Wife Me Bad Boy

by Carter, Chance

  Could this really be happening to me? To Lacey? The girl who never chose the right man? And could it be happening with Grant Lucas? The man who swore he’d never get married for as long as he lived?

  Tears filled my eyes instantly. They blurred everything. My lip started to tremble. I looked down at Grant, through my teary eyes, and knew that everything I’d ever wanted was about to come true.

  “Lacey,” he said.

  All I could do was shake my head. He reached into his breast pocket and took out a small box. I struggled to hold back tears of pure joy. He opened it in front of me and I was so startled I could hardly breathe.

  Inside the box was the ring I’d chosen from the jewelry store, the really expensive one I was going to make Rob buy. I remembered then that Rob had said someone else had already bought it. Had Grant had it all this time? Had he known all this time that he was going to make me his? Rob had said the ring had been purchased the very same day I’d looked at it. Had Grant known all of this was going to happen, even then? I couldn’t believe it.

  I wanted to fall down onto him and hug him. I wanted to cry. But I kept my nerve and just looked into his eyes.

  “Lacey,” he said again, “would you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  That was it. I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I got down and put my arms around his neck. He held me close, put his lips on mine, and we had the strongest, most passionate, intense kiss you could ever imagine. It was heaven. I felt as if my heart was about to burst. The thing I’d been dreaming about, fantasizing about, since I was a girl of seventeen and my father brought him to my house, was finally coming true.

  “Yes,” I said to him. “Yes, yes, yes, yes. Of course I’ll be your wife.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Grant said, and it surprised me to realize that he must have been just as nervous as I was. “Thank you God,” he said again.

  We kissed some more, and then sheepishly looked around the restaurant at the other diners. Everyone there knew what they were witnessing, and when we looked up, they applauded spontaneously. Even the waiters and kitchen staff joined in.

  Grant took the ring from the box and slipped it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit. I was dizzy from looking at it. The diamond was enormous. Just knowing how much he’d spent on it, and the fact that he’d bought it way back when I still thought I was going to be Rob’s bride, showed me how certain he was about his decision. It made me feel safe and secure. It meant that even if I hadn’t fully known what I’d wanted, and even though I gave him a hard time for intruding into my life and making decisions for me, he’d known, even then, that he was going to marry me. He was going to be my husband.

  I looked across the table at my new fiancé.

  “What the hell took you so long?” I asked, my eyes full of tears.

  “I had to make sure you were ready to say yes, Lacey. You’re a very stubborn girl.”

  “I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to wife me, Grant Lucas.”

  “And I’ve been waiting my whole life to make you mine.”

  Chapter 48

  Lacey

  LUNCH SLIPPED BY IN A DAZE. I didn’t even taste the expensive wine, but Grant didn’t notice. After the meal, Grant said that there was something else he had to show me. I couldn’t imagine what else there might be on top of what had already happened, and I followed him back to the car more concerned about my ring than anything else.

  It looked so beautiful on my finger, like it had been made just for me. When I chose it originally, I’d thought I was marrying Rob, but now I knew it had always been meant for me and Grant.

  “Are you really going to marry me?” I said when we got into the car.

  He leaned across and gave me a long, passionate kiss.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “When will we get married?” I said.

  He caressed my hand gently as he drove.

  “Do you trust me?” he said.

  “Of course I do.”

  “All right. Then leave that to me.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but he refused to say anything else about it as we drove out of the city. We were headed back toward the valley and I started to think he was taking me home, but as we approached the valley, he turned up, into the mountains, rather than going down toward the river.

  “Where are we going?” I said.

  There was a hotel high in the mountains at a place overlooking the entire Socorro Valley. It was a beautiful spot and when he pulled into the lot, I wondered if he was going to take me to a hotel room to celebrate our engagement, but instead he just drove up to the door and stayed in the car.

  “What’s going on?” I said.

  I turned to look at the hotel and saw Faith and two valets from the hotel coming to greet me.

  “Grant?” I said.

  “Do you trust me?” he said.

  “Of course, but what’s Faith doing here? What’s going on?”

  Grant took my face gently in his strong hands and kissed me deeply and passionately.

  “I’ll see you soon, Lacey,” he said. “You just follow Faith. She’ll explain everything.”

  Faith opened the door and gave me a warm smile. “Come on, girl,” she said. “You’ve got a dress to try on.”

  “What?” I said.

  I looked from Faith to Grant. They both knew exactly what was going on, while I didn’t have a clue. I got out of the car and let Faith lead me through the lobby of the hotel. I turned back to the door in time to see Jackson, Sam, Forrester and Grady getting into Grant’s car, all of them wearing the most dashing tuxedoes I’d ever seen.

  “Faith,” I said. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Haven’t you figured it out yet, silly?”

  “Figured out what?”

  Faith just laughed. We got into the elevator and went to the top floor of the hotel, where the best suites were. Faith led me to the presidential suite and when I saw what was on the bed, I almost collapsed. Laid out, on a bed of light pink silk, was the most beautiful wedding dress I’d ever seen in my entire life.

  “Oh my God, Faith, is that what I think it is?”

  “Do you think it’s a custom Packham wedding gown, made just for you?”

  “Are you freaking kidding me?”

  Faith shook her head. “It’s yours, Lacey. And this is really happening, tonight, so we better start getting you ready.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “What do you think?”

  There were so many tears falling down my cheeks I couldn’t speak.

  “I’m getting married?” I cried.

  “You’re getting married to the most amazing guy, Lacey. Grant’s planned everything. Right down to the tiniest detail.”

  “How?”

  “He knew what you wanted because, well, he knows everything about you. He’s been in love with you his entire life.”

  “How did he have time to plan all this?”

  “With a little help from his friends,” Faith said, smiling.

  “Faith, tell me I’m not dreaming.”

  Faith came over to me and cupped my face in her hands.

  “You’re not dreaming, Lacey.”

  Then she picked up the phone and told the front desk we were ready. A few minutes later the suite was filled with hair stylists, make up artists, and just about every other person a girl could possibly want to help her get ready for the wedding of her dreams. There was a woman there to give me a pedicure, and another to give me a manicure. I was getting the royal treatment, and yet it included none of the fancy cosmetic treatments Rob had expected of me. This time, I was allowed to be myself. The dress was a perfect fit. It gave me a beautiful figure, but I wasn’t expected to wear a crazy corset that made me look like someone I wasn’t. The makeup was perfect, and there weren’t any high-tech laser treatments to contend with.

  Grant loved me for who I was. He didn’t want me to be someone else.

  And the dress. The dress was just stunnin
g. The bead work was so intricate and precise that I was astounded Grant had managed to get it for me. There was usually a waiting list of months for a dress like that. How had he managed it?

  I looked at my engagement ring. He’d managed that too. I couldn’t believe it. He was magical. He was like my wildest dream, my deepest fantasy, coming through.

  I was alone in front of the mirror in my dressing room. Faith was out taking care of a few final arrangements for our limo. Everyone else was packing up their things and leaving. I looked in the mirror. I looked like the most beautiful bride in the entire world. I was certain Grant was going to love me. How could I doubt it? He’d loved me so deeply, for so long, and I’d felt the same way about him.

  I thought back to that first time I’d seen him. Or the first time I’d watched him from my bedroom window. Or the first time I’d discovered that I could pleasure myself, just by looking at him as he showered with the hose after a long day’s work. This was the completion of everything my life had been leading up to. It had always been the final destination of my life, of my heart. Ever since the day my father discovered Grant, and brought him into our home.

  I said a silent prayer of thanks to my father, for finding Grant and bringing him to me.

  Chapter 49

  Lacey

  AFTER WE WERE BOTH DRESSED, Faith and I rode in a limo to the highest overlook in the Socorro Mountains. From up there, we could see for miles and miles. The sun was an enormous orb in the sky, slowly sinking into the Pacific Ocean, setting the entire evening sky on fire. To the south, we could see deep into the valley, the place I’d grown up, where everything I knew and loved existed. I’d never been to this lookout before, but now that I was there, I knew it was the perfect place. It was exactly what I’d described to Grant when I’d told him what I wanted for my wedding. I marveled at the fact that he must have had this place in mind, even back then when we’d been in the flower market in the city, me innocently telling him about my dream.

  How had he known that all this was going to happen? How had he been able to plan for all of this? I’d been so confused at the time. I thought I was going to marry Rob. Had Grant really known that all this was going to follow? He’d bought the engagement ring as soon as he saw it, even though Rob was supposed to be the one buying it. Had he known then? He must have. Or maybe it was all just fate, our destiny, and it was God who was making it happen. It made my heart pound in my chest just thinking about it.

  Sometimes you think you know what you’re doing with your life, you think you know what you need, and what you want, and it can be extremely overwhelming to realize that someone else is holding your entire future in the palm of their hand. To learn that someone else loves you, and they know what’s best for you, and they’re working on making it happen, making your dreams happen, before you’ve even realized you have them, that’s what it’s like to realize you’re loved.

  How would I ever be able to repay Grant for doing all this? For knowing that it was what I’d wanted, even before I did?

  I put my hand on my stomach and smiled. I knew how I’d repay him. I already was, and he didn’t know anything about it. I was giving him a child, I was creating life, right inside my body, and Grant had no idea. He was giving me a miracle, and the thought of it made my heart soar. But I was giving him a miracle too. A miracle that was going to make his heart explode with love.

  I looked over at Faith. She was beautiful in a lace and bead dress designed to complement mine, and when she led me up the paved path to the overlook, the sight before me took my breath away. Overlooking a steep, sharp cliff, was a freshly built chapel of white wood.

  Standing in a row in front of it were Sam, Jackson, Forrester and Grady. They all looked at me with such love and kindness, I knew they were my family, and would be forever.

  Next to them was Grant, my groom. My heart leapt as I made my way toward him, following Faith. Music was playing. I looked to my left and saw a band next to the chapel. Beyond them was the magnificence of the setting sun. Where had all this come from? Had Grant built this chapel himself?

  My eyes locked on Grant’s, and I could see that he was crying as I walked slowly along the path that led to him. It was like the path of my entire life. I realized that it had always been leading to him, and only him.

  I saw Grant give a signal to Sam, and Sam pulled a string hanging from the roof of the chapel. Instantly, thousands of red roses, more than I could ever count, started falling from the roof. They fell in drapes down the front of the chapel like a waterfall. They’d somehow been attached to strings so that when they fell, they hung, creating curtains of beautiful crimson around the entire chapel. All its walls were covered. The sight took my breath away. Even the priest, the same Spanish priest who’d performed Faith and Jackson’s wedding, looked awestruck.

  It was so beautiful. I continued walking toward the chapel, following Faith, everyone’s eyes on me, on my beautiful dress. Grant couldn’t have looked happier. A few yards from the chapel, Faith stopped, and I stopped next to her. The band stopped playing the beautiful music.

  Grant stood next to me.

  “Lacey, you look more beautiful than I even imagined,” he whispered.

  “I can’t believe you planned all this,” I said. “Grant, it’s perfect.”

  The priest started the ceremony, and it was all I could do just to keep myself from crying. Everything was so perfect. Standing next to me was Faith, my best friend in the entire world, and next to Grant were the men we knew would give their lives for us if we needed, Jackson, Forrester, Grady and of course, Sam. My father would have been so proud. This was the family he’d built, and maybe, if I played my cards right, I’d build a family just as strong.

  I looked at Grant, my groom, tall and strong and handsome, the edges of his tattoos peeking out from his perfectly tailored tuxedo.

  How had all this happened?

  The flowers pouring over the edges of the chapel were so beautiful. I knew they’d come from the flower market. The sunset was just as I’d described. I knew Grant had done everything he could to make this ceremony perfect for me, and I couldn’t have been happier. I knew he’d spend his life making me happy, and I knew I’d do exactly the same for him.

  When the priest finally asked, “Do you, Lacey Eden, take this man, Grant Lucas, to be your lawfully wedded husband?” my voice was stronger than I’d expected.

  “I do,” I said, and there was no doubt I meant it.

  Faith was crying.

  “And do you, Grant Lucas, take this woman, Lacey Eden, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  “I do,” he said, strong and clear.

  When he kissed me, the taste of his kiss was mixed with the salt of my own tears. I couldn’t believe it had happened. Sam gave Grant a gold wedding band and he put it on my finger. Then he gave me a ring and I put it on Grant’s. And then the priest said those magical words. “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

  Everyone cheered. I was delirious with happiness. A bell rang, and then, out of nowhere, something opened on the roof of the chapel and hundreds of white doves flocked out into the sky and filled it with their beauty. Their snow-white feathers reflected the orange light of the setting sun and it was as if a fire was burning in the sky. It was breathtaking.

  I shook my head. I couldn’t believe it was all happening. It was too much to grasp.

  Just hours earlier, Grant had showed me the house he’d bought, so that I could give a future to those boys, just as my father had done for him. He’d shown me that I’d been crucial in helping him, Jackson, Forrester and Grady become men. Then he’d proposed to me in front of an entire restaurant with the ring of my dreams. Now we were married. It had all happened so fast, and was such a surprise, that I couldn’t believe it was real.

  I saw Sam and Forrester go off and come back with the most enormous cake I’d ever seen. Sam was obviously very proud of it.

  “This was all me,” he said with a flourish.

  He han
ded me a knife and together with Grant, I cut a slice. Then I picked it up and smeared it all over Grant’s face. Everyone laughed. And then I smelled it. Roses. The cake was also from the flower market.

  “You remembered,” I said to Grant as I tasted the cake.

  “Of course I did,” he said. “I remember every word you’ve ever said to me, Lacey. Every word. And I always will.”

  And I knew he was telling the truth. It had always been that way between us. When one of us said something, the other listened. Even when we didn’t say anything, the other knew if we needed something, or had something to say. We were in tune with each other, and that would be the secret to our relationship.

  I couldn’t have been happier. I know every bride says it, but I mean it as much as any of them. I felt as if God had reached down to earth from heaven and touched me. I felt like Grant was an angel, sent down for me alone, and that I’d be safe and happy in his arms for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 50

  Lacey

  AFTER THE CEREMONY, we all went back to the hotel. We had a delicious dinner there, followed by much dancing and merriment. We shared our happiness with the other guests at the hotel. Grant picked up the tab for every single guest eating at the hotel that night. Even though most of them didn’t know who we were, they were more than happy to join in with the partying. Everyone watched as Grant and I shared our first dance. The band from earlier played the music, and after our dance, everyone else started dancing too. It was so much fun, but it wasn’t long before Grant took my hand and led me quietly out of the banquet room.

  “Husband,” I said, in the elevator, “where do you think you’re taking me?”

  “You’ll see,” he said, a sparkle in his eye. “I may have married you,” he said, “but I won’t really have wifed you until I get you up to that bedroom.”