Marriage Mistake

by Lively, R. S.

  "For you?" I ask.

  He shrugs.

  "You always get what you want."

  "This time, I hope so."

  Tightening his hand on mine, he pulls me along with him as he walks toward the ice cream shop. We walk up to the window, and I notice something on the counter. At first, I think something has spilled, then I realize it's sprinkles shaped into words.

  Will you stay my wife?

  I look at Grant and see he's holding a velvet jewelry box just like the ones he's presented me with several times before.

  "What's this?" I ask softly.

  Grant falls to one knee.

  Oh my god.

  “Emma. You’re everything that was missing in my life. Everything I need. I can't ask you to marry me, Emma. We’ve been there, done that. But I can ask you to stay my wife. To stay with me – in Magnolia Falls. And raise our baby, together, on this island." He opens the box to reveal a tiny glistening charm studded with rubies. "Pretty please? With a cherry on top.”

  Tears flow down my cheeks, and I don’t even try to stop them. I nod enthusiastically, letting out a short laugh as he takes the charm from the box and hooks it to my bracelet.

  "Yes," I finally manage to get out.

  Grant smiles and kisses me.

  "I love you," he says, breaking the kiss just enough to speak, his lips moving against mine.

  "I love you, too," I whisper back.

  He kisses me again, and I feel myself melt into the whipped cream-sweet touch of his lips, and dip of his tongue into my mouth. Looping my arms around his neck, I let him hold me close, sinking into his embrace. This is exactly where I am supposed to be.

  * * *

  Two months later…

  "We're sorry we didn't tell you the truth," Grant says. His hand tightens around mine where he holds it on his thigh. He glances over at me, and I give him a slight encouraging smile. "We didn't want to see you disappointed by the wedding falling apart. We didn't realize…"

  "That you'd end up getting drunk and getting married anyway?" Neil asks.

  I run my hand over my burgeoning belly, remembering the night that created this sweet little baby – our daughter. Grant still sometimes refers to her as 'he,’ but I know he’s only doing that for my benefit. The look on his face when the doctor told us I'm carrying his daughter was nothing short of pure joy.

  "That definitely wasn't in the plans," I say.

  "We haven't told anyone else, except Judy," Grant says. "We talked about it, but we decided it would just make things more complicated. It doesn't matter if anyone else knows the details or not. It doesn’t change anything between us. But we do want to do something for ourselves, just so we can remember the vows we say to each other. It would mean a lot to us if you would officiate for us... again."

  Neil smiles softly.

  “Whether it was legal or not, I married you that night. I could see it in your eyes. The way you looked at each other."

  "People keep saying that," he says.

  "Then maybe you should listen to them," Neil says. "Sometimes other people really do know things, too. The two of you…"

  His voice trails off, but I can guess how the rest of that sentence would go. I've heard us called that so many times before. The two of you. Now I feel like I really know what it means.

  "Will you officiate a vow renewal for us on our first anniversary then?" Grant asks.

  "I'd be honored," Neil says. "It's the least I can do after what you've done for us." He looks over at Eleanor, who runs her hand along his arm. "We can't thank you enough."

  "You don't need to thank us," I say.

  "Yes, we do," Eleanor says. "What you've done for us... I never thought it was going to happen. I never thought I would see Neil again, much less be able to sit beside him and hold his hand."

  "No one will ever be able to tell you no again," Grant says.

  "I only wish our parents were here to see us get married," Eleanor says.

  "They will be," Neil says, cupping his hand around her face and leaning to rest his forehead against hers. "In a way. They'll know. But all that matters now is that you'll be up there beside me."

  In that instant, neither of them seem elderly. They’re the same teenagers who fell so in love with each other they were willing to risk it all for the chance to be together.

  "I'm so happy for you," I say, emotion tightening in my throat at the pure love and happiness on the face of this sweet old man I've gotten so close to the last few months.

  Neil turns to me, his eyes flickering to my belly, and then back to Grant.

  "There is something we want to ask you to do for us," he says.

  "What is it?" Grant asks.

  "Find her," Neil says. "Find our daughter."

  My heart feels like it’s stopped in my chest.

  "Neil…" Grant starts.

  "If there's anyone in this world who can do it, Grant, it's you. Please. Find our baby."

  Grant draws me closer to him, and I see him nod.

  "I will," he says. He looks over at me. "We will."

  Epilogue

  Grant

  Three months later…

  Watching Emma give birth was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Up until now, my experience with babies was limited to when my younger brothers were born. I was a baby myself when Preston and Dean were born, so I don't remember much. I remember Asher coming home, but it didn’t seem like a big deal. We weren't brought to the hospital to meet our new brother or given any sort of encouraging pep talk about a new baby coming home. He just became part of our reality. The same was true for Seth a few years later.

  I don't think I was even close to being prepared for what it would be like to witness the indescribable process Emma went through, and that singular moment when our child went from being inside her body, totally reliant on Emma for survival, to living on her own. My beautiful wife showed remarkable strength as she endured hours of labor and brought our beautiful, tiny daughter into the world.

  Our daughter.

  Those words still take my breath away. I knew I was going to have a daughter for months, but it didn't fully sink in until I first saw her. I’m still processing my amazing new role as her father as I stare down at her sleeping in her mother's arms. She looks so peaceful and beautiful, and I feel a love and protectiveness for both unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I reach down to touch the baby's velvety cheek, and hear her fuss in her sleep.

  "She has your eyelashes," Emma says.

  Even after what she has just gone through, Emma looks calm and content as she watches the baby sleep.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Laurence?"

  I look over my shoulder to see a nurse standing at the door to Emma's hospital suite.

  "Yes?" I ask.

  "You have a visitor. Is that alright?"

  I glance at Emma, who smiles and nods.

  "Sure," I say. "Send them in."

  She backs up, and a plume of balloons comes into the room. A few seconds later, they move out of the way and I see Neil grinning at me. He has the bundle of balloons in one hand and several gift bags in the other. Behind him is Eleanor, carrying several more bags and a massive teddy bear.

  "Hi!" Neil calls out happily. "How is the new mommy?"

  He sounds happier than I’ve ever heard him.

  "I'm good," Emma says. "Come see."

  Neil puts the bags down on the couch at the side of the room and hands the balloons to me before coming closer to the bed. He stands at the edge and lovingly gazes down at my daughter. Eleanor steps up beside him, tenderly resting her head on his shoulder as he wraps his arm around her waist.

  "She's beautiful," Eleanor says.

  "Thank you," Emma replies. "I still can't believe she's here. I can't imagine my life without her now."

  Eleanor nods.

  "That's what it feels like. You become a mother in an instant, but you feel like it was always a part of you. And it always is."

  I can hear the e
motion in Eleanor's voice. I know this must be hard for her, but at the same time, they both seem so happy to be a part of it. We've become even closer to the reunited couple over the last few months, and it almost feels like they are an extra set of grandparents.

  "Does she have a name?" Neil asks.

  Emma and I meet eyes. I nod slightly.

  "We've talked about it a lot," she says. "And we wanted to ask if it would be alright with you to name her Lily."

  Eleanor draws in a breath, and a smile crosses her face, perfectly matching Neil's. He nods enthusiastically, and she reaches down to touch the baby's face.

  "It suits her," Eleanor says softly.

  "Would you like to hold her?" I ask.

  "May I?" Eleanor asks.

  "Of course," Emma says, carefully lifting Lily and offering her to Eleanor.

  Neil places his hand gently under the baby's head and guides her into Eleanor's arms. They step back from the bed, and I lean down to kiss Emma.

  "Our daughter is surrounded with a lot of love," I whisper.

  "And she always will be."

  * * *

  Emma

  The next summer…

  "I can't believe you talked me into this," I say.

  "You can do it. I believe in you," Grant says. He takes my hand, and I feel like I'm eighteen again. "You've been asked to prom and went."

  "And had a wonderful time."

  "You rode Space Mountain. You hiked on an actual mountain trail. You've accomplished everything on your bucket list but this one. This is all that's left. And it's your very last chance."

  I draw in a breath and look ahead of us. Black Out looms at the end of the path, the faded slide just as intimidating as it was when I was a teenager. A banner draped across the fence to the side of the steps leading up proclaims this is the slide's farewell season. After more than two decades of scaring the living hell out of people, Black Out is closing for good at the end of the summer. It will be torn down and replaced with some other attraction. They're calling it a water coaster. That can't possibly be good. Right now, though, I don't care about how terrifying its replacement slide will be. It's still just a concept. Black Out is still standing, and hasn't lost any of its intimidation factor for me. In fact, it might be more frightening now that I'm an adult and don't have to impress Grant. He's my husband. He's stuck.

  Joke's on him.

  We take a few steps closer, and a sudden gush of water drops down into the pool at the base of the slide, spraying me. I glare at Grant.

  "See? It remembers me. It has a taste for my blood."

  In the next instant a boy drops, laughing, into the pool, and Grant wraps his arm around me.

  "No taste for blood," he says. "It's just an old, worn-out slide. That's all. You can do this. Are you ready?"

  I look up at the coiling slide and draw in a breath, nodding.

  "I'll get on the steps," I say, not ready yet to commit to anything else.

  "Sounds good. One step at a time. Literally."

  We get onto the steps and start following the line as it makes its way slowly up toward the slide platform. The shortness of the line is a testament to how outdated the slide is. No longer does Black Out draw queues that stretch to the front of the park.

  "Are you sure Lily is alright?" I ask.

  Grant grins as we take another step up.

  "Nice try. No pulling the baby card to get out of this. She's with Grampy and Grammy Kleinfelder in the splash pool. They are stocked with swim diapers and sunscreen."

  "Damn. Thwarted again," I say.

  He nods.

  "Yep. Do you want to tell me a long story to distract you into climbing the stairs?" he asks.

  I try to look offended, but he grins at me.

  "I think I'll be fine," I say.

  We fall into silence as we continue up the stairs. I look out over the waterpark, noticing all the changes that have happened since that day. The complex of slides we first went on are gone, replaced by different attractions, and the massive wave pool where he held me in his arms has been enlarged and surrounded by an artificial beach. Judy and Jeremy are in there somewhere. In fact, I'm fairly certain I can hear her squealing all the way up here. On the opposite side is the children's splash area where Neil and Eleanor brought Lily. We invited Mom to come along today, but she refused. The waterpark is just not her scene.

  The higher we climb, the more frantic the butterflies flutter in my stomach. Grant presses close to me, leans down and presses a kiss to the side of my neck, and some of my nerves melt away. As we get to the top of the stairs and I see the mouth of the slide, I think of my father. For a few seconds, I feel like that little girl again, clinging to Daddy's hand, and so excited to be at the front of the line to ride the new slide. I remember the thrill and how special it felt to be there alone with him. I didn’t have a fear in the world. I glance up at the sky for a second, and look over at Grant.

  "You made it to the top, at least," he says. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Em. If you're afraid, there’s no shame in going back down."

  I look at the water rushing down into the slide before drawing in a deep breath and letting go of Grant's hand. I kiss him firmly, walk up to the slide, and step into the water. Sitting down, I grab the bars on either side of me to hold me in place. My heart pounds in my chest and I close my eyes to listen to it for a few seconds. Resting back, I feel the water splashing around me, and the buzzer sounds.

  "I love you," Grant says.

  My lips curve up into a smile.

  "I love you too."

  And I let go.

  THE END

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  Big, tattooed, and super powerful.

  The papers say to stay away from the wolf with the Romeo eyes.

  Shane, the football star who betrayed my brother and forgot about me...

  The shy, quiet girl with glasses, and a huge crush.

  I hate that gorgeous b@stard.

  But staying away from him isn't easy.

  Forced to work together.

  My job was to reform this arrogant bad boy's image.

  Instead I fell for him, my brother's ex-best friend.

  He took my heart, and my virginity.

  By mistake I ended up pregnant.

  My once simple life? Complicated.

  And just when things couldn't get worse...

  Everything went wrong.

  Chapter One

  Fiona

  "I'd vote for her in a heartbeat. I mean, she has all the qualifications."

  "How?"

  "She's compassionate. Driven. She's independent but isn't afraid to commit to her relationship. She isn't intimidated by men, at all. She has everything this country needs."

  Esme walks up to the breakroom table where Robert and I are sitting, settling into the chair beside me and popping open her plastic salad container.

  "Who are we talking about? Oprah? Because that's a woman I could get behind."

  "Barbie."

  Her hand drops to the table, a piece of spinach impaled on the end of her fork. Her coffee-colored eyes are impatient and full of disbelief.

  "Barbie?"

  "Yes," I say emphatically. "Barbie. The world needs her now more than ever. She's always positive. Her eyeliner game is on point. And what school did homegirl go to? She can do everything. She can pilot a plane while teaching algebra, grooming your poodle, and making you a crepe." I take a bite of my apple. "In heels."

  * * *

  Later that evening…

  "I don't know, Grammie," I reply as I hold my phone between my shoulder and ear while performing my evening duel between my keys and the lock to my apartment. "I just feel like s
omething's off lately."

  "What do you mean 'off'?" my grandmother asks.

  The lock finally gives in for the night, and the door opens. I let out a sigh of relief as the chilled air inside cuts through the dense heat around me, instantly cooling the sweat on my skin. This is the moment I look forward to all day – and the reason I schedule my air conditioner to resume operating at Arctic temperatures the second I get home from work. My electric bill sometimes means that I have to forsake good toilet paper to stick to the budget I impose on myself, but it's worth these few moments of sheer pleasure when I first walk in from the blistering summer heat.

  "I'm not sure," I say as I close the door behind me. "I feel like I'm not connecting with anything. Nothing excites me anymore." I pry off my heels and carry them toward my bedroom. "Someone asked me the other day what I do for a living. And you know what I said? I said… 'work.' Just like that. Just…'work.' Who says that?"

  She chuckles on the other end of the line. "You, apparently."

  I resume holding my phone in place with my shoulder, so I can unzip my skirt and shimmy out of it. The pantyhose, which I hate with a fiery, burning passion, but wouldn't be caught dead in the office without, are next. Finally, I'm in nothing but my blouse and feeling awkward standing half-naked in the middle of my bedroom. At least I'm not hot anymore.

  "I just wish I could find that spark that made me leave home four years ago. When I did that, I had so much... hope. I was sure there was something out there for me, waiting to give me the incredible, glamorous life I always envisioned."

  "I'm still not sure why you thought you would find glamour in an insurance firm. I know when I think about a glitzy and sparkly life, my mind doesn't go straight to insurance adjuster."