Page 50 of The Marriage Pact
“What happens now?” Alex asked as they drove back to Kaitlyn’s house.
“Well, you’re not going back to New York tonight, are you?” she asked, glancing at him fearfully.
He smiled and shook his head. “Hilary’s in charge now. I don’t need to go back. We have all the time in the world.”
He meant it, and he knew there was nowhere he’d rather be than right there with her. Only a fool would choose otherwise, and Alex had no intention of being a fool any longer. He’d lost Kaitlyn once, and he’d nearly lost her twice. It was third time’s a charm, and this time, Alex intended to make it work — for him, for Kaitlyn,andfor Junior.
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EPILOGUE — KAITLYN
EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER, CEDARHURST, ILLINOIS.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right looking after them both? Michaela can manage Samuel, if not,” Kaitlyn said, looking doubtfully at Rachel, who was holding the two infants in her arms.
“You leave them to me. You’ve got enough to be thinking about,” Rachel replied.
Kaitlyn was worried Samuel would be sick on Rachel’s dress. He was going through a phase of getting overexcited. Kaitlyn had taken to wearing a towel over her shoulder whenever she carried him around. Still, if Rachel insisted, Kaitlyn wasn’t going to argue. It was the day of the wedding, and there was a lot to think about.
“Don’t they look adorable! I love Rosie’s dress. What a beautiful shade of peach. It matches the flowers perfectly,” Kaitlyn said, watching in the mirror as Rachel continued to struggle with the two children in her arms.
“They won’t really remember the day, but it’ll be nice for them to look back on the photos in years to come. Can you even believe we’re moms?”
Kaitlyn smiled. The past eighteen months had passed in a whirl. She and Alex had decided to delay their wedding until after the baby was born. It had made sense and had allowed them to be better prepared. Rachel had given birth a few months before Kaitlyn had, and Kaitlyn and Alex were godparents to her Rosie, who was a pretty child, with cheeks to match her name and a mass of curly strawberry-blond hair. She was to act as flower girl at the wedding, though it was more likely she’d crawl up the aisle than walk in the procession. Kaitlyn’s son, Samuel, was to be the ring bearer, though he too would need considerable supervision if the moment was to come to pass, and it was Rachel who was really holding the flowers and carrying the ring in her pocket. They were getting ready at Kaitlyn’s house, the one she’d grown up in with her mom, and the ceremony was to be held at Cedarhurst Park, where Rachel and Sean had gotten married, too.
“My mom always she’d that being a mom was the best thing in the world. Alex’s mom loves her grandchild but doesn’t want to be called grandma. She prefers the title Nonna so she doesn’t feel so old,” Kaitlyn said with a chuckle, checking her appearance in the mirror one last time.
The wedding itself was to be a simple enough affair, but Kaitlyn had allowed the fact that she had a billionaire for a fiancé to offersomebenefits. She and Rachel had gone shopping in Paris, where Kaitlyn had chosen a beautiful dress, peach-colored like the flowers, with a delicate veil and patterned lace. The past few weeks had been spent sticking to the strictest of diets, and it had been to her relief that her measurements hadn’t altered whenRachel had helped her on with the dress that morning. Now, she only had the necklace Alex had bought her as a gift for their wedding day to add, an emerald-green to match her eyes.
“You look beautiful,” Rachel said as Kaitlyn rose to her feet.
“So do you.” Rachel laughed.
“Wait until about an hour into the ceremony and I’ll look like a disheveled mess with these two in tow. Perhaps Sean can take his turn. Come on, we’d better be going. We don’t want to be late, do we?”
With no dad or mom to walk her down the aisle, Kaitlyn had eschewed tradition. She, Rachel, and the kids would travel together, though Alex had arranged the transportation, telling her it was a surprise. It was due to arrive at noon. They stood on the porch, looking out along the street for the car.
“I hope it’s not something over-the-top. We could’ve just got a cab,” Kaitlyn said as the sound of a loud engine was heard from the end of the street.
To Kaitlyn’s astonishment, the car now appeared, driven by Stephen, who’d come with the New York staff to help with the arrangements. But it wasn’t just any car…
“I recognize that,” Rachel said, furrowing her brow. “It’s not… is it?”
“Betsy!” Kaitlyn exclaimed.
There was no doubt about it. This was the car, not something similar.Thecar. Kaitlyn stared in astonishment as Stephen got out and opened the rear door for them.
“With the compliments of Mr. Lancaster, ma’am,” he said.
“But… how?” Kaitlyn exclaimed, running her hand along the roof of the car, which felt like an old friend, a familiar one from the past.
“We traced the license plate. She was in a scrapyard but hadn’t been touched for years. What’s under the hood is new, but everything else we just cleaned up,” Stephen said.
She even smelled the same, a mix of leather and engine oil. It was like stepping back into the past, full circle to prom night. Kaitlyn was overjoyed, and the car now pulled away — arguably with a smoother start than in previous years — to make the drive to Cedarhurst Park.
