Rising from the Ashes (34 page)

What if he decided one day that being with me wasn’t worth all of the heartache I caused him?

A lifetime of doubt had been ingrained in me from an early age. I just couldn’t trust that I was worth it.

One thing I had to be grateful for was the fact that the day was so packed with wedding preparations that I hardly had time to think. We were on the go from the moment we’d woken until the ceremony was going to start. It was a frantic whirlwind of activity up until the very moment I took my place to begin my walk down the aisle.

The doors opened, and I took my first step out, instantly faltering the moment I saw Jeremy standing at the altar in his tux. It should be illegal for a man to look that good. A flush crept up my neck as I walked closer and closer to the altar, unable to take my eyes off of him. If I thought the man looked sexy in jeans and a flannel, it was nothing compared to how he cleaned up in a tuxedo.

Somehow, my feet carried me to my destination without me having to think about it. I turned toward my spot, forced to take my eyes off of Jeremy and the cocky smirk he was giving me, and took my place. The music played as the rest of the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle.

“What the hell happened to Jeremy’s face?” Lizzy whispered through the corner of her mouth.

I couldn’t contain the snort-laugh that escaped me at her question. Yes, I felt bad for breaking his nose the night before, but there was no denying that the situation was hilarious. My eyes cut in his direction as I tried to suppress my laughter, and he gave me a wink in return as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

He’d
winked
.

The man had poured his heart out the night before, just to have me run out on him, and he’d
winked
at me. I did
not
deserve him.

“You know you’re as easy to read as a book, right? You’ve got self-doubt written all over your face.” Lizzy said with a knowing smile

I leaned over slightly and whisper-yelled back, “Shut up. We’re in a wedding, for God’s sake.”

Emmy leaned over as inconspicuously as possible. “Both of you can it before Stacia comes through those doors. If she sees y’all talking, you’re dead.”

We all straightened just as the doors opened again and the wedding march began playing. As soon as Stacia began walking down the aisle on her father’s arm, I turned to see Gavin’s reaction. His face was lit up like a Christmas tree, a huge smile splitting right across the middle. Seeing how happy he was to be marrying the love of his life was so moving.

At that thought, my eyes drifted back to Jeremy. He was staring back at me with so much affection that my heart felt like it was going to beat right through my chest. We spent the rest of the ceremony locked on each other, only turning away to cheer when the minister announced Gavin and Stacia as husband and wife.

The wedding reception was fantastic. Everyone was having a blast. The room was beautifully decorated in white and soft gold, the food was phenomenal, the DJ was absolutely amazing, and best of all, there was an open bar.

I was sitting at one of the round tables off of the dance floor, watching my friends make fools of themselves while trying to do The Wobble. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d laughed so hard.

I picked up my champagne flute and took a sip just as the song changed and “Like a Star” by Corinne Bailey Rae began playing.

“May I have this dance?” Jeremy asked as he came from behind me and held out his hand.

“I don’t know, Jer. You know how horrible of a dancer I am. Add three glasses of champagne to that, and you might walk away with more bruises than you’ve already got.”

He took the glass from me and placed it gently on the white covered table. Then, he took my hand, pulled me from the chair, and led me to the dance floor. “I’ll take my chances. You just have to promise not to turn into a control freak and let me lead this time.”

I threw my head back in laughter. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”

Jeremy spun me around to face him and placed one arm around my waist, pulling me to him tightly. He grasped my right hand in his left, entwining our fingers, and rested them both on his broad chest. “I know you better than you know yourself, sugar.”

Right then, I was sure what he was saying was the truth.

“Are you having a good time?”

I looked up into his gorgeous eyes, not even seeing the bruises I’d caused the night before. “I really am. The wedding was beautiful.”

The arm around my waist tightened slightly, and he lowered his face to my shoulder. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

His breath on my bare skin caused goose bumps to break out over my arms. I inhaled deeply, melting further into his strong body as I rested my forehead on his chest. Being in Jeremy’s arms felt so right.

“How can you still be so nice to me after everything I’ve done to you? I don’t deserve it.”

I felt him press his lips against the top of my head. “Because I love you,” he responded simply. “You made a few mistakes, sugar. That doesn’t make you a bad person. I know that. I just wish you did too.”

I laughed sarcastically and pulled back to look at his face. “A few is putting it lightly, Jeremy.”

His smile vanished, and his face grew serious. “It doesn’t matter. I’m always going to forgive you. There isn’t anything life can throw at us that we can’t handle together, babe. One day, you’ll see that.”

I lowered my head and placed my cheek back on his chest, letting him guide me around the floor.

“Are you happy?” he asked so quietly that I almost didn’t hear him.

I stayed silent for a while, putting serious thought into my answer. “I’m not sure,” I finally answered honestly.

“Well, let me ask you this—do you still love me?”

That was one question I could answer without hesitation. “Yes. I never stopped.”

He leaned down and placed his forehead against mine, keeping his eyes closed, as he said, “Only ever you, Savannah.”

“Only ever you,” I whispered back.

Jeremy let go of my hand and wrapped his other arm around me, holding on to me like he never wanted to let go. “If you’ll just take a chance on us, I promise I’ll make sure that you’re happy every day for the rest of your life. You can trust me, Savannah.”

Every wall I’d put up to guard myself came crumbling down after he said that. There was no way to keep Jeremy out any longer. I didn’t even want to.

“You think we can really do this?”

His face lit up just like Gavin’s had earlier when he laid eyes on Stacia. “You know what they say—third time’s a charm.”

I smacked him on the arm. “I’m being serious, Jer.”

His joking demeanor faded. “Are there any more secrets between us?” he asked.

I answered with complete certainty, “No more secrets, I swear.” Then, I finally faced the one thing that gave me pause. “What about Charlotte?”

“Charlotte stopped being an issue the morning you came to my apartment. She’s gone. If I hadn’t been drunk out of my mind, that night would
never
have happened.”

I had a choice to make, and this time, I was making it completely for myself and no one else. I could either let go of all that hurt and move forward with my life, or I could hold on to that pain and let it prevent me from ever truly being happy. Once I finally got past all my fears and self-doubt, I discovered that the answer was simple.

“I love you, Jeremy. I want to come home.”

“Wake up, sleepyhead. We’ve got things to do.”

I batted Jeremy away and pulled the comforter over my head.

Gavin and Stacia had left the ceremony around midnight, and Jeremy and I had chosen to leave shortly after. We’d headed back to his house—well,
our
house now—and he’d kept me up for several more hours before I finally passed out from exhaustion.

My man is a sex god. No doubt about it.

“Go away, or die.”

“Sorry, sugar. No can do. We’ve got a plane to catch.”

That woke me up. “What do you mean, we’ve got a plane to catch? Where are we going?”

“That’s the surprise. Now, move your sexy ass, or we’re gonna be late.”

I threw the covers off and jumped out of the bed. I quickly rummaged through my suitcase while arguing, “You can’t just spring a last minute trip on me, Jeremy. I only packed for the weekend. When did you have the chance to buy plane tickets anyway?”

“Don’t worry about the rest of your things. We’ll head to Austin and pack you up when we get back. And I didn’t buy these tickets at the last minute. I’ve had them for a while.”

I grabbed my toiletry bag and headed for the bathroom. “Oh, you were that sure of yourself, huh?”

He stepped in my path and wrapped me in a hug. “I had faith. There’s a difference.” He planted a steamy kiss on me that had my toes curling, and then he pulled away, ending it too soon. “Shake a leg, sexy,” he said, giving me a slap on the ass.

By the grace of God, I’d managed to shower and dress in half an hour. We jumped into Jeremy’s GTO and booked it to the airport.

“Seriously, where are you taking me?” I asked for the hundredth time.

“You’ll see,” he said with a smug grin.

As soon as we walked through the glass doors, we turned to check our bags, and I spotted our friends already at the counter.
All
of our friends were there, even Ben was there with his arm around Mickey. Stacia and Gavin were even standing there.

“Uh…babe, what’s going on?” I asked as we made our way over to them before hugging everyone hello.

Jeremy ignored my question and kept glancing around, like he was looking for someone.

So I turned my attention to everyone else. “What’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” I asked Stacia and Gavin.

“Jer hasn’t told you yet?” Emmy asked.

“He hasn’t even told me where we’re going.”

“This has been in the works for a while. We’re all going with you. Gavin and I will head out on our honeymoon when we all get back,” Stacia said.

I turned to Jeremy, who was still looking around. “In the works for a while, huh? That’s a lot of faith.”

He looked down at me and pulled me to his side for a kiss. “I’ll bet on us every time, sugar. Oh, good, they’re here.”

“Who’s here?” I was so confused.

Everyone we knew was already with us.
Who else could he possibly have been waiting on?

Just then, three people I never expected came walking up to our group, dragging rolling luggage behind them. One person in particular surprised the hell out of me.

“Mom?”

“Hi, sweetie,” she said, running up to give me a huge hug.

I knew that we’d made some serious strides in fixing our relationship, but it was still surreal to have her treat me with so much affection.

“Hi, sunflower!” Burt said, pulling me into a massive bear hug before passing me off to Kathy.

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” I demanded as my eyes traveled over everyone standing around us.

“We’re going to Vegas, baby,” Jeremy declared with a shit-eating grin.

“We are?” I squealed, jumping up and down, before throwing myself at him. I’d never been to Vegas and I was beyond excited. “So…what? We’re making it a group trip or something?”