Page 41 of Love or Leave (Mapleton #4)

Adam & Chelsea's Wedding

W illow jolted awake from a queasy wave splashing up her throat. She rolled out of bed and sprinted down the hallway with her hand over her mouth, just barely making it to the toilet in time.

She wished she could chalk it up to nerves—Chelsea was getting married that afternoon and there were a million things to do. Or maybe blame a sudden illness. A twenty-four-hour flu or something.

But this was the third morning in a row. Was there such thing as a seventy-two-hour flu that only made you nauseous in the morning?

She dropped her chin to her chest. She was drowning in denial.

Suddenly she heard movement down the hall, then a frantic knock on the bathroom door.

"Willow?" Chelsea asked, her voice laced with concern.

Willow sunk to the floor in front of the toilet and wiped her mouth with toilet paper.

Chelsea pushed the half-open door the rest of the way and paused, her eyes going wide as she assessed the scene in front of her. Cara and Natalie pressed in behind her.

"I'm okay," Willow said with a pathetic little wave.

She flushed the toilet and tried to stand, but the swirling in her stomach kept her on the floor.

"How long have you been like this?" Chelsea asked.

"A few days."

Chelsea covered a wince, then glanced over her shoulder at Natalie. Natalie's eyes softened as she offered a faint smile and a small shrug.

"I'm sorry," Willow said, wishing she could feel normal that morning—of all mornings—to support Chelsea. "I don't—I didn't—"

"Wait," Cara said, placing one hand on each of their friends' shoulders and leaning forward, as if to brace herself. "Do you think you might be pregnant, Willow?"

Chelsea immediately turned and pushed by Cara and Natalie, leaving the bathroom, and Willow wanted to cry. This was the worst timing ever. She was ruining Chelsea's wedding day, and she had no idea what Max's reaction would be.

He didn't really do surprises.

She needed to get up, brush this aside, and pretend it wasn't happening. She’d deal with it tomorrow.

She pushed off the toilet and stood just as Chelsea came back into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Chelsea. I'm just going to shake it off for now and—"

"Here."

Chelsea held out a pregnancy test to Willow. Natalie and Cara slowly turned toward her, their eyes wide.

"You just have those lying around?" Cara asked.

Chelsea nodded. "Me and Adam started trying. No luck yet," she said, sliding another glance toward Natalie, who went uncharacteristically silent.

Willow clutched her stomach as another wave of nausea raced through her. She took the outstretched box and turned toward the toilet.

"We'll give you some privacy," Cara said.

Her friends left the room, and Willow pulled out the test with a resigned sigh.

It was probably better to know.

Antonio pulled to a stop outside the clubhouse and grabbed his bag from the backseat. An overnight winter storm had blanketed all of Mapleton in snow, but the roads were clear, and the country club was warm. It was going to be a great night.

He walked in and spotted Max right away. He was sitting in a brown leather chair, looking relaxed, with his ankle over his knee and a tray of coffees on the low table in front of him.

Perfect.

He'd hoped that arriving early might give him a chance to talk to Max alone. Max was always early. And Antonio needed a quick word, preferably with no one else around.

Max looked up as he approached and tipped his chin in the air. "Coffee?"

Antonio nodded and joined him, sitting in the matching chair opposite him. He set his bag down and grabbed a cup.

"You're early," Max said.

Antonio nodded, taking a sip of the hot coffee before speaking. "Actually, I was hoping to talk to you."

Max sipped his coffee, his eyes narrowing slightly over his cup. "What about?"

"Cara."

His friend's shoulders stiffened, but he nodded for him to continue. Antonio braced himself and went for it.

"I'm getting my new house next month, and I'm going to ask her to move in with me."

Max stared back at him, silent and unreadable.

It was intimidating as hell, but there was no way he was holding anything back from Max again.

He'd learned his lesson.

"I love her."

Slowly, the corner of Max’s mouth lifted, but his eyes stayed cold. “It’s a little fast, isn’t it?”

Antonio shrugged. The speed of it all didn't bother him. What was the point in delaying the inevitable? Besides, he wanted her to feel at home with him, and to think of his place as hers.

Max let go of the restraint in his expression and allowed the smile he’d been holding back to take over completely. "It's up to her, obviously," he said.

Antonio nodded. "I know, but given how we started…" He trailed off, stopping his mind from going backwards. He only wanted to look ahead. "I just wanted to let you know my intentions."

Max nodded and stared in silence. Finally, he stood from his seat and picked up the tray.

"I'm rooting for you, man," he said with a clap on Antonio's back.

"Thanks," he said, relaxing fractionally.

Just then, the doors opened and in walked Ethan and Adam. They all greeted each other, then headed back to the suite to hang out and get ready.

Antonio fell to the back of the pack as he pulled out his phone and opened his conversation with Cara.

Antonio: I can't wait to see you. I love you.

A second later, his phone lit up with her response.

Cara: Love you too. Big day.

It was a big day. For them, too. He was going to ask her to move in with him. Hopefully, she'd say yes. And maybe one day soon they'd all be gathering together, getting ready to celebrate him and Cara getting married.

One thing at a time.

Chelsea stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bridal suite and fought back tears as Jae stood behind her, fastening the long row of satin buttons.

The soft white gown draped artfully off her shoulders and down her curves, sparkling just enough to catch the cool winter sunlight streaming through the windows.

The outside world looked like a picture-perfect winter wonderland with thick snow coating the pine trees around the golf course. If she'd hired an Oscar Award-winning set designer to style the scene, they couldn't have made it more perfect.

"There," Jae said, stepping away. "Done."

Chelsea swallowed down her emotions and turned toward her friends, who'd gathered in the room, already dressed in their stunning silk gowns. They'd went with a grounded glam theme—"Blue Collar Met Gala," as Adam pitched it.

She loved it almost as much as she loved him.

She'd spent the last couple of months in awe of his enthusiasm with the wedding planning. He'd spoken of nothing but the food and music and flowers. She was pretty certain she was the luckiest person on earth.

Just then, the door to the bridal suite opened, and in came her son, fully dressed in a tiny black tuxedo and shiny shoes.

Her heart backed up in her throat and she blinked again and again, but she couldn't stop a few tears from falling.

The bridesmaids immediately engulfed him, all cooing over how handsome he was, and he lapped up the attention, making sure everyone saw his fancy pocket square and the boutonniere his Uncle Ethan had pinned to his lapel.

"Adam gave me this, Mama," he said, holding out a thick white envelope. She hadn't even noticed he was holding something. "He said to give it to you."

She took it from him with a smile. "How did you like hanging out with the boys?"

Ben smiled. "It was fun. Max gave me cookies and orange juice."

She laughed and opened the envelope, then fought off a fresh wave of tears as she read the first line.

Dear Chelsea,

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I planned a honeymoon for us—for the three of us. We leave tomorrow morning. Don't worry about a thing. Our bags are being packed right now, and the jet's at the airport waiting for us. We can leave whenever you want.

Can't wait to kiss you,

Love A.

P.S. Ben will tell you where we're going.

"Holy crap," Chelsea said, looking up with tears in her eyes. "Adam booked us a honeymoon."

"Where to?" Natalie asked.

She looked at Ben. "Where are we going, buddy?"

Ben’s expression broke into a broad smile. She'd never seen her boy so happy.

"Disney World!"

Chelsea laugh-cried as she sank down and pulled him into a tight hug. How had she found someone she loved so much, who also loved her son?

Willow came in close and peeked at the card. "Oh, my God. He's amazing."

Jae nodded. "He really is."

Chelsea stood and wiped her eyes.

"Ready to go make this official?" Natalie asked.

Chelsea flushed with happiness. "Absolutely."

Cara handed them each their bouquets, and they headed for the door.

Adam stood at the front of the Fireplace Room and tried to figure out what to do with his hands. He wasn't sure he'd ever been so awkward before.

Well, maybe when he proposed.

The air buzzed with excitement and warmth, and the crackling of the birch wood in the hearth behind him filled the room with a woodsy smell.

It mixed with the scent of roses and dandelions—yes, dandelions—in the floral arrangements that lined the aisle and mantle behind him. He'd never forget the florist's face when he insisted on dandelion boutonnieres.

He smiled and relaxed slightly at the memory of her losing her shit as he happily signed the order to pay an obscene amount of money to have “a common weed,” as she called it, specially grown and brought in for a winter wedding.

She'd tried to talk him out of it, saying they'd wilt after an hour, which was a good point. But that just made him buy enough boutonnieres to have fresh ones on his lapel all day.

He looked out at the sea of familiar faces—his uncle cracking a joke in the front row, his dad ignoring his uncle and beaming proudly, Denise dabbing under her eyes with a tissue even though nothing had happened yet.

Everyone was there. Everyone who could be. And those who couldn't were with him in spirit.