by E. L. Todd
I moved to my feet then faced her, feeling more strength than I ever had before. If she was willing to do that by her own decision then there was hope for us. There was hope she would meet me at the aisle and say I do. “We’re both permanently bound to each other now. We can’t walk away from this.” My hands moved to her hips and I pulled her close to me. “Marry me, Trinity. I promise I will be everything you want me to be—forever.”
She pressed her face close to mine then rested her hand over the skin of my heart. “You think we can do this?”
“I know we can do this.”
She felt my heartbeat under her fingertips, feeling it beat frantically. “Then let’s give this one more try.”
“We only need one more try.” My fingers found her chin and I lifted her face to mine. Then I pressed my lips gently against hers, feeling their softness and fullness. The usual electricity coursed through me the moment we touched. Any doubt that we could make it was gone. Our souls were bound together for the rest of time. Our hearts beat as one.
And two became one.
Chapter Seventeen
Cayson
I got to Preston Manor then barged inside. Skye was standing at the bottom of the stairs, her fingers resting lightly on her lips. She didn’t turn to me even when she heard me approach.
“What’s going on?” I asked when I reached her.
She turned to me, and there was concern in her eyes. “I don’t know. Slade barged in here and went into Trinity’s room. That’s all I know.”
“How long has it been?”
“About forty-five minutes.”
“Have you heard anything?”
“No,” she said. “If they aren’t yelling it must be a good sign.”
I stood beside her and felt my heart race. If they didn’t get back together, everyone’s lives would be different—and not in a good way. Slade and Trinity belonged together, and I sincerely hoped they realized that. “You think they pulled through?”
“I don’t know…they both wanted to break up. When one person in a relationship wants to give up, that’s bad. But when both people want to break up, that’s disastrous.”
“But Slade changed his mind.”
“I wonder if he told her he left to begin with…” Skye continued to rest her fingers on her lips.
I hadn’t had a chance to look at Skye because I was too stressed out over Slade. But now that we were alone together and there was nothing to do but wait, I noticed how the champagne pink dress looked on her fair skin. It was a halter top and her perky breasts looked appetizing. Her hair was done in curls and her make up was fresh. The dress clung to the curves I loved so much. I should be worried about Slade and Trinity but now I was just distracted.
She turned to me. “You think they’ll make it?”
“I hope so.” I stared at her cleavage line. “You look beautiful.”
“Whom are you talking to, exactly?” A flirtatious smile was on her face so I knew she was being playful.
“Both of you.” I eyed the enormous rock on her finger and admired the way it sparkled even when light was limited. That should keep all the other guys away.
“Trinity has good taste in clothes.”
“But you’re the one who rocked it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up the stairs again. “The anticipation is killing me…”
“Should we go up there?”
“No,” she said quickly. “We don’t want to interrupt anything.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“I haven’t told anyone,” she said. “You?”
“Arsen knows. But he’ll keep his mouth shut.”
“We don’t have much time before the wedding,” she said as she glanced at the clock. “Mike will ask where she is soon.”
“Let’s hope they get their shit together in time.”
The door on the landing opened and footfalls sounded. Skye and I both dropped our conversation and looked up, hoping to see Trinity and Slade approach holding hands or something.
But it was just Slade.
He jogged down the stairs and his face was unreadable.
I couldn’t tell if he was sad, happy or livid.
“What happened?” Skye blurted.
He reached the landing, and he finally smiled. “The wedding is on.”
“Yes!” I fist-pumped the air.
“Oh, thank god.” Skye clapped her hands quickly.
“She’s touching up her make up,” Slade said. “And I need to get to the ceremony.”
I looked him up and down. “You look like hell, Slade. You need to shower and get your suit.”
“Oh yeah.” He looked down at himself.
“I’ll take care of it,” I said immediately. “Skye, make sure Trinity gets there.”
“I’m on it,” Skye said.
Slade headed to the door. “Let’s get going. We need to haul ass.” He walked out and jogged to the car.
I snatched Skye by the elbow and yanked her into my chest. I crushed my mouth against hers and gave her an aggressive kiss. “You owe me a dance tonight.”
“And a romp in the wine cellar.”
I rubbed my nose against hers. “My baby knows what I like.”
***
Slade took the fastest shower of his life and Arsen arrived with this suit.
“Everything is good then?” Arsen asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Thankfully.”
Conrad came in a moment later. “Roland is getting the cake. Apparently, they had some sort of problem or something.”
“As long as it gets there by the reception, we’ll be okay,” I said.
Slade came into the hallway completely naked. “I need my clothes.”
“Whoa…” I shielded my eyes.
“Dude, put on some briefs.” Conrad turned away with his eyes closed.
Arsen cringed.
“You’ve seen me naked before,” Slade said. “Get over it. It’s not my fault my dick is bigger than all of yours.”
“You want to get out a measuring tape and see?” Conrad challenged.
“Uh, let’s pretend Conrad didn’t just say that,” I said with my eyes closed.
“I feel like I’m in prison again,” Arsen said.
Slade pulled on his boxers. “I’m decent, assholes.”
We opened our eyes and were relieved to see him clothed.
Slade pulled on his slacks then buttoned his white collared shirt. He rolled up the sleeves to his elbows then ran his fingers through his hair.
“You’re going to wrinkle the shirt,” I said, pulling his sleeves down.
“Trinity said I could wear it like this,” he argued.
“Are you trying to show off your tattoos?” I asked. “Because now isn’t the time for that.”
“No,” he said. “But this is me. I’m more comfortable like this.”
“Are you sure Trinity is okay with it?” Conrad asked.
“Yes, I asked her,” Slade said. “Now get off my case.”
Ryan opened the door and came inside. “Good. You pulled your head out of your ass.”
I glanced at Conrad, hoping he didn’t figure out Slade ran out on his sister.
“Cayson did it for me,” Slade said as he checked his appearance in the mirror.
“What did he do now?” Conrad asked.
Ryan eyed him in surprise.
I gave Ryan a look that said, “Don’t say a word.”
Ryan brushed it off. “Slade wanted me to give him another tattoo before the big day. I said there wasn’t enough time.”
Conrad accepted the explanation. “Oh okay. Sounds about right.”
“Need anything, son?” Ryan said when he clapped him on the shoulder.
“Nope. I just need to head to the ceremony—quickly.”
“I’ll get you there in one piece,” Ryan said. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Eighteen
Roland
“Listen to me,” I said to the
baker. “This order was put in two months ago and it was supposed to be ready for today. You’re telling me you don’t have it?” My only job was to get the cake. And that was going to shit.
“There is no name for Preston,” the baker said. “I checked.”
I wanted to grip my skull and scream.
Heath stood beside me, and fortunately he remained calm. “Can you check again, please?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I haven’t prepared a wedding cake today. Even if there was some sort of communication I don’t have the cake.”
This was a disaster.
Heath rubbed the back of his neck before he turned to me. “Are you sure this is the right bakery? Maybe we are at the wrong one.”
“No, I’m sure.” I pulled out my phone and checked the message Trinity sent me. “This is the place.”
Heath turned to the baker. “Do you have another bakery in the city?”
“We’re the only one,” he said. “We aren’t a franchise.” He said it like it was offensive that Heath implied otherwise.
“Well, can you make a wedding cake?” I asked. “We’ll pay extra. Whatever the cost.”
“How many people?” he asked.
“Three hundred.”
He clutched his chest like he was having a heart attack. “That cannot be done—not in a million years.”
I turned to Heath, feeling the panic come on. “Dude, Trinity is going to kill us.”
“Why?” Heath asked. “We didn’t do anything wrong. She was the one who put the order in incorrectly.”
“We’ll still be murdered for it.” I pulled out my phone and called Skye.
“You got the cake?” she answered.
“Uh…no.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Okay…stay calm.”
“Oh no.”
I continued in a calm voice. “They don’t have the cake.”
Her voice started to rise. “What do you mean they don’t have the cake?”
“We came to pick it up and they don’t have a record of the order.”
“Roland Preston, you better hunt down that cake!”
I knew my sister would overreact. “Calm the hell down. Maybe Trinity gave us the wrong name of the bakery. Can you ask her while being discreet?”
“How the hell will I do that?”
“Say you’re looking for a baker for your wedding and want the name of the place.”
“Are you crazy?” she snapped. “You never talk about your own wedding on your friend’s wedding day.”
“Well, you better think of something or there won’t be a cake at all.”
“Goddammit,” she hissed. “Fine. Hold on.” She put the phone down.
I waited for her to come back. Heath watched me and I stared back at him. He didn’t get worked up like I did, and he managed to keep me calm. Heath was unnatural in that way.
Skye finally came back to the phone. “La Mo Bakery.”
I sighed. ‘That’s where we are.”
“Have them double check.”
“You think I didn’t do that already?” I snapped. “They don’t have it, Skye.”
“Ask them to make one.”
“They told me it couldn’t be done for that many people.”
She released a quiet scream. “Well, you need to think of something. We have to have cake at this wedding.”
“What do you expect me to do?” I demanded. “Bake a cake for three hundred people?”
Skye growled into the phone then remained quiet for a while. “Wait, I have an idea…”
“I don’t think I want to know what this idea is…”
“They have cakes there, right? No big cakes but some cakes?”
“Yes…” My sister wasn’t very bright so I wasn’t thrilled about listening to this plan.
“Buy enough cakes to feed three hundred people and get them here. Obviously, they’ll be different flavors but it’s better than nothing. Slade and Trinity need a cake to cut for the pictures.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“Do I sound like I’m not serious?” she challenged.
“How are we going to get eighty regular cakes over there?”
“It’s called a car, Roland,” she said sarcastically.
“You think Heath and I are clowns and can fit a bunch of crap inside a clown car?” I hissed back.
“All I know is—”
Heath snatched the phone away and held it to his ear. “We’ll figure it out. See you soon.” Then he hung up.
“We’ll figure it out?” I asked incredulously.
“You have a truck,” he said. “And I’m sure we can get someone else to loan us a car.”
“Even then the cakes are going to be sliding around everywhere.”
“Well, we’re going to get dirty. We’ll change into our suits when we get there.”
I already knew this plan was going to be a terror.
***
Conrad and Theo met us in front of the bakery in his truck. “What’s the big emergency?” They jumped out and came toward us.
“We need to transport eighty cakes to the wedding,” I said.
“Wait…what?” Theo asked.
“Did you say eighty?” Conrad asked.
“We don’t have time to explain this,” I snapped. “Just help us.”
“The bakery isn’t shipping it for you?” Conrad asked.
“Does it look like it?” I asked.
“Let’s just stay calm,” Heath said. “We can do this if we put our heads together.”
“How did you manage to mess this up?” Conrad asked. “Your only job was to get the cake.”
“Well, no one ordered the cake for me to pick up,” I argued.
“Let’s get moving or we’re going to be late.” Heath headed inside the bakery shop.
The rest of us followed, and the workers handed each of us a cake in a cardboard box. We carried them back outside and to the bed of the truck.
“How are we going to do this?” Theo asked. “They’re going to slide around everywhere.”
“Someone will have to sit in the bed of the truck and hold onto the cakes,” I said.
“And by someone, you mean me, don’t you?” Conrad asked in an irritated voice.
“If you’re up to the challenge,” I said.
“I hate my sister right now…” He jumped into the back then took each box then pulled them against the wall. We all made trips in and out of the bakery, carrying the cakes to the bed of the truck. Conrad used whatever rope he had to tie some of them down. But he had to hold onto them for the most part.
Once they were all packed inside, we prepared to leave.
“You better drive safe, asshole,” Conrad said. “Trinity wouldn’t be happy if you killed her brother on her wedding day.”
“Actually, I don’t think she would care.” I got inside and started the engine. Then I migrated out of the city and to the countryside.
“Drive as slow as you can,” Heath said.
“But then we’re going to be late,” I said.
“It’s better to be late than kill your cousin,” Heath said.
I did as he said and tried to keep the speed at thirty miles per hour.
We were at the edge of the city when I saw the flashing blue and red lights.
“Shit,” Theo said. “That’s a cop.”
Conrad pounded on the window. “Haul ass!”
“If we get pulled over we’ll never make it to the wedding,” Theo said.
“Fine, hold on.” I slammed on the gas.
Theo rolled down the window and yelled toward the back. “Hold on!”
“Just drive!” Conrad yelled back.
“Be careful,” Heath said. “It’s not worth losing Conrad over.”
“I got this,” I said. “No one knows this city better than I do.” I sped down the street then maneuvered down a one-way road. Then I cut through the construction of a new mall they were building. They s
aid the area was closed to traffic but I used it to get out of the city quicker. I sped through it then flipped back the way I came, knowing the cop would get lost inside it. Then I high-tailed it out of there until I reached the bridge.
“I think you lost him, Ro,” Theo said.
“You okay, man?” Heath asked out the window.
Conrad gave us a thumbs up and continued to grip the bed of the truck.
“Are the cakes okay?” I shouted.
Conrad rolled his eyes. “Go to hell, Roland.”
***
We made it to the vineyard and most of the cakes were in tact. Skye ran out and her eyes were wide when she realized Conrad sat in the bed of the truck for the entire way. “That’s illegal!”
“We did what we had to do,” I said as we got out of the truck. “Now, what do we do with these cakes?”
She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at the back of the truck. “Man, that’s a lot of cakes…”
“The question is, where do we put them?” Heath asked.
“We can have one on every table,” Skye said. “And the guests can help themselves to it.”
“But then we need cake cutters,” Theo said. “I’m assuming you don’t have eighty of them.”
“We should just put them in the kitchen and let the waiters take care of it,” I said. “They were going to cut the real cake anyway.”
“I guess,” Skye said. “Carry them inside.”
“And you aren’t going to help?” I demanded.
“I can’t ruin my dress,” she said. “Now go.”
“Man, you’re bossy,” I said.
“I’m the maid of honor,” she said with an attitude. “I’m supposed to be bossy. Now get your ass in gear.”
I rolled my eyes then grabbed a box from the back of the truck.
Heath caught my look. “Hey, when it’s our big day we can make her get eighty cakes.”
His words made me feel warm. The idea of spending the rest of my life with Heath sounded perfect. And that thought chased away my bad mood. “You’re right. And we can sit back and watch.”
Chapter Nineteen
Trinity
The guests had arrived and taken their seats. The vineyard was beautiful. The sun shined on the grape leaves, and the distant hills made the pastureland come alive. I was sitting in the dressing room waiting for the ceremony to begin.