Thrill of Love

by Melissa Foster

  Nash played the guitar as he and Phillip sang “I Choose You” by Sara Bareilles, singing about how they chose Tempest and they were ready to tell the world they finally got it all right. Ty’s mother had told him that Nash and Phillip had been practicing since the day Nash had proposed.

  Tempest and Ace stood at the entrance to the barn, beneath the silk drapes. Ty moved stealthily, taking pictures of Tempest and their father as they made their way along the rose-petal aisle toward the altar.

  As Nash sang about his whole heart belonging to Tempest, Ty’s camera landed on Aiyla. She looked gorgeous in a short lavender dress and a pair of strappy sandals that showed off her long legs. They’d spent the night at the creek, waking with the sun. After wading in the cool creek and taking more pictures, Aiyla had insisted on taking one more peek through the windows of Beau’s house, and Ty had caught her excitement on film.

  Cole nudged him, motioning toward Tempest and their father, reminding him he was looking at the wrong beautiful woman. Aiyla blew him a kiss as he passed by, and he mouthed, I love you, then swiftly moved off to the side so he could catch pictures of his father kissing Tempest’s cheek as he placed her hand in Nash’s. Tempest had tears in her eyes, but that wide smile that she was known for tugged on Ty’s heartstrings. He was happy for his sister, and equally so for Nash and Phillip. In a few minutes, Tempest would have a new family, a new name. A new forever.

  As she and Nash recited their vows, Ty took more pictures, catching the moment when Phillip, in all his curly-haired glory, held up a black velvet box with their rings in it.

  “Put it on her, Daddy! Make her my mommy,” he said loudly, and everyone laughed, except Tempest, who cried happy tears.

  Ty took pictures of Nash’s mother and her new boyfriend holding hands and his cousins Jillian and Jax and the rest of their family all watching in various stages of joy. Even Jon looked teary-eyed. Ty caught the very moment Tempest and Nash were pronounced man and wife, and the long, steamy kiss that went on so long everyone yelled, “Get a room!”

  Phillip wiggled between them, thrusting his arms up toward Tempest. “My turn, Mama!”

  Tempest swept him into her arms and kissed him. “I love you, sweet boy.”

  “I love you, too, Mama.”

  Nash kissed them both. “My sweet angel, my wife. I adore you.”

  Ty caught the kisses, and hearing the pride in his brother-in-law’s voice unleashed something inside of him. He lowered the camera, his eyes landing on his beautiful Aiyla. The love of his life. She glanced over, and their eyes locked. As everyone cheered and congratulated the happy couple, Ty made his way across the lawn toward her. His heart beat so hard, he was sure she could feel it thrumming in the space between them as he took her hand in his and said, “I want this with you.”

  Her brows knitted. “What? A farmette with a pond?”

  “No. A wedding,” he said, surprising himself as much as her.

  Her eyes widened.

  “I never want to be apart again. I want to know we’re always going to be there for each other. In good times and in bad. Marry me, Aiyla. Be my bride, my wife, my forever.”

  Tears spilled from her eyes. “Ty…?”

  He watched a thousand emotions roll over her face, each one surer than the next that this was right. That they were right. “It’s fate, baby. You know it is. We’re the same adventure-seeking, earth-loving, unstoppable best friends we were in Saint-Luc. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I say the hell with that. We’ve had a lifetime worth of growing fonder. I want more than fondness. I want unyielding, all-consuming, forever love. I want to love you and to make your life so great you’ll never regret a second of our life together.”

  “Ty, pictures, man,” Nate said as he stepped up beside him. He took one look at Aiyla’s tears and scowled at Ty. “Goddamn it. What did you do?”

  “Proposed,” Ty said anxiously, still holding Aiyla’s gaze. She was smiling through her tears, and he was hanging on her every breath, awaiting what he hoped would be a yes.

  “Holy shit,” Nate said under his breath.

  Ty didn’t have to look—couldn’t look away from his future bride—to know Nate was smiling.

  “Baby?” Ty urged.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she nodded. “Yes. Of course, yes!”

  She threw herself into his arms and he spun her around, kissing her as her words played in his mind. Yes. Of course, yes!

  “I love you, baby cakes,” he said. “I have loved you since day one.”

  “You were supposed to be taking pictures, not proposing,” she said giddily. “I love you so much, but no one will ever trust you to take pictures again!”

  “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. You said yes. My proposal days are over.”

  He kissed her again, and as he set her on her feet, he realized the cheers and congratulations sounding out around them were no longer for Tempest and Nash, but for them.

  AIYLA SPENT THE afternoon with her head in the clouds. Nate absconded with the camera, taking pictures of her and Ty, and then of everyone else he claimed Ty had lost sight of. She and Ty sent selfies to Trixie and Cherise with the caption We’re engaged! which spurred long, congratulatory phone calls. As the afternoon turned to early evening and the excitement of the day settled, Aiyla snuck away and called Ms. F to give her their happy news. She was thrilled for them, and even happier to hear that they were hoping to visit her later in the year.

  After the call, Aiyla returned to the party, where Maisy and the girls were sitting on blankets chatting. Tempest sat beside her mother, smiling as she had been all day. Her dress was just as dreamy as she’d described. Jillian and Jax sure knew what they were doing. They’d transformed vintage lace and silk slips into long, delicate layered panels perfect for her bohemian wedding. Retro-inspired moonstone-style beading accented the empire waist, and lace spaghetti straps accentuated Tempest’s natural femininity. She wore baby’s breath in her long blond hair and had gathered it over one shoulder with a simple silk bow. She looked happy and beautiful.

  Maisy tucked a strand of hair behind Tempest’s ear and squeezed her hand. There was nothing like the love between a mother and daughter, and as Aiyla watched them, sadness swallowed her. She turned away and found Ty kneeling before Phillip, showing him how to weave dandelion stems together. Her heart was so full, she felt on the verge of tears again.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” Shannon took her hand and led her toward the blanket with the girls. “You’re going to have a lifetime with my brother. Right now we have something very important to discuss.”

  They sat on the blanket, and Maisy reached for her hand. “Congratulations again, honey. I’m still reeling from Ty’s proposal.”

  “You and I both,” Aiyla admitted. “It was totally unexpected.”

  “They usually are. When love hits, you know.” Maisy glanced across the lawn at Ace and said, “You may not realize this, but Ty is a lot like his father. I know on the outside, Ace looks calm, cool, and collected. But when he sets his sights on something, it’s because he knows it’s exactly what he needs, wants, and must have. Ty is the same way. I know some people think he’s impulsive—”

  “He’s not impulsive, Mom,” Shannon said. “He’s extreme. There’s a difference.”

  Maisy laughed softly. “Yes, sweet impulsive daughter of mine whom I love to the ends of the earth. If you’d have let me finish my sentence, you’d have heard my explanation. Shannon is spontaneous. She’s not afraid to make quick decisions led by her heart. And I love that about her. Tempe,” she said, eyeing her daughter, “is more cautious, and will think through the ramifications of every little thing. But when she makes a decision, she’s as sure as a person can be. And Ty is a mix of both. Extreme is the perfect way to describe him. He’s intense and doesn’t do anything halfway. When he fell in love with you, you changed him for the better. He’s more focused and driven than ever. And this proposal was his way of telling the worl
d—telling his family—that you are now his entire universe.”

  If she had any worries about his family being upset over Ty’s quick proposal or his proposing during Tempest’s wedding, they were all laid to rest at that very moment as Maisy pulled her into her arms and embraced her, drawing more tears.

  “Honey,” Maisy said, “there’s no pressure for setting a wedding date, but we want you to know that we are happy to go to wherever your sister is for the wedding, if you’d rather have it there. Or we’ll fly her family in. We don’t want you to feel any pressure from our mad clan to have the wedding here.”

  “Thank you. We haven’t gotten that far yet. We’re still in the floating-in-the-clouds stage.”

  “Well, when you come back down to earth, I hope you’ll let me and Jax make your dress!” Jillian chimed in. Energy radiated off Ty’s petite, burgundy-haired, effervescent cousin. She was the complete opposite of her brawny, blond, reserved twin, Jax. “No charge, of course. It’ll be our wedding present to you and Ty.”

  “Oh my gosh. Really?” She looked around at the girls, who were all nodding. “How can I say no to that? Thank you.”

  The girls immediately launched into a discussion about wedding dresses. Wedding dresses! Was she really getting married? As the girls talked, Aiyla caught sight of Ty heading her way. Her pulse quickened like a jackrabbit. He looked handsome in his dark slacks and button-down shirt. She’d never seen him dressed up, and as gorgeous as he looked in his dress clothes, she still wanted to tear them right off of him. She felt her cheeks burn and shifted her eyes away from her hunky fiancé to his brothers and Nash, who were following him over. Sam carried a guitar in each hand.

  Fiancé. She loved the sound of that.

  Ace and Steve approached from the other side of the yard.

  “We’re surrounded,” Maisy said. “What is going on?”

  “We finally figured out why you and Dad made us learn to play instruments.” Sam handed one guitar to Ty, and the two of them began playing “Amazed,” by Lonestar.

  While the men each sang to their significant other, Ty’s cousins and the rest of their family and friends gathered around. Nash lifted Phillip into his arms as he serenaded his new wife.

  Aiyla’s heart swelled at the show of love. As Ty sang about the smell of her skin and the taste of her kiss, it didn’t matter that this was a group serenade. She knew he meant every word just for her.

  When they finished singing, Ty gathered her in his arms and said, “I love you.”

  Beau took the guitar from Ty, and Nick reached for Sam’s.

  “Dance with your girls,” Beau said. “We’ve got this.”

  Beau and Nick began singing a country song Aiyla wasn’t familiar with, but it didn’t matter. She was in Ty’s arms, his heart beating against hers, as he gazed deeply into her eyes, and everyone else—every other thought—disappeared.

  Chapter Seventeen

  SUNDAY ARRIVED WITH a flurry of activity. Phillip was staying with Maisy and Ace while Nash and Tempest were on their honeymoon, and the little guy was up at the crack of dawn. He and Papa Ace had gone to feed the animals at Phillip’s house, and when they came back, they made pancakes for everyone. Ty suggested they go for a sail, and several hours later, as the afternoon sun smiled down on them, he stood between his father and Steve near the cabin of their boat, where his mother and Phillip had gone in search of fruit. Ty watched Aiyla as she lay sunbathing on the deck with Shannon, and his mind drifted back to last night. After he’d proposed, Sam had told him about a custom jeweler named Sterling Silver, who made jewelry based on people’s personalities and their lives. This morning, while Aiyla had showered, he’d called Sterling and discussed the design for Aiyla’s ring. Sterling usually spent weeks getting to know the person he was making the jewelry for, but in this case Ty already knew exactly what he wanted. He couldn’t wait to put a ring on Aiyla’s finger so she would know that she’d never be alone again.

  Aiyla laughed, pulling him from his reverie. She looked fresh as the summer sun. There was no better view than his beautiful fiancée in a skimpy, sky-blue polka-dot bikini, with her hair fanned out around her face and the sweetest hint of a smile on her pretty lips.

  “You’re liable to burn her image into your brain that way,” Maisy said as she came up from the cabin with Phillip. Her blond hair was tied back in a thick ponytail, and Phillip’s mop of dark spiral curls whipped in the wind as he bit into an apple.

  “Who’s gonna burn Uncle Ty’s bwain?” Phillip asked, his dark eyes as serious as a boy’s could get. He still had trouble with his r’s.

  Maisy sat down and pulled Phillip onto her lap. “Nothing is going to burn Uncle Ty’s brain. I was teasing him because he’s staring at Aiyla. Uncle Ty thinks she’s beautiful.”

  “My daddy does the same thing to my mom,” Phillip said. “Sometimes, when Mommy is playing her guitar, I have to do this to my dad so he’ll hear me.” He pressed his little nose against Maisy’s and said, “Then he hears me.”

  Ty laughed. “As you get older, you’ll learn that women have strange powers. They can change your world.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Steve said, eyeing Shannon with an appreciative gaze. “Shannon’s made my life infinitely better. Louder and more complicated, but definitely better.”

  “Shannon’s a trip,” Ty said. “I’m glad she and Aiyla are getting along so well. But I think I need to intervene and find out what kind of lies my sister is spreading about me.”

  “You shouldn’t lie,” Phillip chimed in. “It’s bad.”

  “You’re right, buddy.” Ty crouched before him, taking in his curious brown eyes and pure innocence. “See that girl down there?”

  Phillip looked at Shannon and Aiyla. “Two girls.”

  Maisy patted his shoulder. “That’s right, smarty-pants.”

  “Aiyla’s going to be your auntie someday soon.” As Ty said the words, his heart filled up even more, and his mind traveled to Aiyla’s other nephews. He suddenly wanted to meet them even more than he had before. He’d grown up with so many cousins and siblings, and he wanted that for Phillip and, he realized, for his and Aiyla’s future children.

  The realization hit him with such force, he momentarily lost his train of thought.

  “Can I carry the wings at your wedding, too?” Phillip asked, bringing Ty’s mind back to the moment.

  “You know what, buddy? We have two other little boys who also might want to help. I think we’ll be able to find jobs for all three of you.” He pushed to his feet, still stuck on his thoughts about having a family. Not now, and maybe not in the next few years, because they had a lot of traveling to do. But one day he definitely wanted a family with Aiyla.

  Steve slung an arm over Ty’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go crash the hen party. I’m in need of some make-out time with my girl.”

  “Dude, she’s still my sister,” Ty said as they headed toward the girls.

  “And she’s almost my wife.”

  Ty recognized the pride in Steve’s voice. It was exactly the same way he felt about marrying Aiyla.

  AIYLA HEARD TY and Steve talking and her pulse kicked up. She felt Shannon’s finger touch hers, as if to say, Shh, here they come. She’d told Shannon about the day she’d first met Ty, and the way his smile and his sexy smart-ass comments had drawn her in, and how his beautiful, mischievous eyes had held her captive for the next five days. Shannon had asked a million questions, and it had allowed Aiyla to relive every happy moment she and Ty had shared in Saint-Luc. Shannon told her about when she and Steve had first gotten together. They’d known each other for years, and she’d had a crush on him forever. Aiyla wished she’d known Ty that long. She’d love to have that much history with him, and to have seen him changing as he grew up. But part of her wondered if they’d have been best friends when they were younger, and if that friendship would have grown to what they had now, or if he’d needed to sow those wild oats of his in order to be ready to give their rela
tionship his all.

  She squinted up at Ty as he dropped to his hands and knees and perched above her. His hair was tousled and shaded his eyes. His skin glistened with the sheen of a new tan, accentuating his athletic arms. He had such a playful look in his eyes, it was easy to imagine what he must have been like as a rambunctious teenager. She knew she would have fallen hard for him at any age. At that moment, as he gazed into her eyes, she was still falling deeper in love with him—even as she became aware of the precarious position in which he had her trapped.

  “Ty,” she said softly. “Your parents are right there.”

  “And I’m right here.” He touched his lips to hers. “What kind of lies is Shannon telling you about me?”

  “Oh, please,” Shannon said. “Girl code.” She sat up and handed the bottle of suntan lotion to Steve. “Would you mind doing my back?”

  “Baby, I never mind doing any part of you.” Steve leaned in for a kiss.

  “Christ, Johnson,” Ty said. “Sister, remember?”

  Aiyla laughed. What was it like to have overprotective brothers like Ty? She had a feeling she would have been a lot like Shannon, strong and determined to be autonomous. But Shannon didn’t fool Aiyla. Even with her eye rolls and snappy comments, the admiration she had for her older siblings was obvious.

  She glanced at Shannon and Steve as Steve put lotion on her back. They were leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, and Aiyla would miss them. She felt a sisterly kinship to Shannon. But they lived less than an hour from her apartment in Colorado, and she took comfort in knowing she could see them when she was there.