Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (62 page)

He was going to make things right with Jake, but first he had to make things right with Maddie.

He hoped he could make that happen. At least
she
had given him some sign that she cared whether he lived or died.

Jamison glanced down at his phone, pulling up the text he’d received earlier in the day one more time.
I’m thinking about you, and hoping you’re okay. I’m sorry I can’t be there for you right now. I just need some time to sort things out. Maddie.

The message had come from her friend, Dawn’s, phone, so Jamison hadn’t felt comfortable responding with more than—
thank you, love you…happy birthday
—but the text was still encouraging. It wasn’t a promise they were going to pick up where they’d left off, or a vow of undying love, but it was a start, and Jamison could work with that.

As soon as Maddie emerged from the restaurant, he’d call her and ask her to step over to the Spark parked at the back of the lot. He’d borrowed Lucy’s car in hopes that it would help him avoid being spotted by Jake or their father—who wasn’t thrilled with Jamison causing a scene at the firehouse, though he wasn’t nearly as angry or disappointed as Jake. Once Maddie found the car, Jamison planned to convince her to take a drive and head out to his aunt’s property, where they’d had their kinky night in the tent, for a talk.

He had a boxed cake from Icing in the backseat and the engagement ring tucked into his jean’s pocket. He figured if things went well, they could celebrate her birthday with the cake. If things went
really
well, he could follow the cake up with a proposal and make sure she knew how serious he was about building a future together.

And if she tells you it’s over, you can drop her off and go home and eat the entire cake all by yourself, knowing everyone who cared about you has flushed you down the toilet.

Jamison ignored the thought. Maddie wasn’t going to flush him down the toilet. He wouldn’t let her. He would convince her that what had happened with Wendy had happened when he was a different person, the person he’d been before he fell in love with Maddie, a woman who made him want to be a better man.

He was so eager to get started on winning Maddie back the next hour seemed to crawl. Minutes stretched on, the silence broken only by the faint lap of the waves on the shore of the lake and the chirp of insects as the sun set and twilight fell. The light in the parking lot was soft and blue and the outdoor lights had flickered to life by the time the members of the wedding party finally began to emerge from the restaurant and make their way up the long, narrow walk to the parking lot.

First came the other groomsmen, all men from the station Jamison knew would have heard the story of his beating by now—a fact that made him slouch lower in his seat, hoping to avoid being spotted. Next, came the bridesmaids and the mother and father of the bride, carrying Noelle’s infant car seat with the baby asleep inside between them, and finally Jake swung out through the door, walking next to Dad, their heads turned toward each other as they talked, seemingly in the midst of some deep conversation.

Jamison knew Jake and Naomi planned to spend the night before their wedding apart—Naomi and the baby were going to stay with her parents, and Jake at his house—so he wasn’t surprised to see Jake getting into Dad’s truck and pulling away. He was surprised, however, to see Naomi walking out of the restaurant alone a few minutes later, dressed in a rose-colored dress that floated around her legs and reminded him so much of something Maddie might wear it made his chest ache.

Jamison sat up straighter, waiting for Maddie to appear behind her, but the seconds ticked by—Naomi getting closer and closer to where her car was parked—and there was still no sign of Maddie. He knew he hadn’t missed her. That meant she was either still inside, or she hadn’t come to the rehearsal dinner.

And if she hadn’t come to the rehearsal dinner that had to mean she was still
seriously
upset, and Jamison could only think of one person who might be able to tell him what was going on.

He pulled Naomi’s number up on his phone and hit send. It was the first time he’d called her since Jake gave him her cell number months ago, but if she was surprised to hear from him she didn’t show it.

She simply tugged her phone from her purse, glanced at the screen, and put the phone to her ear. “Hey, Jamison. How are you?”

“Not great,” Jamison said, feeling weird being able to see Naomi without her knowing about it. “I’m actually parked in the restaurant lot right now. Do you think we could talk?”

“Sure.” Naomi spun in a circle, her eyes skimming over where he sat without seeing him. “I don’t see your car.”

“I’m in Lucy’s car, the beige Spark,” Jamison said, stepping out, ending the call when Naomi turned his way and their eyes connected.

She started across the lot toward him, significantly less bounce in her step than when she’d first emerged from the restaurant, but at least she didn’t seem angry with him for showing up after being uninvited. “Hey,” she said as she stopped in front of him, setting her bulky purse on the hood of Lucy’s car. “How you holding up? Your poor face looks like shit.”

“Thanks,” Jamison said, starting to smile but thinking better of it. His lip was healing quickly, but he didn’t want to risk splitting it again. “Had to have a few stitches, but I’m doing okay. I came here looking for Maddie. Do you have any idea where she is?”

“Looking for Maddie…” Naomi trailed off with a slow shake of her head and a long sigh. “Of course you did. Because you and Maddie…” She thunked her forehead with her palm. “I am such a freaking idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot,” Jamison said. “We were trying to keep things a secret until after the wedding. Maddie didn’t want to steal the spotlight.”

Naomi shook her head again. “Well, it’s certainly a surprise. I had no idea, not even when she called to say she was going to have to miss the rehearsal dinner.”

“She missed it?” Jamison braced a hand on the roof of the car. “Why? Is she okay?”

“I think so,” Naomi said. “She sounded like normal Maddie, but said she needed to spend her birthday sorting out some old baggage. Relationship baggage. She had a good talk with a friend of hers and it stirred some things up. It seemed like she was finally confronting all her feelings about the divorce, so I told her to take her time.”

She shrugged. “I mean, she knows how to walk down an aisle. I was more concerned about getting my dad and the flower girls into the church for a practice run than the bridesmaids, anyway.”

“Oh.” Jamison frowned, not sure what to make of that news. “I didn’t realize she still had a lot of feelings…about the divorce.”

Naomi shot him a vaguely amused look. “Of course she does, Jamison. They were married for six years, and Maddie has barely spoken a word about how what happened made her feel. Even to me.”

Jamison was quiet for a moment, thinking back over the past three weeks. “Maybe it’s my fault she’s upset. We’ve been moving pretty fast. I thought Maddie was okay with it, but...” He shrugged, shifting his gaze out toward the lake, where the water now looked pitch black in the thickening night. “And I’m sure what happened yesterday didn’t give her warm, fuzzy feelings about me.”

Naomi sighed. “Yeah, about that…I’ve talked and talked with Jake, and I’ve got your dad on the case, but as of tonight before dinner he wasn’t budging.”

Jamison glanced back at Naomi. “You mean about uninviting me from the wedding?”

She nodded. “I know he’s going to regret it. You two are so close, and he’s going to get over this someday not too long from now, and he’ll want to kick himself for pushing his brother out of his wedding.”

“You think so?” Jamison asked, throat tight, a little afraid of how much he hoped Naomi was right.

“I know so.” Naomi laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You made a mistake, but it’s in the past and it’s nothing half the people in the world haven’t done before. I’m sure he’ll realize you’re sorry and don’t plan on doing anything like that again, and things will calm down.”

“I told him that, but he didn’t seem to care” Jamison said. “He said he wished he hadn’t picked me to be Noelle’s godfather.”

“That man…” Naomi cussed beneath her breath as she propped her hands on her hips. “He is such a stubborn ass sometimes. I mean I love him to death, don’t get me wrong, but not everyone is as perfect as he is. Some of us have to screw up a few times before we figure out how to do the love thing right.”

She shook her head as she jabbed an emphatic finger on the hood of the car. “And making mistakes doesn’t mean you’ll be a bad godfather. Hell, it might mean you’ll be a
better
godfather. Maybe you’ll be able to help Noelle through her own failures, should she grow up to have more in common with us mere mortals than Jake the tried and true, who has never taken a step from the righteous path.”

Jamison smiled. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, still sounding worked up. “We prodigal children have to stick together, you know.”

He nodded. “I’m glad we’re friends again.”

Naomi’s frown softened. “Me too. I didn’t like it when things were weird.”

“Me either,” Jamison said, then added cautiously, “And I hope you know I’m going to do my best to treat Maddie right, if she’ll let me. I would never hurt her.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Naomi said, surprising him. He’d expected some push-back on her part, or at least an adjustment period as she wrapped her head around the idea of him dating her sister. “You’ve loved Maddie since you two were little. You have always watched out for her and wanted the best for her. Assuming none of that has changed now that you two are doing…whatever it is you’re doing, I’m a fan.”

She chewed her bottom lip for moment before she smiled. “You know, now that I think about it, I bet you two are a great match. Maddie’s always had her secret wild side, and you’ve always had your secret sweet side. Should work out well.”

“I hope so. I’ve never felt this way. I…I just want to love her. You know?” He pulled in a deep breath, surprised to find himself getting emotional in front of Naomi. He cleared his throat before continuing, “I just hope I haven’t screwed everything up.”

“How could you have screwed everything up?” Naomi asked gently. “Maddie is a forgiving person. Her divorce hangover has been pretty nasty, but I think she’s finally throwing it off. Taking a day to think and feel and process could be a good sign.”

Jamison’s mouth twisted. “So you think I still have a chance?”

“I certainly do. In fact…” Naomi trailed off, eyes narrowing before she turned to dig into her purse.

“What’s up?” Jamison asked, having known Naomi long enough to recognize her “I’ve got a plan” face.

“I’m going to call the caterer,” Naomi said, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her numbers. “And ask them to set up a table for two in the gazebo at the reception venue, after all. I told them Jake and I would be too busy with family to have time to sneak away, but there’s no reason you and Maddie can’t enjoy some time alone.”

“But Jake doesn’t want me at the reception,” Jamison said.

“I haven’t given up on changing his mind about that,” Naomi said, hitting the contact number and putting the phone to her ear. “But even if he doesn’t, I—”

She broke off to speak to the caterers, asking them to set up something romantic in the gazebo and to expect two of the wedding guests to be using the table around eight o’clock. She thanked them and ended the call before turning back to Jamison with a smile.

“There, you’re all set.” She tossed her phone back into her purse. “If Jake can’t be persuaded to get over this, you’ll just sneak around the back of the venue to the gazebo around eight. I’ll find an excuse to get Maddie there, and you two will have a chance to talk.”

Jamison took a deep breath. “That sounds amazing. Thank you, Naomi. I appreciate it.”

“Of course.” Her forehead wrinkled as she held out her arms. “Come here, you big sweet thing.”

Jamison let Naomi pull him in for a hug, refusing to acknowledge that his throat was getting tight all over again. But he could admit how much he needed a hug, and that the sign that not everyone in his life thought he was beyond redemption meant a lot to him. A whole lot.

“Everything is going to be okay,” she said, patting him firmly on the back before pulling away. “It’s always darkest before the dawn, right?”

Jamison nodded, not trusting his voice.

“All right. You head home and get some rest and put some warm compresses on your face,” Naomi said. “That should help speed the healing.”

“I’ve been icing,” Jamison said.

“No more ice.” Naomi waved a finger in the air. “It’s been over twenty-four hours, so now you should do warm compresses for fifteen to twenty minutes. I dated a boxer for a while in Miami. Trust me, the ice then warm compress thing is magic.”

Jamison shrugged. “All right. I’ll give it a try.”

“Do,” she said, swinging her purse over her shoulder. “Get fresh compresses on there every hour that you’re awake and you should see a big improvement by tomorrow, enough that I should be able to fix you up with some concealer so you won’t look like you’ve been brawling in the wedding pictures.”

Jamison grinned. “If you can convince Jake to let me be his best man again, you can put as much makeup on me as you want.”

Naomi laughed and a mischievous look sparked in her eyes. “You know I’ll hold you to that, right?”

Jamison chuckled. “I know. But a little blush and mascara is a small price to pay.”

“And lipstick,” Naomi added. “Red, I think.”

“Red is one of my favorite colors,” Jamison said, laughter fading as he continued. “Thank you again. I’m sorry that this mess with Jake and me has interfered with your wedding. I know you’ve been working hard to make it perfect.”

Naomi smiled. “I’m marrying the man I love tomorrow. Even if it rains cats and dogs, the flower girl wets herself on the way down the aisle, and the entire wedding party decides to get drunk and throw up on the dance floor, it will still be perfect.”

He nodded, knowing that he would feel the same way. As long as he had Maddie, everything felt right with the world. The rest of the stuff was icing on the cake.