“Are you sure you can’t all come?” Roxie cried. “You guys are sounding like it’s forever!”
“You’ll see us soon,” Sierra said.
Sophia nodded, patting Roxie’s shoulder. Just then, Beckham stumbled out of the door, looking groggy.
Ian was the closest and tried to steady him.
“She said yes?” he slurred, looking at Ian.
“She said yes to the trip,” Ian said, giving Beckham a look.
Beckham smiled. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” he said, leaning his head against Ian’s.
Ian’s eyes crinkled when he grinned. “I love you too, man. Best friend ever.”
Beckham lurched forward. “Take me to Roxie,” he said, turning to Ian.
Roxie giggled and walked toward Beckham. “I’ll come to you. You’ve been through a lot tonight,” she said, pressing her lips together. “It’s hard getting fake shot.”
Beckham looked wounded. “I wasn’t fake shot! I’ll have you know the bulletproof vest doesn’t make it not hurt. It feels like being repeatedly hit with a mallet.”
She nodded. “I’ll take care of you,” she said.
“You will?” He gave her a sleepy smile.
She kissed his cheek and said softly: “Wanna go on a trip?”
“Very much.” He nodded.
His mom and sister came forward and hugged him.
“I love having new material to tease you about,” Sierra said.
“Shut up,” he groaned.
Everyone took their turns saying goodbye, and before they knew it, it was just Dion, Howie, the pilot, a flight attendant and the three of them on the plane.
“I’ve had my men check your location thoroughly. Call me if anything doesn’t feel quite right—whether it’s security, house, decor, you name it—and I can send someone from over there to help,” Dion said.
“Thank you for everything, Dion,” Beckham said, sounding more like himself.
Dion pounded his back and Beckham looked like he wanted to hit him. Roxie choked back a laugh. Dion must have hit a sore spot. She knew how that was, having extreme huggers for family and friends.
When Dion got off the plane, they made sure Leo was still okay buckled up in the bed.
“This plane is better than Elvis’s,” Roxie said.
Beckham reared back to look at her in shock. “There’s no gold-plated anything.”
“But Leo has his own room and so do we!”
He nuzzled into her hair. “You are making me so happy right now.”
“And did you see the little kitchen?” She was giddy. “Where are we going anyway?”
Italy was even more beautiful with Roxie and Leo by his side. He’d thought they were coming to test out Italy for the future when they flew away that night, but they’d gotten there and never wanted to leave. Beckham woke up every morning excited about what adventures the day held, and went to bed excited to make love to the woman who had him by the heart.
After Dion reassured him that Colette had died in the fire, he’d given a private interview explaining why he’d gone into hiding. He didn’t give any hints about his location or that Roxie and Leo lived with him, but he knew that people occasionally recognized him. Word would eventually get out everywhere.
He couldn’t respond to the questions about the crowd who saw the shooting, the ambulance, and the reporter who had announced his death on the news team, but as he’d told Roxie, they were either employees of Dion or part of the FBI. It felt good to know they both had his back.
Roxie was finally beginning to shed the fear. He’d taken her to see a psychologist, who’d diagnosed her with PTSD, but their sessions were helping. She wasn’t as jumpy and didn’t seem to be looking over her shoulder every moment. It had given them such peace to know that they didn’t have to worry about Coco anymore.
She walked outside and set a cup of coffee by him. “You sure are in deep thought,” she said. “Sitting out here having second thoughts about marrying me?”
He put his hands on her backside and pulled her closer to him. “You know I’m not.” He lifted her sheer blouse and kissed her smooth skin. “Any second thoughts about me?”
“None,” she said, leaning down to kiss him.
Later that morning, their family and friends would be flying in and he was going to marry Roxie tonight outside their villa by the water.
“Come on, take a shower with me. Leo’s still asleep…” Roxie said, pulling back.
She looked over her shoulder as she threw in a little extra sway to her walk.
Ian insisted to Beckham that they’d take a cab when they arrived, since he knew they’d have their hands full with wedding details. Of course Beckham didn’t want to listen to him, so he hadn’t even let him know exactly when their plane would land. They were all three in the wedding. Journey would probably steal the show in her fluffy dress.
“I can’t believe we’re finally here,” Sparrow said, smiling at him. “It’s exactly how I pictured it!”
They were on their way to the villa and Sparrow was beside herself. Italy and Roxie … she’d talked on the whole plane ride and she wasn’t usually such a talker.
“I like excited Little Bird,” he said into her ear. “One of my favorites.”
She gave him a quick kiss and turned back toward the window, pointing out a quaint colorful building.
The tour had been great for his career—even if it was cut short—and he was already planning his next project. He hoped Beckham would collaborate on some of the songs with him. Maybe he and Sparrow would even get Beckham and Roxie back on another tour with them eventually.
“Think we could move here someday?” Sparrow interrupted his thoughts.
His eyes grew wide. “You already know you love it that much?”
She nodded, her eyes bright. “We could get a little shack on the water and have sex on the beach every night.”
“Done!” he said.
“You look like so beautiful, Roxie,” Chloe said.
“Like a vision,” her mother added, waving a hand in front of her face. “Don’t cry, don’t cry—just fixed my makeup for the third time!” When she got a grip, she walked closer and put her hand on Roxie’s cheek. “I see contentment in your eyes that I’ve never seen. As a mother, you know that’s all we ever want for our children.”
Roxie’s eyes spilled over. “Now you’ve got me crying!” She leaned over and kissed her mom’s cheek. “You were right when you told me to give him a chance. He makes me so happy. And Leo—the way they love each other is … oh, I’m not gonna be able to stop in a minute.” She carefully wiped her eyes with a tissue and looked at Chloe, Sparrow, and Sierra. “I’m so glad you’re all here. I’ve missed you so much.”
They huddled around her and hugged her one at a time. Chloe went last and held her extra long.
“Roxie, is it okay if we come in?” Daniel asked, knocking lightly on the door.
“Come on in, you two,” she called.
When they came in, a whole new round of tears started.
Chloe finally shooed everyone away from Roxie and helped touch up her makeup.
“It’s time to get you married off, Rox.” Chloe kissed Roxie’s cheek and then gave it a final dusting of powder.
“Thanks, Chlo-bo. Let’s do this!”
The wedding was everything she’d hoped it would be—she felt like a princess in her dress, the twinkle lights and candles overlooking the water was stunning, and the man she was marrying looked at her like she was all he ever wanted in life.
It was a dream.
But the best part was after they said their vows. Beckham and Roxie turned to Leo and asked him to come stand between them. Beckham knelt to eye level with him.
“I feel so lucky today, Leo, because I’m not just marrying your mom, but I get to have you as my family now,” he said. His face crumbled a little, but he took a breath and regained his composure. “I have papers here for your mom—our marriage license—and I have papers for you, that if you agree, say you are now legally my son. Your name can even change from Leo Taylor to Leo Woods, if you’d like. ”