Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nate and Ellie’s wedding had been a small, simple church ceremony with only family in attendance. It had been beautiful, emphasizing the glowing happiness between the bride and groom. The reception, on the other hand, was a loud, noisy affair with at least a hundred people crammed into the rented VFW hall.
Remi was sitting at a back table with Ash. He’d insisted he didn’t feel up to joining the mass of people who were dancing near the DJ and flashing lights, but she suspected he’d been worried she would be feeling battered by the chaos.
And, in truth, she couldn’t deny that she was nearing her limit. She loved the Marcel family, but they could be overwhelming. And she was still feeling raw from recent events.
Snuggled close beside Ash, who was holding her hand, she smiled politely at one of the numerous great-aunts who had appeared from the crowd. Ash hadn’t scoped out the layout of the hall properly, which meant he hadn’t realized the path to the bathroom passed next to their table. Over the course of the past two hours, they’d had every guest at the reception stop by to chat.
“Such a beautiful ceremony, wasn’t it?” the older woman breathed, her red hat, which matched her silk dress, tilted at an odd angle. That and the flush on her plump cheeks revealed she had been enjoying the heavily spiked punch.
“Yes, Aunt Harriet,” Ash readily agreed.
The woman sent Ash an arch glance. “I assume we’ll soon be hearing the church bells ringing for you two?”
Remi kicked his heel beneath the table. Ash grunted but kept his answer vague.
“Who can say?”
The woman heaved a disappointed sigh before heading toward the bathroom.
Ash sent Remi a chiding frown. “I don’t know why you insist on keeping everything such a secret,” he said.
In this moment, Remi had to admit it seemed like a stupid decision. Ash was always a potently attractive man. But today, he was downright gorgeous.
Allowing her gaze to run over his hard body, encased in a gray tuxedo, she felt her mouth go dry. Then, with an effort, she sternly reminded herself of exactly why she’d insisted they remain silent.
In the past month, Ash had been rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his shoulder. Thankfully, the bullet had gone through without causing any major damage and it was healing quickly. Then, the word that Liza Harding-Walsh was the Chicago Butcher had spread through the city like wildfire. Remi was barely able to leave her house without being hounded by reporters. Eventually, the horde had grown tired of her refusal to speak, but not before Liza had been plastered across every major news outlet in the country.
It’d all combined to turn their lives into a circus that had sucked the time and attention of Ash’s family. Remi had been grimly determined to make sure that today, she and Ash remained firmly in the background.
“Because today is for Nate and Ellie,” she said. “I’m not going to distract from their wedding by announcing our engagement.”
Ash scowled, lifting her hand to press it against his lips. “I want to see my ring on your finger.”
Her heart fluttered. Just like it was supposed to when the man she loved gazed at her as if there was no other woman in the world.
“In a few days, I promise,” she said in husky tones.
The past weeks had been a nightmare. The interview with the police to answer their endless questions. The quiet burial of her mother in the family crypt. The legal paperwork to have the Harding estate destroyed.
The one silver lining had been Ash’s steadfast support. Without him, she was fairly sure she would have locked herself in her bedroom and never come out.
“I’ll try to hold on to my patience,” he assured her. “But just as a heads-up, it’s not my finest virtue.”
Her lips twitched. “Shocker.”
“Hmm.” He tilted down his head to gaze at her with a teasing expression. “I’m not the only one with a lack of patience.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I heard you this morning, yelling at that poor lawyer.”
She arched her brows at his accusation. “I wasn’t yelling.”
“No?”
“I was emphatically reminding him that I want every penny of my inheritance to go into the fund for the Gage Walsh Center,” Remi insisted. She’d barely had time to arrange for her mother to be cremated in a private ceremony before the family lawyer was contacting Remi to inform her that she was now the owner of the estate, along with an obscene amount of money. Remi had resisted the urge to refuse the inheritance. Instead, she’d spent a few days considering how she could use the money to do something good. At last, she’d hit on the idea of creating a group home for youth who needed emergency care. Like Drew, when his dad was thrown in jail. They would have a safe place to stay until they could be returned home, or to a more permanent foster care location. “If I wanted a portion of the money in stocks, or bonds, or my personal bank account, I would have asked for it.”
He pressed another kiss on her fingers. “You made your point.”
Heat touched her cheeks. Okay. Maybe she had been yelling. “I just want to get things going.”
He smiled down at her. “I like seeing the sparkle back in your eyes.”
She knew what he meant. For days, she’d struggled to put one foot in front of the other. She’d felt smothered by a shroud of guilt, as if it was somehow her fault she hadn’t recognized that her mother was a serial killer. But slowly, she’d come out of the darkness, accepting that she’d been a victim, like all those other women.
She could either wallow in misery or make the most of the life she had been given.
“I can’t change the past, or the horror my mother spread through this city,” she said. “But at least I can make sure my father’s name is remembered for something fine and decent.”
Ash bent down to lightly kiss her lips. “I’m proud of you, Remi Walsh.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Dr. Marcel,” she assured him.
“Oh.” He lifted his head, suddenly smiling. “I heard from the dean.”
“Did they find a replacement?” she asked.
Ash had spoken with the college to request that they release him from his contract.
“Yes. I’m officially unemployed.”
“Are you sure about this?” Remi demanded. As much as she wanted Ash to return to Chicago, she couldn’t bear for him to someday regret giving up his career in teaching. “I don’t want you leaving the opportunity to be the hottest professor on campus for me.”
“It’s time,” he assured her. “I’ll have to settle for being the hottest detective in Chicago.”
“Hold on,” a male voice drawled from behind them. “That title is already taken.”
Remi glanced over her shoulder, flashing a smile at Ash’s brother, who looked equally handsome in his tux.
“Jax. Have a seat.” She waved an inviting hand to the chair across the table.
Jax had been the first cop through the door to find Ash and Remi lying on the ground, with her mother bleeding to death near the bar. He’d been the one to hustle the paramedics to load Ash into the ambulance and carry him out of the tunnels. And to make sure Remi didn’t have to deal with anything but going to the hospital to be with Ash.
Since then, he’d stopped by her house every morning, keeping Ash occupied so he didn’t go stir-crazy before his wound was healed. And to keep Remi updated on the ongoing investigation. He didn’t want her caught off guard if they found more bodies.
She would never forget all he’d done for them.
Jax, however, gave a shake of his head, his gaze moving toward a red-haired woman who was sipping a glass of champagne near the dance floor.
“Naw,” he drawled. “I’m making the rounds.”
“Hmm. Be careful,” Ash warned. “Weddings are always filled with our gene pool. You should probably make sure you’re not hitting on a cousin.”
Jax rolled his eyes. “Why did I ever want you to return to Chicago?”
Ash flashed a smug smile. “Because you love me.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Jax said in a dry tone, giving a shake of his head. Then he placed a hand on Ash’s shoulder, careful not to press against his wound. “Hey, Mom wanted me to swing by to tell you it’s time for you to leave.”
“Leave?” Ash arched his brows. “It’s been a long time since I had a curfew.”
“She’s worried you’re overdoing it,” Jax told him.
“I’m fine,” Ash protested. “And Nate is only going to get married once. At least, that’s the plan.”
They all glanced toward the dance floor, where Nate and Ellie were leading the conga line.
“Nate’s married, the cake has been cut, and all that’s left is the drinking,” Jax pointed out.
“And the fighting,” Ash protested. “It wouldn’t be a Marcel wedding without someone getting a black eye.”
Jax snorted. “Yeah, that’s why Mom wants you out of here.”
“She’s right,” Remi broke into the brewing argument. “Time to go home.”
“I’m all healed up,” Ash said, heaving an impatient sigh. “I swear.”
“Then prove it.” Remi rose to her feet, flashing an inviting smile.
Ash blinked, his gaze slowly roaming down the floaty silver dress that swirled around her body. It was perfectly cut to look modest—then she moved, and it slithered over her curves with remarkable results.
With a jerky surge, Ash was on his feet. “You know what, I think it is time to head home.” He glanced toward Jax, his expression distracted. “Tell Nate I’ll come see him before they head back to Oklahoma.”
“Will do,” Jax agreed. “Now go.”
Ash wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gazing down at her with an expression that made her heart melt. “Ready?”
She reached up to lightly touch his face. It had taken years, and more pain than she’d ever imagined she’d have to endure, but at last she could offer her heart to this man without hesitation.
“I really and truly am.”