The door closed as he loomed over me and all I could think about was how this elevator was not designed for a man his size. But to my shock he actually smiled at me before he reached down and picked me right up off the floor.
I don’t know how but in that moment I knew he wasn’t the kind of man that smiled very much. His hands lingered on my hips a little longer than necessary and his touch burned every part of me.
“He was so big,” I say as I close my eyes. “He was like some kind of god that fell from the sky.”
“When was this?” Lula’s voice is encouraging and peaceful.
I smile again as I open my eyes and look over to my sister. “Two weeks ago.”
“Collins, you were in the hospital for a week,” she says, her eyes widening, and I nod. “Are you saying you married this guy after, what, the first date?”
“Yes.” I bite my bottom lip as I look down at my diamond and twirl it on my finger. “He wouldn’t let me off the elevator until I agreed to give him my number and go out on a date with him that night. He tried to get me to ditch the interview but I wouldn’t. Although I should have because it went terribly.”
“I can’t believe this,” Berkley whispers, leaning back in her chair.
“He literally swept me off my feet,” I sigh and think back to our first date and how we stayed up all night talking and walking all over the city. We never went to sleep and we had our second date in the bakery around the corner of my apartment. It was like something out of a movie. One date bleeding into the next.
He kissed me as the sun came up and he tasted like coffee and fresh baked cinnamon rolls. I’d never felt so powerless yet so safe in my whole life. One look, one night, and I was done.
“After that we never spent a second apart.” I stare down at the ring again and smile. “He proposed the second night, and we were married by the third.”
“Did you give it up on the first date or wait until you got the ring?”
“Berkley!” Lula scolds, and she gives her a wicked smile.
“What? We’re all girls.” She shrugs and I shake my head.
“No, we’ve, um, never done it.” I feel myself blush as every memory of us together is totally clear. “He said he wanted to wait until the wedding night, so I made sure I didn’t have to wait long.”
“Damn,” Lula says in amazement and another smile tugs at my lips.
“Until this morning when Berkley walked in on us, all we’d ever done was kiss.” How crazy is that? I guess this all is a little crazy.
“And here I thought his dick had somehow hypnotized you into losing your memory.” She isn’t the least repentant about walking in on us.
“No.” My voice is solemn as I fold my hands together in my lap. “There was an argument with someone at our wedding ceremony. I was going to call you, Berkley, but it all happened so fast.”
“Clearly,” she says dryly.
“When he gave me the ring it was the middle of the night and as soon as dawn broke we had a judge at his house. Kade is rich and told me we could go anywhere in the world on our honeymoon. I told him I wanted to go to London. I was going to surprise the both of you but as we were packing our bags, everything went south.”
“What happened?” Lula asks, taking my hand, and I realize I was gripping the sheets tightly.
“I don’t really know. A man showed up and tried to get in, but security got to him first. I didn’t hear all of it, but Kade assured me it was taken care of.” Tears form in my eyes when I think about how happy we were as we were leaving and getting into the limo. “We were on the way to the airport in the back of a limo when I felt us swerve. The driver shouted that someone was trying to hit us right before we ran off the road. Kade cursed and then everything went black.”
“Oh God,” Berkley whispers, and I turn to her.
“The last thing I remember is Kade saying it was all his fault.” Tears fall down my cheeks and I don’t bother to wipe them away. “I need to see him, Lula. I need to tell him it wasn’t his fault and that I’m okay. I need to tell him that I love him.”
Lula shares a look with Berkley for a long moment before she stands up. “Okay, I’ll go talk to him and see if it’s possible.” She walks out of the room and I turn to my sister.
“Why wouldn’t it be possible?”
Berkley looks hesitant as she watches Lula go, then turns to me. “Apparently there was a fight and I’m not entirely sure that Kade won.”
“Oh God,” I say just as I push back the covers and get out of bed.
Chapter 10 Kade
My jaw is sore and I can taste blood on my split lip, but I don’t think about it right this second. The only thing that matters is getting to my wife. I need to tell her what happened. I need to explain.
“Get him some ice,” Xander says to Vaughn. “His eye is going to swell shut.”
“I think you need my help more than you need me to get him ice,” Vaughn says out of the side of his mouth as he eyes me.
My shirt is ripped but X looks just as bad. “Why not get the middle child the attention he needs,” I say, raising my chin.
“Fuck you, Kade,” X spits back.
