Page 43 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

After an hour and a half, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked gorgeous with my hair all blown out and curly. The dress hugged every curve I had—all the right ones, at least. I’d seen my reflection countless times, but today was different. My eyes seemed more alive, my skin had a glow, and my lips had this soft,rosy hue. But it wasn’t just the makeup and hair that made me look this way. It was the fact that, for the first time, I was actually okay with the thought of marrying Noah. If I closed my eyes, I could see a future with him and our child in it, and that freaked me out.

“Oh, she’s a runner,” I heard one of the ladies say. That’s when I realized I was moving, had already opened the door, and was halfway down the hallway. Something in me was determined to save me from my own foolishness, even if my heart was ready to give in.

I had tunnel vision. I made it down three flights of stairs and then collided with what felt like a wall—until the wall reached down to help me up from the floor.

“Jason? How are you here?”

“I came to rescue you, little sister, only to find out I’m about to be an uncle and you’re about to get married.”

I stared at his face. “I’m not getting married. How did you know I was here?”

“Because of me,” Tempest stepped out from behind Jason.

“What did you do, Tempest?” I had seen that guilty look on her face before. “Where’s your child? Why are you here?”

She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. “I helped Noah kidnap you,” she blurted out, then took a step back.

I surprised myself by laughing. Jason and Tempest stared at me like I’d grown another head.

“You know this means you owe me, Tempest. Anything. And you know what that means.”

Her face dropped. “The whole thing?”

“The entire penis.”

She nodded. “When all this mess is over. I did it for your own good, you know. You’re just being a butthole.”

She’d dangled the fact that AJ’s equipment was legendary in my face days after we met, like I wasn’t going to want to see it. Now I was finally going to get my chance.

Satisfied, I pushed past Jason and headed for the front door. I pulled it open and came face to face with Noah and the judge, a tall, elderly white man with almost no hair, who looked like he was having trouble standing upright. Somewhere, someone started singing.

“You’re the jagged edge to my torn-out seam. In a world of crumpled pages. Two hearts, battered but not broken. A love raw, real, and genuine…”

I looked to my right and saw Mrs. Justice singing my momma’s song better than she ever did.

Mrs. Justice grew up with my momma. She was rumored to be involved with two brothers whose parents had adopted her. My momma told me to mind my business and not believe rumors when I asked, but I was almost positive it was true. I remember when I was little, peeking through the fence and seeing her dancing naked and singing for one or the other brother, sometimes both. Everybody said she was crazy because she’d watched her entire family be killed by her daddy, and she still didn’t believe her sister was gone. Her story was sad, but she always seemed happy and taken care of. The brothers were always with her, like now, watching her like she was their world.

“Here.” Noah shoved a bouquet into my arms. “I knew you’d run.”

“You don’t know me.”

Tempest stepped up next to me, and Jason joined her. I hadn’t even noticed Jason was wearing a black suit with a vest and jacket, and Tempest had on a flowy floral dress with her hair big and pretty. Noah… he looked so handsome in his black tuxedo. The sun was at his back, framing him like an angel.

I heard the judge say something, and then Noah started speaking.

“Creed, I’ve loved you since before I even understood what I was feeling. I just knew I would do anything to see you smile and laugh, even if it meant I had to endure your bites with those little chipmunk teeth. As broken as I am, I never thought I had a chance, but then you…” he smiled, “I won’t tell that part. You know what you did. But even after everything, you’re everything I don’t deserve, and yet everything I’d give all to have. I embrace every part of you. Your passion, your anger, your crazy, your spoiled, your mean, your vicious, and your loving and caring. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Tempest leaned in to wipe my face. I hadn’t even realized I was crying. That pissed me off. I hated crying. I wasn’t weak. Everybody was watching me, waiting for me to say something, to do something other than cry. “You suck,” I sobbed. “But I love you too. Those are my vows.” I wiped away my tears with the back of my hands, rose to my tiptoes, and pecked Noah on the lips.

“Now, can we go get my daddy? I really need one of his hugs. Bye, Tempest,” I said without looking at her. She didn’t need to see me crying. I pushed past Noah and headed for his car parkedin the driveway. I didn’t want to talk about anything that had happened in the last hour. My brain couldn’t process it.

I was sitting in the passenger seat with my train in my lap and my heels in the backseat when Noah joined me in the car. He gently took my hand and slid a ring onto my finger—a single band of diamonds—before making a show of sliding an identical band onto his finger. “Instead of taking you home and ripping you out of this dress, I’m taking you to your daddy now,wife.You better behave when we see Scarlett. I have a feeling your snark and her shock at seeing you in her dress, combined with our news, might be too much for her. She might combust or beat your ass.” He laughed.

Jason tapped frantically on my window. Noah lowered it.

“You look beautiful, sister, and congrats on your marriage. I’m telling you this now, before Maine can weaponize it against me, and I want to start by saying I’m sorry for lying, but I never had cancer. I used the money you gave me to send Vincent’s daughter away because I didn’t want him to find out I might have impregnated her while also having an affair with him.”

“What in the fuck, Jason? Why would you tell her that now?” I heard Noah curse.

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