Page 59 of Honeymoon Phase
“Cool,” I murmur while rising from the table to grab my laptop. My heart rate spikes over the fact that she said it’s only six weeks away. That means I have only six weeks left to get my wife to fall in love with me.
No pressure.
I pull up the website my mom set up for us and point to the collage of items that populate on the screen. “I tried to answer all the questions with you in mind and it basically created this whole, like, proposal of what the day could look like.”
“Your mom called it a mood board!” Addison says, pulling the computer closer to her.
“Does it look okay?” I ask, watching her nervously because this feels like a test.
I went with understated elegance. It’s a winter wedding so I highlighted a lot of greenery and spruce decor with rich red florals mixed in. The website said good colors for an Autumn are burgundy, warm oranges, mustard yellows, earthy browns, olive greens, terracotta, teal, and deep golden tones... not that I knew what any of those fucking things were before I lost hours of my life on this godforsaken website.
I can see why Roe lost her shit on it.
But it did a nice job putting everything together for me. Lots of candles in glass holders and reception tables with simple white linens and natural winter accents like spruce tips, berries, and pine cones. It suggested a wool suit in charcoal or navy for me, so I snagged a couple options like that, and for her, it showed lots of long-sleeve lace gowns with fur shawls. Not that I have a clue what kind of wedding dress Addison would pick out. Maybe this will help her decide.
“This is beautiful, Luke,” she says, smiling as her eyes scan the screen. “The little wooden accents are so cute.”
“I thought you’d like those. I mean, I didn’t want to be too on the nose with the lumberyard tie-in, but the natural elements look pretty cool. I have no idea how my mom will even accomplish all of this, but she’s kinda legendary for getting shit done.”
Addison looks up, her eyes fixing on the window as the sun begins to disappear behind the trees. The golden light on her face is stunning as her hazel eyes look lighter than ever.
“Hey, do you think we could have the wedding outside here?” she asks, catching me completely off guard while I’m busy marveling over her beauty.
I jerk my attention to the window. “Here? During winter?”
She shrugs. “A winter wedding up here seems beautiful. On my run yesterday through those trails you showed me out back, it started to snow, and I swear I just stopped to watch it fall forlike a whole hour. I was mesmerized by it. I’ve lived in Colorado my whole life but never really appreciated the mountains like this.”
My chest swells with pride over how easily she’s adjusting to life up here. Like she was always meant to be here. And call me delusional, but I love that she’s put some thought into this. This wedding means more to her than she’s ready to admit and I will do whatever I have to to foster that feeling she’s embracing inside of her.
For so long, Roe has lived such a minimal and practical life. She loves the lumberyard and her work, but I’ve never seen her really dream the way I’ve seen Trista and Dakota dream. Hearing her state so clearly something she simply wants just because she wants it... feels good. Like maybe this whole marriage of convenience is healing her in unexpected ways.
“Plus, my dad is paying for this wedding, and I guess I feel guilty renting an expensive venue when this is all just for show.”
My eyes close and I pinch the bridge of my nose, really wishing she didn’t add that last part. But she’s Roe. She is nothing if not practical.
“We could probably figure it out,” I reply with a frown and clear my throat, trying to hide my raging disappointment. “We’d need a backup in case there’s a storm or something. The barn is bursting at the seams with all of Trista’s rescues and we’re still a ways out from developing her new rescue center. But thirty people could probably fit in Wyatt’s house.” I glance out the side window toward his house, and Addison sidles up next to me to look as well. Even if we got snowed in between my house, Calder’s, Wyatt’s, and the apartment above the barn, we could probably make it work. “And Wyatt has that big angular window that overlooks the mountain so if we stood in front of it, we could feel like we were outside still.”
“That sounds perfect.” She smiles brightly and grips myarms. “I mean, I’m never doing this again in my life, so I guess I want it to be kind of... memorable. And a mountaintop wedding could certainly be that.”
I nod and watch her thoughtfully, trying to discern what is more important to her, budget or beauty. Please God, let it be beauty, because I’ll do anything to keep that smile on her face. I clear my throat and add, “I’ll talk to him but I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.”
“Amazing. Now I just have to hope dress shopping goes this well tomorrow.” She cringes and takes a sip of her wine. “Cozy, Trista, and Dakota are coming along, so that should help be a bit of a buffer with your mom at least.”
“Is my mom really that bad?” I ask, my face grave. “I can talk to her. Ask her to back off.”
Addison shakes her head and her shoulders lift slightly. “It’s not your mom. It’s me. I’m just... weird with moms. Ever since my mom left, I just... can’t seem to connect with women. Edith, bless her heart, tries so hard with me and I’m just such a bitch to her.”
“When was the last time you spoke to your mom?” I ask, venturing into new territory, but considering she spoke pretty freely about her brother the other night, maybe that’s a sign she’s willing to share more.
“I was twenty, so it’s been eight years now.” She sets her fork down and steeples her hands in front of her. Her lips thin when she adds, “She’d just got out of prison.”
I blink back my shock, trying not to let the first words stumble out of my mouth.
“She was the one driving the car when my brother died.” She expels the words with a shaky breath, like they’d been cooped up inside of her for way too long.
“Oh God, Roe. I had no idea.”
She makes a strange noise in the back of her throat. “He wasonly eight and she was a grown-ass adult...” She takes a long pause as she holds up her glass of wine, staring at it like a wine expert before adding, “with a blood alcohol level of .21 at the time of the accident.”
