Nobody But You B&N (11 page)

"And I'll call the family," Lynda said.

"I'll go through the wedding list with Cynthia and make sure all the guests get an update," Shayla said. "Don't worry about anything, Emma. Just go see your man."

"I will. You've all been amazing to me. I couldn't have gotten through this without any you. I'm so lucky to have this wonderful, incredible family."

"You never have to get through anything without us," her father said, giving her a hug. "We're Callaways. All for one. One for all."

"Always, Dad." She ran to the door to meet the nurse who was coming to get her. She couldn't wait to see Max. She wouldn't feel completely better until he opened his eyes and smiled at her. Then her world would be right side up again.

* * *

As Emma left the room, Spencer ran a weary hand through his hair and looked at Hallie. "I guess that's it."

She gave him a warm smile. "I'm so glad you got good news."

"Thanks for staying with me."

"No problem. I learned a lot. I think I might even try my own hand at a stew."

He grinned at her teasing smile. "I told you I would bore you."

"You didn't. But I think I will find myself a cab and go home."

"Why don't I drive you?"

"You should stay with your mom."

He knew she was right, but he really didn't want to say goodbye to Hallie yet. He was just getting to know her, and he was afraid if he let her walk away now, he'd never see her again. The day's events had brought down her guard walls, but would they be back up in the morning? Would she get on a plane and fly off to her dream island and never come home again? "I'll walk you to the elevator then."

"Great."

The walk was far too short.

As she reached for the elevator button, he stepped in front of her. "Hallie…"

"What?"

"We need to get that drink."

"We will," she said.

"When you get back from the island?"

She shook her head. "I'm not going to the island."

"But the beach is calling, isn't it?"

"It was, until I spent half the night talking to you. You're very persuasive Spencer." She paused. "I'm going to give my dad a call in the morning and maybe go see him."

"Really?"

"You said some things that made sense."

"I'm glad. So if I'm that good, can I persuade you to give me your phone number now?"

She smiled. "I already did."

He gave her a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"I put it in your phone when you went to the restroom earlier."

He grinned. "Sneaky."

"You really don't know anything about me."

"I'm looking forward to finding out more."

"I kind of feel the same way about you." She reached around him and pushed the button. "Before we say goodbye, I just need to know one thing."

"What's that?" he asked.

She stepped forward, put her hands on his head and pulled him into one hot and amazingly good kiss. Her lips were warm and inviting, and the spark that had been burning since he'd first laid eyes on her leapt into a full-blown flame. He felt a passion brewing that he hadn't felt in a very long time. He put his hands on her waist and held on, wanting to keep the kiss going for as long as possible.

Then the elevator dinged, and she broke away with a breathless smile. "Just as I thought," she said. "That mouth of yours is good for a lot more than talking."

He grinned. "Yours, too. That was hot. I'm going to call you tomorrow. You better answer."

Hallie stepped into the elevator. "I will," she said.

The elevator doors closed, and he walked back down the hall, feeling light on his feet and happier than he'd been in a decade.

The rest of his life was about to begin. He was closing the book on his past for good, and he was looking forward to a future—a future that was going to include one beautiful, gutsy redhead.

* * *

Emma sat by Max's side until dawn. The sun was just creeping through the slit in the curtains when Max began to stir. She got to her feet as his eyelids flickered and then slowly opened. She put her hand on his arm as he tried to focus. His skin was warm now, and it was so much better than the icy cold she'd felt the night before.

His gaze finally met hers.

"Max," she whispered.

His lips parted, but his voice was hoarse and rough when he said, "Emma."

"Don't try to talk," she said quickly. Seeing the confusion in his eyes, she added, "You're in the hospital. You were shot, but you're going to be all right." She gave him a smile, wanting to reassure him, wanting to take the sudden flash of fear out of his eyes. She suddenly realized where it was coming from. "Spencer is all right, too."

Relief moved across his face. He took several deeper breaths and then said, "I'm sorry."

Her heart tore at his words. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"The wedding—"

"Will happen another day. Don't worry about it."

"All the money your parents spent—"

"Stop. It's going to be fine," she said firmly. "The only thing that matters is you. You're going to be all right. That's all I care about."

"You look so pretty."

She gave him a teary smile. "That's the drugs talking. I'm a mess."

"You have blood on your dress." He frowned. "How did you get blood on your clothes?"

"I hugged you," she said. "Right before they put you in the ambulance."

"How did I get out of the bank?"

"It's a long story. Spencer will tell you everything."

"Did anyone else get hurt?"

"You're the only one. Luckily there was a nurse in the bank. She helped Spencer take care of you."

"Did she have red hair?"

"She did."

"Spencer was hitting on her in line."

"I think he's still doing that," she said with a smile. "She spent half the night in the waiting room with him."

"Good for him."

"You should rest now." Her hand slid down his arm and she put her fingers around his.

He looked into her eyes. "Are you still going to marry me, Emma?"

"Try and stop me," she said. "Third time will be the charm. And I really don't care about any more wedding planning, Max. We can get married wherever. It's the marriage part I want, the having children and growing old together that's important. I want what my grandparents' have—the next sixty years with you."

"Only sixty?"

"Make that a hundred. Try to rest now."

"Kiss me first," he said.

She lowered her head and kissed him on the lips, infusing every bit of her love and passion for him in that one long kiss. "Sleep now."

"Now? After that?" he said. "I want another kiss."

"Tomorrow," she said with a laugh.

Despite his protest, his eyes were already drifting closed. She sat back down in the chair and then leaned back and closed her eyes, letting exhaustion sweep her into a happy dream of many more tomorrows with the man she loved.

Two weeks later – Christmas Eve

"I thought you were taking me out to dinner," Hallie said as Spencer ushered her up the steps of the San Francisco Courthouse.

He smiled. "You'll get dinner—eventually."

"That sounds ominous. What's going on?"

"It's a surprise."

Spencer had been surprising her a lot lately. In fact, they'd spent much of the last two weeks together. As promised, their first date had been to the Beachside Bar where he'd introduced her to San Francisco's finest rum drinks. They'd talked for hours over those drinks, and found they had more in common than just dark pasts.

She couldn't remember feeling so comfortable with a man so quickly, but going through a life and death situation with Spencer had vaulted them over the initial first date awkwardness, and their relationship was moving quickly past friendship into passion and maybe even love.

They'd both been through their own version of hell, but they were coming out of the darkness. Spencer had enrolled in a cooking class and was working on the weekends as a sous chef, and she'd just spoken to one of her former bosses at San Francisco General Hospital about working in the maternity ward. She thought bringing babies into the world would be a nice change of pace. She'd missed nursing, and it was time to stop running away from what she loved. Her punishment was over.

She'd never imagined a trip to the bank could turn her entire life upside down. And it wasn't just the robbery that had shaken her out of her stupor; it was Spencer.

After telling him her story, she'd been able to go back to her dad. Her father had apologized for not reacting the way she'd wanted. And she'd said she was sorry for not giving him a chance to react any way he wanted to. They'd made up and she'd found her dad to be far more understanding of what she'd gone through than she'd thought.

Speaking of her father…

"Don't forget, we have to get to my dad's house by eight," she said. "I promised I'd bring you by after dinner. He wants to meet the man who encouraged me to talk to him again."

"And I want to meet him. We'll be there in plenty of time." Spencer paused by the front door. "Before we go inside, I want to say something."

"What's that?" she asked, feeling a little nervous. It was a familiar feeling. In fact, she was starting to get used to the fluttery dance her stomach did every time Spencer was around. She was wildly attracted to the man; she just didn't know exactly what to do about it. After their fast start, they'd been taking things slow, but she'd been finding the pace a little slower than she wanted. In fact, she'd been taking a lot of cold showers lately.

Spencer gave her a serious look. "I want you, Hallie."

She swallowed hard, not sure what to say. "Okay."

He frowned. "Not exactly the reaction I was looking for."

"We're standing outside a courthouse."

"I know it's not the most romantic spot I could have picked, but I didn't want to go another minute without telling you how I feel. We've both been hurt by love. But I'm ready to take another chance—with you. If you're not ready yet, I'll wait. I know you loved Doug, and I want to respect that."

"How long will you wait?"

"As long as it takes for you to want me, too. I know I'm not the ideal man. I've got a prison record—"

"Hush," she said, putting her finger against his lips. "We've been all through that. I know what kind of man you are. I'm not afraid of your record or your past."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I already want you, Spencer. I'm scared of how much I want you. And after what we went through together, I don't want to waste any more time being afraid. I'd like to see where this relationship goes. So I'm in, all the way in." As she finished speaking, all her lingering doubts faded away. She was in love again. She'd never imagined she could be, but here she was.

"Thank God," Spencer said with heartfelt sincerity. "I feel the same way." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

"I'm glad you feel the same," she said breathlessly, but I hope you didn't bring me here to spring a surprise wedding on me."

"Well, someone is getting married, but it's not us. It's Emma and Max."

"Really? Here?"

“Emma didn't want to wait to put together another wedding. She wants to marry Max tonight."

"Isn't this family only?"

"You saved Max's life. Trust me, in Emma's eyes, you're already part of the family."

* * *

Emma glanced in the mirror of the ladies' restroom in the San Francisco Courthouse. Her sister, Nicole, met her gaze, and Emma smiled at their reflection, thinking back to the last time she'd gotten dressed for her wedding, her sister at her side. Then she'd worn a concoction of lace and silk. Now she had on a simple long-sleeve white dress with a sweetheart neckline perfect for showing off her grandmother's necklace.

"You look good," Nicole said.

"I think she could use a touch more eye-shadow," Shayla put in, as she came up behind them.

"Stop it. I look fine," Emma said with a smile, turning around to face them.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Shayla asked, doubt in her eyes. "Maybe this is the wrong time to ask the question, but I know this isn't your dream wedding."

"My dream wedding is with the man I love, and he's waiting for me down the hall. I know he's here this time, because Sara checked for me. Nothing is going to go wrong today," she added with a little smile. "So let's get this show on the road."

"After you," Nicole said, waving her out of the bathroom.

Max and Spencer along with the Callaway men were waiting outside the judge's chambers. Max wore a dark gray suit and Emma’s breath caught in her chest at the sight of him. He looked so handsome. But more importantly, he looked healthy and alive. He'd recovered quickly from his surgery, and neither one of them had wanted to wait another second to tie the knot.

"Ready to become Mrs. Max Harrison?" he asked, taking her hand.

She gave him a loving smile. "More than ready."

"Good. Let's do this so we can get to the honeymoon."

"We have the reception at my mom's house first."

"Don't remind me. I can't wait to get you alone, Emma Callaway."

"Soon to be Emma Callaway Harrison. I love you, Max. It's going to be me and you forever."

"Forever," he agreed, kissing her on the mouth.

"Hey, you two," Spencer said. "Save something for the ceremony."

She glanced over at Spencer, pleased to see the beautiful Hallie at his side. She had a feeling Spencer was going to get his happily-ever-after, too.

Max led her into the judge's chambers. And as they stood in front of the judge, promising to love each other forever, they were surrounded by their family and friends. There was love in every breath of air that she took, and Emma drank it all in. Their vows were more poignant now, knowing how close they'd come to losing each other and the dream of their lifetime.

"You may kiss the bride," the judge finally said.