Winter Wedding In Vegas

* * *

“I heard a rumor today.”

Slade winced. He should have known better than to answer the phone when he’d seen who was calling. “Hey, Dad.”

“Is what I’m hearing true, son?”

“Depends on what you’ve been hearing.”

“You married?”

How did he answer his father? The best man he’d ever known through and through. A man who cherished the bonds of marriage, a man who had lost his precious wife, Slade’s mother, to cancer, and carried that bond still in his heart, despite the fact he’d remarried several years back to a good woman.

Slade couldn’t lie to his father. “Guess some rumors are true.”

Silence ticked over the phone line.

“Have to admit I’m surprised,” his father said slowly. More silence. “She pregnant?”

Slade’s face heated. Not that he could blame his father for asking. Everyone who really knew him knew he’d never planned to marry, that he had dedicated his life to medicine, to finding a cure for a disease he hated.

“Not that I know of. She does have a kid, though.” Hadn’t that one been a shocker? Not only had he married but he’d also become an instant father. Not that it really mattered. He wasn’t likely to meet Taylor’s daughter. They’d divorce, pretend as if none of this had ever happened, and that would be the end of their Vegas mistake.

Which was exactly what needed to happen, so why did the image of Taylor’s tears flash through his mind and make him wish life was different? That he was different?

Then again, hadn’t he learned at twelve years old that wishes didn’t come true? If they did, his mother would still be alive because he’d wished more than any kid had ever wished. He was sure of it.

More silence.

“For a man who just got married, you don’t sound very happy. You okay, son?”

Okay? Again, the image of Taylor’s tear-streaked face popped into his mind. No, he wasn’t okay. He’d married a woman he wanted physically, cared for as a person and whom he didn’t want to damage emotionally. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not in some kind of trouble, are you?” Worry weighed heavily in his father’s words. “This is just so unexpected.”

Slade could almost laugh. “I’m not in trouble, Dad.”

At least, not the kind his father meant.

“Well, then, congratulations.”

Congratulations. Because he’d gotten married. And become a father. Why did his tie feel as if it was strangling him?

He couldn’t even respond to his father’s comment.

“She must be something special,” his dad continued.

Images from the night before flashed through Slade’s mind, images of sharing laughter with Taylor, of holding her hand as they’d climbed into the limo to leave the hotel, of kissing her in the back of the limo, of how his heart had pounded in his chest as he’d slid a ring onto her finger and promised to have and hold her forever...

Maybe he was in trouble, because as much as he didn’t want to be married, didn’t want to think about the fact she was a mother, he did want Taylor in his life.

If only she weren’t so complicated. If only they hadn’t gotten married.

“Taylor is special,” he admitted, then realized just how much he’d revealed in his three softly spoken words.

“I’m glad to hear that. After your mother died you avoided getting close to anyone. I’m glad you’ve met someone worth the risk.”

Slade’s ribs threatened to crush the contents of his chest they constricted so tightly. He hadn’t avoided getting close to anyone. He’d just made a conscious decision to dedicate his life to finding a cure for breast cancer. His father didn’t understand that. Maybe no one could. But to Slade, doing all he could to prevent others from going through what his family had was his number-one life priority.

“Dad, I hate to cut you short.” Not really a lie. He loved his father, enjoyed talking to him normally, just not today, not when he was reeling from the past twenty-four hours, from the fact he’d woken up with a wife and a kid. “But I’m on my way to my dream job interview with Grandview Pharmaceuticals.” A dream job that would give him every opportunity of achieving his number-one life priority. “I’ll give you a call next week when I’m back in Nashville.”

* * *

“Hello, my darling, how was school today?” Taylor said into the phone to her daughter. The first rays of happiness were shining that day.

“Good,” the most precious voice in the world answered. “Aunt Nina said I was very smart.”

Although she was no blood relation, Gracie had called Taylor’s best friend “Aunt” for as long as Taylor could remember.

“Aunt Nina is right. You are a smart girl. And a very pretty one.”

Gracie giggled. “You always say that.”

“Because it’s true.”

“I miss you, Mommy.” Gracie’s voice sounded somewhere between sad and pouty. Taylor could just picture her daughter’s expression, see the sadness in the green eyes that were so similar to her own.

“I miss you, too.” More than words could convey.

“When are you coming home?” Gracie demanded.

“I’ll be flying home tomorrow evening. You and Aunt Nina are picking me up from the airport.”

“Are you bringing me a prize? Aunt Nina said if I was good while you were gone that I’d get a present.”

“Aunt Nina said that, did she? So close to Christmas? Well, I’m sure if she said that, then she’s right.”

Gracie talked to her a few minutes more, then handed the phone to Nina.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Nina immediately said into the phone.

“I hope she’s not been too much trouble,” Taylor told her best friend.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve loved having her here. She’s helped me decorate my house and you know me, I’m one of those who never has things done the week after Thanksgiving. This year, I’m way ahead of the game, and she and I have had a blast getting everything done.”

Taylor understood. Gracie was a blast and loved Christmas almost as much as her mother did. No doubt the little girl had garlands and lights strung all over Nina’s apartment.

“Good. When they told me I would be going on this trip, my first thoughts were what I’d do about Gracie. I’ve never left her before.”