“You slept with my sister!” Wyatt manages to break free of Declan. “Now you’re going to fucking pay!”
His fist cracks against Jude’s beautiful face, and as he connects, blood spurts out of Jude’s nose and covers my dress. He crumples back onto the floor like a rag doll.
“Ah, scratch that part about canceling the ambulance!” Gigi calls out. “I think we’re gonna need it after all.”
23
Jude
When my eyes finally open, I’m disoriented. Bright lights shine down on me, and for just a second, I think that I’m laying on the football field, and that the stadium lights are blasting over me. Every inch of me aches, the likely after math of one hell of a hit. But then, I see her, and the events of today all come flooding back to me.
Willow looks like a fucking angel, although, one who’s walked through hell and back to be by my side. Her beautiful white dress is crumpled and covered in blood. Her hair that had been perfectly twisted on the top of her head is now haphazardly falling down her back, and her mascara is smeared all around her eyes.
Even still, she’s the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. And as she stares down at me, despite the shitty situation that I’ve put us in, I can’t help but smile.
“Willow.” My voice is hardly above a croak, but at the sound of it, her tension lifts.
“Jesus, Jude.” She mutters, cradling my face in her hands, as tears run down her face. “I thought that you were dead.”
I force myself to sit up, even though as I do, my head fucking throbs. Wyatt has one hell of a punch. If I ever have to write a memoir on my now ex best friend, I’ll make sure to include that. I’m still inside of the church, still in the middle of the aisle. I have no idea how long I’ve been here, but for the most part, the church has basically cleared out. Gigi paces right behind Willow, and Wyatt is nowhere in sight. Thank fucking God for that. I have no doubt that if he were here right now, he’d try to finish the job.
I deserve it, after all.
“The ambulance should be here any second, Juju.” Gigi looks frazzled, not that I can blame her. The scene that she had to witness today was a bit much for my crew of ladies to handle. I’m sure they’re all worried sick right now. “Just hang on, honey. We’ll get you to the hospital here real soon. I can already hear the sirens.”
“I’m not going to the hospital.” I manage to climb to my feet on shaky legs. “I’m fine, Gigi. I got what I had coming to me.”
“Jude.” She stares at me hard, leveling her eyes with mine. “You were just unconscious, and you’re bleeding like a stuffed pig. You’re going to the hospital. It’s not open for discussion.”
I completely ignore her, turning my attention to Willow. Now that I’m alert and on my feet, she looks less panicked. In fact, now, anger has taken over the fear that just moments ago, filled her eyes.
“You crashed my wedding, asshole.” Her eyes narrow. “And you made an entire church believe that I was cheating on my fiancé with you. As if that wasn’t bad enough, you called my groom out and accused him of cheating on me. My parents were here and heard you. And Wyatt…”
“I’m not sorry.” The taste of blood fills my mouth. I move my tongue around to make sure that all of my teeth are still intact, and once I’m certain that they are, I rub my sleeve across my lip to soak up the rest of the blood dripping from it. “If you’re looking for an apology, you’re not going to get it. I’m glad that I crashed your wedding, Willow. I just stopped you from making the biggest mistake of your life.”
“My biggest mistake is debatable right now.” Her arms cross and her eyes narrow on mine. “I’ll be the one who decides what that entails.”
I ignore her, grabbing ahold of her and pulling her into me. She still looks pissed, but to my surprise, she doesn’t resist me at all.
“I thought that I could sit here and watch you marry someone else, Willow, but as it turns out, I couldn’t.”
“You don’t say.” She interrupts, rolling her eyes. Through her sadness and anger, she still has her spark. And the second that I see it, my entire body relaxes.
“I love you, Willow, and I’m done trying to fight it. I know that I don’t deserve you, baby, but I promise you, that no one will ever love you the way that I do. If you’ll let me, I mean, if you are willing to just give me a chance here, I’ll show you. I’ll prove to you that no one on this earth can make you happier than I can. I’ll do anything for a chance.”
“Why should I believe that?” Even though her eyes are angry, her body sinks further against mine. Even as blood continues to drip from my mouth and from my nose, she moves closer to me, her eyes boring into mine, trying to find the truth.
“You don’t have to believe anything right now. Just give me the chance to prove it to you. I promise, my actions will show you how much you mean to me. And you will wake up every morning knowing how much I love you, and you’ll go to sleep every night assured of it. I’d do anything for you. I just need one chance.”
“But I thought that you weren’t a relationship kind of guy. At least, that’s…”
“I did say that.” Our eyes lock. “But I also lied through my teeth when I told you that. I’ve wanted you to be mine since the first moment that I laid eyes on you, Willow Anderson. No amount of time has changed that. If anything, that feeling has only grown. I want you, and only you, until the day that I die…”
“Which might be today, asshat, if you don’t go to the hospital. The ambulance is here now.” Gigi interrupts us, and as she does, Willow’s face softens. She leans up against me, pressing her lips to mine and kissing me hard. I fall into her. Like, literally. I’m way too tipsy right now from the ass beating that I took here in this church to stay upright on my own.
“How can I say no to that?” Willow holds me steady, forcing me to sit back down. “I fucking love you, Jude Masters. Even though you drive me crazy, I still love you. Even though you crashed my wedding, I still love you. Your chance has been granted. And now, you’re taking a trip to the hospital to get this head of yours checked out.”
“Good, because now that I’ve crashed your wedding, I have every intention of crashing the rest of your life.” I wink at her, as two paramedics rush me, lifting me quickly and placing me on a stretcher.
Willow grabs a hold of my hand, not letting go until we’re loaded into the back of the ambulance.
“What exactly happened today?” The paramedic glances at Willow, as I start to fade back in and out of unconsciousness.
“He crashed my wedding.” I hear Willow inform him. “And not everyone in the church was happy about it.”
That’s an understatement.
“I can understand that.” The paramedic tells her. “A woman’s wedding day is an event that shouldn’t be messed around with.”
“The next one will go much smoother.” I croak. “That’ll be the one where you marry me. Hopefully no jackasses like me show up to try to ruin that one.”
“Yeah.” Willow’s voice is laced with sarcasm. If I could open my eyes right now, I’d probably find her rolling hers. Even still, she squeezes my hand, letting me know that she’s still here, and still with me.
“Let’s hope, hot shot.”
Epilogue
Willow
Nervous anticipation rushes through me. A blindfold is slipped over my eyes from behind me. I can’t see who is standing there, but I already know that it’s Jude. My body can sense his presence from a mile away.
He dips his head next to mine, and then, he whispers into my ear, causing a rush of need for him to course through my body. It’s an all too familiar feeling, that only the man standing behind me can satisfy.
My husband.
That title makes me giddy, the idea that he is literally now mine forever, is the best fucking possible feeling. The Jude Masters has officially met his match. Sorry ladies. I’ve got the ring and the last name to prove it.
“Are you ready for your surprise, baby?” His words cause
every hair on my body to stand on end. I normally hate surprises, but with Jude, it seems like every day is a surprise anyways, so I’m getting used to it.
The last year has been pure and utter bliss. After we got through the initial shock of everything that happened, and didn’t happen (like my wedding), Jude and I set out to make a future together that we can call our own. And what a fucking ride it has been.
About a month after the debacle that was my original wedding day, I moved out of Wyatt’s house and in with Jude. My brother wasn’t happy about any of it, but most of that was because he was still so pissed off at Jude. Their relationship is still mending, but Wyatt is more understanding now, especially since my brother has slowly begun to change his own ways. Love has a funny way of doing that to a person. Lost love, even more so.
Together, Jude and I have fought his demons. Actually, we’ve slayed them. That’s a much better way to put it. Why he thought that he didn’t deserve me, I’ll never quite understand. To be honest, most days it feels like I’m the one undeserving of him. The man has the biggest heart that I’ve ever had the pleasure of falling in love with, and he never lets a moment pass without letting me know that I own it. It didn’t take long for him to put a ring on my finger, but unlike the first time, I didn’t want to make the mistake of rushing things. If Jude would have had it his way, we would have been married over the summer. Instead, I chose to wait it out, through the football season, just to make sure that things were headed in the right direction. Now, here we are, exactly one week after the Saints just won the Superbowl, and now I am winning my trophy, in the form of my husband, the absolute love of my life.
“This is all for you, Willow.” He runs his nose down my neck, and then, I feel him move away from me. The room is so silent, that you could hear a pin drop. It’s amazing to think that there are at least three hundred people sitting behind me right now. I guess everyone is quietly waiting for the show that is no doubt, about to begin.
The bass booms, and then, as the lights on the dance floor shine down, my mask is pulled off of my face. It’s only then that I see Jude standing in front of me, with a wicked gleam in his eye, and that damned old smirk on his face. He winks at me one last time, and then, the music blasts behind him. ‘Good Kisser’ by Usher booms, and then, my husband’s hips jerk.
The ladies in the crowd behind me go absolutely nuts. I want to roll my eyes here, but dammit, I just can’t. They’re too frozen and fixed on the man in front of me.
I’ll give it to him, the man can dance. And since he’s amazing in bed, it only makes sense that he’s the king of the dance floor, right?
He slides on his knees, stopping right in front of me, before hopping up, and placing one foot on my chair, trailing his finger underneath my chin all while thrusting his hips towards me. Jude’s elderly ladies hoot and holler, and then out of nowhere, a handful of dollar bills are thrown out on the dance floor. My head falls back, and I laugh. This is absolutely epic.
He backs up from me, and then starts messing with the buttons of his shirt. I worry for just a second that he’s going to actually strip at our wedding reception, but he stops about halfway down, and his smirk only widens as boos erupt from our guests. The dance continues, moving into a different song, to which Jude doesn’t even miss a beat. I watch him in awe until the music finally fades away, and my hand is back in his, as a slow song takes over and he pulls me into his arms.
The lights dim, and he holds me tightly.
“Did you enjoy the show, baby? I worked on that routine forever, by the way.”
“I did.” My head falls back, and I stare up at the man who will forever have my heart. “But I would have enjoyed it more in private. I would have liked to see you strip.”
“Mrs. Masters.” He feigns shock, which only makes me smile. “You are a dirty girl.”
“Yes, I am.” The wicked gleam in my eyes matches his. “But only for you, Jude. Only ever for you.”
Jude
This is a horrible idea. Usually, I stand back and let Willow run the show, but this time, I have to step in. Her latest scheme is absolutely insane.
“I think that you’re being a bit dramatic, don’t you?” Secretly, I love when she challenges me like this, but I’ll never let her know that. Once she figures that out, I will officially lose every fight from here to eternity. That my friends, just cannot happen.
“I mean, seriously, Jude. You’re acting as if I’m asking you to move to Antarctica, instead of here.” As she motions around, my frown only deepens. This shit is not happening.
“Willow.” I cross my own arms and match her stare. “There is no way in hell that this is happening. So, wrap your mind around that now, babes, because I’m shutting this down.”
She glances over her shoulder, at the architect who is pacing nervously about five feet away. He looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here, not that I can blame the guy. The second that Willow hit me with this today, my arms started flapping wildly and I about had an aneurysm. She may have officially lost her mind.
“What’s wrong with this spot, anyways? It’s perfect, and you already own the property. It just seems ridiculous that you would consider spending more money, to buy more property, when this is the most beautiful spot in town.”
What’s wrong with this spot? Let me sit back and count the ways. Number one, twenty elderly women, crazy fucking women at that, live on this property already. Building our new house here will only welcome more of their shenanigans, and frankly, sometimes I just need a break. A break that I would never get living here.
I shudder at the idea of drinking my morning coffee on the porch that I envision, only to have the scenery disrupted as Martha streaks across the yard. Hell to the no.
“Think of all of the help that we’d have with our kids, babe.” Now she’s really playing me. She’s batting her eyelashes at me and staring up at me with her wide, beautiful eyes. The same eyes that I dream about our future children having. She’s getting me where it hurts and that is dirty.
“Think about us trying to make those kids, Willow, only to be interrupted by Martha chasing Jose around the yard topless. Because that’s a real fear here, babe. That actually might happen.”
A smirk tugs at the corner of her lip, and when her eyes meet mine, I see the dominance swimming there. She’s about to tie me down to this. She’s about to get her way.
“It’s going to take a while to build our new home. So, if you’re worried about the women interrupting our baby making, I suppose we would have to start that now. That way, we wouldn’t have to worry about it. We’d already have a bun in the oven, and your argument against this would then be invalid.”
I can feel my jaw drop open, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m at a loss for words. Since even before the wedding, I’ve been ready to get us rolling on the baby train. I’ve even joked with Willow that I was going to replace her birth control pills with candy when she wasn’t paying attention. Obviously, I wouldn’t actually do that, but I am very serious about starting a family with her.
The second she became mine, my entire world fell into place, and starting a family with her seemed like the most basic next step. But for her, the timing wasn’t right, and she’s been very adamant that she didn’t want to try until she was in the last year of her residency. For a guy like me, who’s aching to have a child of my own with the woman that I love, two years seems like forever away.
So the fact that Willow is even using a baby as leverage here is shocking. I mean, does this mean that she’s ready to take the next step?
“Willow…” I stare down at her, trying to read the truth in her eyes. As I do, I’m immediately blown away.
“Baby, if you’re serious right now, well, fuck. I’d say yes to just about anything, and you know that.”
“I’m ready, Jude.” A smile explodes on her face at the same time that my heart nearly bursts in my chest. “I know how much it means to you, and your excitement about it has
gotten me excited for it. I know the timing isn’t great for me, but honestly, the timing never will be. Once I finish my residency, I’m going to start a career. The timing wouldn’t be great then either, so it just seems like, why wait? There’s nothing that I want more than to make you happy. I’d basically do anything that you asked me to. So, if you’re ready, then so am I. And what better place to bring a child into the world than here? Surrounded by all twenty grandmothers.”
This is the part where she almost loses me, but at the same time, I get it. Bringing a new life into the world here would be great, and it just might be what the women need to bring things down a notch. It actually might make things here better. I suppose that only time will tell on that one.
“Ok.” I nod almost immediately. “We can build here. I’m totally down with that idea.”
Willow squeals and claps her hands, right before jumping into my arms and wrapping hers tightly around me.
“I’m so excited. We are going to have the best morning view, ever.” As she beams at the lake in front of us, I just simply stare at her.
“Yeah.” I tell her honestly, taking in every inch of her beauty. “But I already have the best view of them all. Waking up to you is the only view that I could ever need.”
I never imagined myself having a happy ending. I certainly never imagined that it would be with Willow. But as it turns out, even guys like me can win in the end.
Willow will always be the greatest prize in the world, and regardless of where this life takes us, as long as I have her by my side, all will be right in the world.
* * *
The end.
Hard Pass
No Touch Zone (Saints of Love Book 2) Page 16