And if I had to guess, I was pretty certain the same thought was crossing more than a few minds in this ancient stone chapel right along with me.
Only Wyatt was missing from my siblings, which wasn’t a huge surprise given he kept his life a mystery and could be in another country at the moment for all I knew. Herman’s children were there to support their dad, obviously. Reese, Jason, and Jordyn had been blessed with the temperament of their father rather than their mother—thank God—or I doubt we would have ended up so close to our cousins. Aunt Cynthia’s death fifteen years ago had loosened her hold on her children, but her marriage to Herman had been long over when she’d died. My mother had pseudo filled the role of mother to Cynthia’s children, even if in her own particularly detached method of parenting, for the intervening years.
My mother and Herman had an understanding over his three kids, and neither overstepped each other’s roles. They both adhered to the cardinal rule that blood family took precedence over all else—even when you couldn’t stand to be around said family member. Personal feelings were the last thing to matter in our world. Instead, wealth and status were next in line, right below blood connections.
Which was the very reason she had to grace us with her presence today. Madelaine Blackstone was showing support for her brother-in-law at his wedding. The key word was show. We all knew she’d rather chew glass. The whole thing was just another example of ignoring the pink elephant in the room. My family had a whole zoo full of elephants we ignored. Fucking experts—every last one of us.
My mother had managed to behave herself thus far, but I didn’t trust her to continue with the celebratory charade for very much longer. She would grow weary of faking it after a while. It took exceptional energy to swallow the bitter pill of knowing her former housekeeper was now her sister-in-law. That part was legitimately weird, though. Brooke’s grandmother was now my aunt. My uncle was now Brooke’s step-grandfather. We were definitely connected by family, and as much as I tried to set the thoughts aside for the time being, it was impossible for me to deny my truth.
It was very simple really. I was going to marry Brooke. Someday, it would be the two of us in front of a priest. Another Blackstone and Casterley would be joined in holy matrimony. I knew she wasn’t ready yet and probably wouldn’t be for a long time, but I would wait until she was. We had plenty of time to get there.
The few weeks since I’d been back from Abu Dhabi had been the best of my adult life because of her. Every simple and mundane task was interesting and fun when doing it with Brooke. She liked cooking for me and said it was healthier than eating out all the time. In fact, she didn’t want to go out very often because clubs and parties did not interest her. When I could convince her to stay overnight at the penthouse with me, we did simple things like shop for the ingredients to make dinner and watch cable TV. More likely we were making love in front of the fireplace while the TV was on because I don’t remember much of anything about the shows we “watched.”
Even right now in the middle of a wedding ceremony, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She had on a pale-gold, lacy dress that only served to make her eyes . . . shine in contrast. My golden girl looked beautiful, of course, but today she didn’t have one trace of the usual present sadness. Today she was joyful. Joyful for her grandmother—and it showed.
Seeing Brooke this way gave me a goal. My plan was something only I needed to know as I worked out a way to achieve it. But achieve it I would.
My goal was to give her more reasons to be joyful than opportunities for remembering the sadness of the past. I couldn’t delete it or take it away. The fucker who nearly killed her was gone. But I could ensure happiness for her future.
When we filtered out of the chapel after the ceremony, Brooke and I were the last ones out because we’d been the first ones in after the bride and groom. She was quiet beside me as we waited for the people ahead of us to move aside so she could go to her grandmother and Herman. “It was perfect, Brooke. You did a wonderful job of planning and making everything come together.”
“Thank you. I am so happy right now.” She squeezed my hand and leaned into my chest.
Supporting her body against mine, I propped one shoulder in the doorway while we continued to wait. I kissed the top of her head and breathed in the flowery scent of her hair. “I know you are. I can see it as clear as day, and happiness is a very good look on you, baby.”
“You’re a big part of it, Caleb.” She said it softly as we paused in the entryway of Stone Church.
I heard every word.
Yeah, I’m marrying this girl.