He nodded firmly. “As soon as we can. I’d marry you tonight if I could.” He hesitated. “If that’s what you want. If you want to marry me.”
“I do, Adam. More than ever.”
He tugged on my hand and slipped the ring onto my finger. “Then wear this. We’ll face them together with you wearing my ring.”
We looked down at the shining symbol of his love. “It’s perfect,” I whispered.
“It’s not as, ah, showy as…” Adam’s voice trailed off.
“I don’t want showy. I was never comfortable with that one.” I rubbed my finger over the surface of the gold. “I would pick this ring over any other ring in the world.”
“Ally,” His voice was nervous—a tone I wasn’t used to hearing from Adam. I looked up into his anxious gaze.
“Did you know, hundreds of years ago—even longer—a marriage was a simple exchange of vows between two people? No pomp or ceremony. No other guests. It was a private exchange.”
My breath caught in my throat. “No.”
He nodded. “I’ll marry you anywhere you want. Maybe, though, you’d like to start with us? Today?”
My heart soared with his words. “Yes,” I whispered. “Us.”
He sat up straighter and gathered my hands between his. “Alexandra Robbins, I promise to love and honor you every day for the rest of my life. I will protect and cherish you and put you above all else. I give you my heart, my soul, and my life. I take you as my wife. Right here, right now, for as long as we live.”
My voice shook. “Adam Kincaid, I promise to love you all my days. Nothing will separate us again. I give you my heart, and my love. I give you me.” I swallowed as a tear ran down his cheek, my own spilling. “I take you as my beloved husband. Always.”
Our lips met in the sweetest of kisses. Love, adoration and a promise of forever was in our shared caress. He crushed me to him as he kissed me, his mouth possessive and gentle at the same time. When we pulled back, his smile was brilliant, his eyes filled with love.
“You’re mine.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll do this in a more traditional way as soon as we can. But as of now, we’re married.”
Married. I belonged to him. With him. And he belonged to me.
“No one can take you away now,” I murmured.
“No.”
I looked down, frowning. “You don’t have a ring.”
He grinned at me. “You want to mark me as taken?”
I nodded, then gasped. “Wait!” I scrambled off the bed. “Don’t go anywhere!”
Adam chuckled. “Already issuing orders.”
I grabbed my bag and found my nightingale box, bringing it back to the bed where he sat, looking mystified. I opened the small pouch I had added and held up a thick silver band carved with Celtic symbols. At his quizzical look, I explained. “It was Theo’s—aside from his wedding ring, it was the only piece of jewelry he ever wore. He wore it on his right hand. Elena wore his wedding ring around her neck, but she gave this to me and I tucked it away—it was in the box. She said I might need it one day.”
Adam laughed low. “Crafty old bat. She always knew.”
He held out his hand and I slipped on the ring, and we grinned when he declared it a perfect fit. “I’ll wear it until Mr. Freedman has the other one ready and then I’ll wear it on my right hand, like Theo did.” His voice caught. “I’m proud to wear something that meant so much to Elena. To carry a piece of her life with me.”
“She’d love knowing you had it and used it for a wedding band—even if it’s temporary.”
He pulled me close. “She would.”
We were quiet for a minute.
“You feeling brave enough to do this now, my wife?”
His words filled me with joy. “Yes. Let’s do this and move on.”
—
The slightest hope that somehow Bradley had been an unknowing part of this entire mess died the instant I opened the door.
“Jesus, Alexandra. What the fuck is this all about? You’re not answering your phone, you tell me to come here…” His voice trailed off as he saw Adam standing behind me. “Fuck.”
“Fuck you, asshole,” Adam mocked him, his grip tightening. I knew he wanted to hit Bradley, but that would get us nowhere, and I wanted some answers.
Bradley’s shoulders dropped, and without another word, he walked in. We stood in the living room, all staring and silent. Adam was tense, his hands holding me close as if he was afraid I would disappear. Bradley’s normally easy confidence was shaken and he fidgeted and shifted his weight.
Finally, I spoke up. “Why, Bradley?”
He stared at me as if I was dense. “I’ve been in love with you since the day I met you, Alexandra.”
I shook my head at his matter-of-fact tone. As if that made everything he did all right.
“I didn’t love you, though. I told you that over and again. You knew I was in love with Adam. Why would you do this? It’s almost criminal!”
“I tried everything else. I thought if I gave you time and space you’d come to your senses. I even pretended to date other women to get you to agree to my idea. When I convinced you to pretend in front of Sarah and Ronald, I thought we were finally on our way to being a couple.” He sneered at Adam. “Until you met him.”
“So sorry to have fucked up all your plans,” jeered Adam. “How inconvenient for you. When you couldn’t have her, you decided to manipulate her? That’s how you think love works?”
“You’re such a sanctimonious bastard, aren’t you?” Bradley spat, the temper people rarely saw breaking through. Bradley covered it well, but it was there and I had seen it on occasion.
Adam shrugged. “Think what you want. Your opinion doesn’t matter to me. Only hers does.”
Bradley glowered at us. “I’m not so sure her opinion is exactly reliable these days.”
“Bastard,” Adam roared, and moved so fast I had no time to react. His fist shot out, slamming into Bradley’s jaw, while his other hand rammed into his stomach. Bradley fell to the floor, gasping.
Adam stood over him, panting. “Don’t you fucking dare say another derogatory word about her. Not one fucking word, you hear me?”
“Adam!” I pleaded, my hands clutching my head. “Stop!”
He looked up, his stance relaxing, and he stepped away from Bradley. “Don’t you say shit about her. You haven’t helped the situation with her memory—feeding her lies all the time.”
Bradley slowly got to his feet, holding his stomach. “I guess I can’t argue with that.” He rubbed his jaw. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”
Adam huffed. “You deserve worse.”
Bradley eased himself down on the sofa, his gaze finding mine. “I’m sorry, Alexandra.”
“Did you think this was going to work, Bradley? That we’d get married, I’d never remember, and we’d—what—live happily ever after? Do you have any real remorse for tricking me?”
“I thought it would work. You’d marry me, and I could make you happy. Our parents would be happy, too.”
I was shocked at his words. “You think our marriage would have worked? A relationship based on a lie?”
“You could have loved me. Once we were settled and away from here, you would have loved me. I knew even if you remembered him”—he indicated Adam with a jerk of his chin—“you would have realized I was a much better man for you.”
“Because you would have let me think he walked away from me. You would have added yet another lie.”
“I would have done whatever it took to keep you.”
“Are you out of your mind? That isn’t love. That’s twisted and sick. I’m not a possession—something you bought and have the right to keep.”
“I was protecting you.”
I shook my head in disbelief. He acted as if he was doing me a favor. Behind me Adam cursed, and I held up my hand. I didn’t want him to start beating on Bradley again. “Explain that to me.”
“You were swept away by him. Not thinking straight. He’s not the man you need. I can give you stability and take care of you.”
I shook my head, feeling the anger build. “No, Bradley. For the first time in my life, I was thinking straight. And I am not a child. I do not need to be ‘taken care of,’ or at least your version of what that means.”
He stared at me, frowning, as if he was trying to understand what I had said. He stood. “Well, I guess that’s it then, isn’t it? You’ve obviously made up your mind.”
“It’s over, Bradley. Not that there was anything real about it.” With a shaking hand, I held out his ring. “This belongs to you. I don’t want it.”
With a muttered curse, he took the ring, looking at the large stone. His eyes fell on my left hand, growing wider as he took in the new ring on my finger. He glared at Adam. “You didn’t waste any time, did you, asshole?”
“We were already engaged before this happened.” Adam spoke up. “Her ring was being sized.”
Bradley stepped back, caught off guard. “Engaged? Your mother told me you had broken up. She said he’d walked away from you after the accident.” His gaze flew back to Adam. “Your magazine said you’d left town. I checked. I thought you were out of the picture.”
His words sounded almost true.
Adam shook his head, studying him. “You didn’t check too hard, did you? And you didn’t waste any time, either. Sorry if I don’t feel bad or even believe you.”
“I had too much to lose.” Bradley’s shoulders dropped in defeat. “I guess I lost it anyway.”
“I’m sorry, Bradley. You deserve someone who loves you the way you love them. But it has to be real. You can’t force someone to love you. I hope you find it.”
He looked at me, almost with respect. “Always so generous and kind. You should be screaming. Calling me names—instead you wish me a good life.” He looked behind me at Adam. “I guess you deserved those shots.” He paused. “You’re not, ah, gonna hit me again, are you?”
For a moment, Adam didn’t say anything. Then he shook his head. “I want to. I want to beat the shit out of you for the pain you caused me. For the way you treated Ally, making her feel less than she is. I hate you for all that.”
Adam tucked me into his side. “But you lost today. I have her and I’m never letting her go again. We’re going to build a life together. And you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting the fact you lost her. I think that pain is far greater than anything I could inflict with my fists.”
His voice lowered. “Know this, Bradley. Try and come between us or say anything bad about her, and I will come after you. You won’t have her goodness to protect you next time. I promise you that.”
Bradley only nodded.
Behind us, the door opened, and my mother called out to me, her voice impatient.
Bradley was one thing. I thought in a small way, Adam felt sorry for him. My mother, however—Adam hated her. I wasn’t sure how he would handle this confrontation.
How she would handle him.
Bradley spoke up. “I think I should leave.”
Adam shook his head. “No, I think you should stay. Sarah has a lot to answer for to all of us.”
Bradley sat back down on the sofa, his tone defeated. “Well, this should be interesting.”
I drew in a deep breath. Adam pulled me closer.
“I have you. Remember that.”
I held his hand tighter as we turned to face my mother.
Chapter 25
Adam
Sarah swept in, her voice impatient. “What is going on, Alexandra? Why is there a bag by the door?”
She stopped dead, words drying up when she saw me standing with Ally. All the color drained from her face.
I couldn’t resist. “Hey, Mom. Miss me?” I held out my arm. “How about a welcome-home hug?”
“What are you doing here?” she hissed, her gaze darting around the room. She was cornered, and she knew it.
I tilted my head to the side, studying her impassively. “I came home to get what’s mine, Sarah. Did you honestly think you’d get away with this?”
She glared at Bradley. “What are you doing just sitting there? Do something!”
Bradley laughed, throwing her under the bus. “Oh, Sarah. I think we did enough. It’s all done and I’m not your lapdog anymore.”
She took in the way I was holding Ally and reached toward her. “Take your hands off her. She’s unwell and engaged to another man!”
“Don’t. Touch. Her,” I snarled as Ally shrank away from her touch. “She is perfectly fine. And she isn’t engaged to Bradley. Not anymore.”
She froze, lowering her arm. “I want an explanation and I want it now!”
“Oh, you’re going to get one.” I smirked. “Sit down.”
“I don’t take orders from you.” Sarah turned around, heading back to the hall. She gasped when my arm shot out blocking her path.
“I said sit down. Now. You, lady, are going to listen. You owe us that, at least.”
Her chin lifted haughtily. “I owe you nothing.”
My voice took on a dangerous low tone and my eyes narrowed. “You owe more than you can ever account for—especially to your daughter. Now sit your fucking ass down before I help you do it.”
Shooting me a look that could kill, she sat down, Bradley remaining silent.
Ally’s legs were shaking so hard I wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand up. I kept my hands gentle as I tugged her into a chair beside me. “Everything is okay,” I murmured into her ear. Her mother’s presence reduced her to such an emotional low, I wanted this done and over with as fast as possible.
I turned back to them, keeping my hand on her shoulder. They eyed me warily, and I gazed back at them without emotion. I would always dislike him, and never forgive him for what he did, but my anger at Bradley had waned. His pain at losing Ally was real, and he would have to live with it. He, too, had been deceived by Sarah. And besides, his fucking jaw was like granite and my hand was already aching like a bitch from the last punch, even though I enjoyed it.
“Tell me how the fuck you thought this was going to end, Sarah. Did you think my feelings for Ally were so shallow I wouldn’t at some point try and find her? Did you actually think you’d get away with this shit? That you could control her forever?”
“I did what was best for my daughter.”
I cocked my head in confusion. “Let me get this straight. What was best was taking away the person who truly loved her, would have done anything for her, and instead, left her alone to face the pain and confusion by herself?” My hand clenched on Ally’s shoulder. “What you thought was best, for your daughter, for her peace of mind and well-being, was to lie to her and fill her head with ideas of what you thought was an acceptable path in her life?”
Sarah stared at me, refusing to answer.
“Does your daughter’s happiness not mean a fucking thing to you?”
She waved her hand. “Do you honestly believe you’re going to make her happy, Mr. Kincaid? The lifestyle you lead? Dropping everything and everyone whenever you hear of a new adventure to go on? At least married to Bradley she had a chance at a stable, normal life. With you she’ll have nothing but heartache and regret.”
“I made mistakes—yes, I admit that. But I gave up that life for her—for us. That was my last trip.”
“So you say. You’ll disappear quickly again,” she sneered. “Off somewhere, no doubt taking your little pictures. Making that your priority over her.”
“I went because I thought the woman I loved no longer wanted me. I left town so she could come back to her life here without me interfering. I only wanted her to be happy, so my pain meant nothing. I put her first, unlike you.”
Bradley frowned and looked over at Sarah. “You told me he dumped her when he heard about the accident. That he packed up and left town.” He shook his head. “You showed me the box of her things he’d sent over—that he said he didn’t care w
hen you called him and told him Alexandra was hurt. You said it was time for me to move in and help Alexandra make the right choice. I went along with it because I thought she would come to love me. You lied to all of us.”
I smirked, realizing how large her web of deception was. “Spreading lies everywhere, weren’t you, Sarah? Busy little bee you were, while your daughter was lying in a hospital, alone and injured. As usual, your priorities were screwed.”
“I don’t have to answer to you.”
“No, you should be answering to your daughter.”
Ally spoke up. “I can’t believe you did this to me, Mother. You lied and made things up. You took Adam away from me. You made me think I was no longer capable of trusting myself. I doubted myself all the time. How could you? Why would you—”
She cut Ally off, waving her hand dismissively. “Spare me the dramatics, Alexandra.”
Anger shot through me, burning hot and bright. I shook my head in disbelief as Sarah spit out her words. There was no remorse, no regrets for her actions. She sickened me.
“When did your heart die and forget to tell you, Sarah? Who the fuck decided you could play God with not one, but three people’s lives?” My voice rose. “What gave you the right to fuck with me—with us?”
She stood, her posture straight and unrelenting.
“I don’t have to answer to you, or to anyone,” she repeated.
I laughed—a dry, low sound in the back of my throat. “Oh, you’ll answer at some point, Sarah.”
“Not to the likes of you, you…tattooed nobody.”
Now I was truly curious. “Why do you hate me so much? It can’t only be because I have some ink on my arms. You’ve never given me a chance. I can provide everything in life for your daughter, as well as the fact I love her. Why doesn’t that count with you?”
“You’re just like my first husband. Full of promises. I didn’t even want a child, but when I got pregnant, he swore he’d stop taking chances. Stop being the hero. I thought he’d get a desk job, but no, he had to keep being a cop. Keep the streets safe. And what happened? He died and left me with bills to pay, a child I never wanted to raise, and nothing to do it with. Our home was worth less than we paid for it; his insurance didn’t begin to make a dent in the debt I owed. If I hadn’t met Ronald, I don’t know where we would have ended up. I owe him everything. He deserves my loyalty.”
My Image of You Page 27