Mine.
“A baby.” I chuckled. “I’m going to be a dad.”
Amber just smiled.
I stood and held out a hand to her. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Those words just felt right—Amber, home. Suddenly, they were the same thing to me, in more than just one way.
Present
December
“Are you nervous?” Drake asked as he buttoned up his dark green shirt.
I shook my head and stared at myself in the mirror. My shirt was identical to Drake’s, except that mine was red. Amber really had stuck to the Christmas theme for our wedding. The girls were all wearing green dresses. The men were all in khakis and green shirts. I had a feeling that Amber’s dress would have at least a little red on it.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“You sure? I’d be nervous as fuck if it were me,” Drake said.
I shrugged. “I thought I would be, but I’m not. This is the final step in my new life, you know? I’m not scared or nervous. I’m excited.”
He clapped me on the back as Logan and Eric walked into the room.
“Good. Let’s get this party started then.”
“We’re ready out there if you are,” Eric said.
“Let’s do this.” I walked past them and out the door.
None of us spoke as we walked out of my house and down the path leading to the beach. When the beach came into view, I smiled. Amber had really outdone herself with the decorations. Even though we were getting married on the beach, she’d made sure to keep the Christmas theme out here. The archway we would stand under was decorated with white lights and mistletoes. The combination had sounded ridiculous, especially out on the beach, but Amber had insisted that she could make it look good. And she had. In addition to that, two fully decorated miniature Christmas trees were on both sides of the archway.
The only thing I’d put my foot down on was the fact that she wanted to have only Christmas music playing in the background. I couldn’t handle that. We’d finally agreed to meet in the middle, mixing Christmas carols with some of our favorite bands. The poor DJ I’d hired probably thought we were all on crack. But what did he care? He was getting paid double to work on Christmas Day.
Our wedding cake was interesting as well. She’d gone with a traditional three-tier cake, but she’d added gingerbread men around the edges. Each tier was decorated with holly and a red or green bow. Again, I hadn’t thought it would look right, but she’d described exactly how she wanted it to the decorator, and the cake had come out perfect.
She’d wanted to set up a table out on the beach for the cake, but I’d talked her into keeping it in the house. I didn’t really want to eat sand with my cake.
The guys followed me down the beach to the archway. They sat down in the chairs we’d put out as we waited for the call saying that Amber and the girls were ready. Amber and I had wanted a small wedding, and that was what we’d gotten. Besides the band, Chloe, Bethaney, and Logan, the only other guests were Amber’s mom and dad. Since there were so few of us, we’d decided that once everyone walked down, the only two to remain standing would be Drake and Chloe. Everyone else would sit in the chairs.
The preacher was already waiting, and I walked over to him. We shook hands and briefly greeted each other. He seemed like a good guy, especially since he’d agreed to marry us on Christmas. Most people would have said no.
Drake’s phone chirped, and he looked down at it. “The girls are ready. Let’s do this.”
The guys nodded at me before walking back to where the trail ended and the beach began. Once they were situated, the preacher and I took our positions. The DJ started playing the music.
I took a deep breath as Eric and Bethaney slowly made their way down the beach. When they were halfway across the beach, Logan and Jade started walking. Eric and Bethaney reached me and parted ways. Soon after, Logan and Jade did the same. Next came Drake and Chloe.
Once they were situated, Amber’s mother started walking toward us with Gabby in her arms. My beautiful baby girl was in a green dress, just like the rest of the girls. When Gabby neared me, she held out her hands for me to take her. Amber’s mother would have none of that. Instead, she stopped long enough for me to kiss Gabby on the forehead before sitting down. Gabby played with the bottom of her dress with a huge grin on her face.
Drake cleared his throat, and I looked up. I stilled as I caught sight of Amber for the first time in her wedding dress. She walked alongside her father with her arm tucked into his. As she moved closer, the whole world stopped. Our eyes locked, and for a few precious seconds, it felt like we were the only two people in the world.
She looked beautiful in the floor-length white dress. It was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline. I was right about her dress. A strip of red was around the waist. The skirt of the dress was slit, and I could see the underneath layer was red.
Her hair was piled on top of her head in a mass of curls. A few strands hung loosely around her face. Her makeup was soft and natural-looking. I’d never seen her look more beautiful.
Her father walked her down to where I was standing and stopped. Amber smiled at me.
The preacher finally spoke, “Who gives this bride away today?”
“Her mother and I do,” her father said.
I looked at him, surprised to see tears in his eyes.
He stepped forward and placed Amber’s hand in mine. I gently squeezed it. I was surprised when I felt her hand shaking a bit.
“You okay?” I whispered.
Her father and everyone else but Chloe and Drake took their seats.
“I’m good. I’m just nervous,” she whispered back.
“Don’t be,” I said as we turned to face the preacher.
“Before we begin, does anyone have any reason these two should not be joined in holy matrimony?” he asked.
When no one spoke up, he continued, “All right then. We are gathered here today to join Adam and Amber in marriage. I’ve spoken to this couple only a handful of times, but even I can see how much love and affection they have for each other.” He smiled. “Now, let’s begin.”
“Finally,” I mumbled, unable to hide my grin.
The preacher laughed. “Adam, please face your bride and repeat after me.”
I turned toward Amber and smiled down at her.
“I, Adam, take thee, Amber, to be my wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you forevermore,” he recited.
I carefully repeated each word, my eyes never leaving Amber’s. “I, Adam, take thee, Amber, to be my wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you forevermore.”
He looked at Amber. “Amber, repeat after me.”
I listened as he and then Amber repeated the same words I’d said only moments before.
“Can we have the rings, please?” the preacher asked.
Drake stepped forward and handed them to me. Amber took my ring and tightly clutched it in her hand.
“Adam, place the ring on Amber’s finger.” I took her hand in mine and slowly slid the ring onto her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee honor, and all my worldly goods, with thee, I share. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
I repeated the words.
“All right, Amber, it’s your turn. Please place the ring on Adam’s finger.”
Amber slid the ring onto my finger, her hands still shaking slightly.
The preacher said the same words as before.
“With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee honor, and all my worldly goods, with thee, I share. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” Amber said softly.
There was a brief pause before the preacher spoke again, “By the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Before he finis
hed speaking, I had Amber in my arms. I kissed her so passionately that I was worried for a split second that we might just make another baby right here in front of everyone. Wolf whistles ensued as I continued to kiss her for far longer than necessary.
Finally, I pulled away. “You look beautiful today, wife. I’m not sure if I’ve told you that or not.”
She smiled. “You look pretty good yourself, husband.”
We turned and faced everyone as husband and wife for the first time. Our friends and family stood and started clapping. Amber’s mom carried Gabriella up to us and placed her in Amber’s arm. I wrapped my arm around Amber and pulled both of them close. I kissed Amber’s forehead before leaning down and kissing Gabby, too.
My life, my soul, my everything—that was what these two were to me. Life had thrown so much in our path, but it hadn’t mattered. In the end, Amber and I had found happiness with each other.
Want to read more by K.A. Robinson?
Click here: http://bit.ly/1iKUVbz
Other titles by K.A. Robinson
Torn Series:
Torn
Twisted
Tainted
Toxic: Logan’s Story (Standalone)
Tamed (Standalone)
Adam: A Torn Series Novella
Ties Series:
Shattered Ties
Twisted Ties
Deception Series:
Deception
Retribution (Coming Spring 2015)
Standalones:
Breaking Alexandria
Taming Alec: A Novella
Steam
The Consequences of Sin
About the author:
K.A. Robinson is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of the Torn Series, Ties Series, Breaking Alexandria, Taming Alec, and Deception. She lives in West Virginia with her husband and toddler son.
Links:
www.facebook.com/karobinson13
www.tsu.co/KARobinson
www.twitter.com/karobinsonautho
Mailing list: http://bit.ly/18Ec6X7
Contents
Adam
Copyright
A Note To Readers
Prologue
Past
Present
Past
Present
Past
Present
Past
Past
Present
Want More?
Other titles by K.A. Robinson
About the author
Table of Contents
Adam
Copyright
A Note To Readers
Prologue
Past
Present
Past
Present
Past
Present
Past
Past
Present
Want More?
Other titles by K.A. Robinson
About the author
Adam Page 8