Page 55 of Fighting For Light
Esmarie takes a deep breath and looks between us before saying, “We need to take you off the chessboard.”
Kai’s worried expression makes me nervous. I was already thinking this would happen quickly. Now, it really looks like a shotgun wedding, but no time like the present, I guess. “Alright then, let’s do this,” I say, looking up at him.
“I don’t want you to make this choice with a veritable gun to your head. If you want to wait, then I don’t care about what anyone else says. This is between you and me. If you want to wait, then we wait,” he says.
Butterflies flutter in my stomach, and I don’t think that’s how I should be responding, but it is.
“It would be wise, though, Cordelia. If you are officially Kai’s, it would solidify you as a Coldwell and give us more time. We can plan for a big wedding later for appearances,” Esmarie says.
I want to ask what she means by more time, but I think it probably has something to do with Kai and his brothers.
“I never wanted a long engagement anyway,” I say, smiling up at him. He dips his head and kisses me with so much longing and love my knees go weak. His arms remain around me, holding me up.
“I love you, gem,” he says.
“I love you, too, daredevil.”
“Great,” Esmarie says, standing. “It might be fast, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful. I will get everything ready, but I will need you to help me with a few things, Cordelia.”
“We have a competition three days away in Louisiana, Mom,” Kai says.
Esmarie almost glares at her son, and I lift my shoulder.
“It’s okay, Esmarie. It’s not like we had started talking about dates. If anything, we would have done it after his season. It’s not his fault.”
“Very well, then,” she sighs. He looks at Esmarie with his arms still around me. I nuzzle my face in Kai’s chest and breathe him in. “We have a wedding to plan. You need to find a dress and approve the flowers. I will take care of the rest.”
“Oh, Esmarie, let me help more, please,” I tell her. It may not be the wedding of my dreams, but I would like to at least pick out my own flowers.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll call you, but first you need a dress. I will text you some stores in the area for you to look at. I’ll let you know which one to meet me at.”
“But I don’t have savings for it—“
“No, no, darling. Kai will take care of it,” Esmarie says.
Kai chuckles and slides his hand into his pocket, fishing out his wallet.
“I will be in touch,” she says, floating out the door.
He pulls a black card out and hands it to me. The weight of it surprises me as I flip it back and forth in my fingers. “Buy whatever you want.”
“Oh, okay.” Excitement thrums through me. This may not be so bad after all. Until tires screech in my head. “Kai, we need to talk to Dad.”
“No time like the present,” he says.
“Where do I even start? We haven’t told him about…”
He grabs my shoulders and angles down to look me in the eye. “Gem, I’ve got you. We’ve got this. I know you want to be honest with him, and that’s good, but the fewer people who know about my father and his associates, the better. He’s safer that way. Okay?”
“Okay, yeah, that makes sense. I’ll just tell him about the baby and that we’re getting married tomorrow. No big deal,” I squeak out.
“Do you want me to come with you?” he asks.
I try to calm my racing heart. Stress isn’t good for the baby.
“Yes, but I’ll do the talking, okay?”
“You got it, babe,” he says, gesturing for the door.
