Fade to Red

“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 a

Roxie was finally begi

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 pla

“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 go

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 stu

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. ”

Leo’s mouth dropped and he looked like he was going to jump up and down but remembered he had on a fancy suit. He nodded his head over and over again instead.

Everyone laughed and wiped their eyes while Beckham hugged Leo. He stood and Leo smiled up at him.

“Does this mean I can call you Dad?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Yes.” Leo pulled back his fist and held out his lisp extra long.

When they were pronounced husband and wife, Beckham tilted Roxie back and kissed her until she felt weak.

“You ready to dance?” he asked, lifting her back up.

“With you? Always,” she said.

She clicked the camera with her left hand. She’d lost her right hand in the explosion. A casualty of playing with fire. Can’t play too long and not get blown to bits eventually.

Thankfully it hadn’t been her time quite yet.

Next time she might not be so lucky.

She adjusted her long-focus lens and scoffed when she saw the cream wedding dress. The bitch deserved nothing even related to the white family.

When she married Beckham, her dress would be pure white as the snow.

She click, click, clicked until her left hand throbbed and then she watched the dancing through her telescope.

She was too tired for a plan just yet, but she’d found them. That had to be enough for now.