The UN Series Complete Box Set

by Shantel Tessier

  I turn to walk away when Tate stops me. “Grab your charger.” He points to it.

  I nod and wad it up in my pocket. Yep. I would have forgotten most of the stuff that I was going to need.

  An hour later we are in the room at the church, after taking some pictures of all of us guys together as we wait for our instructions to go stand at the front of the altar. We’re all dressed in our tuxes, and I’m already starting to burn up when my dad clears his throat.

  We all quietly turn to face him. “Since I’m not the best man, I want to say my speech in front of you guys.” We all laugh.

  “Son…” He walks over and places an arm over my shoulder. “You are very lucky to have found the one. I’m not going to sugarcoat it or tell you that fairy tales do exist. Marriage is not easy. It’s the toughest job you will ever have. Even though you have a baby on the way, right now it’s just you and Samantha. Eventually you will be spending less time with her alone, and you guys will spend all of your time with the kids and your jobs.” He drops his head for a second. “I wasn’t always there, and I regret that.” His eyes move from mine to Micah. “Be there.” They lock back on mine. “Be there every moment that you can because before you know it, you will be watching your child get married and start their own life with the one they love.” He smiles. We all lift our drinks and take a big sip.

  The door opens, and a man peeks his head in. “You guys are on.”

  I finish off my drink, and we all make our way to the altar. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach. Not of nervousness, but of what she’s going to look like.

  “Did you really film it?” I hear Tate asks Josh.

  “Yep,” he answers sounding proud of himself. “I’ll show you and Slade after the wedding. Funniest shit ever.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” I ask.

  “I taped Micah throwing water on Parker,” Josh adds.

  Now that I have to see.

  Tate laughs and then goes to walk off. “Where are you going? We are about to start.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He throws over his shoulder.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  SAMANTHA

  I stand in front of the floor length mirror as Holly quietly laces the back of my dress. Once she gets to the bottom she ties it into a pretty bow and looks up at me in the mirror. “You’re ready,” she says softly.

  “Thanks, Holls.” I smile at her, and she returns it before turning around and walking out the door.

  I look at myself in my wedding gown, ready to walk down the aisle to marry Slade. I have my hair in big curls down my back, just like he likes it. I have my bangs pulled up and pinned, and a tiara placed behind it that holds my veil. The dress is strapless and fitted all the way down to my knees. It has a mermaid look to it with a small train. It has small beadwork around the top and then the rest is plain white satin.

  “Come in,” I call when I hear a knock at the door.

  I look up and catch sight of Tate standing in the doorway looking at me. I turn and face him. “What are you doing?” Shouldn’t they be lined up? I was just told I had five minutes.

  He walks in and shuts the door behind him. I look him over and smile. I’ve never seen him in anything besides his worn-out jeans, tight t-shirt, and black leather jacket.

  He’s dressed in a pair of black dress pants along with a black long sleeve undershirt, with a dark blue vest that matches his eyes perfectly. He looks handsome.

  He rubs his palms together nervously as he steps toward me. “I just wanted to see my…” He stops and shakes his head as if that was not what he wanted to say. “I wanted to see the bride before you walked down the aisle,” he says slowly as if thinking each word out before he speaks.

  I smile and step up to him. “I’m so glad you’re here, Tate.”

  He pulls me in for a hug, and I swear I feel his body shake. He holds me longer than he ever has but I don’t give it much thought. Today has been a very emotional day. Hell, I didn’t think I was ever going to get Courtney to stop crying. I sent Missy with a makeup poof in her bra so she could dab her cheeks when she needs to cover up the water streaks.

  When he finally pulls away he has a frown on his face but his eyes are smiling. “I wouldn’t miss this day for anything, Sam,” he says looking down over my dress. “You look beautiful.” He then reaches into the front pocket of his black pants and pulls out a blue sapphire ring that has a silver band. “I found this and thought you should wear it today,” he says nervously. “You know all that girl stuff. Something blue, and used…” He waves a hand in the air,

  I smile. “You mean something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” I correct him.

  “That’s what I meant.”

  “It’s beautiful. Where did you get it?”

  “From your mother,” he whispers. My eyes snap up to him, and my first thought is where did he get it? Had she given him this to give me when he was helping her out? I decide that it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that he is here and giving me something blue that belonged to her.

  I lift my right hand and let him slide it onto my ring finger. He smiles when he sees it fits perfect.

  “Thank you, Tate,” I say trying to keep the tears back.

  He pulls me into another tight hug and then pulls away before he walks out the door without saying another word.

  I turn around one last time and look myself over in the mirror. The door opens and in walks Mark. “Ready to go, princess?”

  I momentarily freeze. He called me princess. My father always called me princess.

  “You look beautiful,” he says with a kind smile. It drops off of his face when I don’t return it. “Everything okay?”

  “You called me princess.” He has never called me anything but Samantha.

  That kind smile returns. “That’s because today you are. I don’t care how old you are. Every bride is a princess on her wedding day.”

  I smile up at him, and his smile brightens. It’s like I’m looking at an older version of Slade—a glimpse of my future. He looks just like his father.

  I grab a hold of my flowers and hold out my arm for him to take. “Nervous?” he asks looking down at me when I hear the music start to play for the bridesmaids.

  “No,” and I’m being honest. “Thanks again for giving me away.”

  He pats my arm. “It’s my pleasure. I’m sure if Vivian could have had her way she would be on your other arm giving you away with me.” He chuckles.

  I laugh. “That’s the truth.”

  “Ready to go?” he asks when the music changes, giving us our cue.

  I nod my head. We take our first step, and I feel the anklet dangle against my right ankle. I smile proudly knowing that my parents are watching over me today.

  We make our way down the hallway and come to stop in front of double doors. I take in a deep breath and nod my head to the two men waiting to open them for us.

  The doors open and I get a good look at the yellow lilies that line the path to the altar. We kept the wedding small, only inviting about thirty people.

  We make our way down the aisle, and I finally get my first look at Slade—and my heart stops. He has the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face. I bite my bottom lip nervously when I see Parker lean over and whisper in Micah’s ear. Micah slowly but quickly jams his elbow back hitting Parker in the ribs to quiet him. I manage to hold in my laugh.

  I hear people speaking softly, and I can even hear a few sniffles. I already know they belong to Vivian and Courtney, but I ignore everything around me. All I can do is look at the man who I’m about to marry.

  When we come to the end Mark turns me to face him.

  “Who gives this woman away?” the preacher asks.

  “My wife and I do.” He leans down and places a soft kiss on my cheek. “Your parents would be proud to see the beautiful woman you have grown up to be.” Then he pulls away and places my hands in Slade’s.

  Crap
. I’m totally going to pull a Courtney—who is now completely losing it behind me.

  I look up at Slade, and he says quietly for just me to hear. “You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen.”

  I smile remembering him telling me that exact same thing when he held me up outside the first night I met him at Larry’s. It’s crazy how we went from that moment to standing here getting married and starting a life together.

  The preacher starts the ceremony and when we get to the vows, Slade clears his throat. “I would like to say something.”

  The preacher nods his head in acceptance.

  He takes a deep breath and grabs my hands in his and my heart rate starts to double. “It’s no secret that I call you Angel.” I smile as I look up to his baby blue eyes. “I remember the first time you told me you loved me.” He smiles, and I feel my eyes starting to well up with tears. “I had been in love with you since day one. And knowing you finally felt the same.” He sighs. “Nothing could compare to that. I told you I was going to give you the world.” He takes a step closer to me. “But you were the one who gave me the world.” His eyes drop down to my stomach and I try to keep the tears at bay. “And I vow in front of God and our loved ones that I will show you my love every day, more than I could ever put into words. You are my soul mate and our forever starts today.” He lets go of my hands and places his hands on my face. He slowly wipes the tears that run down my cheeks and says, “I love you, Angel.”

  *****

  We all stand outside the church in the grass posing for pictures. It’s starting to get hot, and the sun is beating down on us. Of course I pick a record-breaking hot day to get married.

  “Man, what I wouldn’t give to have the bucket of water now,” Parker says as he fans himself with a napkin.

  Bucket of water? I probably don’t want to know.

  I look to my right and see Slade speaking to Tate as he pulls on his jacket trying to get some air to his chest. “Take the jackets off,” I say turning back to Parker.

  I don’t have to tell him twice. He’s already removed his jacket and is rolling up his sleeves to his dark gray dress shirt when Slade speaks.

  “Put that back on. We’re not finished.”

  “I said it was okay.” I shrug. “It’s hot and you guys are wearing like three layers of clothes.”

  “Are you sure?” he asks frowning.

  I nod. “Absolutely.”

  The photographer positions himself in front of us as all the guys shed their jackets and roll up their sleeves. I go to take a step forward and my heel sinks into the grass causing me to fall to the side. Slade reaches out and catches me as I let out a squeal. He picks me up and spins me around as I laugh out loud.

  That’s how most of our pictures are going to be. Parker throwing Holly over his shoulder. All of us girls having our hands on Courtney’s growing belly, which by the way just popped out overnight. She already looks like she has a basketball in her stomach.

  After almost an hour of pictures we all make our way inside for their reception. We get introduced as husband and wife before we are seated at the long table at the end of the dance floor that holds all the bridal party.

  I opted out of doing the first dance with Slade; he says he can’t dance, and I don’t want him to be uncomfortable. And it’s not like my father’s here to dance with me as well. Mark already walked me down the aisle. I won’t ask him to do anymore for me.

  Once I’m seated I realize I should go to the restroom before we do anything else. I look around to see who can help me when I spot Missy over at the end of our table. She is looking down at it.

  I get up and walk down to her. “Hey, Missy?” She looks up at me, and I frown when I see she’s crying. She wipes her eyes quickly and stands.

  “Yes?”

  “Will you help me to the bathroom?” I ask giving her a smile.

  She nods and follows me out of the reception hall. “Is everything okay?” I ask as we enter the bathroom.

  She nods her head quickly and then let’s out a small sob. I don’t waste another second. I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly. “You can talk to me, Missy.”

  “Please forgive me,” she sobs into my shoulder.

  I pull her back for me to look at her. “Forgive you? Missy you haven’t done anything,” I say softly.

  She sobs once again before she wipes her face with the back of her hands. “I haven’t been there for you.”

  It’s true. She has been MIA since all that stuff went down with Jax. She sent flowers to the hospital and then to the house. She found out I was pregnant by a text message that Courtney sent her because she wouldn’t answer our phone calls. She finally went and got fitted for her bridesmaid dress, but I wasn’t able to meet her up there at the time.

  “It’s okay. I understand.” I’m not sure what has kept her from coming around. I guessed it was Tate and the girls that he has been bringing around. That maybe it was hard for her to be around him. Or maybe it’s Braxton, Slade told me they have been spending all of their time together, and she brought him as her date for the wedding.

  “I’ve just needed some time alone,” she whispers.

  I pull her in for another hug. “I’m here, okay? If you need to talk about anything at all. You can talk to me.”

  She nods her head before she pulls away. “Thank you.”

  I grab her hand and pull her into the big stall at the end. “Come on. Let’s see how complicated we can make this,” I say making her let out a little laugh.

  We get myself put back together and walk out of the bathroom. Missy’s head is down, and I hate how helpless I feel. This is worse than Vegas, it’s like she has had a major breakdown.

  “Oh,” I squeal placing my hands up. “I’m so sorry,” I ramble as I run straight into someone while I was too busy watching missy.

  “Samantha.” A beautiful woman with jet black hair that’s down past her shoulders greets me with a warm smile.

  “Laura?” I ask placing my arms out to hug her. I haven’t seen her since I was ten when she left Tulsa taking her son with her to Alaska as she tried to disappear from Jonathan, Tate’s dad.

  I say smiling, “I’m so glad you were able to make it.”

  Slade and I decided to invite her. I didn’t think she would be able to make it but she said she wouldn’t miss it for the world. When I told Tate about her response, he just turned around and walked out of our house. He once told me he went back up to Alaska often, but I’m starting to think there is a different reason behind his Alaska trips, because he obviously doesn’t care to see his mother.

  “Me too.” She laughs then gets a serious look on her face. “I promised your mother that nothing would stop me from seeing your wedding day.”

  “My mom?”

  “After your college graduation she called me. She and Tate were on their way back from Texas. She told me all about your boyfriend she saw you with. She said she could just tell that he was not the one for you. You looked happy and in love but she just knew he was not the one that you would marry,” she says smiling. “Then she called me after you and Slade left Tulsa. She told me you had found the one. The one who was going to bring you as much joy as your father once brought her.”

  I give her a big smile. “Well she was right.”

  I hear Missy sigh, and I look to see what she is looking at. My eyes land on Tate as he dances with some brunette that we didn’t even invite.

  Laura looks from Tate over to Missy. “You have your work cut out for you.”

  I look at Laura wide-eyed. Is Missy’s breakdown that obvious to people who don’t even know her?

  Missy’s head turns to her, and she wears the same surprised expression. “Excuse me?” Missy asks.

  Laura smiles at her. “Every person in this place can see how much you love my son. And they can also see that he does not care.”

  “Laura,” I scold her. Tate has already hurt Missy enough.

  “No. It’s okay,” Missy says sof
tly. “You’re right. He doesn’t care about me.”

  “That is not what I said.” Missy and I continue to stare at Laura confused. “I said he doesn’t care that you love him. I didn’t say he doesn’t care about you.”

  “Is there a difference?” Missy asks.

  “Of course. Your love for him can’t change him. But he knows the love he could have for you would. Tate needs someone strong, Missy. Tate hides things very well. He keeps things bottled up and tries to fight all his demons by himself.”

  Missy shakes her head and says, “Nothing’s going to happen between us.”

  Laura smiles, and I have a feeling Laura knows something that we don’t. “Just stay strong. Animals prey on the weak,” she says with a straight face.

  I stand there looking at Laura in total shock. She has changed so much from what I remember of her. But I know that she’s speaking from experience. She was once the prey of an animal. An animal that would chew her up and spit her out.

  Missy nods at her before she walks off looking more confused than upset now.

  “Thanks again for coming,” I say and hug her once again before I head back to my table. I smile as I sit down next to Slade.

  Courtney plops down beside me with a wad of tissues in her hand as Holly sits down next to Slade.

  “Okay don’t be mad,” Josh says with a laugh as he eyes Slade.

  “What did you guys do?” He looks from Josh to Micah skeptically.

  “We had made a bet,” Holly says surprising me.

  We all turn to look at her. “A bet on what? That Slade would run?” I ask with amusement.

  She laughs. “No. We made a bet that he would marry you,” she said matter-of-fact. “And I won.” She wiggles her eyebrows before she looks up at Micah and Josh. “So pay up, boys,” she says with a smile on her face.

  “You made a bet we would get married?” Slade questions sounding confused.

  “Yes,” Josh answers.

  “Why would that make me mad?” he then asks.

  “Well because it was sort of a setup,” Holly says with a smile.