Paige stared at the white plastic stick. Two pink lines. She squeezed her eyes shut, then looked at it again. Still two lines.
“You know that holding your dress while you pee is one of my official duties,” Sammy said through the bathroom door. He’d taken his role as man of honor quite seriously, but feeling slighted by missing out on a chance to gather yards of white fabric in his arms while his Bestie Boss Lady made a most unladylike trip to the bathroom was a bit much, even for him.
“I don’t need you leaning over me while I’m on the toilet,” Paige replied. And certainly not while I pee on a pregnancy test, she thought. Most women would simply have waited until after the ceremony—or better yet, have realized that they were six days late before the morning of their wedding. But not Paige. No, she had to have that epiphany as they were driving to the church. Although to be fair, with the crazy schedule she’d been keeping over the last few weeks—planning a wedding while at the same time running her business in Chicago and finalizing the grand opening of the new location in North Carolina, not to mention dealing with her mother!—it wasn’t like she’d had time to study her calendar.
She’d feigned a need for breath mints, demanding the limo driver pull over so she could run into the drugstore for candy that only she was qualified to select. Sammy accused her of taking her control-freak tendencies to the next level, but other than that, he wasn’t too fazed. The cashier, on the other hand, definitely knew what was up. Because while her dress was tucked safely in a garment bag as they drove to the church, Paige’s hair was already swept up into an intricate twist, and her makeup was as glamorous as any cover girl’s.
The real giveaway, though, was the rhinestone tiara. It wasn’t exactly Paige’s style, but Maddie had accompanied the bridal entourage to the dress shop and had insisted that a crown was necessary to ensure a “fairy-tale princess wedding.” Who was Paige to argue with that logic? Besides, the smile on her soon-to-be stepdaughter’s face was worth enduring the shock on the face of the store clerk. Paige couldn’t really blame her. The intricate crown she wore could only mean one of two things: either Paige was a homecoming queen or a bride, and since she was well past the age of the former, it was safe to say the clerk assumed the latter, which would explain the smirk that curved her lips as she pushed the buttons on the cash register. Guess it wasn’t every day she sold a pregnancy test to a bride.
Speaking of pregnancy tests, what the heck was she supposed to do with this one now? The trash can in the bride’s room bathroom was a small wicker job with no lid. Not ideal for hiding evidence. Because most brides don’t realize they’re knocked up thirty minutes before go time, she thought. Smuggling the darn thing into the bathroom had been tricky enough. She’d wanted to get to it the moment they’d reached the church. Sure would have made taking aim a lot easier if she’d done it before she was strapped into a silk gown with a gazillion pearl buttons. But her mother had been waiting as the car rolled up, and between her and Bridesmaid-zilla, this was the first chance she’d had.
Paige cracked the bathroom door open. For once she was glad to find Sammy hovering. “Can you pass me my phone?” she whispered.
His eyes grew wide. “Tell me you are not working in there! I mean, we all text on the toilet, but even now?”
“Just do it, please.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
“Is everything alright?” her mother asked from across the room.
“Yeah, I just want to go over my vows one more time.”
Sammy passed her phone through the narrow opening. “What, did you write them in notes?”
He sounded mildly horrified, but Paige didn’t bother to answer. Instead she merely snatched the phone out of his hands and pushed the door closed. The exasperated harrumph from the other side told her Sammy did not appreciate the move, but at the moment she had far more pressing concerns.
Can you get my mom out of here? she texted him. I need a few minutes alone.
Done, he replied, probably relieved to have something to do. A moment later, Paige heard the unmistakable sound of Samuel Lee at his best. The man could herd anyone anywhere so smoothly that they were usually halfway out the door before they even realized they were in motion. When the coast was clear, Paige made her way out of the bathroom and into the small parlor in the back of the church. A mixture of excitement and nerves swirled in her belly. She was going to be a mother. Holy moly. She took a deep breath. Over the past year, she felt liked she’d really been killing the stepmom thing, but Maddie had come into her life as a fully functioning human, more or less. A baby was a whole new ball game. She started to wipe her palms on her dress, then stopped. At this rate, she was going to end up with sweat stains under her armpits. She didn’t need them streaked down the front of her gown as well.
She needed to talk to Lucas. But the ceremony was going to start in—she glanced at the gilded clock that sat on a pedestal table alongside her bouquet of lilies—twenty minutes! And wasn’t there some superstition about the bride and groom not seeing each other before the big entrance? Oh, who was she kidding? There was no way in hell she was going to be able to make it through the entire ceremony without telling him the news. Surely it was better to do it in the privacy of the bride’s room, taboo or not, than risk giving poor old Father Murphy, not to mention her mother, a coronary by blurting it out in front of the entire congregation.
I need to see you, she texted him.
Please have your phone, please have your phone, she chanted to herself as she paced the rug. After what felt like an eternity, her phone vibrated in her hand.
The groom isn’t supposed to see the bride before she walks down the aisle, his message said.
He’s also not supposed to have sex with her before the wedding night, she replied.
Fair point. Tiny bubbles filled the bottom of the screen as he typed. Where are you?
Bride’s room. Back of church on left.
How am I going to make it past Sammy? More bubbles. Or your mom?
Got rid of them.
A second later, her phone rang in her hands. “Is everything alright?” Lucas asked. “You’re not having cold feet, are you?” The nervous edge to his voice caused a wave of warmth to rush over her, instantly calming her. Not because she wanted to cause him any unnecessary anxiety, but because it reminded her of the last time she’d heard him sound so adorably panicked. It was the night he had proposed…
They’d barely seen each other that week as he’d spent the bulk of it finishing up a major kitchen renovation. It was his fourth project since arriving in Chicago, and the list of jobs he had lined up for the rest of the year was nearly twice that long. After only six months, Lucas had earned himself a reputation for top-notch work, something that allowed him to charge top-notch prices. But it was also how he ended up spending five straight nights with his crew instead of his girlfriend.
He’d called her at lunchtime on that Friday. Well, not actually her, but rather Sammy. That really should have been her first clue that something was up. Sammy told her that Lucas had called to see if dinner at six would work with her schedule, and to ask him to give her directions to the “great new place” he’d found on the north side of the city.
At the time, Paige didn’t really think much of it. Because while Lucas had never done something like that before, he’d often joked about cutting out the middle (wo)man and just making plans directly with her assistant. But when she arrived at the address Sammy had given her, she was more than a little suspicious. Because while it did look like a “great place,” it didn’t look at all like a restaurant. The address was for a three-story brownstone, and while it wasn’t unheard of for that type of building to house a business or restaurant, this particular location was in a residential area. The quiet, tree-lined street wasn’t at all the type of place where you would find anything but individually owned homes. There was even a playground at the end of the block.
Maybe he had it wrong. Sammy had been wearing many hats over the last month as he prepared to step into his new role as partner, so maybe he’d transposed the numbers. Paige double-checked the address in his text, then looked at the numbers etched into stone on the front of the house. Yep, right place. But not only was there no sign indicating this was a public establishment, there weren’t many lights on either. In fact, aside from one fixture that lit the porch, the place looked completely dark.
She was about to call Lucas when he appeared at the front door. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a charcoal sweater, and the smile that never failed to make her pulse race a little faster. Shy and sexy all at once, the look on his face was her kryptonite, capable of melting her heart and her panties at the same time.
“Welcome,” he said, gesturing to the door that stood open behind him. “Come on in.”
Confused, Paige made her way up the stone steps and into the entryway of an empty house. The carved wooden staircase looked to be over a hundred years old, as did the electrical system if the cloth-covered wires poking out from the ceiling were any indication. There were cobwebs in the corners of the vaulted fresco ceilings, and the baseboards that stretched along the hardwood floors had to be at least nine inches high. The house was equal parts spectacular and horrifying.
“What are we doing here, Lucas?”
He took her hand and guided her through leaded-glass pocket doors to what was surely the dining room. An entire wall was filled with a built-in buffet, complete with beveled glass doors and a marble serving top. But instead of a formal dining-room table, the room held nothing more than a square card table and two folding chairs. They were nothing special, but what was on top of them contained everything Paige never knew she wanted: a silver picture frame with a photo of her with Lucas and Maddie taken shortly after they’d moved to Chicago. Next to the frame was a pair of tapered candles and beyond that sat two place settings.
“We’re eating here?” she asked.
He nodded. “And for many years to come if you say yes.”
Say yes? The words had barely registered when Lucas dropped to one knee. He never took his eyes off hers as he reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small leather box.
“Paige Parker, you turned my life upside down.” He smiled her favorite crooked smile. “You brought light into my dark world, and love into my heart. For that I will forever be grateful, and if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you.” Tears pricked Paige’s eyes as she watched Lucas ease the box open. Inside sat an emerald-cut diamond on a simple platinum band. It was exquisite and simple and exactly what Paige would have selected. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
His wife? Paige had given up on the notion of marriage nearly four years ago, and yet there she stood in a dilapidated brownstone gazing down at the man who had not only shown her how to love again, but how to let herself be loved.
Still, she hesitated.
Lucas’s brows shot up. “Gotta admit, I was hoping for a more immediate response,” he teased.
Of course she had wanted to blurt out Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. But…
“There’s just one thing,” she said.
His expression was one of utter amusement. “Are you really going to turn my proposal into a negotiation?”
She laughed. “No, but my answer does have one condition.”
Lucas cocked his head to one side. “Which is?”
“Maddie’s blessing.”
A wide grin spread across his face. “Are you kidding? The first words out of her mouth were ‘flower girl.’ She’s been tossing petals up and down the hallway all week.”
“All week?” Paige’s eyes grew wide. “How did you get her to keep quiet that long?”
“It just so happens that five-and-a-half-year-olds are capable of keeping a secret. Or so I’ve been told. Repeatedly.” They shared a quiet laugh as he removed the ring from between the two rows of satin. “So, what do you say?” His playful tone switched to a heartfelt sincerity. “Will you marry me?”
She held out her hand. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
He looked at her outstretched hand and smiled. “You’re not expecting to shake on it, are you?”
Paige rolled her eyes. The man kneeling before her had not only captured her heart, but he made her laugh every damn day, which was almost better than the orgasms he gave her nearly as often. Almost. “No,” she said, wiggling her ring finger. “I thought you’d like to do the honors.”
Lucas took her hand and slid the ring on her finger. When he was done, she pulled him to his feet and stepped into his arms.
“Did you buy this house?” He’d wanted to start looking at houses the moment he and Maddie had arrived in the city, but Paige had convinced him to take things slow, although the irony of that wasn’t lost on her even as she spoke the words. Nothing about her relationship with Lucas had been slow. But buying property just so you could be close to a woman you wanted to try dating seemed a bit extreme, even for them. In the end, she’d convinced him to rent a house in the school district he’d selected, but after six months he told her he was ready to lay down some roots.
“I did. Thought my fiancée would love it.”
Paige reared back to look at him. “Pretty confident, huh?” she teased. There was a time when her control-freak tendencies would have gone into hyperdrive over such a major decision. But when Paige was with Lucas, she not only didn’t sweat the small stuff, but even larger decisions were far less daunting. Nothing seemed to matter nearly as much now that her heart was so full of love.
“About the house or the fiancée?”
“Both.”
He shook his head. “Not confident. Hopeful.”
“It looks—”
“Like it needs a lot of work? I know, but wait until you see the ideas I have for fixing it up.” His almost childlike enthusiasm faded ever so slightly. “Of course, if you don’t like it, I can just flip it.”
Paige pressed her fingers to his lips. “I was going to say it looks perfect.” Lucas lowered his head and kissed her with all the emotion of a man who’d found exactly what he needed.
A tap at the bride’s room door pulled her from her sweet memories. She eased the door open. “Is the coast clear?”
Lucas nodded as he slipped into the room. The sight of him took her breath away. She loved her sexy innkeeper no matter what he was wearing, and particularly when he wore nothing at all. But Lucas Croft in a tuxedo was almost too much for her brain to handle.
From the look on his face, it was safe to say she was having the same effect on him. “Damn, Paige, you look…”
When she’d asked Lucas to come to the bride’s room, she hadn’t really considered the fact that his reaction to seeing her in her wedding dress for the first time would be private, and not down the length of a church aisle with two hundred sets of eyes watching them. But now that they were there, hidden away from the world, not to mention their wedding guests, Paige found herself grateful for this intimate moment. Not only because of the news she was about to share, but because of the opportunity it afforded them to bask in the emotions of the day before all the craziness began.
After several long beats, Lucas swallowed, then attempted to speak. But despite his efforts to clear his throat, his voice remained rough. “Would it be bad form for me to undress you right now?”
A rush of excitement raced across her skin, and for a moment she lost all sense of place and time. But then her gaze fell to the full-length mirror behind him, and all at once she remembered standing in front of it for what felt like an eternity as she was strapped into her dress like Scarlett O’Hara. “You wouldn’t be asking that if you had any idea how long it took Sammy to fasten all these buttons.”
Lucas drew closer and snaked his arms around her waist. “I look forward to unbuttoning them,” he said as his fingers strummed the length of her back. “Slowly.”
Buttons or not, the fire burning in his eyes was damn near enough to have her consummating the marriage right then and there. He lowered his head, but Paige pulled back just before his lips touched hers.
“Ah, ah, ah,” she chastised, then smiled at his wounded expression, knowing full well it was an act. “You might have seen me, but no way are you getting that kiss. Not before the priest says so.” Paige might not have been much of a traditionalist, but even she drew the line somewhere.
Lucas straightened. “Fine. But Father Murphy might not approve of the kiss I have in mind.”
Sweet Jesus, the man could turn her to a puddle with just the promise of a kiss. No wonder she was a knocked-up bride.
“I need to tell you something,” she said.
Lucas’s smile faltered. “Is something wrong?”
“Well, that depends…”
“On?”
Paige looked up at him. She hadn’t thought it was possible to love him more, but in that moment her heart was so full, she felt as though it might burst.
“Do you think Maddie will mind not being an only child?”
Lucas’s brows knit together. Paige watched as the momentary confusion that lit his eyes changed to excitement as her words registered. “Are you…”
Not trusting the giant lump that had formed in her throat, she merely nodded. And grinned. Huge. No doubt she looked like a lunatic, but Paige couldn’t help it. She didn’t think she’d ever been this happy in her entire life.
“How?”
A laugh bubbled up from deep inside her. “How?” She laughed again. “You really need me to explain it?”
“Of course I know how, but I thought… I mean, we were careful, weren’t we?”
His words were a running stream of consciousness that was bouncing in six different directions.
“We were,” she said. “But these things don’t always work and—”
“And it’s amazing,” he said, cutting her off. Lucas tightened his arms around her waist and lifted her clear off the floor.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked with laughter. But he didn’t stop. Instead he swung her around in a full circle before setting her back on her feet.
“So this is good news?”
“This is spectacular news. And this day has turned out to be even better than I could have ever imagined, because I’m not only getting to marry you today, but I get to do it knowing you’re carrying our child.” His eyes were glassy. “I love you, Paige.”
“Stop, or you’re going to make me cry.” And Paige Parker was not going to cry. Not because she couldn’t, or because she thought it made her look weak—she’d come to terms with that months ago—but because she was terrified of what Sammy would do to her for ruining her makeup.
There was a knock on the door. “Paige,” Sophie said from the other side. “Maddie was wondering if you were ready for her.” Poor thing had probably been pacing the back of the church with her basket of rose petals.
“Should we?” Lucas asked.
Paige nodded.
He opened the door to find his sister and Maddie, each wearing a lavender dress, along with Leo, who was sporting a rather fetching lavender bow tie.
Sophie’s mouth popped open. “Lucas Lancaster Croft,” she said as she smacked him on the shoulder.
“You know that’s not my middle name.”
“And you know you’re not supposed to be in here. It’s bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony.”
“Hey, don’t look at me,” he said, nodding toward Paige. “Miss Bossy Pants insisted.”
“Soon to be Mrs. Bossy Pants,” Paige corrected.
Maddie looked up at her dad. “Does that mean that after the wedding I can start calling you Mr. Bossy Pants?”
He swung his daughter up into his arms. “It most certainly does not.” He tickled her until she giggled, something she’d been trying her best to fight lately since she was a mature woman of almost six years old, but as usual, she lost the battle. “I think you should do the honors,” he told Paige as he set Maddie back on her feet.
“Can you keep a secret?” Paige asked the little girl who had stolen her heart even faster than her father had.
Her expression turned serious. “Yes, I can. Five-and-a-half-year-olds are very good at keeping secrets, and I’m almost six.”
“How would you feel about being a big sister?”
Maddie’s eyes grew wide. “Are we going to have a baby?”
“Yes, we are,” Paige replied.
Lucas watched as his daughter threw her arms around Paige’s waist. “Is this okay,” she asked, looking up at Paige. “I won’t hurt the baby, will I?”
“It’s fine,” Paige said.
Lucas dipped his head closer, stopping just before his lips touched hers. “Is this okay?” he asked, echoing his daughter’s question as he attempted yet again to break tradition.
But this time Paige didn’t stop him. Tradition was overrated and life wasn’t always exactly how it was supposed to be.
Sometimes it was even better.