Bad Boy's Lust (Firemen in Love Book 1) (33 page)

I looked up at him as the violins began to play. If he was upset by his dad's not being here, he didn't show it. He wore a huge smile and had real, honest warmth in his eyes. He definitely wasn't doing this to save Shady Acres.

He was doing it because he loved me.

“Go on,” someone whispered. “Walk. He's waiting.”

I walked, my arm hooked around dad's. There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd as I slowly approached the altar.

“Wish I had an actual wedding dress,” I whispered.

“You look beautiful, honey. And I can see Jayce thinks so too.”

I couldn't believe it, that he'd come this far in his life. A few months ago, he was an immature and selfish jerk. Now, he said he never wanted another woman again. Promised to take care of the baby we created together.

And I believed every word of it.

At last, dad and I arrived. He kissed my cheek and stepped off to the side. The music quieted as Jayce took my hand.

“To begin, this is not quite the wedding we had expected when we got on this boat,” Conrad said. “But all the same, we are here to celebrate these two people who are clearly very much in love.”

We had no vows prepared, so we repeated after him. Would we promise to be there for each other in sickness and in health, to weather whatever life threw at us together, no matter how difficult?

“I do.” Jayce squeezed my hand, tears in his eyes. “I definitely do.”

“I do, too. I love you, Jayce. I'm so glad I gave you a chance.”

He threw me into a tight hug, as if never to let go.

“Thank you for believing in me like nobody else ever has. I'm gonna love you and our baby forever. I promise.”

“Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

So he did, and it was the sweetest, most meaningful kiss we'd ever shared.

The audience erupted into applause and cheers. Mom bawled like a baby, blowing her nose into the sleeve of her dress. Dad gave me a thumbs-up, just the way he used to when I was little.

Another familiar face caught my attention. I whispered in Jayce's ear.

“Look over there.”

His father stood in the back, watching us with a faint smile.

“He came.”

“Yeah, he did. I told you he loves you. He might be a jerk, but he's your dad.”

We walked down the aisle, my hand in his, beneath a shower of flower petals as the violins heralded our exit. I, in my cocktail dress. Jayce, wearing his faded old khakis with a hole torn in the knee.

It wasn't my fairy-tale wedding, exactly – but I'd won my Prince Charming, and that was good enough for me.

Chapter 25 - Elle

“Welcome, everyone. We are here to determine final and permanent ownership of Shady Acres and the surrounding property. Please take your seats.”

Jayce and I sat next to each other in the front row. Jacob, the attorney doing the reading, shuffled the papers and covered a yawn. Even he knew this was just a formality.

Across the room sat David. He had a stoic look about him, barely glancing at Jayce or me. If he was angry, he refused to let us know it.

To the sides were the witnesses, a handful of people who knew us enough to comment on our marriage. They were here to prove that our union was the real deal.

Was I worried? No way.

“We're gonna rock this, Pink. Don't be scared.”

“Of what? The two of us can do anything.”

“You're damn right.”

Jacob cleared his throat. That was the signal for us to shut up.

“The first manner of business: current occupancy of the Shady Acres apartment building.” He put on his glasses and scanned the paper. “During no month did the property lose more than five percent of tenants. Due to the recent and unfortunate fire which destroyed certain parts of the building, occupancy is currently at 75 percent.”

Jayce's shoulders fell. I swallowed hard, barely breathing.

“However, this was an unforeseen event deemed no-fault for the owners. Thus, we will accept the occupancy rate
before
the accident.” He paused. “That number stood at 83 percent.”

The witnesses cheered with us. Jayce grinned and squeezed me. We'd done it!

“On to the next matter. Obviously, Jayce Reinhard has fulfilled Deborah's will in that he is, indeed, legally married. But the marriage must be deemed legitimate.” He looked around the room. “Who can testify that the marriage between Jayce and Elizabeth is real and true?”

Everyone in the room raised their hand – except for David. Then, slowly, his went up too.

Jayce gaped at him. “Dad?”

“I'd be a liar to deny it. When I first heard you planned to marry Elle, I was livid. I thought for sure you were only doing it because you had to. Just a plot to save the property.” He shook his head. “It made me angry because... Well, it wasn't just that I'd lose Shady Acres. I wanted the best for you. I never wanted you to marry unless you truly loved someone.”

“I love Elle with all my heart.”

“I can see that, son. Debbie wanted the same. That was why, when putting her will together, we both agreed you needed help finding a wife.”

“Help?”

“We were tired of watching you throw your life away, living like there was no tomorrow. So, we gave you the push you needed to make a change. As you see, it worked.”

Jayce laughed. “Yeah, right. You thought I'd never grow up, and you
knew
I'd never get married of my own volition. That's why you agreed to Debbie's terms – because you figured I'd screw up and the property would be yours.”

“Of course I wanted the property. But I also wanted the best for my son. I'd win either way, wouldn't I?”

“But it could have backfired. What if I
didn't
marry for love?”

He gestured to the people around us. “That's what we're doing here now. We're going to find out.”

Everyone waved their hands again. Beth and Marcus stood, holding his baby Rose.

“They're one-hundred percent legit, I promise,” he said. “They work as partners. A team. That's the way marriage should be.”

Mrs. Jackson stood next. “They certainly
are
married. I haven't heard another woman in his bedroom for the past several months now.”

“Told you to keep it down,” I whispered.

“Never gonna happen.”

Next came Heather.

“Jayce used to be greedy, lazy, and selfish. He only cared about taking care of himself.” She sniffled and dabbed her eyes. “Loving Elle changed him. He's a better man than he could ever be alone. Now I'm proud to call him my brother.”

On and on it went, with Lisa, Jayce's friends, and almost everybody having something good to say for us. Finally, the testimonies continued for so long that the attorney demanded silence.

“Thank you, that will do. I have heard more than enough.” He cracked a smile at last. “Then it is decided. As Jayce and Elizabeth have fulfilled Deborah's final wishes, Shady Acres and the property remain in their hands.”

Jayce scooped me up in his arms and gave me a big kiss.

“I knew we could do it, Pink. You and me, we can do anything.”

David came over and patted his son on the back. “Congratulations, and well played. I hope you take good care of it – just the same as you take care of her.”

“I will, dad. Uh, sorry for giving you a black eye.”

“Don't be sorry. It means your old man taught you how to fight. I'm proud of you.”

The lawyer cleared his throat again. The room hushed.

“There is one more thing to add. Deborah wanted this kept secret, for obvious reasons, until the very end.” He pulled out a new paper, one none of us had seen before. “If Jayce and Elizabeth successfully retain ownership of the property, they are to be awarded a sum of $1 million for upkeep and other expenses, to be used as they see fit.”

Holy crap. Did he just say...

“A million bucks?” Jayce whooped. “We're rich, Pink!”

“Don't go blowing it on girls and booze,” I teased him. “We'll use it to fix up the building. It will be better than ever before.”

“Let's not forget about the baby. Oh, man, I can't wait to build the little guy a nursery.”

Nobody ever believed Jayce would grow up, least of all me. I thought that sleeping with him, giving him my virginity, was a huge mistake.

If that was a mistake, it just so happened to be the best one I'd ever made.

“C'mon. Let's go home and celebrate.” He kissed my neck on the way out of Jacob's office. “I am gonna make love to you so hard, you'll be moaning my name until dawn.”

I trembled as his lips brushed my skin. “No matter how much you change, you'll always be a total pervert.”

“And you wouldn't have me any other way.”

What could I say? He was right.

Epilogue - Jayce

The riding mower roared, but the thunderous noise didn't scare little Ethan. He gurgled and laughed as he sat on my lap, delighted with the bumpy ride and the engine's purr.

Man, I loved that laugh. I never told anyone this, but it put a tear in my eye every time he giggled.

“What do you think, huh, kiddo? Are we on a spaceship or a race car? You tell me.”

Ethan responded with a toothless grin. At six months old, he didn't talk much yet. Said “da” the other day, though.

I'd been terrified to become a father. Moments like that made it all worth it.

I drove the mower in a figure eight on the lawn. Ethan squealed, burped, then spit up his milk on my lap.

“Did I ever tell you how sexy you look when you're out there working hard?”

Elle waved to me from the porch of our new house, watching the spectacle with a smile on her lovely face.

“That's why I'm riding around without a shirt. It's all a ploy to get you into bed.”

“If that's what you wanted, you only had to ask.”

Damn, I loved that woman.

When I married her, I was so scared. Thought I'd make an awful husband and an even worse dad. Worried that after a few months of marriage and monogamy, I'd be so sick of it that I'd run away screaming.

But it never happened that way. Everyday, I fell more and more in love with Elle. And the night Ethan was born, when I stood by her bedside holding her hand, I fell in love with the baby too.

One look at his tiny hands and those hazel eyes – just like his daddy's – I knew I could never go back to how things used to be. He was my life now. My
family
was my life.

How did I once see this as prison? Having so much love to come home to wasn't prison; it was paradise.

“We just signed another five tenants in the past three days,” Elle shouted over the mower. “I can't believe it. We're about to hit 100 percent occupancy. Already got a waiting list that's starting to fill up.”

“Sounds like cause for celebration.”

“It sure is. I invited Heather and Zach over for dinner tomorrow. We'll have to get something for her to drink, though. She can't have alcohol with the baby.”

I grinned. “Hear that, buddy? You're gonna have a cousin to play with real soon. It's a girl, but that's okay. You kids will get along great.”

A car pulled up in the driveway, and out came Max, Brett, and Carter. I killed the mower and let Elle take the baby so we could talk.

“So, this is the new house.” Brett whistled. “It's a beaut. When you gonna invite us over for a party?”

“Whenever you want. Don't think you'd like our parties, though.” I smiled at Elle and the kid. “No smoking allowed. No inviting strippers over. And you gotta keep the noise down past nine. Ethan's something of a light sleeper.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Sounds awful boring – but I can see you're happy, man. I'm glad for you.”

“Thanks.”

“Speak of no smoking, thank
you
for all the plants. I can't believe they survived that fire, but they're beautiful. Too bad I'm afraid I'm gonna kill them.”

“Just don't forget to water and you'll be fine.”

I'd given him my collection of marijuana plants a little while back. Figured since I wasn't using weed anymore, they'd go to better use with someone else. Lucky for me, Max was plenty eager to take the girls off my hands.

“Hey, uh, I was planning on going on a road trip with the RV this summer.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Thought maybe you guys would want to come along. Bet you could use a vacation.”

“That sounds awesome, dude. I'll let you know.”

Brett and Max went back to the car. Carter came up to me next.

“So, how is it? Being a dad, I mean.”

I glanced at Elle. She sang a lullaby to Ethan while rocking him in her arms. He yawned, and his eyes fluttered closed.

“It's amazing. You were right. When I see the kid smiling, I just... I feel so full of love, you know?”