Millen glares at Drew, his jaw tight as he takes in the scene in front of him. “Nice of my best man to turn up on time,” Millen says, snidely.
Drew frowns, patting down his pockets and pulling out his phone. “Shit, flat battery.”
“How convenient,” he snaps back before stormy eyes lock on mine, Millen’s anger morphing into pain with every step closer he gets. Bradley follows quickly on his heels.
“It’s not like that, Mills. I came here with Kenz to stop you. I wouldn’t subject either of you to this without good reason.”
“Right,” Millen says, deadpan. His eyes don’t leave mine as he stops a few feet in front of us. My eyes drift to Millen’s mother. She looks frailer than she did the last time I saw her. Her skin is pale and the way she’s holding herself—with Ashley at her side—makes it obvious that she’s fragile.
I stare at Millen, words escaping me as I take in the tailored charcoal suit jacket framing his broad shoulders. His crisp white shirt beneath contrasts the slate Windsor knot resting at the base of his throat. Matching slacks hug his narrow hips, falling to polished black patent leather shoes.
Being this close to him and sensing him in every part of my being is torture. I want to throw myself into his arms and beg for forgiveness for giving up and not fighting for what I knew deep in my heart was and still is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
“Babe, can we get this show on the road before you jump him?” Gaby says.
“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?” Harris says, breaking through my daze.
Bradley enters the fray. “Exactly my question.”
“Millen, sweetheart,” Lana says, dropping her father’s arm and stepping toward Millen. Not on my fucking watch. I move as if on autopilot, blocking her advance and stopping her from getting any closer.
“Kenz?” he asks, his voice barely audible. It’s guttural, the roughness reaching inside of me. I square my shoulders, bracing myself for battle. There’s no turning back now.
“Lana, you had to know that the truth would come out,” I begin, shutting out the growing murmurings from the guests behind us.
“The truth about what?” She looks over my shoulder at Millen. “Millen, you can’t believe anything she says. She’s here with Drew. For all you know, they’re probably back together now.” She says his name like it leaves a foul taste in her mouth. Funnily enough, that’s exactly the way I’ve felt about her since the moment she walked into the bar with that undeserved ring on her finger. The fact she has the gall to put ideas in Millen’s head to take the focus off her is laughable.
“I am here with Drew. But we’re here to stop this farce of a wedding from going ahead, because the only reason he’s marrying you is because of that baby, which isn’t even his.”
Millen’s breath catches as the crowd’s murmurings grow louder.
“Oh my God.”
“Does that mean—?”
“Wooooow…”
“What did she just say?”
Lana’s eyes snap to Drew who stands frozen in place, his attention locked on his best friend standing at my back. I desperately want to turn around, to gauge Millen’s reaction to the bombshell I’ve just dropped, but I know I’ll lose my courage if I stop now. I need to get it all out at once, inflicting the damage in one foul swoop before facing the fallout left in my wake.
“Bradley, I know there’s a lot at stake right now,” I say, turning toward Millen’s father. “But I love your son too damn much to let him go because of a long-held grudge Lana has with me. It’s turning far too toxic and affecting far too many lives to let it go on.”
“You’re a liar. You’re just bitter because it’s me Millen wants to marry.”
Harris turns to his daughter, putting his hands on her shoulders and spinning her to face him. Her furious eyes drag from me, to Drew, then land on her dad’s. “Lana, now is the time for you to tell me the truth. It was you who suggested the marriage. You who came to me and said an heir would further cement the deal. I was unhappy then, and I’m really fucking confused now because I’ve known Kenzie for her whole life and not once has she lied to me. You…”
“Dad,” Lana gasps. “You’re choosing to believe her over me?” She puts a hand on her chest. She’s acting like she’s the wronged party here but I totally see through the façade though, as can Drew.
“Lana, cut the bullshit and tell the truth before I do,” Drew says, again looking at his best friend. I still haven’t turned around to see Millen’s face, and he hasn’t stepped out from behind me. If anything, he’s moved closer, my back feeling the warmth radiating from him.
Lana opens her mouth but shuts it again, and for the first time since we arrived, I see a flash of fear in her eyes. Her intricately concocted plan, so close to being realized, is now falling apart in front of her very eyes. But what was she expecting, when she went to such drastic lengths to get Millen’s ring on her finger?
Drew steps forward, and I lose the ability to breathe. “I’m the father. The baby is mine.”
Cue more gasps, even louder murmurings, and a “What the fuck?” spat out from behind my back.
“You son-of-a-bitch,” Millen says, moving so quickly I don’t have time to react, let alone stop his fist from flying straight into Drew’s face.
The minute Drew stands straight again, chest to chest with Millen, he takes another punch—to the nose this time—and again, moves back, ready to take another.
“No!” Gaby and I yell in unison, Gaby going to Drew just as I insert myself between the two best friends, and for the first time in three long weeks, I put my hands on Millen’s chest.
“Take a breath,” I say for our ears only. “Take a long, slow, deep breath and think this through. He came to me to make this right. He said I was the only one who could do it. Be angry, be pissed as hell, but pummeling him into the ground won’t make you feel better.”
Millen’s eyes meet mine, and I get lost in the stormy whorls of undeniable rage I find in his gaze. His hands go to my hips but not to pull me into him—much to my disappointment. Instead, he pushes me back and walks over to Lana.
He stares at her for what seems like forever, but in reality is only a few moments. He shakes his head, clearing his throat before opening his mouth and delivering the death blow. “You almost cost me everything I’ve wanted most in life all because you didn’t want anyone else being with me. Not once, not once since I’ve met you, have I ever felt anything for you beyond friendship. The only reason I agreed to go ahead with this was because Kenz told me I had to do right by the baby, a baby that I’ve found out isn’t even mine.” He tilts his head toward me. “What I feel for her is nothing like you’ll ever experience in your entire life. I just hope that you give up that baby and let Drew raise it alone, because no one—especially that innocent child—deserves to have a toxic mother like you.”
“Millen!” she says, trying to grab his arm as he walks away. He jerks it free just as Harris holds her back.
“Stop it, Lana. Just stop. This is over,” Harris says. He meets Bradley’s eyes, and between the two of them I see a clear understanding that whatever happens on the business side of things, everything will be alright. “I’ll honor the contract, Brad. Nothing needs to change.” Millen’s dad’s shoulders sag in what can only be relief. There was so much riding on this deal—this marriage—and the change I see in him now is so visible, it’s no wonder he was abrupt and obviously worried when Millen told him he wanted to be with me.
Millen stops in front of his father, resting a hand on his shoulder and talking in his ear. Bradley nods, and with a clap on his son’s back, he walks over to Harris and Lana. I watch Millen’s retreating back as he walks away from the group and disappears between two buildings toward the vineyard.
“This is done, Harris,” Bradley says, his voice low and matter-of-fact. “Please save my family and guests any further embarrassment”—he glares at Lana before continuing—”by leaving immediately.”
Harris nods and puts his hand on the small of Lana’s back. The instigator of this whole thing now a shadow of her former over-confident scheming self.
It’s then that the whole scene in front of me comes into focus. Gaby’s busy tending to Drew, but within moments, Ashley is beside them holding a handkerchief to his bleeding nose as Bradley walks over to me, his expression softer than I’ve ever seen.
“Go to him. He may not be in the right headspace to listen, but you’re the only one he’ll want to see. My son is loyal to a fault and knows his own mind. I was wrong to push this marriage on him, and I hope in time you’ll both find it in your hearts to forgive me.” He reaches out and rests his hand on my arm. I can’t move, though. I’ve frozen in place, struggling to comprehend the complete change I’ve seen in the man standing in front of me.
“I—”
His eyes soften when I stutter, and he gives my arm a gentle squeeze. “It’s only been you, Kenzie. It’s only ever going to be you for him. I saw it back at the house when we met, and yet I still pushed for him to go through with this. Go to him,” he says, his lips curving into a sardonic smile. “Besides, it seems I have a cancelled wedding and a shit-ton of food and alcohol to deal with.” A small giggle escapes my lips and his grin widens. “There it is.” His eyes shine with approval.
“What?” I ask, scrunching my nose up.
“Just one of the reasons you’re perfect for him. Now go see to my son.”
“Thank you,” I rasp, my throat so tight my voice breaks, and just like that, I’m able to move, giving Gaby a cautionary look and getting an encouraging nod from Nina before making my way between the buildings to find the man I love.
When I see Millen’s profile in the distance, a wave of calm washes over me. The worst is over now but there’s still a sliver of fear deep inside, a small voice in my head warning me that I’m not home free yet. He’s going to be angry—and he has every right to be—not just at Drew and Lana, but also at me. I pushed him to go through with this; I turned my back on him and walked away from us. As I close the distance between us, my only hope is that he’ll hear me out and find it in his heart to forgive me for doubting him and what we had.
He doesn’t turn around, but his defensive posture tells me he knows I’m here.
“Millen, I’m—”
“I should be happy,” he says roughly, his tone lower than I’ve ever heard it. “I should be pulling you into my arms and kissing you like I’ve dreamed of kissing you every day for the last three weeks. I should…” His voice breaks, and without hesitation, I rush to him and wrap my hands around his waist. My stomach drops as his body shakes.
“It’s wrong to be happy about this. But I am, and part of me hates myself for it. I’d accepted my fate and a life without you in it. My heart was never going to be the same, but I had to go through with it. I thought I had no other choice.”
We stand there, my arms tight around his waist, desperate to be here for him and help him get through this. Hopefully, he will still want to be with me on the other side, ready to pick up where we left off.
Then he tenses and pulls away from me, turning to face me, his expression unreadable.
“How can I trust anyone now? Drew—of all fucking people—slept with Lana. You, you doubted me—doubted us—and believed that I could sleep with Lana when I was already so fucking gone for you. I’m still gone for you, but now I’m doubting what we had because it was so fucking good…” He shakes his head. “So right, and you still walked away.”
“Millen…”
“How can I trust it, Kenz? How can I trust this?” he shouts, waving his hand between us.
My heart seizes. It’s put-up-or-shut-up time. This may well be one of the most important moments of my life, one I’ll forever look back on as the turning point. A fork in the road in my journey until a one-of-a-kind man came crashing into it, refusing to let me ignore what was there between us despite the setbacks we faced. He breathes hard now, his eyes wet, and each tear that falls tugs at my chest, further cementing my resolve to make this right.
Taking a deep breath, I close the last step between us, reaching down and tangling my fingers with his, then lifting his hand to place it on my chest. His body jolts, but he doesn’t move away. “My heart stops beating when I’m not with you. It doesn’t start again until I see you, touch you, kiss you.” His eyes widen, and I press on. “The beautiful pain from loving and losing you will always be worth it if it means I get you.” I take a deep breath and continue, “I have to believe that everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve faced, it has to mean something, Millen. I refuse to believe these feelings aren’t forever. We deserve our happy ending.” I move closer, trapping our hands between us, tilting my head up to meet his gaze, tears cascading across my skin. “And since it almost broke us already and we’re still standing today, I can’t fathom anything other than you and me together.” I lift onto my toes and brush my lips against his mouth, tasting his tears, tasting my own, and whisper, “When we’re apart I’m broken. When we’re together I’m whole.”
“I love you more than anything in this world,” he says, stealing my breath.
“And I’m going to spend a lifetime loving you. Tonight, and all the tomorrows,” I whisper, barely getting the words out as a sob catches in my throat.
It’s then that he smiles, a huge blinding grin that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”
“Promise?”
“With every breath I take.” Then he’s kissing me and it’s the only thing that matters.
I may have taken my shot and lost in the first round, but there’s a lot to be said for never giving up and fighting for your own happiness. Because when you find that person you’re bound to be with, one thing I’ve learned is to hold on and never let go.
Taking my one shot at love will now and forever be the best chance I ever took.