Page 38 of Edge of Heaven (Crimson Edge #2)

Mick

My wedding day is nothing like I thought it would be—and nothing like the low-key event Taryn and I tried to plan.

The first roadblock came from Toby. His doctors asked us to wait as long as possible before taking him anywhere public, so we had to delay until the beginning of September since his presence was important to Taryn.

Then Angus got wind of my plans and said there was no way in hell I was getting married without the band. And Taryn wanted Ryleigh to be her maid of honor, so our guest list basically tripled.

Somehow, through the grapevine of her girlfriends, Alexa Humboldt got involved and donated a dress for Taryn to wear, and she made it clear she planned to attend.

Then Hettie heard about it and said she was going to create a leather suit for me, and of course, she also wanted to be there.

Sasha lives in Las Vegas so there’s no way to leave her out, and that forced us to pivot.

Our private elopement turned into a small but significant event and we were a little worried at first because we truly didn’t want to spend a lot of money.

My debt to Sasha is paid since she took the money I borrowed out of my first payment, but between paying Toby’s treatment and some follow-up testing that required additional out-of-pocket payments, we were stressed about the idea of wedding costs.

Luckily, I have a really rich bandmate who offered to pay for everything as our wedding present. And then Sasha offered to let us have the wedding and a small reception at her house, which is a huge, beautiful mansion.

I’m a little awed and humbled by the outreach of love and support for Taryn and me, considering everything that’s happened in the last six months.

Now that everyone knows the truth—and we have Ryleigh to thank for that because she did an expose on Karnal Death, delving into the band’s reputation and escalating bad behavior, and then interviewing Taryn to get her perspective.

It just came out two weeks ago and I think it’s been cathartic for Taryn, even if there are always haters who say she’s lying.

“You ready?” Angus asks me as I put on the pale pink—Taryn said it’s called white blush—tie that goes with my all-black suit and dress shirt. Hettie did a great job in my opinion because I look pretty chic, if I do say so myself.

“So ready.”

“I have another wedding present for you guys,” Angus says quietly.

“Oh?”

“My attorney did some digging for us, and it looks like Callum pleaded to a lesser charge, so there isn’t going to be a trial.

Between the aggravated assault charge and the drug charges, he’s going to do time.

It’s not as much as we would have liked—just eighteen months—but Taryn won’t have to testify, and you guys can put this behind you. ”

“You’re a good friend.”

He grins. “I try.”

“All right. Let’s get this party started.”

We walk into the great room that’s been completely redecorated for a wedding, with a small pedestal set up by the fireplace where we’ll say the vows we wrote, and chairs set up facing the pedestal. There are balloons, flowers, and candles decorating the room, and everything looks amazing.

I just hope this is at least some semblance of the wedding Taryn wanted.

My proposal wasn’t all that romantic, but our friends helped make our wedding special without putting us in debt. I hope I can repay them someday, even if it’s not monetarily.

The music starts and I turn, my breath practically leaving me when I catch sight of Taryn.

I don’t know what color white blush is, beyond the tie she made me wear, but if that’s what she’s wearing it’s my new favorite color. It’s the softest, lightest pink imaginable, with enough white to look bride-like but pink enough to be different.

And like the woman wearing it, it takes my breath away.

Taryn

Like most little girls, I’ve always dreamed of what my wedding day would look like. This isn’t anything like what I imagined, but in some ways it’s so much better.

I couldn’t have dreamed up a man like Mick.

Having my son walk me down the aisle was emotional.

And being surrounded by the people who made today possible is absolutely magical.

As I dance in my new husband’s arms, I feel a lightness I haven’t felt in a long time, like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be with the people who mean the most to me.

“Guys, do you have a couple of minutes?” My mother approaches us as the song ends. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Of course.” Mick and I follow her to the den, away from the music and laughter of our friends.

“Is everything okay?” Mick asks. As always, he’s protective of me, and I’ve started to love that aspect of our relationship.

“I wanted to talk about Toby.”

My heart sinks.

Not today.

Please don’t drop any bombshells on me today.

“Can this wait?” Mick asks, frowning.

Mom shakes her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. “No, this isn’t anything bad. I promise.”

“What’s up?” I ask quietly.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about Toby and the truth of the matter is…

you know the saying that it takes a village to raise a child?

It’s true. And Toby needs all of us. You and Mick are navigating not just a new relationship, but important, busy careers.

In the long run, that’s what’s best for Toby.

We’ve gone back and forth about custody, and if you really want to make the change, I won’t stop you.

“But here’s my thought—what if we leave things as they are for now?

I have a good job with great, inexpensive benefits that include Toby.

I also live in a decent school district, which is important now that he’s not being homeschooled anymore.

So what I’m saying is, why can’t we raise him together?

The two of you can live with me while you save money and focus on your careers.

Maybe in the summertime, when I’m off, you can take Toby on the road or whatever, so I can have some free time.

And then when school starts, I’ll take over again, in whatever capacity works for us. Does this make sense?”

“Mom.” I hug her tightly. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Both of you.” She pulls Mick into our hug.

“I truly want you to be happy and I think with three of us working to make Toby’s life as wonderful as it can possibly be, we can all follow our dreams. The truth of the matter is I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if you moved Toby away.

And you’d both have to sacrifice professionally if you had full custody.

Between travel and him being in school, there’s a lot to consider.

Taryn, you’ve already sacrificed so much.

Frankly, I think this could be win-win for all of us. ”

“Grandma? Did you tell them yet?” Toby stage whispers from the doorway.

I turn and hold out my hand. “Tell us what?” I ask playfully.

“If we can all be a family together!” His eyes twinkle with excitement.

“We already are, big guy,” Mick says, lifting Toby up and drawing him into our group hug.

“Can I call you Dad?” he asks quietly, his little face sobering slightly.

As if there’s a chance Mick might say no.

My heart swells with love as Mick grins.

“I was going to ask you the same question.”

“You want to call me Dad?” Toby deadpans.

We’re all quiet for a second before Toby bursts out laughing. “Gotcha.”

“You did!” Mick playfully rubs his knuckles on the side of Toby’s head.

“We don’t have to decide anything tonight,” Mom says, smiling. “I just wanted you to know—I don’t want either of you to stop following your dreams. Not for me, not even for Toby. He can still be the happiest, healthiest, most loved little boy in Los Angeles with the three of us at the helm.”

“I think so too,” Mick says.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Sasha says from the doorway. “But it’s cake time!”

“We’re coming.” Mick puts Toby down and takes my hand, leading me back to the great room.

“Then I guess I’m going to tell Hettie yes,” I whisper in Mick’s ear.

I’ve been reluctant to sign on as her official brand ambassador because I didn’t like the optics of being away from Toby for long periods of time, but she’d offered to do some of the photo and video shoots in L.A.

, so I’ve been on the fence and my mother knows that—and it’s probably the reason she mentioned the sacrifices we might have to make to take care of Toby.

“Mom made the decision for you,” Mick whispers, verbalizing my thoughts.

We grin at each other.

“I love you, Mr. Lipson.”

“I love you, Mrs. Lipson.”

I decided to keep my maiden name professionally but take Mick’s surname legally.

“We need to go eat some cake,” he says after a moment. “We only have two days for a honeymoon before I have to leave for Europe.”

I smile. “Then let’s eat some cake.”

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