, every step of the way.

Angie helped me into my dress. It was a simple long-sleeved satin gown with beaded detail fashioned into a belt just below the bust. As she positioned pink rosebuds in my hair, I took a few moments to take it all in. I was getting married in less than an hour to the father of my son, the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But that was the problem. Adam would spend the rest of his days with me, however long that may be, and after that I would be alone again to mourn the loss of the other half of me.

Tears threatened to ruin my makeup and I sniffed them away, frantically flapping my hands at my face.

“There ya go, all ready,” Angie said quietly, taking in the full picture. “Oh, hon, what's wrong?”

I shook my head at her. If I tried to speak I would completely lose it, and there would be no turning off the faucet once the floodgates opened.

Angie's arms wrapped around me, and my breath hitched in my throat. “Let it out, hon. Better now than standin' in front of Adam cryin' all over him.”

Unable to hold it in, I held tissues under my eyes to catch the tears. I had tried so hard to be brave, to stay positive and pretend that everything was right in the universe, but the universe sucked, because it let me meet Adam and fall in love with him, and now it was rubbing its greedy hands together, preparing to snatch him from me.

How did any of that make sense? How could Brody losing his dad be anything but wrong and unfair?

Taking a deep, calming breath, I tried to focus. It was our wedding day, and if nothing else, I wanted this to be the most special day for Adam. I knew he'd spent a lot of time thinking of me while he was ill, and who knew what lay ahead for him. I wanted this evening to be a precious memory that he could lock in his heart and visit whenever he needed to escape the reality of his illness.

Angie handed me a small bouquet of pale pink rosebuds; then she wrapped Brody in a warm blanket. He had been dressed in a tuxedo onesie for the occasion, but there was a chill in the air because the sun was about to set, and his warmth was more important than his outfit.

“Are ya ready?” She grinned.

“I shouldn't be wearin' white.” I smiled sadly, looking down at my beautiful gown. “This is my second marriage and I have a child. White is virginal.”

“Well, you're certainly no virgin,” she joked, earning a slap on the arm. “But this is the first time you'll be makin' a commitment to the right man, so I reckon you can be forgiven for treatin' this as your first true weddin' to the man you truly love.”

Max ran ahead. He seemed to know where Adam was, although we couldn't see him from the house, and went straight to the rocks. Angie and I followed behind, barefoot, carrying our bouquets and Brody. With a bit of care, we managed to step through the rocks before rounding the cliff face to the little alcove.

It was breathtaking. Adam and Will had obviously spent quite some time, decorating the area for this special occasion. Fairy lights had been strung up around the rocks, and a heart made from pink roses lay on the sand in the middle of the clearing.

But all that beauty paled as I looked at Adam dressed in his tuxedo, his eyes shining with so much promise, and hope, and love.

He was the love of my life. He made my heart soar with just the simplest glance, giving me butterflies and all those wonderful warm and fuzzy feelings you get when you know for sure you are with
the one
.