Worrying my lip, I nodded and quickly got dressed. Emmit took me by the hand and led me out of our beach cottage.
“Please tell me, Emmit,” I begged.
Emmit blew out a long breath before he began talking. “When Ashely left to go find you, someone came into her room. They destroyed it, knocking over furniture and taking a knife and . . . and . . .”
The lump in my throat almost didn’t allow me to talk. “And what, Emmit?” I shouted.
“They cut up your wedding dress.”
My legs stopped working. My heart felt as if it had stopped beating as my lungs fought for how to keep pulling air in and out. “W-what?”
Emmit turned my body toward him. “Adaline, I think it’s Stephanie.”
My eyes widened in horror. “Stephanie? Emmit, that’s crazy. Why would you even think she would—?” My hands came over my mouth as I realized Emmit must have hidden something from me. Stephanie must have done something else.
The Trellis.
“Did she . . . was she the one who destroyed the trellis?”
Emmit placed his hands on my arms and held me gently. “I don’t think so baby. I think that was just as they think, the storm.”
I looked at Emmit with a confused expression. “Then why are you thinking Stephanie?”
Emmit blew out a quick breath and closed his eyes. “I didn’t want you to be upset or worried, so I didn’t tell you.”
My stomach turned, and I felt nausea. I had known something was up right before the wedding. “Didn’t tell me what?”
Emmit looked away and cursed under his breath before he looked back at me. “Two weeks before the wedding someone called up to Laluna and tried to cancel our reservations.”
“What!” I shouted as I took a step away from Emmit. “Are you kidding me? How did you find out?”
“Laluna sent me an email confirming the cancelation, and I called immediately and was able to get it taken care of. Then Todd found out someone had closed a couple of my credit cards but he got that taken care of the same day.”
My mouth dropped open as I let what Emmit was telling me sink in. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this Emmit? Why would you keep it from me?”
“I thought I was doing the right thing by not telling you. I didn’t want to stress you out any more than you already were. I took care of it and everything was back on track. I didn’t want to bother you with some bullshit thing some crazy ass girl did.”
I shook my head and turned away from Emmit as I took everything in and processed it. Spinning back around, I glared at Emmit. “Well, look what it did, Emmit! It just brought her right to us. To your sisters room! For all I know she could have just watched us fuck and we didn’t know. She destroyed my wedding dress! My. Wedding. Dress! What else is she going to do?” I finally broke down and cried as Emmit quickly wrapped me up in his arms.
“I swear to God, Addie, she will not get anywhere near you. I won’t let her.”
Burying my face into his chest, I sobbed. “You don’t even know if it’s her, Emmit.”
I could feel Emmit’s body tense, as he held onto me tighter.
“It’s her.”
Those two words sent a shiver through my body as I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed we could go back to being lost in each other like we were not even ten minutes ago.
Trying to keep from falling apart, I pulled back and looked into Emmit’s eyes.
“What are we going to do?”
Emmit’s fingers came up and lightly brushed back a loose strand of hair from my face. With a confident smile, he looked into my eyes. “We’re going to find you another dress and we’re getting married. Meanwhile, I’m not letting you out of my fucking sight.”
I was pulled back tightly into Emmit’s body as we stood there for a few moments in each other’s arms.
She had been here. I could feel it. Stephanie had been in our cottage as Emmit and I had sex.
My body trembled at the thought as Emmit held me even tighter.
My beautiful perfect day just turned into my worst nightmare.
I PACED OUTSIDE THE DRESS shop as I waited for Todd and Chris to call me back. The second my phone rang in my hand, I answered it.
“Talk to me, Chris.”
“It was for sure a woman. They had their hair pulled up and wore a hat, but the security footage shows a woman leaving the area of the villa we are staying in.”
“Fucking hell. It has to be that crazy bitch,” I said as I looked into the store. Ashley and Adaline’s mother, Emery, brought us here so Adaline could find another dress. Here it was our wedding day, and we had to track down another damn dress.
“Todd has already hired additional security for the ceremony tonight and for you and Adaline.”
Releasing a quick frustrated breath, I shook my head. “I don’t need any. I’m more worried about Addie. She’s freaked out, and she insists that Stephanie was watching us this morning. I’ve got to tell you, Chris, I felt the same way Addie did. When I woke up this morning I had the strangest feeling someone was watching me.”
“She’s not going to get anywhere near either of you, Emmit. I promise you. But I do have something I need to tell you and you’re not going to like it.”
I closed my eyes and got prepared for it. What in the hell else could happen?
“I’m ready,” I said.
“I did a sweep of your cottage. There were two small wireless cameras that someone had placed in your room. Someone has been watching y’all.”
My entire body froze as I let what Chris just told me settle into my brain. “What?”
Oh, my God. They saw Adaline naked. They saw us having sex. Who the fuck knows what else they saw or what they will do with the videos.
“Chris, how in the hell did you find them?”
“I combed through your entire cottage, call it gut feeling or something. I figured if someone was going to go through all of this trouble, they were most likely watching you as well. Especially if it is Stephanie.”
Turning, I glanced into the shop and saw Adaline standing at the counter checking out. She was wearing a smile as she listened to something the girl behind the counter was saying. “Who else knows you found the camera?”
“Just Todd,” Chris said.
Talking barely above a whisper, I said, “Don’t tell anyone else, especially Addie.”
Chris cleared his throat. “Um, isn’t she kind of pissed at you for not telling her about Stephanie calling up here and jacking with your reservations? Are you sure you want to hide this from her?”
“Just until after the wedding is over.” I turned away and scrubbed my hand down my face. “Chris, what would you think of taking on a new job?”
“New job?”
“I want to set up a small security team, mostly for Addie and you are about the only person I would trust to do it.”
Silence loomed over the phone. I didn’t say anything because I knew my brother was letting what I had just said soak in. “Ah, well I’d have to talk to MaryAnne about it. Can I think about it and talk to her some before we go any further with this?”
“Of course. But the sooner the better, Chris. I have a feeling if Stephanie is behind this, she covered her tracks really well.”
The door to the shop rang as it opened and Adaline, Emery, and Ashley all walked out laughing. It was nice to see Adaline happy. “Hey, I’ve got to run. We’ll be back over there in a little bit.”
“Talk to you soon, Emmit. Don’t worry, dude. Between me, Todd, and Waldo, nothing else is going to happen. I promise.”
“Thanks, Chris. Later.”
I hoped like hell my brother was right. I needed to make two more calls, but I didn’t want to make them on my cell.
Adaline walked up to me as she wore the most beautiful smile. “Hey, you still mad at me?” I asked as I gently kissed her lips.
Adaline’s eyes searched my face before they made contact with my lips. “No,” she whispered as she licked her lips and th
en looked back up into my eyes. “I’m sorry I got so mad. It’s just everything that is happening and today is supposed to be the happiest day of our lives, it has me thrown that’s all.”
I placed my hands on the sides of her face and pulled her lips back to mine where I kissed her again. My sister and Adaline’s mother had already gone back to the limo and were waiting for us. “Every day I wake up with you is the happiest day of my life, Addie. All we need is the two of us. Don’t ever forget that.”
Her teeth sank down into her lip as she worried it. “I won’t,” she said as I laced my hand around her waist and guided her over to the limo.
Making our way into the limo, I looked around at the three women and said, “So where to now?”
Ashley cleared her throat and said, “I think Adaline needs a massage, then it’s back to the villa to get ready. I know exactly how I want to put your hair up, Adaline!”
With a small chuckle, Adaline nodded her head and then turned to me. “What if she’s still there?”
Pulling her closer to my side, Adaline settled in next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. “Todd and Chris are taking care of all that, baby. Don’t worry about any of it. I swear to you, no one is going to do anything else to ruin this day.”
Adaline glanced up at me through her beautiful long eyelashes as she gave me a weak smile. I knew she didn’t totally believe me. Hell, I didn’t really believe me either. I had a sinking feeling Stephanie was lurking around . . . waiting for her chance to strike again. Knowing she might have watched me fuck Adaline this morning turned my stomach. The thought of someone possibly having a video of us caused my body to go stiff.
We needed to find this person, and find them soon.
Chris pointed to where each camera had been placed. I let out a sigh of relief that this morning’s escapades with Adaline weren’t in the line of sight of either camera. If it had sound, they could have listened to everything that went on.
“There’s no more. Are you sure?” I asked as I looked around the room.
“If there is, they are hidden really well.”
With a quick nod of my head, I said, “Okay.”
“Um, Emmit, I don’t really know how to ask this but I have to.”
I turned and looked at my brother as he gave me an awkward look. “Just ask.”
Chris rubbed his chin and sucked in a deep breath. “Did you ever have sex with Stephanie?”
“Hell no!” I said as I gave him a look of horror. “First of all, she worked for me and she was married. I’d never cross either of those lines.”
Chris held up his hands. “I had to ask. If it is her, and you did have some sort of relationship with her, I wouldn’t have put it past her to have recorded it.”
I pulled my head back and looked at Chris with a confused look. “Fuck dude, that’s some messed up thinking.”
With a shrug of his shoulders, Chris continued on. “I’m just saying, I could see some sick bastard recording you fucking, keep it for herself to watch and then send it to Adaline right before the wedding.”
My heart dropped to my stomach as the fear of something like that being sent to Adaline. Luckily, I never slept with Stephanie. “Well, I never slept with her so we don’t have to worry about that.”
Chris still wore a worried expression. “Talk to me, Chris.”
As he looked around my room, he shook his head. “It’s just weird, Emmit. Stephanie’s supposed to be back in the states. How did she do this? I hate to say this, but I don’t think we’ve heard the last of her.”
Not being able to push down the sinking feeling I had, I nodded my head as I said, “Yeah. Me too.”
“A sweep of your house is priority one once we get back to the states.”
My body shuddered as I let the idea of someone spying on me in my own home sink in.
“Come on, let’s go grab a quick drink to settle our nerves and then we need to start getting ready.”
“I just need to stop at the front desk and make a couple of phone calls. I’ve changed up the plans for the honeymoon. I’m not telling a soul about them. I want Adaline to feel safe.”
Chris slapped me on the back as he said, “Good call.”
I glanced around as an uneasy feeling came over me. I couldn’t shake the feeling of someone watching us as Chris and I sat in the bar and had a quick drink. I needed something to take the edge off. I was getting married in a few short hours, and I didn’t want Adaline to see me nervous.
“You ready?” Chris asked as he stood up and slapped me on the back.
Smiling, I dropped a few twenty’s onto the bar and said, “Hell yeah, I’m ready. Let’s do this!”
As we headed out of the bar, I took one more look around. I didn’t see any signs of Stephanie, but I sure as hell had the feeling she was there and I wasn’t about to let her know she was having any effect on this day what so ever.
Pulling out my phone, I sent Adaline a text.
Me: In two and a half hours you will be mine.
It didn’t take her long to send me a text back. It was a selfie and she was making a horrid face as Ashley had her hands all in Adaline’s hair. Laughing, I shook my head.
Me: You’d look beautiful with a plastic bag over your head.
Addie: If your sister doesn’t stop pulling my hair soon, I might end up with one because I will have punched her and knocked her out cold!
Me: I love you, pumpkin.
Adaline sent me another picture. This time her making kisses faces. God I fucking love her.
Addie: I love you too. I can’t wait to see you! Ashley is threatening to take my phone cause I’m sending you pictures. Got to go! See you soon!
Me: See you soon.
My stomach felt like I was on one hell of a ride with the way it was dipping. The idea of making Adaline my wife was almost bringing me to tears. Chris wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me to him as he hit my chest.
“You all right, little brother?” he asked as we both laughed.
“Yeah, I feel like a pansy though. The idea of marrying Adaline, damn it makes my heart feel like I’m fucking soaring on that zip line again.”
“That’s a good feeling, Emmit. Don’t hide it, dude. You two have been waiting for this day for as long as I can remember. You both deserve to be happy.”
Nodding my head slightly, I looked out at the water as my mind thought back to that little girl who stole my heart in elementary school.
Smiling, I kept my eyes on the beautiful blue ocean. “That’s my goal; make Addie the happiest woman in the world.”
Chris chuckled next to me. “Come on. Let’s go get you married off like the rest of us lucky bastards.”
I STOOD BEFORE THE MIRROR and smiled as I looked at myself.
“You look so beautiful, Adaline,” MaryAnne said next to me.
Glancing up, our eyes met. “Were you scared when you married, Chris?”
“Oh yeah. My hands were shaking so bad, I was scared Chris wouldn’t be able to put my wedding band on.”
I laughed as I looked back in the mirror. Ashley had pulled my brown hair up and had a few strands hanging down to frame my face. A single braid ran from one side to the other, and I had no clue how she did it, but it looked beautiful.
The simple white dress was nothing like my designer wedding gown, but when I tried it on, it felt perfect. It was almost a blessing in disguise that some nut case cut mine up. The sweetheart neckline accented my breasts perfectly. Emmit would love it, my father not so much. It was made of lace and chiffon and was lightweight. I loved how it fell just at the mid of my thigh, giving it just the right touch of sexy. The back of the dress fell to the floor and had a chapel train that would run beautifully across the sand.
I smiled bigger as I pictured Emmit unzipping the dress off. My hands went to my cheeks to hide the fact that I had instantly blushed while thinking about Emmit making love to me tonight.
“Oh God. Please tell me you aren’t thinking what I thin
k you’re thinking. Because that just makes me feel sick, Adaline. Yuk.”
I let a giggle slip from my mouth as I turned and looked at my mother staring at me. “Mom,” I whispered as she made her way over to me.
Her eyes looked me over from top to bottom. “You are gorgeous. Emmit is going to fall in love with you even more the moment he sees you.”
I fought to hold back the tears that were trying like hell to fall. “I love him so much, Mom.”
“I know you do, and he loves you so much too.” Giving me a wink, she leaned in closer. “He’s for sure going to be racing to get you out of this!”
My mouth fell open as I quickly looked over to Emmit’s mom, Candace. “Mom!” I said with a giggle.
Brushing me off with her hand, she said, “Well, it’s true!”
After we both finished our little giggling fit, my mother turned serious. “I remember the day you were born, Adaline. Your father leaned over and kissed you on the tip of your little nose and told you no man would ever love you like he did. I see the way Emmit looks at you. The way he has always looked at you. He loves you with his whole heart.”
A single tear slowly rolled down my cheek. “I love him too. So very much.”
My mother nodded her head and quickly wiped a tear away. “The day I married your father, my grandmother spoke with me alone. She sat me down and gave me three pieces of advice that I’m going to share with you.”
“Okay,” I said as my mother and I held hands.
“Never go to sleep angry with each other. Everyone says this one I know, but it’s the most important one.”
“I promise we won’t,” I said with a grin.
“Now, this next one shocked the hell out of me coming from my grandmother, but it has been the best advice I’ve ever gotten.”
My curiosity was piqued as I waited for my mother to continue talking.
“Always play in the bedroom, and don’t be afraid to be vocal with what you want him to do to you sexually.”
My mouth fell open as my eyes widened in horror. She did not just say that to me.
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