Read Online Down the Aisle by Christine Bell - Free Book Online Page A

a year and a half ago the day she’d found Marty banging her friend in the linen closet of their reception hall and he threw her onto the back of his bike to escape? She’d been so hurt and lost.
    “And if I recall, that dress ended up in pieces,” she reminded him, her voice going soft.
    “Come on. You can’t blame me for that. There were two thousand buttons the size of peas and I have these giant mitts that are perfect for busting jaws but not so much for unbuttoning wedding dresses.” If he could keep her talking and make his way into the room, they could work this out. There was nothing they couldn’t beat together.
    “Exactly why you’re not helping me with this one.”
    He could hear her breathing just on the other side of the door, so he knew she didn’t want him to leave yet, but she was firm about the wedding dress and veil deal.
    “How about I promise to keep my eyes closed?”
    She stayed quiet for a while and then blew out a breath. “Okay, but if you look, you’re cursing our marriage to certain doom. Do you understand me?”
    Well shit, no pressure there. “Yep, got it.”
    He closed his eyes and heard the door open.
    “Come on.” She took his hand, and he flinched. Hers was ice cold. So maybe this was just a case of nerves? Sweet Jesus he hoped so. That would be the easiest thing to deal with. A few shots of Jack Daniels and some encouragement, and they’d be on their way. No matter what, he couldn’t imagine leaving this place without her.
    She led him down the stairs, and he resisted the natural instinct to open his eyes to watch her ass sway. It was tough to fight years of conditioning, but he kept reminding himself how important it was to her that he not see her.
    “Sit down,” she instructed.
    He felt around behind him with his foot and lowered himself onto the small couch. A second later, she was climbing into his lap and burying her face in his neck. Yes. He breathed in the fresh scent of her and squeezed her even closer. They were crazy about each other. What could possibly trump that? There was nothing so bad that they couldn’t get through it.
    “Talk to me, babe.”
    She shifted and lifted her head, her dress crinkling as she moved. “What if I can’t do it, Galen?”
    “Marry me?”
    “No, dummy. I mean have a baby. What if,” she paused, and swallowed loud enough that he could hear it in the silence of the room. “What if my body can never do it? It’s been months and months of trying, fertility treatments. Already, it’s taking a toll on our relationship. Our sex life took a major hit; I’ve been depressed and feel like a failure every month. My cycle is just getting more and more sporadic.”
    She tucked in closer, and her voice dropped to a miserable whisper. “What if I’m broken, and no matter what we do, I can’t get fixed?”
    “We have the adoption agency working for us. We already have one possible—”
    “They called.” The words sounded like they were torn out of her, and he froze.
    “Who called?”
    “The agency. Sarah picked another family.”
    The words punctured his gut, and he sucked in a breath. “Okay.” He had a million questions. When? Why? And why hadn’t she told him so they could face it together? But now, none of that mattered. He pushed back his sadness and focused on not fucking this up even worse.
    If things worked out the way he hoped…
    But he couldn’t count on that. Not yet. So he’d have to just speak from the heart and hope it was enough. “I know that breaks your heart, and mine, too, but it’s going to be okay. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. Everything. I know how badly you want a house full of kids, and I want more than anything to give you that. I’m going to give you that, one way or another. But if we never had kids? I swear to God, Lacey, all I need to be happy is you. That’s it.”
    He could feel the hot tears soaking his shirt, and he cursed himself for making the promise not to look at