Breathe Again (38 page)

“You didn’t have to do this.” She grabbed my hands, bringing them to her lips. “I could have gotten someone else to come with me.”

All I could do was nod. Once again, my ability to speak had been thrown out the window as fear swept through me. With a jerk, we started the painfully slow rise from the safety of the ground. My eyes locked with Savannah’s in a desperate attempt of safety. I could feel the familiar tightening of my chest and the clamminess of my hands against my jeans.

“The things I do for you,” I choked out and smiled slightly. “If this isn’t love, then I don’t know what is.”

Sav’s attention moved from me to take a glance over the edge. She looked out over the Pacific Ocean as we slowly rose to the peak. The smile gracing her face was pure contentment. If I saw a smile like that on her face every day, then I’d die a happy man.

The Ferris wheel came to a stop as we reached the highest peak. My fear of heights had been stolen by my nerves of the next words that would come out of my mouth. Grabbing both of her hands, Sav shifted in the seat so she was facing me. This was it.

“Savannah Rae, my life changed the moment I first saw you in the lobby. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen and I remember that first moment like it was yesterday. You were so different from anyone I had ever seen and my urge to be near you was so strong. I thought that would be it. I thought we would have our moment in the elevator and that would be it, but then fate stepped in and you were my twin’s best friend.” I took a deep breath, knowing that it was now or never.

This was a moment that had been coming for so long. I loved this girl more than I could have ever imagined, and now, as we sat at the top of the world, I hoped today would be the start of a whole new chapter in the book of Tate Connors and Savannah Rae. I dropped to my knee in the bottom of the carriage and looked up at her through hopeful eyes. Her gasp filled the air around us.

“You made me become a man, Sav. You made me face everything head-on because I was desperate to be the man an amazing woman like you deserved. And until I take my last breath, I will continue to be that man for you. You own my heart completely. I love you like I’ve never loved before, I crave you like I’ve never craved before, and I am bound to you for life. Will you be bound to me for life, Sav? Would you take my name and be with me in every sense of the word? Will you marry me, Savannah Maree Rae?

Savannah

Six months later

I
OFTEN
felt like I was living a never-ending fairytale, a fairy tale that I was still in the middle of and one I never wanted to finish. It felt like an eternity since I’d left Australia for the first time, and thinking back to the girl I had been when I left caused a shudder to run through my body. The thought of that Savannah was like thinking of someone completely different. She was a stranger, a shadow of who I was today. I had been so utterly and completely screwed up, but I would never have realized that at the time. To me, I had been living the life. Screwing random men into oblivion, partying until the sun came up, drinking ‘til I passed out and forgot the world. That had been reality to me. Now I knew that I’d left Australia a shattered and broken young woman. I had been destroyed, hell-bent on self-destruction, and living the life I’d thought I’d deserved. Happiness had been a myth, a legend that I’d thought I would never meet, a legend I’d never wanted to meet. I had been a walking contradiction, a disgrace to my family, and a constant heartache to the only person who had truly accepted me—Mr. Davenport.

Moving to the States had been the best damn decision of my life.

What I hadn’t expected when I arrived in the bright lights of Los Angeles was to find love, to find my second chance, to find the other broken, fractured part of my heart. Tate Connors, my stubborn, frustrating, and amazing savior. To find a partner who loved me for all of my faults, who loved me for all of my scars, and who understood loss like I did was something I could never have imagined finding. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I’d be lucky enough to find the one.

And now today I was going to become Mrs. Tate Connors.

As the sunshine of California beamed through the house, I was feeling like I was Cinderella living a crazy fairytale, getting ready to meet my prince charming. I was so lovesick that it was pathetic.

The moment Tate had asked me to marry him, everything had fallen into place. I had no idea he was going to do that, and to be honest, he’d shocked the life out of me. But there had been no other answer I could give him. Of course it had been a giant yes.

And that was when the craziness of planning a wedding started. I felt like the past six months had been the craziest ride of my life. Tanzi had gone straight into complete wedding-planner mode the moment we’d gotten off the Ferris wheel and announced our engagement, and since then all I’d had to do was say yes or no and she’d gotten things organised. She had been incredible, and I couldn’t have asked for a better maid of honor. Well, besides the three a.m. calls when she got a brilliant idea about flowers or cakes.

All I wanted was a twilight beach wedding, something simple yet elegant, with Tate, Max, and me, surrounded by our family and friends, and that’s what we were getting.

“Sav, where are you?” Mr. Davenport’s strong voice rumbled through the living area. Wrapping my satin bride-to-be dressing gown around me—a gift from Tanzi and Ali—I walked out of the bathroom and grinned at him. “Well how’s the wife-to-be going?”

Walking towards him, I stood on my tiptoes, placing a light kiss on his cheek, and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. “I am feeling good. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet what today actually is.”

“Are you here on your own?” he asked, looking around the empty room.

“Tanzi and Ali have gone to the liquor store. They forgot champagne.”

“Well, I just wanted to come here and tell you something, but I don’t want you to freak out, okay?” His face looked panicked.

“You cannot start a conversation like that. Has Tate decided he doesn’t want to marry me? I knew this was too good to be true. Seriously, could he not have come and told me himself? I am going to kill him!” I groaned in frustration, collapsing on the couch and dropping my head into my hands. Worst-case scenario swamped me.

“Savannah!” His voice rose to grab my frantic attention. “Calm the hell down. Tate is coming. You are getting married today.”

Raising my head, I looked at him sheepishly. “Well what do you have to tell me?”

He swallowed hard, his eyes darting away from me quickly as if he were nervous. Mr. Davenport never got nervous—ever. What the hell was going on? “I’ve met someone.”

Did I really just hear that? I felt my lips curving into an excited smile.

I taunted, standing from the couch and walking towards him. “Say again?”

“Jesus, Savannah. I know you heard me.” He ran his hands frustratingly through his hair and groaned. “I’ve met someone and I’ve invited her today.”

I barreled into him, my arms wrapping around him tightly as I nearly squeezed the life out of him. His soft laughter rang through my ears. I had been waiting years for this moment. Mr. Davenport finally had a lady friend! Shit! Tanzi would be devastated.

“What’s the lucky lady’s name? Where is she from? How did you meet her? Why the hell are you only telling me now? Tanzi will be crushed!” I breathed out at a hundred miles an hour.

“I feel like I’m being interrogated,” he scoffed and sat on the couch, grabbing my hand and pulling me down beside him. “Her name is Georgie, she is from England, I met her at a Beautify function, and as for Tanzi, I am sure she will get over her insistent love for me. The reason I haven’t told you about Georgie is because I wanted to make sure it was serious before I introduced her to my family.”

“I can’t wait to meet her,” I admitted softly. I had been waiting for him to find someone special for years. Yes, he dated but he had never introduced me to any of them—not one. It was only ever him and me.”I can’t believe I’m—”

“Savannah, we are back!” Tanzi shrilled, breaking my conversation with Mr. Davenport.

He stood from the couch, kissing my forehead before walking towards my gawking best friend. Seriously, her obsession with Mr. Davenport was becoming concerning. She fired him a wink before rushing to the kitchen, and the clink of glasses indicated that I was about to be drinking my first glass of champagne.

“I’ll leave you girls to get organized. I’ll be back soon.”

The afternoon was spent in a rush of makeup, flowers, champagne, and laughter. Having Tanzi and Ali excitedly chatting and getting eager by the second as they fussed over my hair and makeup made me forget the nerves that were quickly growing within my butterfly-infested stomach. I was getting married today. Savannah Rae was getting married.

“Let’s get you into this beautiful dress.” Ali reached for my wedding dressing hanging from the mirror in Tate’s and my bedroom. Slipping my robe off my shoulders, I stood in the middle of the room in only my new baby pink lingerie that I had been given on my hens’ night.

“I still find it so amusing that you call a bachelorette party a hens’ night. You Australians crack me up,” Tanzi laughed as she took me in. “You are a vixen, Miss Rae. My brother is going to die when he sees you in this.”

“I am hoping I won’t be in it for very long once he sees me. I plan on consummating this marriage in every way imaginable.” I chuckled at the look of disgust that swept over Tanzi’s face. “Your brother’s self-imposed ‘one week of no sex before the wedding’ has almost killed me. I’m sorry, Tanzi, but your brother needs to be between my thighs and fast.”

“Fuck, Savannah. Do you seriously need to say that?”

“It’s payback for all the Mr. Davenport comments you make.”

“Okay, you two. Let’s get Sav into this dress. It’s almost time!” Ali’s calming voice broke my amused gaze at Tanzi as I looked towards the dress Ali was holding.

The satin material slid down my body, caressing my curves perfectly, shimmering over my hips, and falling to the floor. With shaking hands, Tanzi zipped me up and then they both took a step away and focused solely on me.

“Do I look okay?” I asked nervously after neither of them said a word.

“You are absolutely breathtaking,” Ali whispered as Tanzi gasped and a single tear ran over her cheek. “I am going to quickly see if everything is okay with the boys and I’ll be back to get ready and then watch you marry my cousin.”

Ali left shortly after, and I helped Tanzi into her dress in complete silence. The perfect pink Grecian dress clung to her perfect hourglass body and made her gorgeous blue eyes pop. Her chocolate brown hair fell over her shoulders in a waterfall of loose curls. She looked like a goddess.

“Can you believe you are here?” she asked softly as I placed the necklace I had purchased her around her neck.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get married. Love, babies, and marriage weren’t in my cards,” I admitted, offering a smile as she turned around towards me.

“I couldn’t ask for a better girl for my twin.” Her voice cracked under the honesty of her words. Her eyes bored into mine as tears taunted the edges, begging to flow over her cheeks, and soon I felt my own tears forming under the intensity of the moment. “I’ll be honest with you, Sav. I was terrified when you two started dating. I was terrified because I had finally found the best friend I had been craving my entire life. The moment we met, I felt like I had not only gained a best friend but I had gained a sister, and I was terrified my brother would screw it up for me. It was selfish, I know.”

Tanzi breathed deeply and grabbed both of my hands in hers. “But then I started to witness the most amazing thing. I witnessed my brother growing, loving, and becoming completely devoted to someone in a way I could never have ever wished for. You changed him, Sav. You made him come alive. You made him open his heart and become the man I always knew he could be. You make my brother happy, and for that, I will be forever indebted to you. I thought I had lost Tate, but you found him and gave him back to me. Are you ready to become, Mrs. Tate Connors?”

“I’ve wanted this from the moment your brother said I had a nice arse.”

“That brother of mine is such a damn charmer.”

The door swung open, revealing Mr. Davenport standing there with a look of pride over his face. Both Tanzi and I looked him over.

“Fuck, I’d love to ride him.”

The champagne I had just sipped came up and the sound of me choking filled the room. Mr. Davenport rushed towards me while Tanzi giggled beside me.

“Something inappropriate, I guess?” Mr. Davenport snickered, firing a knowing look towards Tanzi.

“I just said how handsome you are looking. I don’t know what she thought I said.”

“Yes, I am sure that’s what you said.” Mr. Davenport shot a smile at Tanzi and shook his head in amusement. “I am onto you Ms. Connors.”

“You are on me? God, Mr. Davenport, that’s a bit forward, isn’t it?”

“Onto you, Tanzi!” He huffed. “Fuck me dead, girl.”

“Seriously, Mr. Davenport. You should just shut up while you can. She will turn everything into a sexual innuendo.”