Broken Dreams (Broken #2)(38)
Author: Kelly Elliott

I gave Layton the flight information and told him that we would meet them at the Austin-Bergstrom airport. By the time we were done talking, I turned around to see Courtney standing there. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt that had a green alien holding a gun in one hand and a book in the other with the words Take Me to Your Reader written in black under the alien.

I let out a laugh and shook my head. Damn, I love this girl.

She tilted her head and gave me that smile of hers that had my stomach doing that damn flipping thing.

“I like your T-shirt, baby,” I said as I walked up to her and pulled her to me.

She stood on her toes and put her hand behind my neck. She pulled my lips to hers and gently kissed me. “Reed, are you sure?” she whispered as she barely pulled back from my lips.

I smiled and brushed my lips back and forth across hers. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. Are you sure, baby?”

“Oh yeah. I really can’t wait to let my mother know that we’re eloping.”

I pulled back and gave her a questioning look. “Why?”

She let out a giggle. “My mother has been planning my wedding since I was, like, five years old. Every year on my parents’ wedding anniversary, she would pull out her wedding dress and show it to my sister and me. She would tell us that whoever got married first was going to get to wear the dress and have the biggest wedding ever.”

My smile faded. “Courtney, we can plan a wedding. I don’t mind—”

She put her finger up to my lips to stop me from talking. “The only thing I want is for someone to say that I am Mrs. Reed Nickolas Moore. It doesn’t matter to me how or where that happens. I just want to marry my Prince Charming.”

I smiled as I brushed the back of my hand down the side of her face. She pulled back and turned to grab her suitcase.

She looked over her shoulder and said, “Besides, my mother’s wedding dress is the most hideous dress I’ve ever seen. With me eloping, it falls to my sister to wear it in her wedding.” She spun around and started to make her way out the front door.

I stood there for a second, trying to decide if she really wanted to get married right away or if she was trying to get out of wearing her mother’s wedding dress. I quickly decided that it didn’t matter. Soon, I would be making love to my wife, and that was all that mattered.

I set the house alarm and shut the door. I ran up and took the suitcase from Courtney. I put it in the backseat before shutting her door and running around to the driver’s side of my truck. When I jumped in my truck, panic took over, and my stomach dropped.

I looked over at her and said, “I don’t have the wedding bands.”

She winked and said, “We’ll figure it out, baby. Let’s go get married.”

I watched as Whitley and Courtney walked ahead of Layton and me in the Reno airport. They had not stopped talking since we met them at the airport in Austin.

“What in the hell are they going on and on about?” I asked as I looked over at Layton.

He started laughing. “My guess would be the wedding.”

I got that feeling in my stomach again. What in the hell are we doing? No plans, no dress, no tux, and no wedding bands. I stopped walking and just stood there, frozen.

Layton stopped and turned to look at me. “What’s wrong?”

“What in the hell are we doing, Layton? I don’t even have a wedding band to give to her. She has no dress. What kind of a wedding could I possibly give her? We’re flying by the seat of our pants.” I felt sick and wished I could sit down.

Layton walked up to me and smiled as he put his hand on my shoulder. “Reed, do you want to marry Courtney?”

I looked at him like he had grown two heads. “Of course I do. I want nothing more than to marry her.”

He slapped me on the back and let out a laugh. “Then, don’t sweat the small shit. Courtney seems to be flying high, dude. I don’t think she’s too worried about it all.” He glanced back at Courtney and Whitley as they stood there, waiting for the luggage.

Courtney was on her cell phone, and her hand was waving all over the place. I had no idea who she was talking to, but as soon as the plane had landed, she was on her phone.

I took a deep breath as Layton and I began walking over to where the girls were standing.

Whitley came running up and jumped into Layton’s arms. “Oh my God! My best friend is getting married.”

Layton started laughing and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I think my boy here is feeling a little nervous,” he said as he gestured toward me.

“I’m not nervous. It’s just that we don’t have anything planned, and maybe we should have thought this through, and—”

Layton had set Whitley down, and she quickly walked up to me and put her hand over my mouth.

“Stop right there. Are you having doubts?” she whispered.

What is with everyone asking me if I have doubts? “No. It’s just that I want this to be perfect for Court.”

I looked over at her on the phone. The smile on her face instantly had me relaxing.

I glanced back down at Whitley and smiled. “You know what? As long as Courtney is happy, that is all that matters to me. It will be perfect. I’ll make sure it’s perfect.”

Whitley smiled and gave me a wink. “That is so the right answer.” She quickly looked back at Courtney before turning back to me. “If there is one thing you need to know about Courtney, the girl can plan shit. Just relax, Reed. I promise you, she is so happy right now.”

I smiled and nodded my head, knowing Whit was right. I’d seen Courtney work under pressure, and she was always on top of everything.

Layton and I walked up to the baggage carousel and looked for all the suitcases as we talked about the ranch. Once we had them all, we started heading toward the car rental. Courtney was still on the phone as she stood off to the side. This time, she didn’t look so happy. She looked over at me as I was making my way to the rental counter. The smile she gave me caused my stomach to drop, and my pants felt a size or two smaller.

Damn…the hold this girl has over me.

Whitley put her hand on my arm. “Don’t worry. She’s talking to her mother, who happens to be slightly upset that Court decided to elope.”

Layton and I both said at the same time, “Oh shit.”

Layton slapped me on the back and chuckled. “Way to welcome yourself into the family, dude.”

I snapped my head and gave him a go-to-hell look. “Fuck off, asswipe.”