Giving You Forever by Ashley Wilcox Page B

to meet you,” I smile, shaking his hand.
    “The pleasure is all mine,” he answers with a smile that reaches both ears.
    He reminds me a lot of Jamie, just more dapper. I’m not sure David would ever be caught wearing skinny jeans or a faux-hawk like Jamie.
    “And lucky for you, we just had a cancellation for July when Meg called,” he winks, holding out his elbow for me to link my arm with his, showing me the way to the ballroom. Just as I’m about to ask about a waiting list, he continues, “I’m always willing to help my dear friend Meg out with a favor.”
    Boy, did I hit the jackpot with her!
    Coming up to a large set of white French doors, David gently drops my arm before slipping his key in to unlock it. After pushing both doors open like they do in the movies, he steps to the side, displaying the breathtaking room in front of me.
    With my mouth hanging open, a rush of butterflies flood my chest, taking in all the beauty the ballroom has to offer. An exquisite chandelier centers the room, endless rows of round white tables and chairs, ceilings so high that I’m not even going to try guessing the height, and windows lining the wall that have to be at least fifteen to twenty feet tall. Immediately, I start visualizing the weddings I saw on the Simple Elegance website decorated in here…for our wedding. It’s nothing short of a fairy tale dream.
    “Do you love it?” Meg asks, coming up beside me.
    “Yes. Yes, it’s amazing!” I answer, still mesmerized by its beauty. But with its beauty comes a price tag that I fear will be out of our budget. “Are you sure we can afford this?” I ask, afraid to hear the answer. Showing me this room and not being able to afford it is like putting cheese in front of a mouse and expecting him not to eat it.
    “We’ll make it work,” she says with an adoring smile.
    And that’s when I realized that Meg is worth every penny we’re paying her.
     

Chapter Fourteen

    – NOLAN –
    My stomach twists and my grip tightens around the steering wheel when I see an empty driveway when I get home. She’s been done with school for hours and is still not home.
    Fuck!
    Hitting my head against the wheel, I shout a slur of profanities, pissed that I fucked this up, the only thing that has ever mattered in my life. Placing my car in park, and giving the steering wheel a break, I grab my briefcase, open the door, and sulk into the house. I don’t make it past the kitchen. Placing both hands on the countertop with my weight pushing forward, I focus on Alexa’s note, playing the situation over and over in my head and trying to find a solution, wondering if I should just forget about her space and call her instead. That’s when I hear the garage door open and my beautiful angel step inside the door. I don’t give her a chance to speak, pulling her into my chest, and holding her as close as humanly possible to my body.
    My hand softens down her hair as I repeatedly kiss her head. I missed everything about her–her hair, her scent, the way her body fits flush to mine…everything. I missed everything that makes her, her.
    “Never leave me. Please never leave me again,” I whisper frantically into her hair.
    As Alexa’s body softens in my arms, she slips her hands around my waist, locking them behind me. She weakly nods her head, agreeing to my plea as a sniffle escapes her nose, breaking my heart again. Needing to dry her tears, I move my hands to her cheeks, bringing her eyes up to mine. She looks pitiful, yet beautiful, exhausted, yet refreshed, and I curse myself that I did this to her. I made my love ache by my wrong doings, by not putting her visibly on a pedestal like she should be. My baby deserves the world and will get nothing less.
    Caressing my thumbs against her face, I rattle off every thought consuming my brain, “I love you so fucking much, please never leave again. I’m so sorry, doll…”
    The tears that are steadily streaming down her face cut me off, and my