What it Takes to Fall

by Ellis, C. R.

  She nodded and threw her arms around me, crying and laughing simultaneously. The second Elliot started to speak, Peyton barreled down the slide and plowed into us. We held her between our bodies, both smothering our little giggle machine with kisses. El looked up at me and smiled. “Yes. A thousand times yes, Bryce. I can’t imagine any better way to spend my life than with the two people I love most in this world.”

  The second we started kissing, Peyton reached up and patted our cheeks. We laughed, but quickly grabbed her hands to stop the attack.

  “Baby, I just got her to agree to keep us forever; maybe hold off on the human drum treatment until after it’s official,” I whispered to Peyton, just loud enough for El to hear.

  Elliot giggled and pressed kisses all over Peyton’s face.

  Peyton launched herself into Elliot’s arms and kept laughing through the onslaught of kisses.

  “Hey, can I get in on this kissing action?” I asked, feigning jealousy.

  Both girls turned to me, one smiling sweetly while the other licked her lips and gave me a seductive wink that made my mouth drop.

  “Maybe…if you’re lucky.”

  Oh, I’m lucky all right.

  “I always get lucky, remember?”

  Epilogue

  Elliot

  The second I finished signing the document in front of me, a bottle of champagne popped behind me. I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Jasmine doing the popping.

  We were gathered in the conference room of FMK—Jade, her husband Emmett, Jasmine and Dean, Bryce and me, and Sophia—and we had officially signed the contract to start the construction of Serenity Oaks, our wedding venue.

  Carleigh sent a text earlier saying she’d had some kind of plumbing emergency at her apartment, and wouldn’t be able to make it. I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but she had been bailing on our after-hour get-togethers a lot lately. I had no idea what was going on with her.

  Jade passed the glasses around the table as Jasmine poured. With the glasses distributed, Jas held hers up in a toast. “To Serenity Oaks and the four badass women who are going to make it a massive success.” She turned to Dean and hung an arm around his neck before giving him a G-rated kiss (or, at least what I imagined to be Jasmine’s version of G-rated). “And to the men who support us tirelessly. We love you.” She gave Emmett and Bryce quick smiles, lifting her glass in Bryce’s direction. “Especially you, Bryce. Without you, our vision wouldn’t have come to life. We owe you. Since you refused to let us pay you in money, Elliot will pay you in orgasms.”

  “Jesus, babe,” Dean groaned, shaking his head through a laugh.

  Sophia groaned in disgust, but the rest of us laughed, not even a little surprised by her comment.

  Jade lifted her glass higher and nodded. “I was going to say ditto what Jas said, but that feels weird now. Actually, there’s, uh, something else I want to add anyway.” She handed Emmett her glass and reached into her purse, pulling out a small, rectangular sheet of paper. “We’re pregnant!” she squealed, wrapping an arm around Emmett’s waist.

  “Baby Sinclair is due in July,” Emmett added.

  We all erupted in cheers and rounded the table to congratulate them.

  After a few minutes of talking details, Jade pulled back from our third group hug. “You know…you could make this a trifecta if you had a date for the wedding to toast to,” she said, giving me a nudge.

  “Seriously. Play calendar roulette at this point, El. You plan weddings for a living; how do you not have a date yet? Hey, actually, we don’t have a wedding this weekend…how do you feel about being a December bride?” Jas asked, waggling her eyebrows.

  I know she’s joking, but…

  Instead of answering, I turned to Bryce and actually considered the idea.

  Before I could come to my senses, I marched over and grabbed Bryce’s hand, dragging him into the hallway.

  I looked up, meeting his aqua eyes and smiled. “Hi.”

  His brows scrunched in confusion. “Hi. What’s up, Uno?”

  “Did you mean it when you said I could pick every detail of the wedding?” He nodded. “You sure about that?” Another nod, slower this time. “Then marry me this weekend,” I blurted, throwing myself into his arms.

  “This weekend? As in…five days from now?”

  I nodded, pulling away and rushing to explain that I’d take care of everything. “…I don’t need the fancy decorations or a band or even a big white dress. I just want you, and I want Peyton, and I don’t want to wait to start our happily ever after. Bryce, let’s get married.”

  “El, I’d marry you on the side of a road five minutes from now if that was on the table.” He paused, and I laughed, shaking my head to confirm that was definitely not an option. “Of course I’ll marry you this weekend. Just tell me what I can do to help and where to show up.”

  I squealed and leapt into his arms again.

  * * *

  Despite the completely unorthodox way our wedding came about, we managed to get all the important pieces checked off.

  Dress? I borrowed Jasmine’s, so it doubled as my ‘something borrowed’ too.

  Cake? The Bakers came through with a nut-free red velvet masterpiece.

  Music? Spotify playlist for the win.

  Officiant? Milo got ordained online.

  Location? That one was easy.

  “El? Are you ready?” Jade asked, holding her grocery store rose bouquet in one hand and her clipboard in the other.

  I nodded, forcing my fingers to stop tracing a pattern over the beads of Jasmine’s dress. “Give me one minute.”

  I unfolded the note Bryce had left taped to my apartment door. It said ‘open me right before the ceremony.’

  So, naturally, I tore it open immediately and had read it fifty times since this morning.

  El,

  By now I hope you know I’ll love you always. There’s no way we’re not meant for this.

  Forever yours,

  Bryce

  P.S. I can’t wait to see you. I’ll be the one in a suit, drooling over the hot chick walking down the aisle in a white dress.

  P.P.S. Technically, I’m going to beat you to the altar, so…don’t forget the Starbursts.

  I walked out of the manor and found Pops, already sitting behind the wheel of the Jeep—my chariot to get us the rest of the way.

  “Oh, Elliebelly,” Pops gushed, shaking his head and dabbing a cloth under his eyes. “You look magnificent. Bryce is a lucky, lucky young man.”

  “Thank you, Pops,” I replied, leaning over to peck his cheek while he drove. “I feel pretty lucky myself.”

  Time seemed to slow, and at the same time a thousand thoughts raced through my mind.

  But it wasn’t worries or fears or questions. It was happiness.

  I was jittery and excited and thoroughly desperate to marry this man.

  I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t realize Sophia was talking to me once we made it to the ceremony location.

  “Peyton and I are about to go, then you and Pops are up. Got it?” she asked, turning around to confirm I was listening.

  “Yep, got it.”

  A few seconds later, I finally stepped into the aisle and looked up to find my almost-husband.

  If not for Pops keeping me on track, I would’ve sprinted to him.

  When we finally got to Bryce, standing directly in front of our ‘B + E’ tree, I was positive my heart would burst. He looked like a cover model, only better.

  “El, you’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

  I smiled and squeezed his hand as Milo began addressing our small crowd of thirty or so guests.

  For multiple reasons, we went with a ‘less is more’ approach, so it only took a few minutes before we exchanged rings.

  Then Milo asked Bryce to recite his vows, and my eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets.

  “Milo! We’re not doing vows,” I whisper-yelled.

  “I told h
im to add this part,” Bryce said, squeezing my hands. “But I know we’re all cold, so I’ll keep it short…ish,” he announced to the crowd, earning a collective laugh before turning back to me. “If I tried to list the reasons why I love you, we’d be here for…well, a really freaking long time. I know we agreed that not saying individual vows would help save time, but Elliot, I wanna start our forever with my own words of promise. I can’t promise perfection, but I can promise that I’ll never stop trying. To make you laugh, to get to know you in the details and in the big picture. To support you in success and pick you up in defeat. I promise I’ll never stop trying to make you happy or trying to help you chase your dreams. I promise not to take your love for granted—not the way you love me or the way you love Peyton. Speaking of Peyton…this parenthood thing is a wild ride, but there’s no one else I’d rather experience it with. But more than that, there’s no one else I’d rather experience life with. I love you, El. Always.”

  “Bryce,” I whispered, fighting the urge to fling myself against him. “That was…perfect.” I cleared my throat and shook off the emotion threatening to really choke me up. “I’ve always thrived on plans. I thought I had to know exactly where I was going and control every aspect to ensure a certain outcome. But then you came back into my life and made me realize how much I was missing by letting my doubts dictate my decisions. You breathed life into my soul and made me see the world through a new lens. I’d never promise perfection either; but I’d rather have real any day. I promise to be a team in this parenthood journey. I promise I’ll love you and Peyton and our life together in the details and in the big picture.”

  Bryce cupped my face and brought our icy lips together.

  “Uh, right; you may kiss the bride!” Milo called a half-second too late.

  When we peeled apart, tiny hands reached between us and patted our legs. “Mama, up! Dada, up!”

  Mama.

  It had been weeks since the first time Peyton claimed me as her mom, but it still filled my heart with an indescribable kind of joy each time she said it. I knelt down and brushed our noses together in an eskimo kiss before picking her up and sandwiching her body between mine and Bryce’s.

  “I’m so glad you fell for my killer dance moves and expert Mario Kart skills, Uno,” Bryce whispered against my ear.

  So am I.

  Next…

  What happens when an unapologetic playboy crosses paths with the one girl who sees through his act?

  Find out in Xander and Sophia’s story, coming later this year!

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  You can find all of my books on my Amazon author page.

  Want to read more of the FMK series?

  Read the Forget Me Knot series from the beginning, available now on Amazon and free with Kindle Unlimited!

  Jade and Emmett’s story:

  Why Stars Chase the Sun (FMK #1)

  Jasmine and Dean’s story:

  When Light Leads to You (FMK #2)

  Acknowledgments

  Cullen, you are the real MVP, and I still can’t believe I get to keep you forever, even after I made you watch Twilight the first day we met (sorry, not sorry).

  Katie, Shannon, Brenda, and Brittany—I can’t thank you guys enough for reading and rereading and helping me with this book. Hope y’all are ready for more because you’re stuck with me now! :)

  To Sarah, for always believing in me and patiently giving me encouragement when I need to hear it most. Thank you.

  Jessie, I swear our texts and conversations sometimes are the only things that keep me sane in the madness of writing and publishing.

  Thank you, Autumn, at Wordsmith Publicity, for everything you do, big and small.

  Jenny, I don’t want to know how this book would’ve turned out without your help. Thank you!

  To all the wonderful book bloggers and bookstagrammers—you guys are incredible, and y’all are the reason the book community is as strong and awesome as it is. For everything you guys do to get your favorite authors’ books out into the world—thank you!

  Last, but definitely not least, to the readers—thank you for taking a chance on my books when I know there are a million options out there. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you.

  About the Author

  C.R. Ellis is a Texas native who writes contemporary romance novels with plenty of drama and humor, and just enough heat to ignite e-readers and paperbacks everywhere. She can almost always be found attached to her laptop with coffee nearby and her two trusty canine sidekicks by her side. When she’s not writing or plotting, she enjoys going to concerts with her sweet husband, dragging him along to see rom-coms at any theater that serves booze, checking off the next destination on her ever-growing travel bucket list, and trying new recipes.

  Her passion for writing stems from her lifelong love of reading, and she often binge-reads entire books in a day. She’s an unapologetic book hoarder, and her paperback collection is rivaled only by her massive shoe collection.

  For more information about her and her upcoming releases, visit www.crellisauthor.com.

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