“How are you, baby girl?”
I walk as quickly as I can in my heels and fall into his arms. “You’re here!”
“You think I’d miss this?”
I pull back and dab my face with a tissue. “I can’t believe you’re here.” I dry his cheeks, too.
“That man you’re about to marry didn’t give me much choice.”
“That sounds about right,” I laugh.
“I had two plane tickets hit my desk a week ago for Alice and me.”
“Alice is here, too?”
“She is. Cane went all out for this, Jada. His approach would normally be off-putting, but when everything he does is for your benefit, for your happiness, I can’t argue.”
“I can’t get anywhere arguing with him anyway.”
My father hugs me again and then hands me the bouquet. “These are for you. Are you ready?”
I nod.
“Before we go downstairs, I want to say something.” His face darkens. “You’ve been through a lot in your life from losing your mom to that whole incident with Simon Powers. You continue to amaze me with your strength and kindness.” His voice breaks and he takes a second to compose himself. “I am so proud of you, Jada. Your mother . . . she would’ve loved all of this girl stuff and I wish so badly she could be here today to watch this happen. She would’ve loved the smile on your face today.”
“Oh, Daddy,” I cry.
“In a few minutes, I’m going to walk you down the aisle. And although we’ve done this before, this is the first time I’m handing you over to another man. There’s not an ounce of hesitation on my part, not a second thought to his motivations. Even though I don’t necessarily agree with his methods,” he laughs, “I’m proud to call him my son-in-law, too.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him tightly. His words mean more to me than anything.
“Are you ready?”
“I am.”
“Let’s go.”
CANE
I’ve never done this before.
Fuck, I’ve never wanted to do this before.
I bite the inside of my cheek and look around. I’m not sure how much of this is normal and how much of this is Kari’s doing, but it looks nice. I think Jada will love it.
I’m standing on a stage of sorts, a fountain behind me. Little pink flowers are floating in the water, lights shining up through it. A table to my right has one empty vase, one vase with pink sand, and one vase with gold sand. I have no fucking clue what that’s for. There were no instructions for this and I’m a little out of my depth.
To my left sits Brian, Heather’s boyfriend from Chicago. He’s perched on a stool, strumming his guitar softly, looking up every now and then at Heather who watches him with the look in her eyes that Jada gives me.
Yup. He’s fucked.
I chuckle under my breath and watch the back of the room. I’m fidgety and I try to stop moving, but I can’t.
Alice smiles at me from her seat and I try to smile back, but I think it’s more of a grimace. My lungs feel like they’re struggling for air and my legs want to move. This whole thing is nerve-wracking enough by itself, but I have all these people staring at me.
Besides Alice and Heather, who’s not technically watching me, Jada’s friend Lara from Phoenix is here. So is her friend Mandi and her husband Mason from Boston. Kari got a hold of them and they were happy to come. I met them a little earlier and they’re cool as hell. Mason told me how he handled Decker for Jada when she left him, so I have mad love for that guy. To show my gratification, I bought them tickets to watch Jeremy Tide and Hunter Davidson fight tomorrow night. It cost me a fucking fortune, but it’s the least I can do.
The officiate walks in from a side door I didn’t notice and stands beside me. He’s tall, balding, and has a white robe draped over him. I give him a nod and he smiles.
“Are you ready to be married, Mr. Alexander?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. We’re ready to begin. You just look a little pale. Are you sure you don’t need a drink of water?”
“Start.”
He laughs and motions to Brian. He looks at me and starts playing the song we picked out.
JADA
I’m getting antsy. The day flew by but it feels like I’ve been standing outside these doors for a lifetime. I just want to get inside and get married.
“Can we start now?” I ask, adjusting my arm through the crook of my father’s. I look at Kari and Max, standing in front of the double doors that lead into the room.
“In a second,” Kari says. “Be patient.”
“I’m two seconds from busting the door open and just going in there.”
Max chuckles. “You’re about as bad as him.”
“I love ya, Max, but I’m not really in the mood to be teased right now.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right.” He fights to stop from grinning, but fails.
I grin back. “How do we know when it’s time?”
“When I tell ya it is.”
He looks incredibly handsome in his suit and tie with his hair spiked up in the front. Standing next to Kari, they look picture-perfect. I love them together. They love them together.
I hope we are standing outside their wedding next.
Max flashes me his trademarked smile, the one with his dimple popping in his cheek. “You ready, Jada?”
“Obviously.”
He nods. “Let’s do this. Mr. Stanley, you know when to go, right?”
Dad nods. Kari wraps her arm through Max’s and he kisses her forehead. Music floats through the door a little louder than I’ve been able to hear, and the doors swing open. Max and Kari disappear into the room I can’t yet see into and my father turns to me.
“Ready, sweetheart?”
“I am, Daddy.”
He pauses a few seconds and then leads me to the doorway.
My face nearly splits in two at the sight before me. All of my close friends are standing, their eyes on me. Max and Kari flank the end of the aisle. Once my eyes land on Cane, I can’t pull them away.
He’s wearing a black suit and a gold tie and his hair has been cut short since I saw him this morning. He’s clasping his hands in front of him, a smirk on his face. I know he’s trying to play it cool, but I also know him better than that. He’s rocking slightly back and forth, his eyes have a little wild look about them. I know he’s trying to talk himself out of barreling down the aisle to me. The thought makes my smile grow even wider.
Brian begins to play “The Book of Love” by Peter Gabriel and my father begins to move. We walk slowly down a golden strip of carpeting leading to my world. With each step, Cane’s smirk lessens and a grin takes its place. His eyes widen and the blues swirl and I have to choke back the mass of emotions stirring inside me.
It’s really happening.
This man is so much more than I’ve ever even wanted. Just looking at him, standing as patiently as Cane Alexander can, waiting to marry me, is more than I’ve ever dreamed.
CANE
I can’t breathe.
I’m holding my breath and I know it, but I can’t force my lungs to work. The sight of Jada walking down the aisle to give herself to me forever knocks the air out of me.
She’s so fucking beautiful. Just as beautiful on the outside as I know her to be on the inside. She’s the best person I’ve ever known. It amazes me that something so perfect would willingly want to be with me.
Jada came into my life and turned it on its head. She gave me a reason to do better, be better. She made me want to do those things. She made me want to be a better man, to make her proud of me.
I know there’s a room full of people, but all I see is her.
Why is she walking so damn slow?
My fingers itch to grab her and kiss her, to say ‘I do’ and have her say the same. It’s not that I don’t want to enjoy this, I just want it done. Signed, sealed, and delivered with an “Alexander” at the end.
Hurr
y the hell up, Jada . . .
JADA
I want to race down the aisle and into his arms.
Kari told me to try to remember every detail and to take the time to commit it all to memory. She said it would all be over before I know it. I try to live in the moment, but I’m really just waiting for the one at the end.
I know my friends are watching me, I can feel their gazes as we walk to the front of the room. I know I should acknowledge them, but I can’t. My heart is drifting down the aisle, waiting to become one with its other half . . . the half I’ve been looking for my whole life.
The song fades away as we reach the front. My father stops us in front of Cane.
The room quiets and I can hear everyone sitting down. Max stays standing slightly behind Cane and I know Kari is still standing, too, behind me.
Cane’s eyes are boring into mine, his shy smile on his lips. I want to kiss him. I want to tell him how many ways I love him and I know he feels the same. I can see it written all over his face.
My father unwinds our arms and kisses my hand before placing it inside Cane’s.
“I’m trusting you with one of the two most precious things I have,” my father says. “I know you’ll take care of her and love her.”
“I give you my word,” Cane says, his tone somber.
My father nods and walks away.
CANE
I watch her eyes, looking for some sign of hesitancy. I search her face, feel her hand in mine. She simply smiles and hands her bouquet to Kari, looking far less anxious than I am.
The officiate clears his throat and we turn to face him. He starts the ceremony, saying all the things we went over earlier. I try to listen to what he says, but can’t help but be distracted.
I watch Jada out of the corner of my eye. She’s absolutely peaceful as she watches the man droning on before us. She seems perfectly content, like she’s listening to someone read a book.
I take a deep breath and blow it out.
Just a few more minutes.
“On this day, you blend two lives into one. Though your new life together will have hopes and disappointments, successes and failures, pleasures and pains, you will battle through them all as one unit. The sand ceremony is to remind you of the blending of your lives. And, although you are now one, may you continue to radiate the traits that drew you to one another.”
I lead Jada to the table and pick up the gold sand. She picks up the pink and we pour our sand into the empty vessel, our respective colors mixing together. She grins up at me and I fight myself from blurting out something hostile and making the officiate cut to the good part.
I grab Jada’s hand and guide her back in front of the officiate. He talks again and I wait for Max to give me the ring. I know he’s paying attention because that’s what Max does.
My palms begin to sweat as this guy goes on and on.
We get it. This thing is forever and we have to treat each other right. Come on, man. Hurry the fuck up.
Shit! I shouldn’t think like that about a man of God. I’m going to hell.
Forgive me, Father, please. But hurry him up, too, will ya?
After what feels like far too long, Max hands me Jada’s ring.
JADA
Cane takes the ring from Max and turns to face me. His shy smile streaks across his face, making him look so vulnerable. It almost breaks my heart, in a way. I glance around the room quickly and realize there is no one here for him. He has no family here to watch this part of his life. No one from his past, no friends, no one that’s ever loved him. Just Max.
I want to wrap my arms around him and smother him with kisses. I want to kiss away all the pain, the loneliness I know he feels on some level. But I don’t because I know the best way to fix him is to give him me.
He reaches for my left hand and begins to slip the band on. I wait for the officiate to say, “repeat after me” like they do in ceremonies, but he doesn’t. My breath hitches in my throat when Cane begins to speak.
“They sent me a lot of canned language they said I’d have to repeat today, but I couldn’t do it,” he says softly. So softly, in fact, that I’m not sure if anyone can hear it but me. He’s watching the band settle against my engagement ring, rubbing his thumb across it.
“None of those words say what I want to say to you. But then I sat down and couldn’t figure out what I wanted to say either.”
He brings his eyes to mine and smiles. “I promise to love you until the day I die. I promise to protect you without thought, to push you to achieve your dreams, and to try to be the man you deserve.
“I promise to send you flowers for anniversaries, texts for no reason, and to kiss you in the rain. I promise to be faithful to you and only you for the rest of my life.”
“You remembered . . .” I whisper, the words coming out in hiccupped sobs. My heart squeezes, so in love with this man that I almost can’t deal with it.
“You’ve given me everything I didn’t even I know I wanted, Jada. You give me a reason to stop being the coach,” he winks.
I can’t help but laugh, my chest shaking with the force of my tears.
“I always felt like a part of me was missing. But when I found you, I found what was missing. It’s like you had my heart my whole life and it’s just now that I’m put back together. You connect my life, put all the pieces into one man. And it’s with this ring that I give you all of these promises and my last name. With this ring, I give you . . . me.”
He gazes into my eyes, his filling with tears. It causes my own to flow harder. He wipes them away with the pads of his thumb, his skin rough and warm against my skin.
He leans in to kiss me and the officiate clears his throat. “Not yet, Cane.”
The crowd laughs. A low growl emits from his throat and I giggle.
Kari steps beside me and hands me a platinum wedding band, simple and masculine, for Cane. It’s exactly his style and I know he’s picked it out. That makes me happy.
I glance at the officiate and he smiles kindly.
“Would you like to repeat a set of vows or say something on your own?” he asks softly.
I begin to tell him that I’ll repeat a set of vows because I have nothing planned. I had no idea I’d need them today. But as I start to speak, I realize I can’t. I don’t want to. I don’t know what I’m going to say, but I want him to know I love him more than a set of preconceived promises.
I take his hand and hold it in mine. I slip the band over his ring finger and then encapsulate his palm in both of my hands.
I can barely see through the fog of tears as I begin to speak. “I wanted to have something beautiful to say to you, some speech with wonderful words that told you how much I love you. But in typical Cane fashion, you just sprung this on me.”
The crowd laughs and I laugh, too.
“But that’s one of the things I love most about you. Your passion, your drive. Your determination once you set your sights on something. I love the way you go after things, the way you went after me.
“When I look into your eyes, I see more love and respect than I’ve ever seen reflected back at me before. I promise you to give you the same love and respect to you each and every day until I die. I promise to take care of you, to stand by your side when things are great and when they’re challenging, and I will push you to be everything you can be. I’ll be your lover, your wife, but most of all, I’ll always be your friend. And I promise to make cookies with you in the middle of the night any time you want. With this ring I give you all of those promises as well as my heart and soul. Forever.”
My voice breaks as the emotion takes over. Cane shakes his hand out of mine and wraps his arms around me.
“By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada . . .”
I don’t hear the rest. Cane’s lips are on mine, my tears staining his cheeks. He pulls back just enough to whisper, “I love you, baby,” and kisses me again.
CANE
Everyone is talking, the convers
ation flowing as easily as the champagne. Voices bounce around the large, yet intimate, room. Our friends and family seem to be enjoying themselves.
Family.
I now have a family.
Warmth erupts from my chest and carries through me. This feeling isn’t something I’ve had often, if ever. It feels like I’m connected to people in a way I haven’t been since my dad died.
I glance around the table at the faces I’ve seen before, but now look at differently. These people are my family.
They’re talking, laughing, telling stories, but once my gaze settles on Jada, I can’t pull it away.
My wife is sitting on my right between her father and me. Her cheeks are pink, blushed from the alcohol, her hands folded beneath her chin. She’s watching Mandi across the table tell a story, her lips forming a grin that I can’t help but crave.
I touch her cheek with my finger and sweep her face to me. Her eyes light up in that way they do and her smile widens. I kiss her gently, needing her, wanting her. Even though she’s now Mrs. Alexander, I need some kind of affirmation that I didn’t dream this. And physical contact is the best way, in my opinion.
She pulls away breathlessly and licks her bottom lip. “I’m right here,” she whispers, like she knows what I’m thinking.
“I know.”
Standing up, I clear my throat. Everyone watches me, waiting to see what I’m going to say. Hell, I don’t even know what I’m going to say, exactly. I just feel like I should say something.
“I wanted to thank you all for coming. Especially on such short notice. It means everything to me, and to my wife, that you came. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Vegas.”
I sit down, not sure if what I said was right. I don’t know these things. I should’ve asked Max about this earlier.
I feel their eyes on me and I try not to squirm. If this was a business meeting, I’d handle it. But these aren’t my adversaries or people I can bark something random at. Thankfully, Max stands.
“As the best man, I’d like to take a moment to say a few things, too.” He looks at me for approval and I nod. “First of all, I’d like to thank Mr. Stanley for allowing Cane to marry Jada. This will assuredly make my life a lot easier going forward.”
The Connection Page 6