Jackson

“Don’t look now, but Ana looks fucking amazing,” Braiden whispered in my ear, and my heart swelled. But it was nothing compared to what I felt when I turned around and saw her.

Dark hair swept up off her face with fancy beaded pins. Loose curls framed her face, pulling my gaze to her big brown eyes and soft pink lips. Our eyes collided, and she blushed. My Ana—my everything—blushed, dropping her eyes away. The fact that, after all this time, I still affected her that way had me in complete awe. I used the moment to drink her in. The simple silk ivory dress hugged her curvier figure, sloping over her rounded stomach and then dropping to the floor. And my lips curved into a grin when my gaze landed on her feet ... beige Chuck covered feet.

That’s my girl.

Dennis didn’t look so bad either. Something had changed between the two of them while he was with her at the hospital. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but my friend was different. It shouldn’t have surprised me—Ana could affect you like that. She had affected me like that. And I would never be the same. Otis caught my eye and winked. He looked well despite the new cancer growing inside him. I was just relieved they were able to make the trip. It wouldn’t have felt right without him and V present. They were my family just as much as Ana was, and they deserved to witness this.

“I love you guys,” Dennis whispered, placing Ana’s hand in mine. He nodded at me and took his place beside Braiden. It felt right having them both here. Maybe that made me crazy, but they were my family too. Overcome with emotion, my eyes shuttered, and when they opened, Ana took my breath away. Completely and utterly stole it right from out of my lungs.

“Jesus, you’re beautiful.”

“Jackson,” she hissed, glancing to the minister.

“Shit, sorry,” I said, and she squeezed my hand. I shrugged, and the minister laughed. “If we’re ready?”

“Yes,” we said in unison.

I’d been ready for longer than I realized.

ANA

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Jackson wrapped me in his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. But it wasn’t enough, and I clung to him, demanding more.

“Ana,” he murmured, a hint of both regret and warning in his tone.

Aunt Betsy and Uncle Jim were here; he’d insisted we invite them, and even though things were still strained between the three of us, I hoped one day that old wounds would heal. With Jackson by my side, I felt sure they could.

“Okay, my turn with the bride,” Dennis said, pulling me out of Jackson’s arms and into his own. “Never look back,” he whispered. “And don’t be a stranger.”

I pulled away and pressed a kiss to his cheek. We’d formed a strange bond during our house arrest at the hospital. It might have been only forty-eight hours, but Dennis hadn’t left my side, and in the periods of comfortable silence between us, I’d felt his torment. He still had his own ghosts to confront, but he seemed more at peace now.

“Congratulations, you look so beautiful.” Cara air kissed me and then leaned up to kiss Jackson. Which left Braiden. Things were still strained between us—they probably always would be—but I had to accept he was in our lives now. After what he did for Jackson, for Cara, I had to give him a chance—he’d earned it. The faded bruises around his eye and jaw were testament to that. So without giving myself time to change my mind, I turned to him and said, “Thank you.”

His eyes went wide, and we stood there, surrounded by our friends and family, in thick silence. Eventually, Braiden nodded. He swallowed hard, before stepping back and melting into the crowd surrounding us. And that was okay. He could be there on the periphery. For now, it was enough.

BRAIDEN

“Look how happy they are.” Cara sighed, resting her head against my shoulder. She was right. They looked happy as Jackson led his new wife around the small dance floor.

I slid my arm around Cara’s back, turning to press a kiss to her head as the memory of seeing her bound and bloody imprinted on my mind. I didn’t think I’d ever forget. And for as much as it hurt, maybe that was my punishment, my penance—to relive that moment over and over for as long as I lived.

“Hey.” She grabbed my jaw and aligned our faces. “I’m fine. You’re fine. Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt us, Braiden.” Cara stared me right in the eyes, and her love wrapped around me like a soft blanket. I wanted nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder, take her back to our room, and sink inside her.

“Later.” She smirked. “We are the best man and maid of honor. We can’t just leave for a quickie.”

I grinned back at her. “We could make it very, very quick.” My voice lowered to an almost whisper. It had the desired effect, and her eyes fluttered shut as she sucked in a sharp breath.

“No.” Cara’s hand slid to my collarbone, and she pushed gently. “You don’t get to see what’s underneath here”—her eyes dropped to the satin blue dress—“until much later.”

Threading my hand into her hair, I claimed her lips, sweeping my tongue into her mouth and swirling it with her own. With every glide, my grip tightened, and the full force of what could have been hit me in the gut like a wrecking ball.

The second my eyes had landed on Cara tied up, I knew that I would fight every single day of the rest of my life for her forgiveness. To earn her trust again, her love ... her acceptance. 

“What? What is it?” She pulled back, pressing her forehead to mine. My heart beat violently against my chest, and my palms went clammy.

“Marry me.”

“W- what?” She yanked back, her eyes wide sparkling with surprise.

“Marry me, Cara O’Connor. I know I’m a fuck-up. I know there will probably be a day when my past catches up with us again. But I promise to spend every second of every day loving you. Proving to you that I am worthy. I love you so fucking much it hurts. I know you’re young, and you have your whole life ahead of you, but you’re it for me. You are my life.”

Her hand slid to my cheek. “I- I, wow, Braiden, I- I ...”

Everything slowed down.

The sound of the music around us. My heart. Cara’s voice. Everything zeroed in around me until there was quiet and only the gentle pound of my heart against bone. This was it. My final stand. And then I saw the flash of uncertainty in her eyes and that gutted me. Like a knife sliding into my gut and twisting over and over, the pain spread through me. I had been right. Cara didn’t imagine her future and see me. She probably saw some hotshot lawyer or business type from the city with a sleek car and fat salary. My head dropped, unable to look at her—the woman who had broken me more than any enemy ever had—and I swallowed back the rush of tears fighting for release.

“Yes.”

My head snapped up, and my mouth dropped open. Cara smiled. It started slow, her mouth curving up at the corners until it reached her eyes.

“Yes?” I choked out.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“This a joke?”

Her hand found my cheek again, and I leaned into her touch, not wanting to let myself believe it. “You think you’re not worthy, but you’re wrong. We all make mistakes, Braiden, but it’s how you own them that counts. What you did for me, for Jackson, I will never forget. You saved me.”

“I will always save you.” I kissed the corner of her mouth. “I will always love you. If you let me, I will spend my life loving you.” My lips feathered over hers until they landed on the other corner, but Cara caught me mid-stride and clamped her arms around my neck, forcing my mouth to hers.

“Screw responsibility. I need you now.” I stood up, yanking her with me.

As I pulled her through the room toward the elevators, I smiled to myself. Many things had changed since Chastity Falls, but my love for Cara, my need for her ... well, that would always remain.

ANA

We lay in silence, me cushioned by Jackson’s arm, on the king-size bed of the Radisson’s honeymoon suite.

“Was today enough, Mrs. Pierce?” I heard the uncertainty in Jackson’s voice. Pushing up on my elbow, I maneuvered myself above him.

“It was everything. Thank you.”

When Jackson had suggested we get married before the baby arrived, I was a little hesitant. Even though my body seemed to respond to the new medication, Dr. Benns insisted I rest as much as possible. Today was an exception, though, and after some persuasion, Jackson had conceded and booked a private room at the Radisson for a small gathering of friends and family. I only managed the first dance, but it was enough. One dance in the arms of my husband, our growing baby between us, was everything.

“I love you so much. Lying to you is something I never want to do again. Ever. Just know I only did it to protect you and keep our daughter safe.” His eyes shuttered, the guilt rolling off him.

“Jackson, Jax ...” I coaxed. “Look at me.” He opened his eyes, and I smiled. “I know you did what was necessary, and I don’t blame you. I will never blame you. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives together, and nothing, no one, will ever come between us. Now kiss me.”

Jackson’s fingers slid underneath my jaw and around the back of my neck, pulling me down to his mouth. The kiss was soft and tender and safe, but it stoked a fire in me that I hadn’t expected. Not so close to the birth. Heat danced off my skin, and I moaned into his mouth. “Make me feel.”

“Ana,” he warned.

I inched back, staring at the guy I would spend the rest of my life loving. “Please, touch me. I need you, Jackson. I always need you.”

Jackson shuffled up and gently lay me back. Hovering over me, he pressed his body against my side. “But Dr. Benns said—”

“Dr. Benns isn’t here.”

Leaning down, Jackson captured my lips again, brushing tiny kisses across my lips and sending a shiver rippling through me. His mouth ghosted over my skin, down my jaw, and to my neck while his fingers stroked my arm.

“I can’t wait for her to arrive, so I can love you properly.” His words sent my heart into overdrive, and my pulsed raced.

And then something popped, and dampness pooled around my lower body. “Mmm, Jackson ...” My voice trembled.

“Kinda busy right now.” He chuckled still pressing kisses to my chest.

“Too busy to have a baby?”

His head snapped back as if it was on elastic. “What?”

“The baby ... She’s coming.”

“Right now? You’re sure?”

“Well, either I just peed myself or my water broke.”

He leaped off the bed and ran a brisk hand over his head. “Okay, okay, what do I do?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his impending meltdown. “Jackson”—I reached out my hand, and he took it—“we have to get to the hospital.”

“It’s really time?” He gulped.

“It’s really time.” I smiled resting my hand on my stomach.

It was time.

Time to meet our daughter.

JACKSON

“Congratulations, chica,” Elena’s musical voice filled the room, and Ana’s whole face lit up.

“Elena?” she shrieked. Her eyes met mine, and I nodded. Elena and Tyson couldn’t make it out in time for the wedding, but there were other ways to reunite my wife with her best friend at one of the most important moments of her life.

“And how is my goddaughter? Beautiful just like her mother?”

Ana motioned for me to take Emma so she could talk with her friend. I cradled my daughter against my chest and sat in the guest chair in the corner of the room.

It had been nonstop since Emma was born. Otis and V were the first ones to stop by since they had a flight to catch. And then Betsy and Jim had visited. Poor Jim burst through the doors with his hands full of gift bags and balloons. But it made Ana smile in a way that made me hope she was finally ready to heal where her family was concerned. Braiden and Cara were still in the hospital somewhere. Probably seeking an empty side room if my suspicions were right. Cara had taken one look at Emma, and her ovaries literally exploded in front of us. She all but dragged Braiden out of the room.

“... birth to a small cow.”

I tore my eyes away from Emma as she slept peacefully in my arms. Ana looked exhausted, but hearing her friend’s voice had animated her as she retold the birth story for the third time today.

After her water had broken in the hotel room, I’d driven us straight to the hospital where Dr. Benns was on call. Ana still had three weeks to go, but three hours after we arrived, Emma Caitlin Pierce was born with no complications. She was seven pounds two ounces of perfect. And as I held her in my arms, watching my wife talk on the phone, I made a silent promise to them both.

No matter what tomorrow held, I would always choose them.