Shattered Hart (33 page)

They’ve chosen to get married on the beach in Malibu at Sunset.
  As Sabrina and I make our way to the start of the aisle, we both let out little gasps at the same moment.  Right at the end of the aisle where our parents would have been seated, there are two empty chairs.  Once has a bouquet of pink roses resting on it, the other a matching pink boutonnière.  I couldn’t be more touched that Dante figured out another way to include my parents, and I know my sister is feeling the same way. With a tug at my arm, she all but runs me up the aisle before jumping into his arms.

These two!  So tactile and loving, they can’t help themselves from constantly showing each other how in love they are.  If I wasn’t so in love myself, I’d be jealous.  As it is, I can only smile.  We’ve all been through hell and back in one way or another, and it’s a blessing that we’ve found love.

The rest of the ceremony passes by in what seems like a moment.  The pastor asks us all to vow to love and support Sabrina and Dante as a couple, and we each do so with a smile.  This is why
they wanted a small wedding, so that only the people that really mattered in their lives were there, and I know that it’s touched each of us.

The reception is small and beautiful, hel
d in a gorgeously decorated estate
near the site of the wedding. 
It’s a lot like a Sunday family dinner which makes it perfect.  The only difference is that we’re all dressed to the nines.  I watch with tears in my eyes as my sister and Dante dance their first dance as a married couple to U2’s “All I Want Is You.”  They couldn’t be more in love if they tried.

A few hours later
, Damien pulled me in to his arms
again
for a turn around the dance floor
to Jason
Mraz’s
“I Won’t Give Up”.  I
smiled
like the woman in love that I am
as we twir
led under the twinkling lights.  I’m
so in love with my beautiful man
that it takes my breath away
.  Living with him has surpassed all of my expectations.  We were so clearly meant to be together, and I live that every day.  This is love.

Cradling my face in his hands, he captures my lips in a kiss. As I melt into him, I imagine that the wedding has made him feel even more loving than usual.  I’m so lost in his kiss that I don’t immediately n
otice that the music has been turned down
.  It lingers on the edge of my mind, but I don’t connect to it because I can barely think when we’re touching.  It’s not until he pulls back a bit that I notic
e two things.  The music is super low,
and our family has formed a circle around us. My heart starts beating triple time as he takes to one knee and pulls a box of his pocket.

“Brooke Marie Tyler, I love you so much that sometimes I almost can’t believe you’re real.  You’re the love of my life, and I want to spend every single day of my life loving you and building a family with you.  Sweetheart, will you make me the happiest man on the planet earth and agree to become my wife? 

I dropped to my knees in front of him as I grabbed him in a hug and kissed him.  “Yes! Yes!”  The sound of our family clapping was equivalent to watching fireworks go off, pure joy.  Our kiss comes to an end when he pulls back and opens the ring box.  Like my sisters, it’s a huge diamond with two rubies from my mother’s engagement ring on either side.  Where my sister’s diamond i
s oval, mine is square cut,
the rubies have been shaved down to match and there are diamonds all over the band as well. Holding it up, he points to the inscription on the inside of the band.  “I’m yours, forever.”

Through my tears, I smile and nod.  “I’m yours too baby, forever and always.”
  I smile at him as he slides the ring onto my finger.  It’s a perfect fit
as it takes it finds its
home on my finger, for a lifetime.

The minutes after that pass in a blur of congratulations and hugs.  Engulfing me in a hug, my sister rocks me back and forth.  “I so got you back for keeping it a secret when Dante asked you for my hand!  Damien told me the morning after your first night together that he was going to ask.  The man’s crazy for you.  He had the jeweler work overtime to make this in time for tonight.”

I can only laugh.  It’s true!  She totally did get me back, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  This is a day that we will all remember forever as one of joy.

Our chit chat is interrupted with the arrival of my sister’s husband (!) and my fiancée (!!). They pull each of us onto the dance floor for one last dance at the night starts winding down.

Damien and I sway in time as we stare into each other’s eyes, the love we have for one another so clear to see, it’s amazing.  Kissing me on the nose, he smiles.  “You know I’m not going to be able to wait to make the switch from fiancée to husband, right?”

With a nod and a laugh, I smile.  “Oh, don’t you worry.  I’m locking you in for life Mr. Hart.  I have no desire to wait to make you all mine in the eyes of the law.  How about next month, we make this official?”

“I was thinking more like next week….”

Shaking my head, I laugh.  “No baby.  I want to look beautiful for you, and I’m going to need a dress.  You can wait four or five weeks.  I move quickly, but even I can’t do it in less time!”

Smiling at me, he nods.  “Sounds like a plan.  How would you feel about getting married at our Laguna Beach house?”

It takes me a second to process what he’s said, and when I do, I let out a yelp.  “Oh my god, you bought it!  Is it really ours?”

Pulling me in closer to him, he gives me another wicked kiss.  “It’s all ours. In fact… we’re going to drive up after this is over so that we can christen it…”

Before I knew it, the night was over.  We all hugged and said goodbye to Rina and Dante as they headed off on their two week Hawaiian honeymoon. 

After they left, I made my way into the bathroom.  Opening the door, I was surprised to see Delilah sitting on a bench in the outer area with her head resting on her knees.  “Delilah! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

When she raised her eyes to mine, my heart dropped.  Something really is wrong with her.  Dropping onto my knees in front of her, I grab her hands in mine.  “Delilah, I know something is wrong.  You’re scaring the shit out of me. Tell me!”

She’s just opening her mouth to answer when the door opens and Dominique walks in.  Seeing me on the floor in front of her sister, she runs over with a concerned cry.  “What’s happening here?  What’s wrong?”

I shrug my shoulders at her to let her know I have NO
clue
what’s wrong.

Taking a deep breath, Delilah lifts her head and looks first at Dominique, then me.  With a groan, she drops her face into her hands.  “I’m pregnant.”

In unison we both gasp.  “WHAT?”

Raising her eyes again, Delilah nods. 
“Yep.
I’m that fucking idiot girl who didn’t take her birth control right and got pregnant.  Even worse, I’m carrying the baby of someone who doesn’t want kids and who will hate me once he knows that I’m pregnant.  I had an appointment to have a… termination… on Monday, but I couldn’t do it.  I can’t and I won’t.”

Dominique and I stare at each other for a moment, a silent conversation passing between us.  We both know the answer, but the question needs to be asked anyway.  Finally, Dominique takes the reigns and blurts out, “
It’s
Spencer’s baby, isn’t it?”

With a sad nod, Delilah confirms what Dominique and I have both suspected for months.  “Yes, I’ve been sleeping with Spencer, and yes, it’s his baby.”

Life in our family is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Since I was a very young girl, I’ve always loved reading romance novels.  I find love stories to be captivating, and believe that when you surround yourself with love, you live your best life.
This is my second book, and it was most definitely a labor of love!

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ews are a writer’s life blood, and it’s what pushes us forward.

To see who and what was on Ella's mind as she wrote "
The Hart Family" series,
check out her
Pinterest
.

www.pinterest.com/AuthorEllaFox

There is another
chapter
of The Hart Family story
to tell. 
Spencer and Delilah’s
story, "
Half a Hart" will be out in 2013.

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Visit Ella’s blog for details on future releases http://talesbyella.blogspot.com/

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Goodreads