“Except that I didn’t.” My voice came back with a vengeance. “I never in my life staged a shotgun wedding.” I gasped for breath. “What you’ve done is humiliate me. And what about Creole? He’s a grown-ass man, who I’m certain would like to make one of the biggest decisions of his life for himself.”
Creole put his arm around me and was in the process of pulling me to his side when I pushed away and ran down the beach.
My feet left the sand, my body whirling around. Creole set me down in front of him, his hands on either side of my face, holding me in place.
“I’m so sorry,” I choked out, tears rolling down my cheeks.
“None of that,” he said gruffly and brushed the tears away, kissing the corners of my eyes. He swept me into a hard hug and held me tightly until I stopped crying. “Madeline’s one of a kind. If we’d thought about it, we should’ve known she’d come up with something like this—an ambush wedding.”
“I’m…” My cheeks burned with mortification.
“Do you love me?” he asked.
“Of course, I love you.” I smiled.
“And I love you, so that means we’re in total agreement.” He batted his eyelashes. “Finally, you laughed. As I see it, you’ve got two choices. We go on the run…now.” He grabbed my hand. “Or we tie the knot right here. Your mother did do a pretty spectacular job.”
“You must be caught in her spell.” I held my hand to his forehead, which made him smile. “Are you taking into consideration that Madeline’s going to be your mother-in-law and she’s c-crazy? Meddling. And… I’ll just lump the rest under ‘other stuff,’ as it escapes me at the moment. My apple might not fall far from the tree. As in, you’d be getting a crazy wife.” I covered my face with my hands.
Creole peeled them away. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I caught you lurking in the dark, doing unsafe things because your kind heart was doing something nice for some weirdo.” He kissed me. “It took me a while, but I cleared out the competition. Damn near had to die…a couple of times… You’re it for me. Your wacky mother doesn’t change my mind any.” He dropped to one knee. “Will you marry me, Madison Westin?”
I dropped to my knees, nose to nose. “I will. Will you marry me, Lucas Baptiste?”
“You damn well bet I will.” He grabbed me, falling back onto the sand, pulling me on top of him, and kissing me.
When we were done, he picked up my hand, sliding the engagement ring off my finger. “I’m going to need this.”
“I don’t have a ring for you.” I pouted.
“What do you want to bet that Madeline’s got that covered?”
“She’s so nervy.” I joined him in laughing.
“Let’s do this.” Creole helped me to my feet, and we walked back to where Fab, Didier, and Brad stood waiting.
I wondered where Mila, Mother, and Spoon had disappeared to but didn’t ask, just happy that Mother wasn’t standing there waiting for me to say something nice.
“You’re holding hands. That’s a good sign.” Fab reached out and hugged me. “You okay?” she whispered. I nodded. “Do you love him?” I nodded again. “He’s not a bad catch.”
I hugged her again. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Well…is there going to be a wedding or not?” Didier asked.
“We’re ready,” Creole said.
Didier held out his palm to Brad, who reached into his pocket and slapped money into it.
“You bet against the nuptials?” I asked my brother in shock.
“I bet on elopement.” Brad laughed.
“Listen up.” Fab stepped up. “I’m in charge. I sent Mac to escort your mother and Spoon out to the platform with orders not to allow her to double back, and Mila went with them, excited about her part. I also told Mac that, if you were runners, she was to dump the job of explaining everything to the guests in your mother’s lap.”
Creole and Didier got in one boat, Madison, Brad, and me in the other.
“I think I may be able to take credit for making this actually happen.” Fab beamed.
Once our boat pulled away from the shore, Brad asked, “You okay?” He hugged me.
“It was mortifying,” I said, my cheeks burning. “Creole made it all better. I did point out about the DNA connection, and he didn’t run off.”
“Please… You’re a great catch, even with a whack-job mother. Just remember, we do normal most of the time.”
“You’re next.” Fab shook her finger at Brad.
“In the meantime, keep your girlfriend, or you’ll be subject to Mother’s dating whims,” I said.
Our boat arrived just behind the guys’. Creole and Didier climbed the stairs and paused at the top, spoke to Liam, then continued down the aisle to the canopied area.
Liam waited at the top, one hand holding Mila’s. She had a basket in her other hand.
“Mila is your shell girl,” Brad said as we climbed the steps. “Think flower girl, only shells.”
“Mother thought of everything.” I would thank her later. Now that I’d calmed down, this was the perfect wedding. I bent and traded wet kisses with Mila, who was excited and ready to throw shells.
Liam walked Mila down the aisle.
Fab and I hugged, and she followed.
Brad turned to me, kissing my cheek. “You sure about this? It’s not too late; we can steal a boat and go for a joyride…”
“We should do it anyway, just because we haven’t had enough excitement for the day.”
We both laughed.
“Creole gets my seal of approval. If not, he’d have been fish food a long time ago. You’re not the only one in the family with connections.” He hugged me.
“You’re the best brother.”
He held out his arm. “Let’s get you married.” He walked me down the aisle to where Creole waited, a huge grin on his face.
“May we begin?” the preacher asked.
Creole and I nodded.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
I barely had time to concentrate on the vows before the preacher asked Creole, “Do you promise to take Madison Westin as your lawfully wedded wife?”
“Yes, I do.” Creole leaned forward and kissed me.
The preacher cleared his throat. “We usually save that sort of thing for the end of the ceremony.”
Creole winked at me. “Sorry.”
“Yes, I do,” I said.
“You’re supposed to wait for him to ask,” Creole whispered against my lips.
I smiled at the preacher.
“Do you take Luc Baptiste as your lawfully wedded husband?”
“Yes and yes.”
Creole kissed me again.
The guests gave a round of applause, showing their approval.
“Now, you may kiss the bride,” the preacher said.
Creole scooped me into his arms and bent me back for a long kiss, to the continuing cheers of the guests. “You are beautiful.” He bent his head and kissed me again soundly, his effort getting another round of applause and a few catcalls. “I love you.”
The preacher cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce the married couple, Creole and Madison.”
Chapter Forty-Two
“I should’ve known that something was up when your mother didn’t bat an eye when I suggested having the wedding reception-slash-housewarming party at my house,” Fab said in an amused tone. “She laughed at the audacity of it but patted my cheek and said, ‘You plan it however you want, honey.’ Since we want to keep our privacy, I didn’t invite everyone from the wedding. Just family and a couple of friends.”
Everyone had grabbed a seat around the dining room table, which could seat twice as many as were invited. A dressed-up version of Help sat across from me and Creole. I’d done a double take when he came through the door.
I gave him a thumbs up. “Almost didn’t recognize you with your new look.”
“Don’t get used to it. I
only clean up for special occasions.”
Mac sat two seats down, eyeing the guests and guzzling her beer.
“Drink up,” Fab invited. “My father has a car out front that will take anyone who gets sloshed home.” She smiled at Caspian, who sat next to her.
“No one drives drunk,” Caspian said adamantly. “Not even a little.”
Mother stood and held up her wine glass, and all eyes turned to her. “Congratulations to the new couple,” she toasted. “I’m hoping the two of you forgive my high-handedness.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” Creole tipped his glass back at her. “It was the perfect ceremony, and I know that my wife loved all your attention to detail.” He leaned over and brushed my lips with his.
“You outdid yourself.” Fab gave Mother a thumbs up.
I zeroed in on Spoon. “Did you know?”
“It took a while, but I squeezed it out of her,” Spoon said. “I figured it was about time, and this way, you wouldn’t break your mother’s heart by eloping. I know that was in the wind, so don’t deny it.”
I wasn’t the only one to stare at Mother when she giggled.
I blew her a kiss. “Thank you.” I didn’t like what she’d done but also didn’t want to argue with her on my wedding day.
“Not another word until I get back.” Brad pushed his chair back and stood, his sleeping daughter in his arms, and carried her over to one of the large sofas in the adjacent living room.
“You got an update on Dilwen?” Creole asked Help. “In custody, I hope.”
Help shook his head. “A conversation for another time.”
“One thing about Westin family dinners—there’s always a certain amount of drama,” I said. “How disappointing if we all acted like normal families and talked about…” I paused, unsure what to say, which brought a few chuckles.
“Your dinners are more fun than any others I’ve been to,” Emerson said.
Brad smiled at her, kissing the top of her head as he sat back down.
“Show of hands.” I held mine up. “Who wants to hear the latest update on a bad a-s-s criminal?”
Everyone’s hands went up.
“I suppose I’m the last to know anything,” Brad grumbled, but the nodding of a few heads showed that he wasn’t the only one in the dark.
“Update on Dilwen?” Fab asked. “Might as well spill; that way, we don’t have to repeat the story a dozen times.”
“We should have this talk in private,” Help insisted.
“Nice try,” Fab said. “I suppose this means he’s still eluding the law?”
Help sighed loudly. “Cops got a call about an intruder at Nicolette’s beach house, and they made a grisly discovery.”
I flinched. “He’s dead? Or someone else?”
Creole pulled me to his side.
“DNA testing was done on the remains, and you won’t have to worry about Dilwen bothering you again,” Help said. “The cops have no suspects.”
I could supply them with a list, but I won’t.
“He must have been there a while.” I squirmed. “Is that where he was hiding out the whole time?” No, come to think of it, he couldn’t have been; not with the cops crawling all over the place, gathering Nicolette’s collected evidence against him.
“How was Dilwen offed?” Fab asked. The woman liked details.
“The exact method is unknown,” Help hedged. At Fab’s exhale of disbelief, he added, “Dilwen was killed offsite, and his legs dumped in the living room. We believe the killer or killers contacted the cops, wanting them to know the man had been dispatched.”
“Just the legs?” Didier asked, horrified.
“What about his bodyguards?” Fab asked.
“They vanished,” Help said. “My guess is that they met the same end, but probably less grisly.”
“Wonder who Dilwen crossed?” Creole mused. “Not your standard hit. Personal, perhaps?”
“Any of you got any clues who might have done this?” Help’s attention wavered between me and Fab.
“The folks I know aren’t homicidal,” I said. That was the truth, but some could be pushed in that direction.
“Case closed.” Spoon brushed his hands together.
“This is the most interesting family dinner I’ve been to,” Mac said. “If you need a seat-filler in the future, I’m in.”
Relief flooded through me. The threat was over.
“Another interesting tidbit,” Help said.
All eyes shot to him.
“Dilwen’s lawyer—that Mark character—he skipped town and headed north. He reported receiving a threatening call saying that if didn’t want to end up in the same condition as Dilwen, ‘he’d git out of town.’ He heeded the warning and left.”
“That’s interesting,” I said. “I cut him off and blocked his number, knowing that he sicced Dilwen on us.” I hadn’t decided what to do about GC.
“Good riddance,” Creole said.
“We need some happy news,” Mother said.
“When are you going to tell the newlyweds?” Caspian asked Fab.
Creole stood and reached for my chair. “Let’s get out of here while we can.”
“Sit back down.” Didier laughed. “It’s good news that I approved.”
I banged my head on Creole’s shoulder and groaned. “They’re all ganging up on us. We’re never going to have a normal life.”
“You’re going to like it,” Brad said.
I shook my head at the smiling faces. “Show of hands, how many of you know about this announcement?”
All the hands shot in the air, which I highly doubted—the rest just didn’t want to be left out.
“So romantic,” Mother gushed.
“They all look pleased with themselves, so we might as well hear them out,” Creole said.
Fab poked Didier, who slapped his hands on the table in an attempt at a drum roll.
“Tomorrow morning,” Fab said, “Caspian’s driver will pick you up and drive you to the landing strip, where you’ll be helicoptered out to his yacht.”
She wasn’t joking. I leaned into Creole.
“You’ll have it all to yourself,” Caspian said. “Except for the staff, who’ll be there to make sure that you’re well taken care of. I promise you won’t even know they’re there; that’s how unobtrusive they are.”
“That…uh…sounds like so much fun, but I can’t go,” I stammered.
“Why the heck not?” Fab demanded.
“That’s generous of you,” Creole said. “But I can’t ditch the project with no notice.”
“Got it all covered for you,” Didier said. “Brad’s going to get his hands dirty and do some honest work for once.”
“There’s no one to fill in for me,” I said.
“I can do it,” Mother said. “How hard can it be?”
Thank you. But not happening.
Fab’s hand shot in the air. “I’ve got it handled.”
Laughter went around the table until they realized Fab was serious and stared in disbelief.
“You know what you’re getting with me,” Mac boasted, a grin on her face.
I smiled back at her.
“I can be you,” Fab said with confidence, which elicited more laughter.
“The cats? Jake’s? What if a tenant gets arrested? Needs bail? Okay, you’ve got that part handled.”
Emerson’s hand shot in the air. “I’ll play the lawyer. You’re not forgetting that the charges against Joseph got dropped? I can’t take credit because the complainant died. But I didn’t ditch him as a client when he threatened to vomit in my car,” she said, with sound effects.
“Just great,” Brad moaned. “My daughter and my girlfriend, corrupted.”
“Dude,” Liam said, awed, “you just admitted to having a girlfriend.”
Cheers moved swiftly around the table.
Brad leaned over and kissed Emerson, whose cheeks turned pink.
“I’m the one with the cat skills.
” Didier flexed his muscles. “I’ll move the fierce twosome here after you leave. Fab can co-parent.”
“You won’t shoot any of her tenants, will you?” Creole asked.
“You’re going to eat that smirk when you see what a good job I’ll do.” Fab glared at him.
I turned to Creole, who shrugged, then laughed. “We’re outnumbered today.”
“Before accepting your generous offer, I have a question,” I said to Caspian. “Does your yacht happen to have one of those cool garages, with maybe a water toy or two in it?”
Caspian reached in his pocket, pulled out a hundred, and slapped it in Fab’s open palm. “My daughter said you’d ask that. She didn’t put you up to it to win the bet, did she?” He eyed me closely.
“I can’t believe the money that’s changed hands today,” I said in faux shock.
“It’s got a wide selection of water toys. There’s also a pool table and arcade machines on the main level. You won’t be bored,” Caspian boasted.
“Not sure how we’ll repay such extravagance,” Creole said.
“Nonsense,” Caspian assured him. “My daughter rarely asks for anything, and it is my absolute pleasure.”
I had thanked Fab’s father earlier for everything he’d done to ensure our safety. I knew his focus was his daughter but I appreciated that every measure he’d taken extended to me and Creole, too.
Creole waved his hand over his head.
I grinned up at him.
“I have a wedding gift for my lovely wife,” Creole said. “Wife.” He kissed me to accompanying cheers.
“I don’t have anything for you.” I pouted.
“You agreed to be my wife,” he said, which was greeted by calls of ‘awww.’ “We’ll be forming a company, MC Enterprises, sole owners and shareholders: you and me. And…” He drew an envelope out his pocket and handed it to me. “Our first project.”
I opened and took out a sheet of paper, unfolding it and staring at the printed-out color picture. I burst out laughing and launched myself into his arms. “You bought us the Palace!”
“Got us an excellent deal, which I know will make you happy.”
Mother gasped. “The adult motel?”
“That’s the one—the run-down dump on the main highway,” Spoon confirmed. “The one that’s rumored to be haunted.”
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