Second Chances (Dreams Come True #2) (16 page)

Her brow furrowed a moment, before she smiled widely. “Suddenly, this is feeling like
Ocean’s Eleven
. You’re going to go do something wildly awesome, aren’t you?” Marisa danced around a little. Her giddiness was contagious.

“I’m going to try.” This time, my smile was genuine.

“Go get ‘em, handsome.” She crossed her arms over her chest and prepared to watch me in action.

There were two couples waiting for their turn, lost in conversation. They didn’t even notice my approach. “Good evening,” I greeted them.

“Hello,” one of the future grooms said. “Are you getting married tonight too? We saw your group pull up.”

“Actually, I am.” I turned and pointed to Marisa, who looked positively magical in her pink dress and silver glittery shoes. “That’s my almost-wife.”

“Congratulations!” The man patted me on the back.

“Here’s the thing.” I turned and stood with my hands clasped before me. “I really was hoping we could go next. It’s a long story, but…”

“We’ve been waiting a long time,” the other groom interrupted. “I’m not sure I can convince my girl to wait any longer.” He glanced down at the girl, clutching a bouquet who was already shaking her head.

“Well, I would never suggest you let us cut in line without offering you something in return. You know, a sign of my appreciation.” I shrugged and glanced back and forth between the two couples. Now they looked a bit more interested. “For example, I’d be happy to pay for you to stay in suites at the Bellagio for a week.”

The first man’s fiancée was tugging on his sleeve. “We could have the honeymoon we were going to have to put off.”

“I’d give you a thousand dollars in spending money.” I raised my hands, palms up. Even the other couple was exchanging looks now. “And I’d gladly throw in couples spa packages too.” This was costing me a fortune. Of course, not marrying before midnight would cost me a fortune also.

“We’ll take you up on it.” The first man held out a hand to shake on the deal.

“Wait! We’ll do it!” The other bride stepped forward.

“Good news. You can both do it!” I shook hands with the couples. “Let me start making the arrangements. I’ll give you confirmation information in just a moment.”

Feeling much happier and confident, I walked back to my friends while pulling out my phone and my wallet. “Matt, Ian…I need your help.” It only took me a moment to explain the packages I’d offered the other couples. Then I passed them each a credit card. “Can you work with them to make the reservations?”

“You got it, man.” Matt clapped me on the shoulder.

“Happy to help!” Ian grinned.

Then with one more weight off my shoulders, I picked up Marisa and spun her around. “We’re doing this.”

“Well, you can make a very compelling deal.” She still had tears in her eyes, but this time, I could tell they were happy ones.

“You’re not getting much of a deal,” I joked. “Rushed off to Vegas for a cheesy wedding after a ridiculously brief courtship.”

Her arms were around my neck, her lips inches from mine. The closeness made my heart race. Knowing she would soon be my wife made me feel warm and fuzzy. Imagining our night together in a hotel room had the blood rushing south of my belt.

“Are you kidding me? Life with you is truly an adventure. I need that, Sebastian Boucher. If not for you, I’d keep locking myself away in my workshop.” Marisa bit her lip. “It was a lonely life, but I’d accepted it. Then there was you.” She smirked. “I thought you were the one who needed to be redesigned, but the truth is, I needed a life makeover too. Thank you.”

Our lips touched and the rest of the world melted away. Gabriel cleared his throat. There was a tap on my shoulder. When I looked out of the corner of my eye, I realized Isabella stood there, her head jerking in the direction of the chapel. “What?”

“Your turn, lover boy.” She winked at me.

Setting Marisa on her feet, I grinned. “You ready for this?”

“You bet.”

Taking her hand, we walked into the chapel, the rest of our friends following behind us, knowing we were about to start our new life. From behind me, Gabriel murmured, “Good thing you managed to convince the other couples to let you go next. It’s already quarter of.”

For a moment, I froze. What could’ve taken so long? Then I glanced over to the side and discovered what I had thought was one couple being married ahead of us had actually been a group.

“They’re just finishing up pictures. We’ll get set up in the meantime,” the officiant explained.

“Will this take long?” Marisa wore a worried look as she spoke.

“No, it’ll only take a moment.” He positioned us, then moved Isabella and Gabriel. Matt and Ian sat in the seats while Ben pulled out his video camera from a bag I hadn’t noticed earlier. Kristofer smiled and began snapping pictures. “Would you like to say your own vows?” The man waited for our response.

“Yes,” I murmured.

“No!” Marisa stepped back.

“Why not?” I looked at her in surprise.

She shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say. Shoot, do you even know what you would say?”

I tugged at my chin for a moment, “Well, I suppose I’d say something like…”

“Take her hands in yours,” the officiant urged. Once we did, he asked, “What would you say?”

Clearing my throat, I began to speak. “Marisa, you make my face hurt from smiling and my ribs ache from laughing. In the next five years, I’ll probably need injectable filler, a facelift, and Botox to even be recognizable.” She snickered. “You get me. I’m joking, but even if it was true, I want you to know you’re worth it. You are my everything. Always.”

“That was really beautiful.” Marisa let go of one hand to wipe at her eyes.

“See, it wasn’t so hard,” I teased. “I bet you could think of something to say if you wanted. Care to try?”

She sighed. “I guess. I mean, I could always say something like…”

“Hands,” the officiant reminded.

Marisa grabbed both my hands again. “Sebastian, you make me want to look as beautiful as you see me. Suddenly cocktail dresses don’t seem impractical. Makeup seems natural. Perfume is a necessity. I’ve become fabulously frivolous for you and I don’t hate it.”

“That’s a rave review.” I laughed.

“My point is…love changes things. I look forward to embracing all the many changes as we grow through life together.”

“Did you mean ‘go’ through?” My brow furrowed.

She giggled. “Nope. I meant grow. You’ll see.”

“So do you, Sebastian, take Marisa as your wedded wife?” The officiant smiled at me.

“I do. Obviously, I do.” I looked at him like he was crazy.

“And Marisa, do you take Sebastian as your wedded husband?” He grinned at my almost-wife.

“Of course I do. Who else would take him?” She laughed.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve had offers,” I reminded her.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The officiant shut his book.

“That’s it? We’re married?” Marisa bounced a little while she asked.

The officiant nodded. “You are.”

I squeezed her hand to get her attention. “Kiss me. I want this good and official.” I leaned toward her and waited for our lips to meet, wondering if it would feel different this time. Soon enough I discovered it did, and it didn’t. In this kiss, I felt hope, the promise of a broken curse and a brighter future. Most of all, I felt love, something I’d been feeling between us for some time.

“There,” the officiant commented when our kiss ended. “Nothing left but the paperwork.” He gestured for us to follow him to a stand where we were instructed to sign the marriage license.

Marisa scribbled her signature where he pointed. Then it was my turn to use the pen. Finally, we watched him add his while we clung to each other, squeezing tight. His signature was completely illegible, not that it would matter. Then he signed the date, which did: February 15
th
. I gasped.

“Wrong date! Wrong date!” Marisa shouted.

The man jumped. “Sorry, it’s after midnight. Force of habit.”

“It was midnight and maybe twelve seconds when I shouted,” Marisa complained. “Obviously, we were trying to get married on the fourteenth. Fix it.” She pointed angrily at the line.

“It’s an official document. I can’t change it.” He looked at me helplessly.

“You can’t change the date and initial it?” I asked. The room felt like it was spinning. My vision blurred. I feared I was going down.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been asked to do that before.” The officiant shrugged.

I glanced at Marisa. She looked like she was in a tunnel far away. With some effort, I shook my head. My hearing went all wonky. Huh. Wonky sounds like a Marisa word. “Marisa.” Speaking felt foreign to me. Then the chapel went black.

Chapter Fifteen

Marisa

One minute Sebastian was calling my name while I argued with the officiant, the next minute he’d passed out, whacking his head on the stand. “Oh my gawd! I hope you’re happy. The stress killed him,” I hissed at the officiant. Then I dropped to my knees beside him and checked for a pulse. In a matter of seconds I felt his neck and knew he’d only passed out. Tears streamed down my face as I shouted. “I need an ambulance!”

There was a gash on Sebastian’s head where blood oozed out. I grabbed for my purse, but found nothing useful. Immediately, Gabriel stood by my side.

“Take this,” he murmured calmly while passing me a handkerchief, his cell phone to his ear. “I’m on the phone with 911.”

“Thank you.” I sniffled and swiped at my eyes with the back of my hand while I placed the linen square on his injury. Time stood still while I studied Sebastian, willing him to wake up.

Instead, he remained unconscious right up until we arrived at the hospital. There, he woke confused and concerned. “Are you okay, Marisa?”

I laughed. “Of course. I’m more worried about you.”

“Why’s that?” Sebastian frowned.

“Because you passed out and hit your head. We’re in the hospital.” I sat on the gurney beside him and rubbed his arm. “I know this whole marriage thing is in sickness and in health, but I had no idea you planned to put it to the test so soon.”

“Crap. I ruined our wedding.” He lurched and tried to sit up more, but I stopped him.

“We’re waiting on the plastic surgeon to stitch you up. Lay still. You don’t want to mess up the butterfly sutures.” I lifted his hand and kissed it, then held it against my heart.

“Yes, if I get horribly disfigured, you’ll be ashamed to be seen with me.” Sebastian winked.

“Please. Scars are hot.” I giggled.

An hour later we were moved upstairs to a room for observation, which was when I called our friends to come join us. In the meantime, Sebastian kept apologizing. “I’ve completely wrecked our reception. I’m so sorry, Marisa.”

“You’re forgiven, not that there’s anything to forgive.” I shrugged. “I mean, at first I thought it was a desperate ploy to keep me from eating.”

“Sunshine, you aren’t fat.” He tried to frown, but instead grimaced from the pressure it put on his freshly stitched wound.

“I’m pleasantly plump. As in, if you want me to be pleasant, I’m going to be plump.” I grinned. “Anyway, I found a way around your evil plan.”

“How’s that? And for the record, I plan to show you how much I love every square inch of you as soon as we get out of here.” His words had me leaning in for a hug, during which he grazed my neck with his teeth.

“That will just be awkward for our friends. We need to fly home as soon as possible to meet with your lawyer.” Gently, I kissed his lips before leaning back to finish speaking. “In the meantime, we’re going to celebrate your birthday and our wedding.”

Almost on cue, our friends walked in carrying the cake, balloons, drinks, and food. “This is the last time I’m moving this cake,” Ian complained. “Time to eat some already.”

In a matter of seconds, we had everything set up. The cake was finally ready to be sliced. Our champagne was mixed with orange juice for a mimosa toast. And the balloons almost completely covered the ceiling of our small hospital room. A nurse walked in and did a double take. “What’s going on in here?”

“It’s our wedding reception,” I explained with a giggle.

“I’ll be out of your hair in a few hours. It’s just a bump on the head.” Sebastian shrugged.

The nurse had her hands on her hips. I could tell she wanted to kick everyone out, since it was the middle of the night, but she simply shook her head. “Let’s keep the door closed and the noise down,” she suggested as sternly as she could manage.

“Can we donate these balloons to the children’s wing or something when we leave?” Sebastian sat up more in the bed. “I’m sure they would be much happier with them and we won’t need them any longer.”

Tilting her head, the nurse smiled. “That’s a really nice gesture. We’ll work it out. Thank you.”

As soon as she closed the door behind her, Sebastian addressed our friends. “Let’s leave any excess food for the nurses. They didn’t have to be so nice, since it’s closing in on four in the morning.”

“Let’s cut the cake and we can share slices with them now,” I offered. “We have more than enough.”

Isabella wheeled the cake over on Sebastian’s table and positioned the table so it was over his lap. “Okay, so you have to cut the first slice and feed it to each other.” She raised a brow at my groom. “And for the love of God, be nice. This woman has about moved mountains for you the last twenty-four hours.”

His mouth shot open as he prepared to defend himself. Then he nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll behave.”

Together we sliced the cake and I fed him a bite with my fingers while he did the same for me. As my mouth closed around our birthday-wedding cake, I couldn’t help but moan in pleasure. “So good,” I murmured. “May our lives always be this sweet.”

When I opened my eyes, Sebastian was staring at me with a strange look on his face. “You think this is sweet?”

I wore a huge grin while I nodded excitedly. “I do.” Then I giggled. “Wow, first you can’t get me to say it, now I can’t stop saying it.”

“I don’t understand how you think this is sweet.” Sebastian struggled to frown.

The tray table had been moved as Isabella pulled the cake out of the way to share slices with the rest of our friends. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I faced him. “Look around, handsome. We’re in Vegas with our friends. We managed to pull off a wedding nicer than most in a matter of hours. Soon we’ll be flying home to start our lives together. What’s not sweet about this?”

“You’re ridiculous,” he grumbled. “Look at us! We’re in a hospital, for Christ’s sake.”

“Don’t you dis my big fat foreign honeymoon,” I teased.

From the look on his face, I could tell he was struggling to see life from my perspective. He started to open his mouth to argue once more when I popped a piece of cake in it. Sebastian’s eyes widened.

“Oops! No talking with your mouth full.” I watched as his face softened and he chewed then swallowed the bite I’d given him.

Finally calm, he spoke. “Is this your plan for preventing future arguments?” His eyes sparkled with unspent laughter.

“Yes. Lots of cake, maybe some cookies, a lemon cheesecake or two. We’ll be fine.” This time I stuck a fork full of cake in my mouth and savored it as much as I had the last.

“You’re crazy,” he sighed, sounding relaxed and content.

“It helps me deal with you, since you’re straight up insane.” He looked like he wanted to make another smart remark. Again I waited until he opened his mouth, then I stuffed more cake in and winked at him.

When he finally swallowed, Sebastian managed to get out what he wanted to say. “I love you, Marisa,” he murmured.

I laughed. “That wasn’t what you were going to say earlier.”

His cheeks colored a light pink. “You’re right, but the cake helped.”

“Cake fixes nearly everything,” I agreed, “except my thighs. Cake is probably hurting them.”

In response, he merely pulled me close and buried his face in my neck. This wasn’t such a terrible way to start our forever together.

***

Sebastian

While I had no trouble accepting how much I enjoyed having Marisa in my life, I was fast discovering how much I needed her around. She made everything better. Life seemed so much more manageable with her presence. She had become my Prozac. As we flew to Montreal, I squeezed her hand just a little tighter.

Though I had planned to see Mr. Lefevre as soon as he could squeeze me in today, he called while we were on the plane. “I don’t suppose you managed to marry the love of your life last night?” His voice sounded wary.

“Actually, I did.” I chuckled, hoping he’d do the same.

I heard his feet hit the floor hard. “You did! That’s wonderful. Send me a picture of the marriage license so I can keep the wolves at bay.”

It only took me a moment to snap a picture and text it to him with my phone. Then I waited for a response while my heart raced out of control.

“It’s dated for today.” I heard him swallow hard.

“I know. The ceremony began before midnight finished about ten seconds after.” I tensed hoping it wouldn’t be that big a deal.

“I can try to get an injunction, but it won’t come in time. Your uncle is already at the gallery, already trying to get into your apartment. I spoke to Sylvie this morning when I called the gallery looking for you. Your phone was off.” I could hear him pacing on his hardwood floors. This was worse than I thought.

“We had to turn the phones off during takeoff.” Honestly, I didn’t know what else to say. My palms were growing sweaty. I released my grip on Marisa to dry them on my pants leg.

“Sylvie says he’s looking for something. She heard him grumbling about it while he went from room to room.” Mr. Lefevre groaned. “I’ll meet you at the gallery. For now, at least, you’ll have to move out of your condo. I’ll have the police meet us there and some movers so we can get your personal items out. He has no rights to those.”

My hand flew to my head where a sharp pain began behind my eyeballs and a throbbing continued throughout my skull. “There’s nothing else we can do?”

“Be patient, Sebastian. I’m doing everything I can. Is there nothing we can get him on? Do you have proof of any illegal activities? Your Uncle Luc strikes me as bad fellow. Think. There must be something.” The urgency in his voice only made my head hurt worse.

“I can’t think. I’ll see you soon.” Then I ended the call. Already, I could feel Marisa’s arms around me as she leaned on my back.

“We’ll get through this, Sebastian. No matter what. I promise.” She began to plant kisses all over me.

“I don’t know how,” I mumbled. Then I did what I’d always done. I retreated into myself, locking out those who cared about me as I stared off in the distance.

“We married too late?” Her voice sounded strained, as though she were trying not to cry.

“Yeah.” I still couldn’t look at her. Then I heard her hiccup, her tell. She struggled not to sob.

“We can annul it, if you want.”

By the time I whipped around to meet her eyes, they were filling with tears. “Don’t ever say that. Don’t ever suggest that again.” I took her face in my hands and kissed her little pink nose. “Don’t you get it yet?” She shook her head as much as possible despite my hold on her. “You’re the only thing I wanted for my birthday. Marrying you is the best thing to happen to me in a very long time. We’re not annulling it or getting a divorce. We’re staying together forever.”

Marisa brightened some and sniffled. “I believe I only signed on for forty-seven years.”

Finally, I grinned. “Well, I’m going to do my best to convince you to stick around for the rest of them. I won’t be satisfied with anything less than ‘til death. Got it?”

“I got it, Mr. Boucher.”

“That’s good, Mrs. Boucher.” When I said her new name, she bit her lip in a feeble attempt to hide how much it pleased her.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Gabriel began quietly, “but is there anything I can do to help? I have some connections.”

I considered his offer for a moment. Old Sebastian would’ve been too proud to accept any assistance. New Sebastian was about to lose his legacy. It was a humbling experience. Slowly, I nodded. “Know any good detectives?”

“I’ll text you his name and number. You can call him when you’re done at the gallery. Want us to help?” Gabriel hugged Isabella to him.

“Go be with your family.” I wrapped an arm around Marisa’s waist. “I’ll take care of mine and call you when I’ve spoken to him.” Gabriel started to turn back around in his seat across the aisle, but I stopped him. “Hey, man. Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome. We’re friends. We’re there for each other.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but to me, who had never felt like I could count on anyone, it really was.

The limo dropped us all off at the gallery, but only Marisa and I walked in. Mr. Lefevre stood near the front counter arguing with Uncle Luc while the police waited off to the side.

“I hear you married too late.” Uncle Luc grinned. “Too bad your poor little gold digger won’t see a dime.”

Marisa glared and stepped toward him in a way that had him shrinking back. “I’m no gold digger. I’m not in it for the money. I happen to love Sebastian very deeply.” She looked him up and down. “Not that you’d understand anything about love.” Then she turned back to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “It’s amazing you turned out so well,” she murmured against my chest. “I credit your parents because that man…” She let her voice trail off.

Damn, I admired her. The way she stood up for herself and me only made me love her more. My heart swelled. I looked around the gallery. It had always meant so much to me, but now it was just a building and a bunch of walls. I might have loved what I did, but it would never love me back. Marisa, however, was everything.