If Forever Comes (12 page)

I leaned back into him, unable to stop the
small giggle that flitted from my mouth.

He squeezed me a little, the warmth of him
spreading out to touch every fiber of my being. “I’m going to miss
you,” he grumbled hoarsely near my ear before he burrowed through
my hair to kiss my neck, sending a thrill of nerves racing through
my body.

I moaned my agreement.

“Would you two knock it off!” Natalie yelled
from where she tossed a bunch of bags into her trunk. She was
parked on the street at the end of my driveway. “You’re worse than
two teenagers who have ten minutes to make out before their parents
get home.” She slammed her trunk shut. “You’ll see each other
tomorrow.”

“I’m not quite ready to let her go yet,”
Christian mumbled mostly to me.

Natalie propped an annoyed hand on her hip.
“We have stuff we have to take care of for the wedding before her
shower today.”

Christian rocked us in a slow sway, his body
flattened against mine, every inch of him plastered to
me.

It was unbelievable how much I loved it. How
much I loved this. I clasped my hands over his that were splayed
wide over my belly and rested against the strength of his
chest.

Christian’s voice deepened, the words hoarse.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Natalie. As long
as the wedding includes me dancing with my wife and her ending up
in my bed afterward, everything is going to be perfect.”

A shot of choked laughter ripped from
Natalie’s throat, and she turned her wide, disbelieving eyes on me.
“What did you do to him, Elizabeth? I think you’ve created a
monster.”

I just grinned. She had no idea. She’d not
known the cocky boy I met in college, that flirty mouth and those
impatient hands that had turned me upside down, twisted me inside
out. The Christian she’d known had been one filled with regret,
every moment spent trying to make up for what he’d done.

Christian pulled me closer, his mouth curled
up in a self-satisfied smirk. “What? We have a lot of time to make
up for.”

Now I could recognize that eager boy swimming
through the spirit of this caring man. This was the Christian who’d
knocked me from my feet, stolen my breath just as assuredly as he’d
stolen my heart.

“Let me love on my future wife before you
steal her away,” he continued.

Natalie scoffed. “Umm…okay, I’m taking her for
her final dress fitting and then to her bridal shower, and Matthew
is getting ready to take you off on some crazy boys’ night
somewhere he wouldn’t even tell me. Now tell me who’s doing the
stealing?”

Matthew laughed as he surprised her from
behind, lifting her off her feet.

Natalie squealed, but there was no way she
could hide the grin that captured her face.

He placed her on her feet and spun her around
in the same second. By her waist, he tugged her close and bent her
back as he hovered over her. “You’re not worried, are you?” His
grin was as big as hers.

She swatted at him. “Of course not, but if
these two don’t knock it off, they’re going to make us
late.”

He pecked her lips. “Good. Because I’m going
to take our Christian here and make sure he has a good time.” He
raised a cocky brow at Christian. “I don’t think this guy has left
her bed in months,” he said, gesturing at me with his
chin.

I giggled more as Christian rocked me from
behind, his laughter all brash with Matthew’s taunting.

“Well considering that’s the only place I want
to be…” he said as he tipped his head in overt
suggestion.

A rush of color seeped to my cheeks with
Christian’s blatant innuendo.

Still, it was true. Christian and I couldn’t
get enough of each other. We never would. The need between us came
unending, this powerful force that shot through me every time he
touched me.

To top it off, we were excited. All of us. It
was a joy that sat like a palpable aura in the warm San Diego air.
Like I could reach out and touch it.

One week from today, I would be Christian’s
wife.

I bit my bottom lip to hide the pleasure that
lit deep within me. Christian hugged me closer, and I knew he felt
the power of it, too.

Slowly turning me in his arms, an affectionate
smile lifted his mouth as he lightly bumped my stomach with his.
Gentle fingertips caressed down my sides until he found his way
below the distinct prominence jutting out from my belly.

This was the only evidence of my pregnancy,
the massive ball that sat out in front of me like a declaration of
my and Christian’s love. The rest of my body remained thin,
probably too thin, but I wasn’t nearly as bad off as I was with
Lizzie. I felt healthy. Good. That was all I could ask for.
Christian kept telling me he was worried I should be gaining more
weight, but my doctor assured us that, as long as the baby grew, we
didn’t have anything to be concerned about.

Christian turned those strong fingers up and
tenderly cradled her. Our baby girl. Lillie. Lizzie had named her
because she wanted her little sister to have a name like hers.
Christian and I didn’t hesitate to agree.

It was perfect.

I stared up at him as he ran his thumbs just
under my belly button. “I love her,” he whispered, “and I love
you.” He watched down on me with those kind blue eyes that somehow
still managed to burn. Christian’s attention found its way back to
my ear, his breath hot as it caressed along my skin. “You know I’d
much rather spend tonight in bed with you, don’t you?” he
murmured.

A shiver traveled the length of my body.
“Mmmhmm…I bet you’re going to miss me while you’re out partying
with the guys,” I teased, although I knew he wasn’t speaking
anything but the truth.

He released a warm chuckle at my neck as he
brushed my hair back, kissing me there. “You’re way more
interesting. Believe me.”

I smirked a little as I weaved my fingers
through black strands of soft hair, lifting my jaw so he could kiss
miss me a little more.

Natalie smacked her hands together as if
shooing away a wild animal. “That’s it. Break it up.”

I laughed and stepped back. With widened eyes,
I mouthed, “Fine,” at her.

She returned the same mocking glare, but I saw
it all there, sparkling in her eyes. Relief softly played across
her features as she watched us, her expression reflecting joy—her
joy for me. I knew she’d worried about me for so long, that she’d
hoped and prayed that I would one day find a way to heal the broken
heart that had tainted every aspect of my life.

Never could I have imagined that those
fractured pieces would be mended in the arms of the one who’d
shattered me in the first place.

I’d thought I’d lost the ability to love, the
ability to forgive. But forgiveness had come into my life like the
most intense burst of light. It had penetrated the darkest recesses
of my spirit, the hidden places soiled with bitterness, this poison
that had eaten and destroyed everything good in me until only fear
remained. I’d been chained, bound by my anger. Ridding my heart of
it had changed everything. No, I wasn’t a new person.

I’d just found myself again.

An affected smile hinted at my mouth. I gazed
across at her, a silent confirmation that told her just how happy I
really was.

Behind me, footsteps clamored from the house
and down the sidewalk. I turned to find Christian’s mom, Claire,
standing at the end of the walkway, with Lizzie’s hand wrapped in
hers. Her face was filled with a joy unlike anything I’d ever seen
her wear. She’d come into town just two days before, here to share
in the festivities of the upcoming week. She’d stay two weeks after
the wedding to help my mom take care of Lizzie while Christian and
I were away on our honeymoon.

Affection poured from Christian as his gaze
settled on the two of them. “Well, now that I have all my girls
here, I really don’t think I want to leave.”

“Daddy,” Lizzie scolded with her toothy grin,
dimples denting her cheeks. She’d matured so much over the last
year. We celebrated her sixth birthday just last weekend. Sometimes
it was unbelievable how fast she’d grown, that my round-faced baby
was growing into a little girl.

Still, she remained the sweetest thing I’d
ever seen.

“You have a party. You
have
to go,” she
continued on as she rocked onto the outside of her feet and swayed
at her grandmother’s side.

My heart swelled a little further.

Was it possible to be happier than I was
now?

I looked between the faces of the family I
loved, and thought no, not a chance. Christian had given me back
everything I had lost, completed me in a way I never thought
imaginable.

“You’d better go and give your daddy a hug
goodbye before he leaves,” Claire prodded as she slanted a knowing
smile at her son. I loved seeing Christian and Claire this way.
Close, each other’s staunchest supporter, defender, and
friend.

Two nights ago, when we’d picked her up from
the airport, I couldn’t stop crying as I clung to her, so grateful
for how important this woman had become in my life. How crazy it
was that she’d once been someone I despised, one I thought was only
there to heap more burden on her son, that she really didn’t love
him the way a mother should. When in reality, she had one of the
greatest hearts of anyone I’d ever known. This was only the second
time I’d seen her since Christian and I had reconciled. Still, we
spent hours on the phone, talking as if we were the oldest of
friends, and then there were the times she was there to offer me
motherly advice. So easily she fit into both roles.

Lizzie ran down the drive to Christian, and he
scooped her up and spun her around.

“I’m going to miss you, princess. You have a
fun time at your friend’s house.”

After the fitting, we’d be dropping her off at
Kelsey’s mother’s house for the evening. We figured a bridal shower
wasn’t the best place for a six-year-old impressionable little
girl. No doubt, some of these women would be doing their best to
embarrass me.

“I will, Daddy,” she promised. “I like playing
at Kelsey’s house, then I get to spend the night at Grammy Linda’s
house!”

“Well, that works out perfect, then,
sweetheart. Be a good girl for me, okay?”

“Daddy…” She squirmed and a roll of giggles
escaped her as he tickled her side. “Of course I’ll be a good
girl.”

He softened and kissed her nose. Tenderness
filled his expression. “I know you will, baby girl.”

I leaned into them, my hand on Lizzie’s back
while Christian held her in the crook of his arm, his other wrapped
around my waist, Lillie pressed between us. This time, no one
bothered us as we stood there as one. A family.

The way we were always supposed to
be.

Mirrors rose up on every side. Quiet rumblings
whispered back from them, stirred something deep inside me,
uttering my forgotten hopes and dreams. They murmured of a future
I’d longed for as a little girl. One where it was love that
conquered all.

So badly I’d wanted that for my life, but
years ago, I’d given up on that perfect picture, counted it as
loss.

Standing here now, those hopes came rushing
back, kindling the remnants of those days of my life that had been
filled with such a pure, unassuming innocence. It set those hopes
aflame and ignited my dreams anew.

My attention wandered the length of the
mirror, taking in the simple strapless gown. It had a bodice of
delicately braided white lace and a thick ribbon sash that fit
snugly just above my expanding waist. It gave way to a cascade of
tulle that fell in soft waves down my body. The dress flowed all
the way to the floor, and the material was fuller in the back with
just the hint of a train.

A swell of emotion surged, pumped steadily
through my veins, joy and peace and ecstasy.

How, in such a short time, had my life gone
from empty to complete? Less than a year ago, I’d spent my nights
alone, yielding to the belief that I always would be. Now they were
spent in the safety of his arms.

Christian had once again changed the direction
of my life, this force of a man that I could never have resisted. I
never should have tried.

Because a life with him was the only thing I
wanted.

“Oh my God, Elizabeth,” Natalie whispered at
my side. Her fingertips were pressed to her lips.
“It’s…perfect.”

Through the mirror, Natalie met my watery
gaze. I let mine wander to my daughter who bounced beside
her.

“You look so pretty, Mommy…like a princess,”
she asserted through her precious grin.

A tremulous smile edged my mouth as I looked
down upon the little girl I loved with all my life. I slanted my
hand over the soft material covering my stomach, where this new
life blossomed. Somehow this baby girl managed to fill me just as
full. Not for a second did she take away from the love I held for
Lizzie. She just magnified what was already in my heart.