Darkness Before Dawn (37 page)

Sandra and Dean laugh as Elijah looks on curiously. "You want him to be a ring bearer or somethin'?" Dean asks, cringing between laughs.

"Uh...yeah?" I ask with a cringe.

"Well, you may want to make sure you give him fake rings. The last wedding he was in ended up costing us a fortune," Sandra says, laughing as she wipes tears from the sides of her eyes.

"Oh Lord," Cole mutters behind me. "Why do we need a ring bearer?"

We all start laughing together, Elijah joining in even though he has no clue what the joke is. As Cole and I are walking out and Dean is thanking us for going to visit, Connor walks in, earning a loud shriek from Elijah. He jumps up on the bed, making Dean groan in pain, before he climbs off and runs to his dad. Watching Connor pick him up and swing him before kissing both of his full cheeks is a beautiful sight, only trumped by the following, which is Connor carrying Elijah while he gives a huge kiss to Sandra.

That is what family looks like, I think with tears in my eyes as I wave my goodbye to Dean and walk away holding Cole's hand.

We step into the empty elevator and press the parking garage button before Cole backs me into the elevator wall behind me. He ducks his head and leans into my ear, running his soft bottom lip up and down the outer shell.

"One day, baby," he whispers before sucking on my earlobe. "You're going to have so many little Coles running around, that you're not gonna know what to do with them." My breath hitches when he gyrates his hip into my pelvis. "We're going to have our own little baseball team," he continues to whisper seductively. "And you're going to be the hottest mom to ever walk the planet."

He runs his lips down my jaw and to my mouth, kissing it deeply when he reaches it and backing away when the elevator chimes.

"I'm probably going to be fat," I reply breathily.

"I won't care," he responds with a shrug and a smile.

My eyes trail down his ridiculously fit figure and I wonder how true his statement is right before I make a mental note to sign up for a spinning class or four.

Later that night after dinner, Cole heads to the gym and I curl up in front of the TV with a cup of ice cream in my hand. As I flip through channels I find Father of The Bride playing and leave it on. The dynamic of families has always been intriguing to me, I guess since I never had what you would call a normal family. The only thing I know about normal families is what I've learned from the Cosby's, the Tanners, and all the movies I watched growing up. In retrospect, I think the reason I got stuck on Home Alone was because the kid had a big family and they left him. Completely forgot about him and went on vacation while he battled with those two bad guys throughout the movie.

I sniffle back my tears as I watch Steve Martin walk his daughter down the aisle and put my ice cream down before I lose it completely. I wipe my face when I hear the door open and the keys tossed on the kitchen counter, but Cole takes one look and rushes to me, kneeling down in front of me to ask me what's wrong.

"I...I don't have anybody!" I wail. "I don't have a father to walk me down the aisle!"

"Oh, baby," Cole coos sadly. "I'm sorry," he says, pulling me down to the floor and sitting me on his lap. "I didn't even think about that. Is that why you're so hung up on the dad issue?"

My lip quivers as I exhale a shuddering breath. "No! It's not like I'm going to ask him to walk me!" I sob. "I don't know what's wrong with me!"

"Shh...it'll be okay. Would you want Mark to walk you?" he asks quietly, drying my tears with his thumbs.

I shake my head slowly as new tears roll down my face. "I should've never started watching that stupid movie," I mumble under my breath, turning to switch the TV off.

"You have the right to feel sad, Blake. It sucks to not have a normal family, it does. But you need to stop classifying what a family is by the movies and shows you watch. We may not have had a mom and a dad growing up but we always had love and we always had each other. We learned everything that people learn from their families from each other. You have two brothers, you have a sister, now you're gaining another sister. You have me. Your life is full of love, babe. Full of love."

I swallow back my tears and nod with a smile as I let his words sink in. My life is full of love.

I jog into the bathroom as Cole showers and open the door, coughing when the steam hits me in the face. "I'm going out, I'll be right back."

"What? Where are you going? What time is it?" he asks anxiously, turning around to meet my eyes.

"It's nine, I'll be back soon, I swear," I say quickly.

"Take your phone! Remember we don't have security anymore!" he shouts when I close the door and shuffle my feet back to the living room.

"We don't need them anymore!" I shout back loudly before scribbling a note telling him where I went.

I pull out my phone on the way to the elevator and make a quick phone call. In the elevator I make small talk with a cute little old lady who tells me all about the hot young men that live in our building. I laugh at her description of a tall handsome man that wanted to help her with her groceries and wonder if she's talking about Cole. When we get to the lobby, I wait for her to step out before rushing to the parking garage as I wave at Pat, the doorman, on the other side.

Taking the short drive, I park in his building and wonder how long it's been since I visited because everything looks updated. I take the elevator up to the twenty-second floor and knock on his door, waiting for him to answer.

"'Sup, Cowboy?" Aubry says, opening the door wide.

I shoot him a confused look when I see he's shirtless and wearing swim trunks.

"I was gonna go to the pool when you called," he explains with a shrug.

"Sorry. I had to talk to you about something," I start, tossing my purse on the kitchen counter and sitting on a stool before pivoting it toward him. I take a breath and look at him, his blue eyes questioning me. "Will you walk me down the aisle and give me away to Cole?"

Tears fill my eyes as I await his response and take in the shocked expression on his face. He puts his hands over his heart. "Me?" he asks quietly.

I nod. "You're my best friend, you've been my rock for as long as I can remember, you held me up more times than I can count. You kept me from freaking out when I was thirteen and got my period in the middle of school. You watch movies with me when I'm depressed and kept me from dating guys that weren't boyfriend material. You were with me when my heart went from broken to shattered and held my hand through it all. I don't know what a father is supposed to do for his daughter but knowing what I know, which isn't much, I think you pretty much qualify for the role. So, will you walk me down the aisle when I get married next week?" I ask hopefully as I wipe tears from my face.

Aubry takes a step forward and cups my chin. "I would be honored to, Cowboy. Thank you for asking me," he whispers before crashing my face into his chest and holding me there.

We pull apart when we hear somebody sniffling behind us. Turning around, we find Aimee wiping tears away from her face. "I'm sorry, I was studying but I heard and I just...that was so nice," she says with a cry before walking over and giving me a hug.

"Would you like to be a bridesmaid, Aimee?" I ask quietly against her shoulder.

She gasps loudly and backs away from me. "Hell yes!" she exclaims, making us laugh.

"Does this mean Greg's gonna be the best man?" Aubry asks.

My eyebrows shoot up. "Good question. I don't know, I didn't even tell Cole I was asking you to walk me," I reply with a shrug at the same time the doorbell rings.

"Well, I guess he'll find out now," Aubry murmurs as he walks off.

When he swings the front door open, Cole is standing on the other side with his arms folded at his chest. His lips form a grim line as he works his jaw and narrows his eyes at me. I smile and offer a small wave as I shift from foot to foot before he stomps over to me.

"Why the hell did you leave while I was in the shower? I thought you were going to run to the grocery store or something and then I find a little note that says you're coming to Aubry's! Were you gonna have a fucking sleepover without me too?" Cole fumes, his eyes boring into mine.

Sputtered laughter escapes my lips before I can hold it back. I bring my hands over my mouth to cover it, but it's futile since Aubry and Aimee join in, making me laugh even harder. "A sleepover, Cole? Really?" I ask in between laughs. "When have I ever had a sleepover that didn't involve you?"

His lips curl up, forming a slow smile and he raises an eyebrow as he strides to me. He tilts my chin to look at him and dips his head, placing soft kisses along my jaw until he reaches my ear. "That's a good question," he murmurs, making my eyes close and my body hum. "I like to think that your sleepovers only ever involved me," he rasps, nipping my earlobe and sucking it into his mouth, making a shiver run through me. "Did they?" he asks huskily, brushing his nose up and down my earlobe. "Was I the only man you ever let share a bed with you?" he continues, his voice making my heart go into overdrive, so much so that I have to remind myself to breath and that there are other people in the room with us.

"Cole," I breathe. "Please stop."

"What am I stopping?" he asks, making my breath hitch when he licks the shell of my ear.

I bite down on my lip to keep from making any embarrassing sounds in front of Aubry and Aimee, who I'm sure are enjoying the show.

"Please," I whisper.

Cole backs away and looks down at me, his green eyes twinkling as he flashes his smile and that darn dimple that makes me want to bite him and slap him at the same time. "Why'd you come over here without me?" he asks as he places a kiss on my parted lips. I begin to laugh when he continues. "Is it about where the wedding is gonna be? Aubry, by any chance do you know where this wedding is taking place?" Cole asks, tilting his head at Aubry.

My laughter instantly dies and I take off into a sprint toward Aubry, jumping on him to cover his mouth with both hands. "Don't you dare say anything, big mouth!" Aubry's body shakes in laughter under mine, and he bites the inside of my hand, making me yelp and let go. "Ouch! Bastard!" I yelp, punching him on the arm.

"My lips are sealed!" Aubry says, still laughing as he pulls me into his side and ruffles my hair.

"Let her go, dick," Cole warns playfully as he pulls me by the arm.

"His lips are sealed because I haven't told him the location," Aimee says, shaking her head. "I gotta go back to studying. Blake, I fucking hate you for not having to study this much."

She walks off, closing the door behind her and the three of us take a seat in the living room, Cole pulling me into his lap as soon as his ass hits the sofa and Aubry siting across from us.

"I came to ask him to walk me down the aisle," I say quietly, shifting my body to look at Cole.

He looks from me to Aubry and back to me before a smile appears on his face. "That's such a great idea, baby," he says, tucking my head under his chin.

I fall asleep in his arms in the middle of the Cubs game they have on and wake up when he stands with me in his arms.

"I can walk," I mumble sleepily. "I'm not a baby."

He cradles me closer to his chest and I drift off again until my butt hits the seat of his passenger seat and I'm startled awake.

"We'll pick up your car tomorrow," he says before closing the door and walking to the driver's side.

I take a deep breath and pace around the bathroom as I wait. Ninety-seconds is a long time when you're waiting for such a vital answer. My heart picks up speed when I walk over to it and see that there's something written on the screen. I screw my eyes shut and bite down on my lip as I lift it up, not knowing what I want the answer to be in the first place. I take one last deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth and look down.

Pregnant :)

My hands begin to shake as I stare at the little screen in disbelief. The smiley face throws me off for a second. What if I didn't want to be pregnant? I think before a smile spreads over my face and a mixture of exuberant laughter and tears erupt from within me. I hop up excitedly, covering my mouth to keep my excited shrieks low. I open my sock drawer and hide the stick in the back before gathering up the opened box and throwing it in the bag to get rid of evidence. Cole isn't home, but I don't want to risk him finding out yet.