Most Eligible Baby Daddy (28 page)

The drive back to Stone Peak, later that day, was a strange experience for Elle. She was in one of Forrester’s luxury cars, a black SUV, and she felt very rich and taken care of. It was something she was slowly getting used to. She’d gone straight from being Cinderella to being a princess. Forrester drove with his hand holding hers, and it only added to her feeling of being looked after.

Pulling into the lot of Gracie’s diner was the strangest part of all. She’d been in such a tight position when she’d arrived there for the first time. Now she didn’t have a worry in the world.

Entering the diner, she breathed in the familiar smells of the kitchen. She smiled at the faces of the customers she knew.

“Elle,” Kelly screamed, and ran across the diner to give her a big hug.

She was a little more reserved with Forrester and they merely shook hands.

When Grace emerged from the kitchen, she had tears in her eyes.

“I don’t think I have to tell you how proud we all are of you,” Grace said.

Elle felt so much love for the woman in that moment.

“Elle,” Grace said.

There was a tone in Grace’s voice that told Elle she was about to say something serious. “You’re like a daughter to me. I know we worked together for quite a short time, but during that time, you showed yourself to be a true and loyal friend. I want you to know that.”

“Thank you, Gracie,” Elle said.

Grace continued. “That’s why it’s so hard for me to tell you that I won’t be able to attend your wedding.”

“What? I so wanted you to be there.”

“I know you did sweetheart, and I’m grateful to you for caring so much, but I haven’t left this diner unattended in twenty years and I just don’t think I can do it now. Not on such short notice. Some people are just better suited to their one place in the world. You girls go and have fun for me.”

Elle was disappointed but she understood what Grace was saying. Grace lived and breathed for her diner, and shutting the place just wasn’t something she could do.

“I understand,” she said to Grace.

Grace nodded sagely and took a small box from her pocket. “This is for you,” she said.

Elle looked at the box. It was small and black and lined with velvet, like a box from an expensive jeweler.

“Can I open it now?” she said.

“Of course you can, angel,” Grace said.

Elle looked into Grace’s eyes. She’d never felt so cared for by an older woman in her life.

“Thank you, Grace,” she said as she opened the little box.

Inside was something sparkly. Elle’s breath caught in her throat. It was a diamond bracelet, the kind that movie stars used to wear when they played tennis. It was stunning.

“Grace,” she gasped.

Grace just nodded. “It was something my mother owned, and her mother before her. Since I never had a daughter, I wanted to give it to you for your wedding day.”

“You can’t,” Elle said, but Grace just shook her head.

“It’s yours sweetie.”

Elle shut the box. She didn’t know what to say. She hugged and kissed Grace and thanked her profusely, but she felt uncomfortable accepting the gift. Surely it should have gone to Kelly, not her. Kelly had practically been raised by Grace, and she needed it more. She had nothing. Elle was getting everything.

Once back in the car with Kelly, Elle swore to herself that she would figure out a way to help Kelly with her life. Everything good that was happening to her started with Kelly’s deciding to help her out. She owed so much to Kelly, and she wasn’t going to forget her now that she was getting married to the man of her dreams.

It would take time. You can’t help a person overnight. It takes patience and consistency. Elle knew that she wouldn’t be able to snap her fingers and make Kelly’s life as happy as hers was. But she did know that after her wedding, when things quietened down, she would work on being the best possible friend she could possibly be to Kelly, even though they would be living in different states. After all, as Elle was fast learning, there are few things in life as beautiful as bringing happiness to a person you loved.

Chapter 54

Forrester

F
ORRESTER FELT LIKE THE HAPPIEST
man ever to have lived. He couldn’t believe it was his wedding day already. He stood at the altar, at the place he’d chosen for the wedding, and glanced out over the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. It was a breathtaking view. Then he turned to face the guests. It was a small ceremony, as all of the Brotherhood weddings were, with the men all standing next to him, and Faith, Lacey and Kelly waiting for the bride. Faith and Lacey were holding their beautiful babies. He smiled at the women. Then he smiled at Grant, Grady and Faith and Jackson’s son, Sam. Next to Sam was Luke, Kelly’s little brother. The two boys were about the same age and had sparked off an energetic friendship. The same priest who’d married Grant and Lacey was performing the ceremony.

The only two people missing were Elle, and Jackson. It had been decided by Elle that Jackson should be the one to give her away, since he was the one who’d been responsible for her getting away from Los Lobos.

When Forrester set eyes on Elle, she took his breath away. She was the most stunningly beautiful creature he’d ever seen. He admired every inch of her body, from her pretty feet in their white shoes, to the luxurious gown that was draped over her delicious curves, to the thin veil that covered the most beautiful face he’d ever dreamed of.

This was it. This was his moment of truth. This was the moment every guy dreamed of, the moment he truly became a man. Forrester had never realized it before, but now, as Elle walked slowly toward him, Jackson at her side, the music of a string quartet wafting in the air, he saw his life for what it was. For what it always had been.

And what it had been was a journey up to this very moment. More than most people, Forrester knew what it meant to say that he’d been born alone. In a very real sense, he’d been more alone than most babies that were born into the world. His mother had died the moment he first drew breath. His father hated him for it right from the beginning. He’d come into a world without love, but he still had a heart. There’d been no warmth for him as a child, but he’d craved it just as much as everyone else in the world. He’d searched for it. He’d thirsted for it.

And this was the moment that that thirst would be satisfied. This was the moment that he would be made complete.

Like him, Elle had come into the world alone. Her own mother couldn’t care for her, and in desperation, had given her to the cruelest criminals ever to operate in the southwest.

For both Forrester and Elle, the desperately dark circumstances of their birth were finally being wrapped up in a moment of pure light.

And that light was love.

Forrester held his breath as Elle approached the altar. He simply could not believe how beautiful she was, or how much love he felt for her. He felt as if he couldn’t live without her. He rose his hand to his face and wiped away a single tear that was falling over his cheek, then he silently mouthed the words, “I love you,” to her.

She smiled back at him and then turned to the priest.

Forrester wasn’t even sure he’d heard the words the priest said. They were the usual words for a classical wedding ceremony. Forrester said his vow when it was his turn. He heard Elle say her vow. He placed the ring, handed to him by Grady, on Elle’s finger and she did the same, Kelly being the one to pass her the ring.

When the priest finally said the words, “I now pronounce you man and wife,” Forrester lifted Elle up into his arms, and at the same time lifted his own soul up to God and thanked Him for bringing him all the happiness in the world.

He kissed his new bride deeply and passionately, and as he kissed her, the setting sun turned the entire sky a deep crimson. He saw Jackson nod at Sam and Luke. The two boys ran off into the grass and a moment later, fireworks started exploding all over the evening sky.

To say Forrester was happy doesn’t begin to describe how he felt. Becoming a husband, getting the wife of his dreams, those are the things men’s lives are defined by. Those are the very core of a man’s life. Elle was the love of Forrester’s life. She was his wife now. That meant he had to love and protect her for as long as he lived, and that she would do the same for him. She was carrying his child. That meant that the very future of his blood, his legacy, it was all in her hands. She was his prize and his queen at the same time. She would spend her life serving him and making him happy, and at the same time, he would be a slave to her comfort and safety. He would do whatever it took to protect her and bring her joy.

The last thing she saw every night before she fell asleep would be his eyes. The first thing she felt in the morning before opening her eyes would be his lips. He loved her in the truest sense of the word. He loved her in that way that only someone who’s been abused can love. He loved her as if she was life itself.

And he wanted her. She was his now, and he wanted to claim her, body and soul.

There was a dinner planned, dancing, some speeches by the people they loved, and Forrester looked forward to all of it. He looked forward to sharing his first meal with Elle as husband and wife.

But what he looked forward to most, what he craved, was to get her into the honeymoon suite of their hotel. He was going to be merciless.

Chapter 55

Forrester

T
IME HAS A WAY OF
passing fast when you’re happy. That’s how it passed for Elle and Forrester after the wedding. She moved into the mansion and got to know Lacey, Grant and Grady better. She helped Lacey with her baby while she prepared for her own. Faith was never far away, and the brothers became like actual brothers to her. In so many ways, the Brotherhood became the family she’d always dreamed of. They all looked out for each other, they had each other’s backs, they protected one another.

That made her feel safe. Even just knowing what Jackson had done to Los Lobos made her feel safe.

And she was happy. She was happy and grateful for so many things. For the way Forrester made love to her first thing in the morning. He still blindfolded her before she woke up, and right through the pregnancy he became more and more attracted to her. He was insatiable. He was everything she’d ever dreamed of in a husband, and he took such good care of her she could scarcely believe her life was real. It was like a dream.

He was perfect. Or at least, she thought he was perfect. She thought he couldn’t get any better.

And then he became a father, and everything just multiplied.

There is no easy way to explain how a little baby girl could make a man like Forrester feel. Elle jokingly referred to him as her baby daddy. She’d called him the most eligible baby daddy in the world to everyone, and she knew he liked it. But it was deeper than that. Three days after the baby was born, Forrester got a new tattoo. It was of two sparrows, holding a banner, and on the banner was Elle’s name and the baby’s name.

Forrester spent every spare moment he had either with Elle or the baby. During the first week, Elle was pretty exhausted from the labor and she would take frequent naps with the baby in her arms. Without fail, when she woke up, she would find Forrester on the bed next to her, the baby tucked into a little nook between his forearm and his bicep, sleeping peacefully. It was a strange sight, the perfect, unmarked baby sleeping in an arm so tattooed and scarred. It made Elle’s heart want to cry out in happiness.

Forrester told her every day that he loved her.

“I love you, and I love this baby,” he said to her one night, soon after the birth.

“And we love you,” Elle said.

She was sitting on their bed with the baby in her arms. She was wearing a silk nightdress. Forrester was brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed. It always made Elle smile that he put on aftershave to go to bed. He’d said it was to impress her, even in her sleep. It was a nice, peaceful scene of domestic tranquility.

Forrester cleared his throat.

“I don’t just mean I love you,” he said. “I mean more than that.”

Elle nodded. She knew that. She knew that so little could be expressed in words when the heart was full of as much love as they shared.

Forrester sat down next to her. She admired his naked body, the toned muscle, the tattoos. Even now that she was married to him, she still couldn’t help being impressed by his body.

“You know what happened to me as a kid,” Forrester said.

“Of course,” she said.

“It scarred me.”

“I know,” Elle said.

“I thought it was for life, Elle. I thought I’d never be able to get over it. I thought for sure I’d never be able to have a child of my own.”

She looked into his eyes and knew that she’d never loved anyone as much as she loved him at that moment.

“But you changed all that for me, Elle. You healed me.”

“Love healed you, Forrester.”

“You’re my love,” he said, and he kissed her so tenderly, so passionately, that his cock throbbed with love and desire. “You turned me into a man, a real man. You made me a father. You saved my life, Elle.

Elle placed the baby in the crib next to the bed. Then she slipped out of her night dress, revealing her naked body to the man she loved so much she felt as if her heart might explode.

He kissed her mouth, her neck, her breasts and nipples. Then he pushed her down and climbed on top of her.

“Come into me,” she said.

“Should I use protection?”

She shook her head. “I made you a daddy once, and I’ll do it again,” she said.

He slid into her, and when he orgasmed, they locked eyes. She was with the man she loved. He was coming inside her. They were in love. She was the mother of his baby, and would be again.

That was true love. That was what she’d always wanted. Forrester wasn’t just her husband, he was her soulmate.

She shut her eyes and thought about all the books she’d ever read. They’d always told her love could conquer everything. They’d said if she put her trust in love, great things would happen in her life. They’d said if she trusted God, He would take care of her.