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“Thank you,” Radleigh added, giving him a small nod. “For wanting to do this. Thanks.”
I knew how much it took for him to say that. He’d softened in the time I’d known him, but he still wasn’t crazy about backing down, and he sure as hell didn’t want James to take Jayden away, but he knew that would be the easiest way for Jayden to cope. To be in a place that was familiar, with the man he’d grown up with as his father.
James placed Jayden on the floor. “Go give Radleigh and Leah a hug, then we’ll get going.”
Jayden ran to us, a totally different boy than the one who’d sullenly said hello to me earlier. He climbed up on the bed and Radleigh and I hugged him tight.
“See you tomorrow,” Radleigh kissed the top of his head the way I had done earlier.
“Yeah,” Jayden answered. “See you tomorrow.”
As he clambered back down, I smiled. “Have fun at the beach!”
“I will!”
After saying a final goodbye, James and Jayden left Radleigh and me alone.
“You did a good thing,” I told him, kissing his cheek.
“I know. But… is it wrong that I feel… I mean… he looked so happy when he left. Maybe he just doesn’t like me enough to want to live here.”
I shook my head, turning around so I was fully facing him. “He told me he likes it here, and that he likes all of us. But he’s scared, baby. He’s used to New York. He’s used to James and Harley and his life there. And now he doesn’t have his mum.”
Radleigh sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “It’s the right thing. We’ve got a lot of legal things to work through, but Jayden needs to go home, so James and I will deal with all of that when I’m out of here and can think straight again. But… we decided that we’ll let Jayden decide where he wants to be. If he changes his mind and wants to come here, he can.”
I had a sneaking suspicion that in a few years, after flying back and forth and getting to know us more, Jayden might actually want to live with us full time. But for now, while he was adjusting, Jayden was going to be exactly where he needed to be.
Chapter Twelve – Too Bad We Don’t Have a Karaoke Machine
To say the weeks leading up to the wedding flew by was an understatement. It was as if I blinked, and before I knew it, there was only one week left and my family had arrived in L.A in preparation. Also in preparation for the big day, Radleigh, Jessica and I had moved out of our house while the wedding organisers entered to put together the marquee for the big day. We had all manner of security in place to make sure nobody attempted to steal our stuff while we weren’t there – but it just wasn’t logical for us to be there amongst all the chaos. It would have been way too disruptive for Jessica, and way too stressful for Radleigh and me.
Radleigh was recovering well from his injury. He absolutely hated missing the last few weeks of the soccer season, but he didn’t have much choice since he could barely move for the first couple of weeks. By the week of the wedding, he was mobile and moving around a lot better, but he was still under strict instructions not to overdo anything.
And the sex thing? Yeah. He totally caved before I did.
In the time leading up to the wedding, I distanced myself from anything that had to do with Jen. Radleigh had had to speak to the police, and lawyers were involved. An intent to kill was established, and if found guilty of attempted murder, Jen would face life imprisonment. The shock of that never really left me. I recalled Bryce saying that Jen seemed like she didn’t mean to stab Radleigh, that the action happened in a moment of crazy, but her carrying the knife in her handbag suggested otherwise. A tiny part of me wanted to see her. To find out why. Why she threw away her freedom, and her entire life, to do something so awful. Was me not having Radleigh anymore really worth spending the rest of her life in jail? Maybe to her it was. Or maybe she never even thought about the consequences. I hoped she looked good in orange because she was going to be wearing it for a long time.
After everything she’d done to us, I should have been dancing around with glee at the idea of her rotting in jail for the rest of her life. I wasn’t. I wanted her to be punished, of course. I wanted her to suffer the way we had. But life? I’d kind of expected several years in jail plus many, many years of therapy.
But that was something to concern myself with after the biggest day of my life.
Not that I wasn’t still nervous something might still go wrong. Sure, Jen was in jail, but there were plenty of other mishaps that could occur. However, it was the night before the wedding, and I was in the penthouse suite of one of the best hotels in Los Angeles with my bridesmaids – all except Kayla, and Jessica and Grace, who were being watched by Mitch and Deanna, along with Jamie and Jayden. My mum was at Mitch and Deanna’s too, since she said she would have felt a little out of place amongst us “youngsters”. Radleigh, Bryce, and most of the team, plus my brother and my dad, had gone out for drinks. Quiet drinks, since the last time they went out on the town, Radleigh ended up in hospital.
“Leah,” Bree said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. “Will you please relax? You’re getting married tomorrow and you look more like someone who’s going to the dentist, not to her own wedding.”
With a small laugh, I reached for my glass of champagne and took a sip. “I’m sorry. Hard to stop worrying.”
The five of us were sprawled out across the living area on the enormous plush sofas in the room, all of us with champagne glasses in our hands. We’d had spa treatments earlier, and we’d had dinner delivered to us, so we were in our bath robes, and most of us were completely chilled out.
“What was the last thing Radleigh said to you when you left the house?” Freya asked, with a soft smile that made me smile too.
We’d stood in the doorway of Mitch and Deanna’s house, with Freya waiting just outside to take me to the hotel. Radleigh had pulled me close to him and said, “No more worrying. No more stress. Relax with your friends, and tomorrow… tomorrow you’re going to make me the happiest man in the world.”
With a sappy sigh, I said, “I know. I’m trying to stay calm, but… after everything that’s happened… I won’t relax until I see Radleigh waiting for me as I walk down the aisle.”
Bree let out a little squeal of excitement. “He’s going to freak out when he sees you! You’re going to look so beautiful.”
Since her miscarriage, Bree had been quieter and less bouncy than before. It had hit her and Jude hard, but slowly she was finding her way back to herself. She’d grown up so much in the time I’d known her. The essence of her would always be full of life and enthusiasm, but she had calmed down a lot since she’d started working.
