She presses her lips together and shakes her head. “When your mom hears about this, don’t blame me.”
“It will be fine.” I shrug.
“If you say so,” she mutters.
*
When we arrive in Vegas, it doesn’t take long to get everything in place. Chloe has her dress sent up to the penthouse of the Paris Hotel while we’re still in the air, and I take care of a tux for myself. I also have someone brought in to do her hair and makeup along with someone to take photos. Even with this being short notice, I want Chloe to have good memories of this day.
“Who are you speaking to?” I ask her, walking into the bathroom, where there is a group of people around her.
“It’s not your mom, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I know you already did your damage talking to her. Who now? Your mom this time?”
“No, it’s Bre. She asked if I could meet her for dinner, but I told her no because my crazy fiancé decided we’re getting married today and flew us to Vegas.” She rolls her eyes then presses her ear closer to the phone when I give her the signal to hang up.
I told her that I didn’t want her speaking to her anymore, but apparently, she is not listening lately. Half the things I say to her go in one ear and out the other. I think she spends her days trying to think up ways to piss me off. I can’t even imagine what it will be like now that she is pregnant. As soon as she ends the call, I snatch the phone from her hand.
“I do not want you to talk to her.”
“Why?”
“She was one of the women you were with the night you were drugged.”
“You don’t still believe she had anything to do with that, do you?” she asks.
“I have no way of knowing for sure, so until I have evidence that excludes her, she is not to be trusted.”
“What reason would she have to do something like that?” she asks as a frown forms on her lips.
“People do crazy things every day. You never really know the reasoning.” I do not want her to live in fear, but the reality of the situation is we don’t know who to trust right now, and there is no way I will risk her safety.
I go to her side and spin the chair around, placing a hand on each armrest. “Let’s not think about that today.” I move a small piece of hair off her forehead with my finger. “Today is about us starting our future and enjoying the fact that you are carrying my child,” I declare, watching her face transform and a look of amazement fill her eyes.
“I still can’t believe I’m pregnant.”
“I can. I think deep down, even after you told me you had started your period, I knew you were pregnant,” I say quietly.
“How?” she whispers, leaning towards me with a tender look on her face.
“You’ve seemed more settled, more at ease, like you’re content with where you are.”
“I’m with you. How could I not be content?”
“What have you done with my mischievous fiancée?” I grin and she laughs, sitting back in the chair.
“If I acted like everyone else in your life, you would have grown bored with me.”
“I doubt that, Angel.” I chuckle, kissing her temple before standing to my full height. “I will see you at the altar.”
“I’ll be there,” she murmurs as I turn for the door. “Nolan.”
I turn and look at her over my shoulder, watching her swallow then chew on her bottom lip. “What is it, Beautiful?”
She lifts her hand before dropping it to her lap, saying quietly, “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
Something about those softly spoken words make me feel more powerful than I have ever felt before. A lump forms in my throat and I nod, leaving before I do something pussyish like start crying.
“Son,” my father says as soon as I pick up the phone.
“Dad,” I reply. I know exactly what’s coming. Chloe called my mother on the way to Vegas, and my mother immediately began freaking out. Then she proceeded to call Chloe’s mom and add her into the conversation.
“Your mother wanted me to call you to tell you that you are now disowned and cut out of the will.”
“Dad, I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but I haven’t even thought about my inheritance since I turned twenty-five.”
“That’s exactly what I told her. Regardless, she wanted me to phone you anyway,” he says on an exhale.
“Tell Mom that, if she relaxes, I will let her plan the baby shower,” I say, hanging up the phone just as my dad prompts, “Pardon?”
It takes approximately thirty seconds for my phone to begin ringing again. I look at the caller ID and smile but press ignore as I head to the elevator. I know my mother, and I know she’s in a tizzy over the news that she is going to be a grandma and will forget about the wedding—at least for a little while. Since the moment she met Chloe, she has hinted that we needed to work on making her a grandmother, so now, her wish is coming true.
I arrive at the chapel, and the moment I enter the room, the officiate is at my side, leading me to the altar to wait for Chloe. I never believed I would want to get married again, but Chloe has changed that for me too. The tighter I can tie her to me, the better off I will be. She is my personal brand of kryptonite.
When the music begins to play, I turn towards the door, and my breath instantly stills when Chloe appears. Her dress is all lace, starting at her neck then completely covering her body, including the tops of her hands. The delicate fabric looks like it has been painted onto her, and as much as I love what she is wearing, I can’t wait to see what she has on underneath.
When we were in New York, Chloe and my mother were going back and forth about dresses. My mother wanted her to have a certain style of dress, and Chloe wanted something completely different. I stayed out of it unless Chloe asked me to step in. My mother could be opinionated, but Chloe was stubborn as fuck, and if she really wanted something, she would find a way to get it.
Now, seeing her walk to me in a dress I know she picked out, with her hair down and makeup that only enhances her already beautiful face, I am glad Chloe got her dream dress. The officiate says something as she arrives in front of me, but I hear nothing but the beat of my own heart as I pull her closer.
“You look breathtaking,” I whisper against the shell of her ear.
Her hands fist into the lapels of my suit as I stand at full height, keeping her so close I can feel the heat of her skin. I’m so entranced by her that the rest of the ceremony is a blur until the moment Chloe takes my hand as the officiate repeats the words I just spoke to her.