Fulfillment (Book 3 in The Temptation Series) (17 page)

“Controversial
or not, the truest crime of all would have been to ignore true
love. From the moment I laid eyes on this beautiful woman standing
next me, my heart decided to once again function as it was designed
to, and honestly, the feeling that came over me shortly after
meeting her for the first time literally shocked the shit out of
me.”

Everyone in
the room let out a chuckle which seemed to relax Bryce.

“So, there I
was, my heart going berserk, telling numerous parts of my body that
my true love—my soul mate—had just entered my life. And knowing
that it was criminal to ignore what I was feeling, I had no choice
but to act. To say that I deliberately pursued Alexis is indeed
correct. Do I feel guilty about that fact? Well...at that time yes,
yes I did. But, knowing that she too felt the same way about me,
but refused to let herself accept it, enabled me to push aside that
guilt. Look, I guess what I am trying to say is sometimes in life
you know you are going to do the wrong thing, that what you are
about to do goes against everything you stand for. But there are
also times in life when you have to ignore the morality of the
problem that faces you and go with your heart. Because at the end
of the day, your heart is what truly makes you happy. And Alexis is
my heart, entirely.”

The room was
completely silent, but the loud thudding noise my heart was making
as it pounded in my chest was deafening. I had tears streaming down
my face as I looked up at the man who fulfilled every part of my
being.

He noticed me
crying and gently wiped away the salty menaces that were trickling
down my cheeks. I helped him rid my face of the moisture and choked
back anymore tears that threatened to fall. I looked out over the
room of smiling faces, some of which were even crying—my mother and
sister being two of them—and some were playfully scoffing at
Bryce’s romantic declaration—my brother and Derek being two of
those.

I cleared my
throat. “Wow! I can’t really top that ca—”

“Yes you can,”
he interrupted, smiling at me.

I knew exactly
what he meant. “Actually, yes I can.” I took in a deep breath and
felt my face stretch into an enormous grin. “Tomorrow I turn 36
years of age, and during those 36 years I have experienced
a lot
. I have learned what it is to be a
daughter, sister, friend, wife, and mother. I have learned what
entails commitment, devotion, loyalty, love, hurt, and loss. But I
think what I have learned most of all in my life’s journey, is that
no matter what difficult situation you face, there is always
reprieve, always a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if at first
that light seems dim and not worth trying to reach, there is a
light and it is worth reaching. It’s worth grasping and doing
everything you can to brighten it. All of you—my friends and
family—are my light, and I truly appreciate having you all in my
life.”

I placed my
hand around Bryce’s hip and leaned in to his shoulder. “As most of
you are aware, I have recently had to fight for reprieve during a
very wounding, lightless time in my life, but it was a fight worth
winning because the path that lies ahead of me now at age 36 is the
most exciting path I will ever walk. It’s a path I plan on taking
with all of you, with my two beautiful children, with this
wonderful amazing man who I now know to be my soul mate, and with
our precious little miracle that is growing strong as each day goes
by.” I gently caressed my stomach.

There were
gasps around the room and a couple of people even clapped. I sobbed
a little and continued. “Yes, Bryce and I are expecting a baby and
we couldn’t be happier.” I looked up at him, but he did not give me
time to focus before his lips were touching mine. I placed my hand
on the side of his face and savoured his embrace.

“Geezus, you
two. There’s already a bun in the oven, no need to try and make
another one.” My brother’s voice cut through the room, forcing a
laugh from everyone, including me and Bryce. We broke apart.

“I’m gonna be
a dad,” Bryce said to the room. He picked up Charli and sat her on
his hip, and I reached for Nate who was standing not too far from
my side. “We are going to be a family.” Bryce raised his glass to
the room. “To a life of fulfillment.” Everyone raised their glasses
and said cheers.

A waitress lit
the candles on my cake and everyone started singing happy birthday.
Bryce placed Charli on the ground next to me, so I knelt down to
her height and kissed her on the cheek. As I looked through the
candle flames out into the room, I spotted Gareth standing next to
Sam, his look eerily unreadable, and for the first time in a while
I had a chill go up my spine.

CHAPTER TWELVE

I shook the eerie feeling
Gareth’s obscure expression had given me and focused on the rest of
our guests.

Lucy was the
first to greet us after our announcement. “I knew it! A little bit
of wind, my arse,” she exclaimed. I momentarily looked at her
dumbfounded then remembered my morbidly embarrassing cover up on
Easter night.

“I’m so
sorry,” I laughed, “I had to fake it. We wanted it to be a
surprise. I would never have forgiven myself if I ruined it by
admitting I was pregnant to you that night. Oh my God, ‘wind’ was
the first thing that came to my mind.”

Lucy shook her
head in amusement. “I didn’t buy it, you know.”

“Shit! I felt
awful. You had just finished opening your heart to me, and there I
was pronouncing I had wind.” I put my head in my hand. “Kill me
now.”

Bryce and Nic
both shrugged their shoulders, having no idea what Lucy and I were
babbling on about.

“On that
Easter night, Alexis not so subtly caressed her tummy when she and
I were making coffee and talking,” she explained to Bryce and Nic.
“I knew straight away she was pregnant, but she tried playing it
down to having wind. It was hilarious watching her face turn a
shade of pink.”

Lucy grabbed
her brother and hugged him tightly, saying something quietly into
his ear. I couldn’t hear it. He nodded his head at her, an
expression of triumph and self-satisfaction on his face and
answering her with a ‘thanks’.

“Congratulations! You both deserve to be happy...and Alexander
deserves a cousin his age to play with.” She bounced baby Alexander
on her hip. “How does that sound? A cousin to boss around,” she
said, in playful tone to her son.

Bryce smiled
as he let his nephew grip his finger. “Speaking of cousins, where
is ours?”

We all turned
our heads, scanning the room looking for Gareth. “He was here a
moment ago. I spotted him during our announcement.” I answered,
concerned for where he was at that moment, and even more concerned
as to his frame of mind.

“How did he
seem?” Bryce asked.

I didn’t know
whether to say good or not good. To be honest, I didn’t know if his
expression was in fact bad. It looked it though, and it had left me
feeling unsettled, like it used to months ago. “Honestly, I’m not
sure. He didn’t seem overly happy for us, but he didn’t seem
heartbroken either.”

“I probably
should’ve told him in private, like you did for Rick.” He looked
out over the room again while running his free hand through his
hair in exasperation. “Shit! I wasn’t thinking.”

“Bryce, don’t
worry, he’ll be around here somewhere. Go find him and talk it
over,” I offered, as he seemed quite concerned.

“Yeah, that’s
probably a good idea,” Lucy added. Alexander tried desperately to
put Bryce’s finger in his mouth, Bryce playing a little tug of war
with him. “We are going to head up to bed. Al needs a feed and a
sleep. I just need a sleep. Do you mind if we stay?” She was
looking at me when she asked.

“Of course
not.”
Why is she asking me? I’m pregnant with Bryce’s child, not
ruler of his world.
“Why would you ask that?”

“Because, this
is your home now, not ours. We don’t want to intrude,” Nic
replied.

“You’re never
intruding,” Bryce answered, finally freeing his finger from
Alexander’s tight grip. He kissed my cheek. “I’m going to find
Gareth.”

I watched him
walk away in search of his cousin.
Shit, I hope Scott hasn’t
returned. Shit! I hope Sam is okay. Shit! I
really
need to tell her about his illness.
I
hugged Lucy and Nic goodnight, while dreadfully contemplating how I
would inform Sam of Gareth’s condition. I wondered if she were the
type to take that kind of information in her stride, or whether she
would run for the hills.
Unfortunately, I’m thinking
hill-running was more Sam’s style.

Just as I was
about to turn around and mingle some more, I felt a pair of arms
wrap around my shoulders, and an unmistakeable, unmelodic voice
sing Creed’s “Arms Wide Open” into my ear. I laughed, turned, and
gently pushed Tash back. “You’re an idiot, you know.”

“Geez, tough
crowd! If you’re not a Creed fan, I could try a little Ed Sheeran.”
She started singing “Small Bump”. Lil, Jade, and Steph joined
in.

I looked at
them all, amazed. “Shut up.”

Laughing, they
all embraced me into a big group hug, congratulating me.

“Thanks,
bitches. And I say that with love,” I said sarcastically, as they
all pulled away from me.

“That better
be your hormones speaking,” Jade playfully warned.

“Speaking of
hormones...” Tash said, lowering her voice. “Remind me to never say
yes to a ride in the Crow. I’m scarred for life now.”

“I’m not. That
was fucking hot, Lexi!” Jade winked at me.

“What did I
miss?” Steph asked.

“Lexi and
Bryce were—”

“None of your
business,” I interrupted, the smirk on my face betraying me. We all
lowered our gazes—kind of like a Western stand off—and sipped our
drinks.
Hmmm this non-alcoholic rose shit ain’t all that
bad.

Lil broke the
stand-off. “How’d Rick take the news? Not well, I’m guessing? I saw
him storm out before your announcement.”

I closed my
eyes momentarily as I swallowed my drink. “No, not well at all. He
thinks the baby is his.”

“Could it be?”
she asked instantly.

I replied just
as quickly. “No.”

“Are you
sure?”

“Yes, Lil. I’m
sure.”

“Well, relax
then, Luv. He can think it all he likes. Don’t let it stress you
out. You don’t need stress right now.”

“I know. It’s
fine. I’m fine. I’m not worried about Rick. It will sort itself
out. I’m a hurdler, remember.”

Tash scoffed.
“How many hurdles can one jump in such a short space of time
though? Fuck.” She looked concerned.

I hugged her.
“Really Tashy, I’m fine. Hurdles were made to be jumped over. But,
if you can’t jump them gracefully, kick the fuckers down with your
foot and step over them. Either way, the hurdles are goin’ down.” I
motioned for a waiter to come my way when I noticed his tray was
adorned with macaroons.
Pistachio macaroons. I’ll take about
four of those, thank you very much.
I loaded my napkin up with
the delicious treats.

Jade raised an
eyebrow at me.

“What? I’m
eating for two, and I happen to know that baby Clark likes
pistachio macaroons.”

Jade put her
hands in the air. “I’m not saying anything.”

“Baby Clark?”
Tash questioned.

“Yes. Why? Got
any better names?”

“Well, since
you like collective names what about Bark?”

“No, Tash. No!
Definitely not.”

“I know, what
about Boaab?” she asked excitedly.

The rest of
the girls and I scoffed at the horrid name. “Seriously, Tash? What
the fuck?”

“BOAAB. Baby
Of Alexis And Bryce. BOAAB. Shit, I’m smart.”

I screwed my
face up. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Clearly, too
much,” Lil interjected. I agreed.

I quickly
scanned the room, looking for Bryce, Gareth, or both of them
together. There was no sign of either. I did spot Carls in the
middle of the lounge room though, clearly flirting as she spoke to
Derek.

I grinned and
then got a great idea. “Hey. Wanna help me stir up Carls? Bryce has
me drinking non-alcoholic wine, and it’s depressing me. I need to
punish someone. I owe Carls about a thousand paybacks, so she is my
victim.”

The girls all
smiled. “What did you have in mind?” Steph asked, while stealing
one of my macaroons. I gave her the mother of all deathly looks
which prompted her to gingerly place it back my hot little
hand.

Shooting
daggers at Steph one more time, I turned to Tash. “I need some
songs about fires.” I gave her a mischievous grin, knowing full
well my human-jukebox of a friend would come through for me.

After Tash
rattled off a few ‘fiery’ songs, we were set to put our plan into
action. Trying to keep a straight face and looking completely
casual and inconspicuous, I slowly walked past Carly while softly
singing “All Fired Up” by Pat Benatar. I stopped at the waiter who
was only a meter from where Carls and Derek were standing, grabbed
a glass of pink rose shit—or whatever it was called—then made my
way back to the girls, singing the chorus slightly louder as I
strolled past Carls. Tash then did the same thing, only her song of
choice was “Light My Fire” by The Doors. As she made her way back
to me, she raised her voice and danced while gently patting at her
snatch, as if it was alight. I cracked up laughing and noticed
Carly turn slightly in our direction with an unsure look on her
face. I quickly looked down desperately fighting back the hysterics
and trying not to make eye contact with her, knowing that if I did,
I would crumble.

Phase two in
the Let’s-get-Carls-all-fired-up game, consisted of all five of us
walking over to the waiter and staying put, this now giving us the
excuse to remain in Carly’s earshot so that we could continue to
sing rather than walk away. As we stood in a circle with our
drinks, I started us off by humming “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys.
Tash joined in moments after and hummed along with me right up
until the pause before the chorus. I nodded my head at her and the
other girls then we all sang the lyrics in the chorus together,
rather loudly.