Saving Tatum (Trace + Olivia #4) (38 page)

“My brother died,” I shrugged. “My mom shut down and my dad,” I eyed him, not in angry way, just bluntly, “was an asshole. I didn’t have any choice but to grow up at a young age.” Shoving my hands in my pockets, I shrugged. “I’m twenty-two, I’m really not a kid anymore.” Peering around the corner towards the family room where Jude waited, I added, “Love made me stronger. It gave me something to fight for when I didn’t have anything else.”

My dad didn’t reply.

Forcing a bright smile, I brushed past him. “Let’s eat.”

Chapter Thirty
One

The summer was going by insanely fast and before I knew it, it was the end of June and I was
helping my best friend into her wedding dress.

Rowan Sinclair was thirty minutes away from becoming Rowan Wentworth.

I
was nervous, so I had no doubt that she was.

“I’m scared,” Rowan admitted, as she stared at her reflection. It was almost as if she’d picked up on my thoughts.

“Me too, and it’s not even my wedding,” I laughed. “But this is Trent and you love him more than anything. Everything will be okay.”

“My heart’s racing so fast.”
She breathed as I stepped away to make sure the dress was on properly. “I’m terrified, but at the same time I’m so ready to be his wife.” She turned to look at me and tears shimmered in her eyes. I prayed she didn’t start crying and mess up her makeup—the makeup artist would probably kill us. “I’m ready to take that next step with him.”

I soaked in her words, words I’d been repeating in my head as of late.

While Jude and I had only been together for a few months, it felt like forever and I knew I would never want another man like I wanted him. I was still scared to take that leap, but I felt ready.

Rowan sat down and I fixed the diamond pin in her hair. Her hair had been curled in an elegant up-do.
Olivia and mine had been done in a loose fishtail side braid—casual, but elegant.

Ivy was currently getting the finishing touches put on her hair. Even though sh
e declared that she was too old she was going to be the flower girl.

Olivia sat in the corner rocking a fussy Grace.

“I swear,” Olivia groaned, grabbing Grace’s small fist before she could yank on her braid, “Grace only likes her daddy. She cries almost every time I hold her.” She frowned, straightening Grace’s peach colored dress that matched the shade of ours.

“Aw,” Rowan frowned, “you know that’s not true.”

Olivia’s eyes widened and she laughed. “Oh no, it’s true. She’s a very cranky baby, but Trace can work some kind of voodoo mind magic on her. I call him the baby whisperer.” With a smile, Olivia asked Rowan, “So, when should we expect baby number two?”

Rowan’s cheeks flared and her eyes fli
ckered to her sister, me, and then back to Olivia. “That’s what the honeymoon is for,” she finally answered, lowering her gaze.

Olivia grinned and I tried to contain my laugh. I failed.

Rowan looked up at me and let out a soft sigh. “Trenton can be very convincing when he wants something, and the more we talked the more I could see where he was coming from.”

“You don’t need to justify it to me,” I assured her. “As longs as this
is what you want, I’ll support you. Especially since it won’t be my baby. I can spoil them and then when they cry I can give them back to you.”

Rowan laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”

Someone knocked on the door and then it swung open. It was Lily, Trace and Trent’s mom, and she was dressed to perfection. Her gown was a lovely rose color that complemented her complexion and her dark brown hair cascaded around her shoulders. She didn’t look her age at all.

“Are you all ready?”

The lady finished with Ivy’s hair and nodded her head.

“It’s time for everyone to get lined up.” Lily clapped her hands together. Her eyes softened when they landed on Rowan and she held back tears. “Oh, Rowan, you look stunning.”

“Thank you,” Rowan bowed her head slightly. Raising it, she bit her lip. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you, but I’ve been too scared.”

“Go ahead, sweetie,”
Lily encouraged, coming to stand by Rowan’s side.

“Well,” Rowan looked up at Lily, “I don’t have any parents, so I was hoping, maybe…” Rowan bit her lip, her eyes darting nervously from Lily t
o the floor, “that you’d walk me down the aisle.”

Lily gasped and dove at Rowan for a hug. “Oh, sweetie, of course I will.”

Rowan’s eyes widened with shock as she lifted her arms to hug Lily back. Clearly she wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction.

The wedding planner showed up then, guiding us out of the room and to where we were to wait.

The wedding was being held on the back lawn of Wentworth mansion. I hadn’t seen how it had been transformed yet, but I was sure it was magical. I knew not to expect anything less from the Wentworth’s.

I caught sight of Tristan, who had Bartholomew—Trent’s ferret—on a leash, and tied around the critter’s neck were Trent and Row’s wedding bands. I couldn’
t help laughing about it.

Rowan giggled as well. “Trent was adamant that Bartholomew be a part of the wedding in some way, so I let him have his fun.”

We lined up in order and since Trace was Trent’s best man he was to escort me, and Jude had Olivia.

Jude looked me up and down, licking his lips like I was a dessert he wanted to devour. When his eyes met mine, he chuckled at being caught and sent me a wink.

Trace held out his arm for me and I took it, adjusting my grip on my bouquet.

The music started up and that was our cue.

The aisle was made of white and pale pink flower petals—the ones Ivy dropped were painted silver—giving it a mythical appearance, like we were in a fairy garden or something. Trent stood beneath an arch of some kind of large white flower that I didn’t recognize. His hands were clasped together and he looked dangerously handsome in his tuxedo—although, I had to admit I thought Jude looked even better in his. Poor Trent looked scared out of his mind, and he was probably afraid Rowan would change her mind and turn into the runaway bride. She’d run from him a lot, so his fears were justified, but I knew Rowan wasn’t going anywhere.

Trace and I reached the end of the aisle and I released his arm. He went to stand by his brother—giving him a firm pat on his shoulder, before lowering his head to whisper something in his ear.

Jude smirked at me and went to stand by Trace.

The music changed and everyone rose to look at Rowan as she started up the aisle.

I heard Trent gasp and murmur, “Wow.”

Rowan’s eyes lowered and her cheeks flushed as her groom gazed upon her. She looked excited and scared all at the same time.

Lily kissed her on the cheek and gave her hand to her son.

“You’re beautiful.” Trent whispered to her as she handed me her bouquet to hold.

Their vows were exchanged quickly to the hoots and hollers of the friends and family gathered.

“You may now kiss your bride.”

Trent grasped Rowan’s waist and dipped her down, kissing her in a way that should be illegal in public.

I started to blush and turned away, feeling like I was invading on a private moment.

Trent lifted her back up and kept his arm wrapped around her. He swiped his thumb across her bottom lip as they were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth.

They headed back down the aisle and everyone started to stand.

Jude came to stand by my side, his eyes excited. “Let’s do that.”

“What?”

“Get married. You said you’d marry me, so let’s do it.” He nodded his head excitedly.

“Today?” I gasped. “
Here
?”

“Why not here?” He countered.

“Uh…” I blanched as people fluttered around us. “Because it’s Trent and Row’s wedding.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “You know they won’t care. Please, Tate,” he reached for my wrist and I was sure his fingers felt my pulse jump. “Marry me today.” Before I could reply he was dragging me through the crowd to where Rowan and Trent stood. “Would you guys mind if we got married today? I really can’t wait another second to call this woman my wife.”

Rowan’s mouth fell open and she let out a squeal. “Do it!”

Fuck.

Jude turned to me. “See, they’re cool. There’s nothing but you stopping us now, Tater Tot.”

“I-I-” I stuttered, looking from Jude to our friends. “But your grandpa isn’t here. Or your brother. Or your friends.”

“All it takes is a phone call to change that,” he argued. Sobering, he let out a deep breath. “I know I said we’d wait till you were ready, but I don’t want to wait, Tate. I know you’re it for me and I want to be married to you.”

I swallowed thickly, feeling panicky. Not because I wanted to say no, but because my answer was very much— “Yes,” I grinned. “Yes, let’s do it!”

“Ahh!” Rowan screamed, throwing her arms around me. “This is so exciting!”

I was surprised that she was so thrilled, because I really felt like we were hijacking their wedding. Trent seemed to find the whole thing very funny, standing there with a smirk on his lips and his hand on Tristan’s shoulder.

“You two need to go get a marriage license,” Rowan pushed Jude and I towards the French doors that led inside the house. “I’m going to talk to Olivia and see if we can find a different dress for you. Something a little more…bridal.”

“Rowan, this is fine,” I pointed to my peach colored bridesmaid dress.

“No, no, no,” she shook her head, her lips set into a firm line. “You need a proper wedding dress or something close to it. Now, go! Hurry!” She gave us another firm push towards the door.

Jude grasped my hand and we ran through the mansion. After a few wrong turns, we finally made it to the foyer and out the front door.

They’d hired a valet to park cars on the expansive property, so Jude handed one of the guys a slip of paper.

A few minutes later his truck pulled up and we left quickly.

He called Archer, telling him to pick up Pap and make sure they dressed nicely. He even extended an invite to his wife, who we hadn’t met yet, and Julia. From what I could overhear of the conversation Archer was curious about what was going on but Jude wouldn’t tell him that we were getting married.

He hung up from Archer and called Dylan, inviting the guys. He once again left off the part that we were getting married.

Jude seemed to know where we needed to go to get a marriage license. That made one of us. As the female I probably should’ve been the one to know this stuff, but I was clueless.

He parked the truck and we headed into the building.

It didn’t take long for us to fill out the paperwork and sign our names.

Butterflies assaulted my stomach as I gazed at my signature. It was the last time I’d write my name as Tatum O’Connor. From this day forward I was Tatum Brooks.

I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this.

Not after everything we’d been through and how much I’d fought the idea of marriage and living together.

But Jude won.

He was right; this was inevitable so why delay it? It was time for us to start the rest of our lives…together.

Before we went back to the mansion he stopped at a jewelry store.

“Gotta have rings,” he grinned, turning off the truck.

We hurried inside the store and separated so we wouldn’t know what each other picked.

I settled on a simple, but thick, platinum band for Jude. It wasn’t flashy and I knew he’d love it. I shivered at the thought of seeing the ring on his finger, marking him as mine.

I gasped as I realized I hadn’t even thought to call my own dad.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I guessed I’d spent so long with barely-there parents that I’d kind of forgotten about them. Horrible, I know, but it was the truth. I’d been on my own for years, so it was easy to forget to include them in my life.

Or in this case just my dad.

I didn’t have my phone with me so I’d have to borrow Jude’s when we got back in the truck.

Since it didn’t take m
e long to pick and buy his ring I stood by the door waiting.

When he finally appeared his grin was wide. “I can’t wait for you to see this,” he held the bag to his chest. Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, he lowered his head to kiss me quickly. “Not long now,” he murmured, his lips brushing mine as he spoke.

We climbed in the truck and I asked for his phone.

I gave my dad the same spiel that Jude had given Archer and Dylan. My dad sounded suspicious though and I really hoped he didn’t figure out what we were up to. Regardless, I wouldn’t apologize for doing this. I was finally allowing myself to do something that
I
wanted. I wasn’t holding myself back and doing the responsible thing. I was letting my heart guide me.

Jude reached for my hand, entwining
them together. “Are you second guessing this?”

“Not at all,” I squeezed his hand. “I’m so ready for this.” I grinned. True, I felt a little fear, but I figured most people felt that way on their wedding day. Mostly there was excitement
.

Jude lifted our joined hands, kissing my knuckles as he drove.

“I don’t want you to regret this.”

“I couldn’t regret you,” I replied immediately. “Never.”

He glanced at me and grinned. “God, I love you.”