Page 94 of Champagne & Handcuffs
A monthafter my talk with my dad, Seth and I drove to Vegas with our entire lives in a giant moving truck. We’d hired a company to pack and load our life, and Seth was driving his truck while towing my car. Moving across the country was a lot of work.
Dad hired a temporary dentist to take over my patients, and I was certain that he was trying to see if the guy was a good fit to take over when he’d retired. I tried to tell my father to keep his name on the door and to let other dentists work for him. He said he’d think about it. I didn’t blame him. He wanted to retire and not have to worry about staff or paychecks or keeping the lights on.
Joss had found Seth and me a place to rent until we were able to buy a house. Seth’s condo in D.C. sold, and my house was on the market. We joked that with the combined proceeds we might be able to afford a rooftop garden house. If anything, we could make one if we got a flat topped roof. It was on my must haves.
Seth started his job with VICE, and I searched for a commercial office to rent or buy while I waited to take the Nevada boards. Living in Vegas was different from Florida for sure. There were no gators, and the only place I might see a snake would be on a hike in the desert. I could live with that. The more days that passed, the more I realized moving was the right thing to do. I was happy for the first time in eleven years.
Today we were going to Autumn and Gabe’s wedding. Seth was bummed he’d missed Gabe’s bachelor party, but, of course, the boys told Seth that he would have a night he’d never forget. I didn’t even want to know. When that night came, I was flying Nathan and Hannah into town, and we were partying it up. No cabs, of course. One of the guys would have to be the designated driver or something because I would never take a chance like that again.
Since this was Autumn’s second wedding, and Gabe didn’t care as long as he got to give her his last name, they were having a small wedding at the Anthem Country Club. The lush greenery and rolling mountains in the background were stunning. A circular patio overlooked a pond, and burnt-orange roses were scattered down the sides of the chairs, making a walkway for Autumn.
“Are you Cat?” I turned to see an older woman with Liam in her arms speaking to me.
I smiled. “I am.”
“Would you mind watching Liam until I’m escorted in? I’m Autumn’s mother, and I’m helping—”
“No need to explain. I’ll take him.” I held out my arms as she passed Liam to me.
“Thank you so much.”
“No problem,” I cooed, rubbing my nose on Liam’s. He smiled, revealing dimples that matched his father’s. He also had his dad’s green eyes, but everything else resembled the dark haired beauty who was his mother.
I held Liam in my arms while all the hot gigolos and call girls said hello to us. I held Liam in my arms even after Autumn’s mom was escorted to her seat. And I held Liam as we watched his mother walk down the aisle wearing her princess style wedding dress with capped sleeves, a scooped neckline, and beading that sparkled in the evening sun. She was stunning and looked like an angel. Gabe wasn’t bad to look at either in his form fitted black tux.
Mark was the officiant again, and when he started, my gaze moved to Joss. She was standing next to Autumn’s friend Brandi and was staring at Paul, who was standing next to Gabe and one of the current Saddles & Rack’s gigolos, Vinny. I didn’t know why Gabe had chosen him to be the other groomsman, but he had. Maybe one day, now that these people were becoming my friends, I’d get to hear Vinny’s story and find out why he was a part of the crew.
“Are you ready for one?”
I turned my head slowly, my eyes wide as I looked at Seth. “A baby?” I whispered.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Are you?” I countered, continuing to whisper.
He put his arm behind my back along the chair, and whispered in my ear, “Yeah.”
I blinked at him. “Can we get married first? Not that there’s anything wrong with Autumn and Gabe having this guy before now—”
“And when will that be?”
I frowned. We hadn’t picked a date because of the move and his new job. “Soon?”
“How soon? ‘Cause all these weddings are making me want to do it tomorrow.”
“By Elvis?” I teased, still whispering.
He grinned. “Well, we are in Vegas.”
I chuckled, low. “Joss wasn’t okay with having Elvis marry her, and neither am I.”
“Pick a date, any date, Kitty Cat. And make it soon.”
I smiled. “Okay, but for now, before we have a family, let’s enjoy you and me.”
“There will always be a you and me.”
Epilogue
