by Toni Aleo
Shaking his head, his heart in his stomach, Jensen said, “It’s different. Gunner isn’t here yet, and this guy could take everything from me. He can give her more children. I can’t, Vaughn. I mean, I’m hopeful, but I’m pretty sure I can’t. And fuck, dude, she said I’m more man than him, but if that were the case, then I could give her a kid.”
Jensen jumped as Vaughn threw his hands up with a shout. “Dude! She’s yours. The kid, yours. Stop it. You aren’t like this. You are a confident fucking man, and you aren’t going to be like this,” he announced, poking him in the arm. “When I felt like shit, you rallied with me and got me my girl. I don’t have to help you get Wren because you’ve got her. Just get rid of this insecurity crap that doesn’t have any relevance. What did she tell you? Did she tell you she wanted more kids?”
Jensen bit the inside of his cheek, his leg bouncing in nervousness as he looked out at the water. “I don’t know.”
“She doesn’t. She didn’t even want this one at the beginning, but she’s changed—because of you. And if she does want kids, I know her, she’ll adopt before she goes back to that guy because she wants you and only you.”
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Jensen kept his gaze fixed on the lake as its current pushed and pulled against the shore. Watching it, it reminded him of how it was with her at the beginning. She pushed him away, but he was always pulling her in. He wouldn’t let go. Maybe he should have. Maybe this was a complete waste of time because now… Now knowing about this guy, he wasn’t sure he could let it go.
But could he lose her?
“Guys, this thing is about to get started, and your best friend needs you to make this happen.”
Running his hands down his face at the sound of Winston’s voice, Jensen nodded before standing. He wasn’t even the least bit ready, but he wouldn’t let his best friend down. He’d deal, and then he’d figure out what he needed to say to Wren. Since he currently had no clue.
“Yup, onward to the wedding that I’m pretty sure isn’t gonna happen,” Vaughn laughed, smacking Jensen on the back. “But I know for sure you and Wren are good, so you know that too, man, okay?”
Jensen didn’t answer because, for once, he didn’t feel that way. He thought that the dude had been a one-night stand, that he really didn’t matter to her, but they had known Bradley forever. He came from big money. He could easily take her to court and try for custody. That freaked Jensen out, not only for Gunner, but also for Wren. She wouldn’t be able to handle that. She would rather just be with Jensen, with the possible chance of more kids, but he wasn’t sure he would be enough to keep her.
Following behind Vaughn, Jensen saw Winston standing there. But instead of walking with them, he stopped Jensen, his hands landing on Jensen’s shoulders. “Go on, Jo.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Vaughn walked away, Jensen met the gaze of his second father and shook his head. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“You didn’t.”
A little taken aback by that, he just held Winston’s gaze. “I think I did.”
“No, you called me, you told me you loved my daughter, that you wanted to marry her, and you loved your child. That’s what I’m pretty sure you said to me. Is that what you plan on doing?”
Swallowing hard, Jensen looked down as he shrugged. “I want to, but—”
“There is no but, Jenny. It’s yes or no.”
Looking back up, Jensen felt his voice shake as he said, “I don’t know.”
Winston nodded. “You know, let me tell you something your dad said to me one time when I called him, mad as hell about my son being gay. After I calmed down, he said, ‘Does it matter who he loves as long as he loves? Because loving someone is our job, is what we’re programmed to do. It makes us happy, it makes us sad, but it’s what we need to do to be complete. So how can you not want him to do what he needs to do to be complete?’” Pausing, Winston laughed. “I remember being so annoyed because he didn’t understand—my son likes boys, ya know? And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I wanted Wells to be what I wanted. But I couldn’t, you know? I lost my best friend because I wanted to change his programming, which isn’t fair. And I know this isn’t really making sense, but my point is, you’re programmed to love Wren. We all know it, you know it, she knows it. Okay?”
Slowing nodding his head, Jensen cleared his throat. “Okay.”
“Okay. Let’s go do this wedding.”
But before Jensen moved, he stopped Winston. “What do I say to her?”
Winston shrugged. “Tell her the truth because that’s what she’ll want. Give her your concerns, and I know you’ll work out because she’s too stubborn to give up, and she loves you too much to.”
Jensen smiled. “You think she loves me?”
“I don’t think it, boy, I know it. My girl doesn’t light up like that around anyone but you, so, yeah. Let go of this bullshit, fix it, and go back to what you had.” When he paused, he laughed. “Or she’ll nag you like her momma nags me until she gets her way. That girl is stubborn like no other. Remember her with those bomb pops in the summer? She loved those things, never let anyone have any from her box. I’m pretty sure she knocked Vaughn’s tooth out once because he took her box and tried to hide it.”
Jensen chuckled, “She did.”
“That boy. He’s always been trouble.”
Jensen grinned as he nodded. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Are you implying I’m the bomb pop?”
Winston thought that over. “I am. She doesn’t let go of things she loves. So get ready, boy.”
A grin pulled at his lips as Winston slapped his shoulder, walking with him up to the venue. When they reached the path that led to the back, they noticed everyone filing in, and Winston let out a long breath. “I’m not ready for this.”
“Yeah, you are, because you love your son.”
Winston nodded. “You’re a good man, Jensen.”
“Thank you, I learned a lot from you,” he added, and Winston scoffed.
“No, son, you’re your dad’s boy. You’re good, you love and forgive. I learned a lot from you two, and I’m thankful for that. But if you want to ever repay me for the years I fed and housed you, love my baby more than I ever can, more than her mom, more than anyone. Okay?”
Jensen nodded, blood rushing to his head as he gazed up at the man who had helped raise him. “Okay.”
“All right, now I gotta go walk my son down the aisle.”
As he watched Winston go through the door, his shoulders back, ready to tackle anything, Jensen wished he felt half of what the older man felt. But his insecurities were eating him alive, and he wasn’t sure how he would be able to look at Wren and fix this.
If it was even fixable.
As he walked into the venue, following behind Winston down the hall, he saw Elaine running around like a chicken with her head cut off, yelling at everyone as Winston let his head fall back. “Lanie, fuck it. Come on, let’s go walk our baby boy down the aisle.”
Elaine stopped, looking up at her husband, and then nodded, her face breaking into a grin. “You’re right.”
She took his hand, and they walked to where everyone was waiting in the lobby to go in. When Wren saw Jensen, she came off the wall. Her makeup was gone, and he could tell she had redone it her way, which he felt bad about. He didn’t like that she’d cried, but then, it was probably not preventable.
She came toward him, and he looked away as she whispered, “Jensen, please. Look at me.”
“Wren, I can’t right now. I’m trying to figure it out. Okay? I just need some time.”
“Time? We’re married, you don’t get time. We’re in this together. Me and you. Talk to me.”
Meeting her fearful gaze, he shook his head. “Not now. We don’t have time. This is about to start.”
“I don’t care. I need to talk to you.”
“Not now,” he asked once more. “Please.”
“But you promised!” she
snapped, her eyes welling up with tears once more as she held his gaze, her hands shaking beside her thighs. “You promised you wouldn’t break up with me, leave me, and you said you don’t make a promise you can’t keep.”
He bit his lip hard as his eyes fell shut, and before he could answer, Vaughn was calling him to go. Meeting her gaze, Jensen didn’t say anything before heading toward his best friend with dread swirling deep in his stomach.
Because for the first time ever, he was worried he wasn’t going to be able to keep a promise he had made.
Watching his retreating back, Wren felt like her heart had fallen out of her chest and shattered on the ground.
What was happening?
Never in her life had she felt such pain.
The rejection from every guy ever didn’t even come close to this. This was awful, and she didn’t understand. Yeah, she may have lied about Bradley, and she was truly sorry for that. But did Jensen really believe she would pull some kind of shit like asking to go to check on his dad to get out of a wedding where there might be a chance meeting with Bradley?
Never.
“Jensen, really?” she yelled, and everyone in the lobby looked back at her. Alex’s four little friends’ eyes all widened in confusion as her brother rolled his.
“Wren, not here, please. Alex’s friends—”
“No,” she spat back at him as Jensen turned around, looking at her. “I get it, you’re pissed and you have every right to be, but be mad at the right thing. I would never use your dad to get out of something. I love your father, I love you, I wouldn’t do that!”
Jensen looked down before he nodded. “I know.”
She went to argue, but then she paused as her eyes scrunched up. “Then what the hell is going on? Is it Bradley? Please. I don’t want that dude. I want you.”
“Wren, please, the music has started. We gotta go,” Wells urged, and Jensen shrugged.
“We gotta go. We’ll talk later.”
With that, he turned. She didn’t understand. This wasn’t him. He was all about getting things fixed, but now, he was the one running from it. What the hell had happened? When someone reached for her, pulling her back, she looked up to see her father. Her eyes were wide while his hold was soft, pulling her to the back of the room. “Honey, just calm down. Let’s get through this wedding, and then you two can talk.”
“But, Dad, I need to fix this.”
“I understand that, but we have a wedding to do,” he said simply, cupping her face. “It will work out.”
As her gaze held her father’s, she shook her head while her eyes filled with tears. “Guess this all ruins my inheritance, huh?”
His face changed, his eyes narrowing. “What? You’re married before your birthday. I see no problem.”
“Even with everything you just heard?”
He shrugged. “I heard nothing except some asshole who hurt my daughter, but then someone else came along and fixed it all.”
Her lower lip trembled. “I don’t want to lose him.”
“You won’t,” he said confidently. “You won’t give up on something you truly want.”
Meeting her father’s gaze, she nodded slowly, hiccupping a sob as she whispered, “What if he tries to take my baby?”
Her father scoffed. “I wish he’d try. We’d ruin him. All of us.”
Her heart sang, but only for a second before she looked up at her father. “Daddy, why haven’t you brought up the inheritance? Not even once?”
His brows rose as his gaze bored into hers. “Because I never questioned you. I know for a fact that boy loves you, you love him, and that baby is his. I have no questions.”
Her heart did a flip-flop in her chest because, unlike her father, she had a lot of questions, and they all revolved around Jensen. Before she could say anything else though, the music was indeed starting, and the doors opened. Standing in place behind Alex’s man-maids, as he was calling them, she felt like she was about to cry her makeup off again. For so long, she couldn’t fathom that someone like Jensen could love her. And then the moment she accepted it, and believed it deep inside of her, it all came crumbling down on top of her.
But she refused to put up with that.
And she didn’t want to wait.
She needed to fix this.
She loved him.
And damn it, she knew he loved her.
When it was her turn, she walked out, her eyes on the prize. She didn’t look anywhere but at him, standing in all his beautiful glory. When he finally looked at her, she held his gaze as she closed the distance between them before standing beside him, not missing that he tensed up.
“I can’t wait.”
“Wren, stop. After the wedding, I swear we’ll talk.”
“But that’s not okay with me.”
“Wren, dude, shut up,” Vaughn snapped over at her, and she glared.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Jensen whispered at him before looking to her. “I promise, we’ll talk after this.”
“Like you promised you’d never leave me?”
“Wren, I’m not leaving you.”
“Oh, you’re not?” she yelled, louder than she expected to, and when she looked up, Wells shot her a look that killed her dead three times over.
Whoops.
Lowering her voice to a whisper, she muttered, “It sure feels that way.”
Setting her with a look, Jensen shook his head. “Please, we’ll talk.”
As the music changed, Céline Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” blaring through the room, the doors opened once more, and Alex came out in a white suit with diamond-encrusted lapels, but Wren wasn’t paying attention. All she could do was listen to the song. “I could seriously sing this song to you right now,” she said, and Jensen’s eyes widened.
“Please don’t.”
“But I could because I know you don’t think I’ve changed, but I have. I promise you that—because of you. Your love fixed me, it did, and I love you, Jensen. I’d fall apart without you.” His eyes drifted closed as Wells sent her another death glare that she promptly ignored as she started to sing along with the song, taking ahold of Jensen’s hand. When a grin tugged at his lips, her heart sang for him. “I can sing loudly.”
“Stop,” he demanded, shaking her hand out of his. “Not here.”
Pouting, she looked at where Alex was kissing his mom and then his dad before taking Wells’s hands, coming to the altar. She understood that this was neither the time nor the place to try to convince her husband not to leave her, but she didn’t like that she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Yes, he said he wasn’t leaving her, but did he say it because he meant it, or because he just wanted her to shut up?
Reaching out once more, she laced her fingers with his, and when she saw his shoulders fall, so did hers. Was that good or bad? She didn’t know, and when he glanced over at her, she gazed up at him, needing some reassurance. Just a simple squeeze, a kiss on the palm like he always did, or maybe even an actual kiss. Anything, but he just held her gaze, his eyes so damn unsure, and it was killing her. She couldn’t lose him.
The minister began the service. “Alex and Wells’s love story is like the 1996 Céline Dion Falling into You CD as they have told me. And knowing that, I know there is no reason ever to stop a love like this. Yet, I have to ask. Is there anyone here who feels this union should not take place? If so, please speak up at this time.”
Wells was tense, sweat on his brow before he looked back at their dad. But the problem was, he didn’t have to worry about their father.
Nope, he needed to worry about her.
She raised her hand, and Alex’s eyes widened as she said, “See, I don’t think it shouldn’t take place, I was just wondering if we can take, like, an intermission?”
“Wren,” Jensen snapped, and she held her hand up.
“Quick, I can’t do this. Really, it’s killing me—”
“Wren,” Wells said through tight lips. “Are you having a baby?�
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“I don’t think so.”
“Then shut up, and let me do this.” She went to say something, but he snapped his fingers at her. “No.”
She looked to her mom and dad, and they were both glaring at her. Feeling unsure about herself, she snapped her mouth shut as she crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled, “I’d let you ruin my wedding if you needed to fix your marriage.”
“’Cause that makes no sense at all.”
“This wedding is awesome,” Vaughn said then, and the crowd all laughed, while Alex looked as if he was going to have a hissy fit.
“What is the problem?” Alex asked.
“She’s having an issue. It’s fine. Please go on,” Wells said, waving off Alex’s question before taking his hand once more.
“Are you sure?” the minister asked.
“Yes, please,” Wells asked, and she didn’t miss that he was sweating. She couldn’t help but think that Wells didn’t want to do this. But he was doing it, so she really needed to shut up and let him. It just didn’t feel right. Something was off. She wasn’t sure if it was her issue or if it was Wells and Alex, but she had this feeling in her gut that was driving her mad.
“Okay, wonderful. No objection to this beautiful union—”
“Actually, there is.”
The voice was deep.
Very deep, and very sexy.
For a second, she thought it was Jensen, but it wasn’t. When Wren’s gaze fell on the tall, very handsome, dark-haired man with beautiful turquoise eyes who rose from the back row, she gasped loudly as Jensen muttered, “Holy shit.”
As he turned, his eyes wide, Wells’s mouth fell open as his ex-lover, Matty Haverbrooke, made his way down the aisle. Alex’s face flushed with color as he glared at Matty and then at Wells.
“Wells.”
But Wells wasn’t listening as Matty stopped midway, his eyes on Wells. “I’m sorry, I am. And I don’t mean to do this, but I can’t let you marry him.”
“Oh, snap,” Vaughn said before shaking his head. “I knew I should have brought popcorn.”