Here’s the Thing (Seddledowne #4)

Chapter 21

twenty-one

It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy; it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.

— JANE AUSTEN

“ W hooo.” I fanned my armpits, fighting back tears. My friends thought it was just my phone call with Madden. I’d called him five times since Ashton and I got engaged. I thought he should hear the news from me. He’d finally decided to return the call two hours before the wedding, calling me a name I didn’t know was in his vocabulary. Madden would be okay. Eventually. But Mom knew the truth about my tears.

Mom caught my eye and gave me a practiced smile as if to set the example. I nodded, blinking. The last thing I needed was to streak my mascara right before I walked down the aisle.

I fanned my face. “Does anyone know if Ford’s back yet? ”

“Yes, he got here about fifteen minutes ago,” Anna said.

Knowing the person who was officiating had finally arrived should’ve eased my nerves. But the acid that had been trying to eat my stomach lining ever since Mom told me about Trevor, was burning as hot as ever.

Ford had flown to New York the day before, momentarily ditching beach week to film a segment for the Nocturnal Report with Nate Midnight Show. It would air tonight after everyone was asleep. Well, I wouldn’t be asleep.

I giggled at the thought. Then I sniffed.

“He’ll be okay,” Anna said, referring to Madden. “He’ll move on. Blue and I are already working on finding him the perfect woman.”

“Yeah. I hope so. He deserves someone really great.”

Brooklyn wagged her head. “I can’t believe you’re letting Ford officiate.”

Ashton was usually the family officiator. “I think Ash is trying to make up for the whole Spy fiasco,” I said. “If anything, it should be a good memory.”

“Blue is happy not to do it.” Anna straightened the back of my dress. “The idea was making him really nervous.”

“Oh, wow.” Brook gaped as she looked out through the large window of my bedroom at the beach house. “He looks tight .”

Ford, dressed in a black tux to match Ashton’s, was reading from an index card as he paced in front of the driftwood arbor that was wrapped in tulle and pale pink roses to match our bouquets.

Anna’s hand went to her heart. It made me tear up more. Everything made me tear up apparently.

Mom smoothed the veil and smiled. “You’re going to mess up your mascara.”

Anna and Brooklyn, each in their purple bridesmaid’s dresses, reached for my hands .

“Girl, why are you crying? This is your day.” Brooklyn said.

“It is my day,” I repeated with a determined exhale.

Brooklyn raised her hands to the roof. “Your day to run your hands all over Ashton’s hot, naked body for the first time.”

Mom yelped. I snickered. Anna gagged.

“And,” Brook said. “You get to do it in a beach house overlooking the Atlantic. Maybe I should change my wedding venue.”

Ashton had rented a quaint cottage a quarter mile down the beach where we’d spend the next three days together. He said getting one right on the water, last minute, had cost three times what it would in September after school was back in session. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

“Mom.” Charlie bounded into the room wearing a flower crown and a matching purple dress. “Jenny says it’s time for the first look and the rest of us need to get into place.” Then she motioned for everyone to follow her. Mom hurried out of the room.

Brooklyn gripped my shoulders, facing me. “This is it, Tal. Last chance to change your mind.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled. “I’m not going to back out twenty minutes before the wedding. I love him.”

“Are you sure?” Her expression was somber. “I’m not sure I’d want the job of being Anna’s aunt.”

I shook with laughter.

Anna smacked her on the arm. “Shut up and stop trying to weird me out.”

“Weird or not.” Brooklyn made duck lips. “In an hour, you’re going to be calling her Aunt Tally.”

I shuddered. “No. Don’t you dare.”

“No worries,” Anna said. “That will never happen.” She gave me a side hug. “Blue on the other hand? It’s all he’s talked about for the last month.”

“Anna! Brooklyn! Places!” Jenny called. They jogged out of the room.

I laughed and turned to give myself one more glance in the mirror. I’d never looked this pretty in my entire life. My dress was the stuff dreams were made of. The bottom was an all-tulle skirt. But from the waist up, I was covered in appliquéd flowers. Well, the front was. The back dipped down, open to my waist. It was sexy but tasteful. My updo reminded me of something out of a Jane Austen novel. And it was encircled by a flower crown, similar to Charlie’s but with tulle woven throughout.

A knock sounded on the door. I shook out my hands and picked up my bouquet.

Ashton slipped into the room and I was unprepared. For the moment. For how handsome he was in his classic black tux. For the fierce expression of intense love on his face.

“Tally,” he said in a reverent whisper, as if he couldn’t quite form words. He ran a hand through his hair as his gaze scanned me head to toe and back again. Then, in three large strides, he was in front of me, pulling me against him.

I pressed my hands against his chest, keeping him at bay. “You’ll crush your boutonniere.” I reached for his hands instead.

“Right.” His mouth crooked into an adorable half grin. “You’re so pretty. Way too pretty to be marrying me.”

“That is not true.” I trapped his face in my hands. “Don’t ever talk about my almost-husband like that again. Do you hear me?”

His expression went solemn and I realized his hands were shaking. “You still want to do this?”

“Ash,” I said softly. “Are you having second thoughts? ”

“No. Not at all.” His Adam’s apple dipped with a large swallow. “I just…”

My head cocked to one side. “You were seriously expecting me to run. Weren’t you?”

His face fell and he looked ashamed. “I was planning on it. Mentally preparing for it. We got engaged too fast. And this wedding came too quickly. I was waiting for you to realize it and panic.”

My heart ached for him. “If that’s what you thought, then why did you agree to this?”

“Because…I told myself if there was even the tiniest chance that you wouldn’t run, I had to take it. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.” He shook his head. “The only thing I’ve ever wanted.”

I laid my hand against his cheek. “I am not running, Ash. Not today. Not tonight. Not ever.”

Four hours later, I swayed in Ashton's arms, my bare toes digging into the sand. I caught sight of Theo and Charlie twenty feet away, shoeless like the rest of us. Theo was trying so hard to look grown-up in his shirt and tie, but his tongue was sticking out in concentration. They were attempting some sort of spinning box step that was more chaos than waltz. Charlie’s flower crown was slightly askew, and she was laughing so hard she could barely stay upright. I couldn’t help but giggle. They were stealing the show without even realizing it.

I glanced at my husband and twirled the band on his finger . Walking down the aisle, with Theo as my escort, I’d barely been able to breathe looking at Ash. If he was handsome in regular clothes, he was next level in a tux. His jacket had come off after the ceremony and his bowtie was coming loose. My heart stuttered for the fiftieth time tonight.

Then a thought made me smile. “My last name is Dupree now. That is so weird.”

“It is weird.” He grinned. “Wonderfully weird.” He put his mouth right next to my ear. “Tallulah Hawkins Dupree. I’ve never heard a more beautiful name.”

I tilted into him. “Mmmmm. I like the sound of that.”

His hands slid up, cupping my face as he leaned down and kissed me long and slow. “‘I love her,’” he whispered, low and husky. “‘And it is the beginning of everything .’”

“F. Scott Fitzgerald.” My thumb drug over his bottom lip. “‘The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you.’”

“Jalaluddin Rumi.” His forehead rested against mine.

From the corner of my eye, I spied Ford, my new brother-in-law—so weird—who’d somehow convinced Peyton to dance with him.

“Hey.” I smiled. “Look at that.” Ashton turned his head and together we watched.

Ford was behaving, hands above Peyton’s waist, being all sweet, making her laugh. She looked happy there in his arms. Cash ran up to talk to her. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but Ford scrubbed him on the head. As Peyton talked to Cash, Ford watched her. The way he was looking at her was like a little peek into his mind. He was usually all arrogance and pride, but this? This was full of adoration and longing.

“Well, look at that. They’re getting along.” Ashton chuckled.

“I’d say they’re more than getting along.” I twirled the band on Ashton’s ring finger and brought it to my lips. “I hope I never get used to how wondrous this feels.”

“I know I won’t,” he whispered. “Take a walk with me? ”

“Is that code for let’s walk down the beach to our house where we’re going to make love all night long?”

A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Is that what you want it to mean?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. Depends on how good the walk is?”

He pulled me toward the waves. I glanced over my shoulder at Anna and Brooklyn, each standing by their leading men. When I’d caught their eye, I gave them a finger wave. They both blew me a kiss. Brooklyn was leaving early in the morning with Jonah to head back to Durham.

When Ashton and I got to the shore, I lifted my skirt and cooled my toes in the water. As soon as he rolled up his pants, he stepped in behind me, winding his arms around my waist. The moon was a silver thumbnail in the sky, its soft light leaving a trail from the horizon all the way to where we were standing.

“Are you going to be okay tonight?” he asked. “I don’t want to spook you. If you need to wait, we can.” There was a tightness in his voice that told me the sacrifice that would be. But he was willing to do it for me.

I turned in his arms, facing him. “Are you trying to get out of spending the night with me?”

“Definitely not. I want to spend every night with you for the rest of forever.”

“Okay then.” I pulled him further in, the water enveloping our knees, the bottom of my dress soaked-through. The breeze picked up. I grabbed both sides of his collar, pulling his mouth to mine. He took over then, leading, like outside Capitol Cuts. It seemed forever ago.

I fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, working my way down, down, down. His breath hitched, followed by a low hum of contentment rumbling in his throat. His lips tasted of the salty ocean swirling around us.

With his shirt finally open, I traced the contours of his muscles, feeling them flex slightly at my touch. The contrast between the cool water that lapped at our shins and the warmth of his body sent a shiver through me. Every sensation felt heightened—the sound of our breathing, the gentle waves, the beating of his heart under my palm. In that moment, I knew he was right. It was the beginning of everything .

When I reached the top of his waistband, he tore his mouth from mine. Rivulets of water from the sea spray were sprinkled across his skin. His eyes were dilated and bright. “Are you scared?”

“No, Ash. I could never be scared with you.” The words came out softer than I intended, caught between a whisper and a truth. Looking at him— my husband —I felt something inside me crack open. The fact that I got to spend the rest of my life with him felt too good to be true. I couldn’t hold back anymore. Not even a little.

It was time.

Time to tell him everything .

Tomorrow. As soon as we woke up. But right now…

I reached for his hand and tipped my head toward our beach house.