After that, there were no words except for those spoken in the throes of passion. When her body seized, tightening around me, I let go, soaring into bliss with the love of my life.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Amelia
Today was the day. I was going to walk into court to annul my marriage to the man I loved. And I was happy to do it.
Max had been right that we needed to cut anything my father had touched out of our lives, and that included the marriage my father had forced on us. I didn’t feel like I was losing a connection to Max because over the last few weeks with Max, I felt certain that we would get married again. When we did, we’d both be conscious. It would be our choice.
After the ordeal with my father, we each got the report from Saint Security, and with Dax’s assistance, we filed charges against my father. As expected, my father went ballistic. He did anything and everything he could to ruin me and James and Max, mostly in the court of public opinion.
At one point, Max talked to his brother, Sam, about transferring his half of the partnership to Sam to protect the company. Apparently, Sam told him he was being an idiot. He wasn't worried that my father could damage their business’s reputation. And he was right. While I had to talk to all my clients about what they were hearing about my “drunken” night of debauchery that left me married and pregnant, when all was said and done, they believed me and not him. In fact, the more he tried to hurt us, the more the tide turned against him. Others that he’d hurt found the courage to come forward, and business associates distanced themselves. That last bit wasn’t great for James, but he was doing all he could to salvage the company.
At the worst of my father’s retaliation, Max brought me to New York to get away and also to meet his family. I'd always known my father wasn't a good person, but he and James were the only family I'd known. But then I met Max's family, and I knew that no matter what happened, they would remain my family. His parents took me in like I was one of their own. His sister and I hit it off. We spent a day shopping, and she picked my brain about social media and becoming an influencer while I picked her brain about Max.
We returned home for the court date. We decided that I would go alone because we didn't want the judge to see us together and question the annulment. It was hard for Max and me to be in the same room and not make goo-goo eyes at each other. We believed that if Max didn’t show up, the annulment would be granted by default.
I walked into court, and ten minutes later, I left with an annulment. I stepped outside the courthouse, where Max was waiting for me.
I waved the paper at him. "Happy annulment day."
He laughed, wrapping his arms around me and spinning me around. "You know that this annulment is more about getting rid of your father than ending a marriage, right?"
"Right." I gave him a kiss to let him know that I understood why we had gone through with this.
"Good."
He released me and stared at me for a moment. I could see there was something going on in his head but couldn't decipher what it was.
Finally, he knelt down on one knee and reached into his pocket. He took my hand. “I want to do this the right way, Amelia. I want to tell you that I love you and can't imagine my life without you. I want to be coherent when I propose, when we get our marriage license, and especially when we get married."
I laughed. "That doesn't seem unreasonable."
"Okay, then. I love you, Amelia. I can't imagine my life without you. Please tell me that you will marry me."
Oh, my God. I couldn’t imagine I’d ever feel happier than I did with Max, but at that moment, I was the happiest I’d ever been. "I will marry you, Max."
He pushed a beautiful platinum and diamond ring on my finger. I noted that it was beautiful, but what was more important to me was the man I was going to marry. The father of our child.
He kissed me and led me back into the building.
"Where are we going?"
"We’re going to the County Clerk's office to get a marriage license.”
I suspect that Max had pulled some strings because we didn't have to wait in line to get our paperwork.
As we looked down at the paper that we both knew we’d always remember obtaining, he leaned over and kissed me again. "What do you say? Shall we get hitched?"
I felt breathless with happiness and excitement. At the same time, I didn't feel like I could get married without my brother, and I felt pretty certain that his family would want to be a part of it as well. "When? We have to give our families a chance to come."
He thought on that. "Okay, how about we go to lunch at the Roarke, and we can plan our wedding?"
"I love that idea. Almost as much as I love you."
Fifteen minutes later, we were entering the elevator to the Roarke restaurant on the top floor. I was excited to see the three hundred and sixty-degree view of Las Vegas, especially since the day was clear and I imagined we'd be able to see hundreds of miles.
As the elevator doors opened to the restaurant, Max took my hand and led me out. I was surprised by how quiet the restaurant was. I would have thought it would be busy during the lunch hour. He led me over to the window, and we looked out as the restaurant slowly turned.