Sean's Sweetheart

by Allie Kincheloe

  Her dad laughed and shook his head. "So, did you all decide on anything about a wedding while you were out there, or were you too busy kissing?"

  "I want to get married in a garden somewhere."

  "Garden? You want to get married at the club?" Karly's surprised voice cut through the softer tones of the older people in the room. "I mean I guess we could make an aisle on the dance floor, but a club? Really?"

  "No, I meant an actual garden, silly. Not the club. I mean, I love the club and that is where we met, so there would be significance behind it, but that's not what I had in mind. I would love to get married at Garden Falls, but that's a heck of a hike. It's just… We met at Garden. We had our first kiss at Garden Falls. Gardens have such happy memories and positive meaning for us. Ya know?"

  "Your first kiss at Garden Falls... If I remember right, you went hiking with him long before you told me you were dating him," her dad said gruffly.

  "And that was the kiss she mentioned at Zane's that day when she told you I pushed her away and ran," Sean answered for her.

  Sam nodded when he remembered that conversation. "So, how about the yard here? It's big enough for a wedding if you're keeping it small."

  Sean shook his head. "But it's overgrown and shabby. She deserves better than that."

  That comment earned him a kiss; she only released him when her dad cleared his throat beside her. A girl has to reward her man when he makes sweet comments, doesn't she?

  "Well, we would have to pay to use the botanical gardens. What if we put that money into the yard here?"

  Sean exhaled loudly. Shoving his hair out of his eyes, he said, "I don't have the money to do the yard right now. I was serious when I said the yard had to wait. I just can't afford it, Sam."

  "I think paying for a wedding is a father's job. We'll take care of it. If you two want to do that, I can have a crew out here in the morning."

  When she agreed with her father that the yard there would be lovely, conversation turned to wedding plans. Sean seemed reluctant to let her parents pay for the work in the yard, but they insisted they would be spending the same at the botanical garden. The men focused more on the logistics—repairing the gazebo, replacing the back walkway, and landscaping. The women started talking about dresses and flowers. By the end of the evening, all the necessary plans had been made.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Sunrise on the day of the wedding found Sean sitting in the gazebo in the backyard. The trickling of the newly installed water feature broke the silence of the early morning hour. Talia contended if she couldn't get married at Garden Falls, she wanted the sound of the water, at the very least. Sam's crew had worked overtime to get the yard perfect for her dream garden wedding. Finding enough fall-blooming flowers to please her had taken some work, but she'd had tears in her eyes yesterday during their rehearsal.

  Sam had insisted that Talia go home with him and Helen last night, tradition and all, and that left Sean in the big Victorian alone. It had been a long night. He'd grown accustomed to sleeping next to Talia and her absence hurt. He sighed when he thought of how he'd nearly lost her.

  "Not having second thoughts, are you?" Sam's voice called through the fog that blanketed the lush garden.

  He jumped up to face his future father-in-law. "Hell no. Just impatient. I couldn't sleep. What are you doing here so early?"

  "Couldn't sleep either. Had to make sure everything was right for my girl." Sam laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. "I wanted to talk to you before the ceremony too, so I'm glad you're up. I want to apologize again for how I treated you. I'm not usually so unreasonable."

  With a deep shrug, Sean's voice was low when he replied, "I'm used to it. People look at me and see bad news. I worry about how people will treat Talia and our baby because of prejudice against me. But I can't change it."

  Sam squeezed the younger man's shoulder. "Sean, you can change it. Keep being the same calm and loving man I've seen with my daughter. They'll see why she's so drawn to you. I did. Okay, so it took me a while… but hey, I got there."

  Sean laughed and offered the older man a cup of coffee. They took their coffee back out to the garden and sat in the gazebo but Sean couldn't sit still. He hopped up to pull a few dead leaves off one of the plants. Picked a dropped bloom out of the fountain. He didn't know what to say to Sam, so he waited for the older man to initiate conversation. He and Sam had gotten along well these last two weeks and he'd hate to ruin it with a misplaced comment on the day he married the man's daughter.

  "You don't have to walk on eggshells around me. Relax. I'm not going to stop you from marrying Talia. I've admitted I was wrong," the older man told him with a smile.

  The smile didn't reassure him. He gave Sam a weak smile and returned his focus to the coffee cup in his hands. What if she changed her mind? Her dad finally seemed okay with them getting married, but what if Talia decided it was a bad idea.

  "She'll be here. Don't worry," Sam said, slapping him on the shoulder.

  "How did…"

  "How'd I know? Because you looked like I felt the day I married her mama. I thought there was no way in hell that Helen was going to show up. But she did. Talia will too."

  The two men were quiet for a moment.

  Sam was the first to speak and asked Sean, "So, I know things were not the best with your mom. Where's your dad?"

  "Don't know. He took off before I was born. Brian was only a toddler."

  "Okay, this may seem random. But Talia told me a few things about your mom and they… uh, well, they struck me as familiar. Can I ask you… was her maiden name Welch?"

  "Yeah, how'd you know that?" Sean looked over to see Sam looking embarrassed.

  "I, uh… I used to date your mom."

  Sean laughed at the irony of the whole situation. What the hell? Sam had dated his mother. He could have had a father like Sam instead of the absent bastard he had. But, like he told Talia before, he wouldn't have been the man he was today without his background. Sam changed the subject and started telling stories about Talia when she was a child. It helped him to relax. Mainly because it helped him realize Sam really was okay with Talia marrying him now. And given their history, that was a damn good feeling.

  Chapter Fifty-five

  While Sean and her dad were having coffee and checking over the yard, Talia and Helen were already preparing for the ceremony. Talia's nerves kept her jittery, but she had no doubts Sean would be there waiting for her. If there was anything she was certain of, it was Sean's love for her. Her mother insisted on doing her hair and makeup. Once that was done, Talia dressed carefully in a simple ivory gown. The slightest hint of a baby bump raised the bodice of the satin. Sean would love it. He loved her growing belly.

  As she arrived at the house, Sean was ushered outside to the gazebo. He wasn't supposed to see her. How was seeing your future spouse prior to the ceremony bad luck? Her parents were adamant that at least a few traditions be followed. So despite a deep-seated need to see Sean, to be in his arms, she waited. She sat in the library and watched all the cars pull up. Watched all the guests walk around the new path to the rear of the house. The guests were all seated when she came out on her father's arm. Sean had a few friends on his side, Jack and Angie from Garden, and surprisingly, Anna. Her side was full. Claire blew her a kiss when their eyes met.

  Looking up at Sean standing in the gazebo, the broad smile on his face warmed her heart. His charcoal grey suit emphasized his broad shoulders. Talia couldn't take her eyes off him. He was magnificent. His love for her filled the air and she could feel it from there.

  Her father walked her up the flagstone aisle to where Sean stood with the pastor. He kissed her cheek before putting her hand in Sean's and reaching up to squeeze the younger man's shoulder. Talia's eyes filled with tears at the smile on her father's face. She was overjoyed to see his smile and she pulled her father in for a big hug before she turned to Sean. His face lit up with that crooked smile she loved so much.

  Th
e day could not be more perfect.

  Tears filled her eyes and her voice shook with emotion when she said her vows. Sean, however, spoke his vows with such conviction that she heard several of the guests sniffle. When Sean slid the simple gold band on her finger next to her opal engagement ring, the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. He wiped them away with a shaky hand. When the pastor proclaimed them man and wife, Talia's heart skipped a beat. They shared their first kiss as a married couple. Mindful of their audience, they kept the kiss soft and tender like the night they started dating.

  Epilogue

  Three and a half years later…

  Graduations tend to bring rarely seen family members out of the woodwork. Talia's Aunt Carol was no exception. "How could she miss her darling Talia's college graduation... even if it did take her an extra year?" she had apparently asked.

  Yet, she hadn't been able to come to Sean and Talia's wedding. In fact, Sean had yet to meet Aunt Carol. She'd never met their daughter, Rose, either.

  The morning before graduation, Talia woke Sean to tell him she was going out shopping with her mother. She asked him to meet her at her parents later and let him drift off back to sleep.

  Sean let himself in when he got to Sam and Helen's, like he usually did. As he walked in to the kitchen, a woman who looked a good bit like Helen started screaming. She threw a skillet at him and shrieked, "Sam! David! Where are you? Oh help me! Please, please don't hurt me!"

  What the hell?

  Sam ran in with another man right on his heels. When his eyes met Sean's, he fell to the floor shaking with laughter. The other man shoved the screaming woman behind him and assumed a protective stance. Sean sighed and picked up the skillet she had thrown at him. Placing it in the sink, he gave her a tight-lipped smile. He reached a hand out to haul his still laughing father-in-law up off the floor, rolling his eyes at the older man.

  "Carol, you idiot, that's Sean. He isn't going to hurt you. You think he broke in or something? Geez, that's Talia's husband."

  "You cannot be serious. My sweet Talia would not have married…him."

  The sound of the front door creaking open and little feet running across the tile caught their attention.

  Turning toward the sound, Sean's face brightened with a big grin. A little dark-haired girl ran straight into his arms, giggling. Quick to scoop her up, he spun in a circle holding her up above his head. Talia and Helen followed the toddler into the kitchen. When she saw him holding their daughter, Talia smiled at him and stepped over to them. Helen ran to greet her sister, but drew back at Carol's harsh tone as she asked whatever Talia could see in a man like that.

  Sean sighed. He thought they were past all this crap. For God's sake, everyone had tattoos these days. Okay, so maybe not as many as he did. But damn...

  The smile slid off Talia's face when she turned to her hard-faced aunt and Sean readied himself for the explosion. "Oh, for goodness sake. I'm already married to him, Aunt Carol. Nothing you say will change my mind about him. And I mean, absolutely, nothing. I love him. He loves me. He's a good man; look past the tattoos, will you?"

  "Mama throwed up at the coffee place today," Rose told her father before anyone else could say a word. She completely missed the undercurrent of anger in the room as only a young child can do.

  His heart lurched. He handed his darling daughter to her grandfather. Reaching out for Talia—for his beautiful wife—he tipped her chin up so that she was looking at him when he asked in a soft voice, "Is there something you need to tell me, sweetheart?"

  At her nod, he bent down and kissed her. Happy tears threatened and he buried his face in Talia's hair so that everyone didn't see him cry.

  "I was hoping to actually tell you this time. You know, last time you asked me the same thing," Talia told him with a laugh.

  He looked up to see Sam and Helen both smiling at them. He had the woman he loved in his arms, one beautiful child, and another on the way—everything a man could want.

  Who gives a shit what Aunt Carol thinks?

  If you enjoyed Sean's Sweetheart, check out Allie's Free Will series.

  The first book, Free Pass, is available now.

  Here's a sneak peek:

  FREE PASS

  A Free Will Novel

  Chapter One

  Seeing Laney in Dad's study with tears in her eyes about did me in. How the hell was I supposed to walk away from that? Away from her? Still, I doubted she'd accept any comfort from me. I'm sure Austin was the cause of her tears. He didn't deserve her.

  But I do.

  I leaned my forehead against the door and blew out a deep breath. I couldn't think like that. I had to go tell my brother that she was looking for him.

  Walking through the house, I dodged my dad and grandparents to slip out the back door. Yup, my idiot brother was exactly where I'd seen him last. Over in the corner slow dancing with some redhead. She had her hands tucked in his back pockets and his hands were tangled in her hair.

  Fucking hell.

  Austin had a beautiful girl in the study crying over his stupid ass—a girl I'd kill for a chance with—and he was out here snuggled up to one of Dad's associate's slutty daughters.

  I ought to shake the shit out of him. But I restrained myself to just squeezing his shoulder. Hard. "Laney's looking for you."

  Austin pulled the girl closer and nuzzled his nose against her cheek and smirked at me. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

  "I can see you being a damn idiot. That girl in there loves you. Your girlfriend loves you. What the hell is wrong with you?" The urge to put my fist through his teeth rose up within me.

  Did he not realize what he could be throwing away just for a piece of ass?

  I tugged him away from the redhead and shoved him back. "Go in there and talk to Laney. She's in the study."

  "Chill out. I'll go talk to her. Geez." Austin backed away and threw his hands up in surrender.

  I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down. Last thing I needed was to get into another brawl with Austin. Mom would fucking kill me if I ruined her anniversary party by blacking my brother's eye.

  When I opened my eyes, Austin whispered something to the redhead and turned away. I grabbed a beer and followed him as he stomped through the house. When he slammed the door to the study behind him, I hovered close. Raised voices carried through the closed door, but not enough that I could make out their words. Damn it.

  The yelling pretty well confirmed for me that Austin had done something to upset Laney. He hadn't been discreet about his interest in the girl outside. It could have been that.

  I sat on the stairs across from the study and waited.

  Chapter Two

  Taking several deep breaths, I steeled myself for the upcoming confrontation. This was not going to be pretty, but there's no way I could pretend I didn't know.

  I hated arguing. But Austin had me backed into a corner. My foot started twitching. I jumped up and paced the width of the small room.

  When the door opened again, I spun around to see Austin strolling in.

  "Jake said you wanted to see me. What's this about? We have guests, in case you missed it. I'm supposed to be socializing."

  I shook with nerves. I started to straighten up the notepad and pencil on the desk just to have something to do with my hands. I didn't look at him.

  "Well? I don't have time to just stand and stare at you." He stomped over impatiently and nudged me.

  The pencil in my hand gave a satisfying pop when it pierced Austin's bicep. He flinched away and the pencil slid out. Blood welled up in a tiny circle in its wake, the miniscule droplet anti-climactic compared to his reaction.

  "Fucking hell, Laney!"

  "Kelsey just sent me this." I whipped my phone out and shoved the picture in his face.

  The color drained from his cheeks and he looked like he might puke. "Where did you get that?"

  "A girl Kelsey works with snapped it in Destin. I trusted you, Austin. I trusted that our relations
hip meant something to you."

  "Laney, I ..."

  "You what? Your tongue just magically jumped down that bimbo's throat?"

  Austin looked down and stammered out an apology, but I kept going. "Were you mesmerized by the polka-dot bikini? Don't even try to deny that it was you. I would recognize you a mile away. If that stupid tattoo didn't give you away, your basketball jersey would have. Damn it, Austin."

  "I screwed up."

  I crossed my arms and glared at him. Screwed up? He did so much more than screw up. That was the best he had? I waited for him to continue speaking.

  "I didn't plan to start something with Kara. We just hit it off." He clutched his hand over the puncture wound. "I'm bleeding! Why the heck did you stab me?"

  You'd think I used a machete, not a #2. The cheating bastard deserved every minute ounce of pain I could inflict. Three years! I wasted three years on someone who couldn't keep his dick in his pants for two weeks.

  I didn't mean to stab him. My temper clawed its way free of my control. I'd only meant to hit him. To hurt him like he'd hurt me.

  He moved toward me, but stopped at my glare. "I never intended..." He tried once more to explain.

  "I don't need an explanation. Don't want an explanation." I stepped around the desk.

  I should rip his cheating face off.

  Austin took a few steps back and held his hands out in surrender.

  Yes, feel my wrath. "You two-timing asshole. Your face can still be detached. Maybe I'll poke your pretty blue eyes out."

  He stepped back and grabbed a tissue from the end table. He dabbed at the tiny hole in his arm. Was it still bleeding? I hoped so. His big hand blocked my view of the wound. I still held the pencil clutched in my fist, its tip broken. I hoped there was lead left in his arm and it would get infected.