“It’ll be perfect, the idea you came up with. The one we all really liked…”
Riley cut her off. “But it’s been done a million times before! It’s in all of those.” She jabbed her finger at the small mountain of books. “I want it to be…”
“It’s going to be perfect, Riley, and you know why?” Paige asked, grabbing a stack of magazines in one hand and tossing them in the garbage can.
“Don’t do that! I need those,” Riley hissed, lunging for the garbage can.
Jared grabbed her around the middle, pulling her back. “Woman, you’ve become obsessed. I know just the cure!”
She protested as he dragged her out of the kitchen, wincing each time her heel connected to his shin. “Ouch, damn it. Knock it off.”
“Well, let me go then,” she railed.
“Not on your life. Ouch!” Jared sounded winded.
“As soon as I get out of this hold, I’m kicking your ass,” she fumed.
“Oh no, you’re not, Little Miss Bossy Britches. Ace!” Jarred bellowed.
The sound of feet thundering down the stairs came seconds after Jared hollered.
“What the hell are you two doing?” Ace asked. The words came out harsh, but there was also an underlying hint of humor.
“You should take her upstairs and beat her. Look at what she’s done to my… ouch!”
I stepped into the living room, catching a glimpse of Riley throwing a hip move on Jared. When he landed, she had his arm bent backward and sticking straight up in the air.
“Riley…” Jared gasped her name. “I was only trying to help.”
Riley let go of his arm, hissing furiously. “Maybe if you stop manhandling people, you wouldn’t get hurt. There are other ways to get people to listen, jackass.”
“What happened?” Ace asked, staying where he was.
A smart move considering Riley was angry enough to spit nails. We’d all learned when she’d hit her breaking point with one of us the best thing to do was to leave her alone for a little bit. She was easily riled, but didn’t hold a grudge for too long.
Before anyone could answer Ace, Airen bounded down the stairs, oblivious, or maybe pretending to be oblivious, of the situation. She held a laptop in her hand as she swooped in, hooked her arm through Riley’s, and said, “I found yer solution!”
Riley snapped to attention. “You did!”
“Aye. Now, let’s go get some air. Seems a bit warm in here,” Airen said, winking at Paige as she handed Riley the laptop.
Paige gave her a quick smile when Riley made a strangled noise of excitement. “Perfect, absolutely perfect… and we can… Oh! Yes. This is…”
They disappeared out the door, Riley’s excitement building as she oohed and ahhed.
“And we thought we’d have a bridezilla. Looks more like we have a maidzilla,” Jared said, giving a shaky laugh.
Paige sighed. “She just wants everything perfect since she didn’t have a recept—”
Ace cringed.
Paige blushed. “I’m sorry, Ace. That was thoughtless and rude of me.”
“No, you’re right. She didn’t have a real reception. Hell, I wouldn’t even have called it an actual wedding either…” Ace’s shrug didn’t fool me. “That’s probably why she’s trying to make sure everything is perfect for you.”
“I never expected perfect.” Paige sighed. “I just wanted everyone together. Having all of you here was the only thing I wouldn’t budge on.”
Ace smiled at her and said, “Yeah, but you know how Riley is. She wants the very best for her friends. I’ll talk to her.”
“No. I think we should leave her in Airen’s hands. She seems to know how to make things more bearable,” Paige answered.
“She has a knack for that. I mean, she’s got Aiden completely besotted,” Jared added.
“Who the hell says besotted anymore?” I asked.
Jared glared at me. “I do.”
“I think hell just froze over,” Ace said, shuffling out of Jared’s reach.
"PERFECT WEATHER FOR A WEDDING," Murphy announced, holding her phone up to show the projected forecast.
“Perfect? There’s a slight chance for rain!” Paige said, screwing up her face at the screen on Murphy’s phone.
Airen beamed. “Oh, aye, ‘tis good luck for rain on a wedding day.”
Riley nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve heard that too!”
“Mark?” Paige looked at me.
I shrugged. “Does it matter if it’s raining or not? Like the vows say… for better or worse, so if it’s raining, we’ll just deal.”
Paige’s eyes glistened. “You’re right. Let it rain if that’s what it’s going to do. We’re getting married regardless.”
“Okay, now that we have that all cleared up. Let’s talk about the deliveries. The tent will be here the afternoon before. Should take them a couple hours to get it all in place. Table and chairs are scheduled to be delivered around four. We’ll need everyone to help get them set up since Oliver laid the law down on how many strangers he’ll allow on the property.”
Aiden, who’d been sitting quietly, snorted before saying, “Yeah, well, his ass better be there to help us too.”
“I don’t remember saying I wouldn’t be,” Oliver said, causing everyone to jump.
“Stop doing that,” Paige said, hand clutched tight to her chest. “You’ve taken about ten years off my life already with all your popping out of nowhere.”
Oliver rolled his eyes, “I doubt that. Listen, when the deliveries come, I’ll be the one going out to meet them. Everyone else stays inside until after the tent is up, and once the tables and chairs are dropped off, and the rental company people have cleared out, we can all work on getting things set up.”
Jared grumbled. “I feel like I’ve just been shunted to the kids table at Thanksgiving.”
“Better the kids table than dead,” Oliver snapped at him.
“Lay off, Oliver. We all know you’re just trying to keep everyone as safe as possible,” Ace said, diffusing the situation.
I waited for him to say something snarky about the wedding. Something harsh about the ill timing of it, but he just nodded in acknowledgement. It brought the tone in the room down a little bit. Made for a calmer meeting.
“Okay, so as soon as everything is delivered, we’ll be decorating—”
Riley cut Murphy off saying, “Only if everything makes it here. I’ve been tracking the orders and some stuff just shows the order as processing.”
“Is it shipping here?” Oliver asked.
Riley smirked. “No, I’m having everything shipped to Paige’s mom, per your request.”
He smiled back at her. “And you were the one I was worried about bucking the rules the most.”
She snorted. “I’m not going to do anything to put any wrenches in our hard work.”
“Is Paige’s mother bringing the decorations, or do you need to go and pick them up from her house?” Oliver asked.
“I asked her to bring whatever has come in by Wednesday, that way I can get a head start on unpacking things and making sure it’s all set for Friday,” she answered.
“Well, that’s my part covered. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Oliver said, making his escape.
“Jittery about weddings, ye think?” Airen asked, chuckling along with the rest of us.
“Probably. Okay, next up… music. Jared?” Murphy said, moving our meeting on.
“Here’s what I’ve got so far…”
"DID YOU SEE HOW FAR that bouquet went?” I asked as Riley rucked up my wedding dress, and with as much dignity as I could muster, I sat down.
Neither of us looked at one another as she chatted away. “Got a hell of an arm on you, woman. But what I want to know is did you see Ella’s face when it landed in her lap?”
“Is that why she bolted out of the tent so fast?” I asked, keeping my eyes rolled toward the ceiling.
“Probably. You must have missed the toss off too,” Ri
ley answered.
I couldn’t help but look at Riley. “Toss off?”
Her eyes were crinkled at the corner. A healthy flush rode on her cheeks like banners. “Oh, yeah, she tossed that sucker right into Airen’s lap and dashed.”
I went quiet for all of about five seconds, thinking about Ella’s reaction. I could see the startled look on her face and the bouquet being dumped in Airen’s lap. How odd some people were about weddings. The bouquet toss. The garter toss. Brides with dresses so big they couldn’t do much by themselves except stand and look pretty. And then I busted out laughing. “Never thought you’d be holding my dress up while I went to the bathroom.”
“First and last time for everything, I suppose.” She chuckled, hauling me up to my feet.
As I washed my hands, I watched her in the mirror. She tucked in a few stray hairs caught up by the breeze between the tent and the house.
“True friendship knows no bounds… well, some bounds, I suppose. I’m not wiping your backside. You have a husband who can do it for you now.” She laughed.
Hearing the words ‘you have a husband’ threw me a little. Yes, I’d stood in front of Jared and said my vows. Listened when Mark said his. Wiped tears of utter happiness from my cheeks as they flooded my vision, startling me that I could cry while being so euphoric. But hearing it? It took on a whole new meaning to me. Mark wasn’t just my friend, or my boyfriend, anymore. He was my husband. We were forever linked for the rest of our lives. There would be no separating us. On that, we both agreed. Realizing how long forever might stretch out made me feel both lightheaded and a tad freaked out.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked, catching me by the elbow as I stumbled backward.
I lied. “I think I need to eat.”
Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “Nice try, but I know you better.”
I blinked, hoping when I opened my eyes again, there would be no sign of my inner thoughts.
“It’s okay to freak out a little. I did,” she said, perfectly in tune with my own thoughts.
“How the hell do you do that?” I asked, disbelief lacing my voice.
She smirked. “You do it too. It’s something about being perceptive, I think. You know that it’s okay to be a little overwhelmed.”
I sighed, hands running down the satin front of my dress, reveling at the feel of the slippery material. “It’s funny, isn’t it? All the planning. All the stress. And then it’s over before you can really take it in and enjoy it.”
“It’s not over yet. There's still lots of dancing to do before you and Mark are shuttled out of here. Where are you going? Oliver’s been tight lipped about it.”
I turned from the mirror with a shrug. “I have no idea. All he said was that it will be warmer than it is here.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Well, that could be anywhere below the equator.”
“I’ve asked him and asked him, but he just keeps telling me not to worry about it, that I’ll love it,” I said as we walked out of the bathroom.
“Men,” Riley huffed as we made our way out to the tent.
“Amen to that,” I answered, eyes searching for Mark, catching sight of him in the corner with my father.
Riley split off from me when she saw where I was headed. I hadn’t had much time to talk to my dad since we’d been back home. I felt terrible for it, considering we’d be leaving again in a few short hours.
“What are you two doing over here in the corner?” I asked, wrapping my arm around my dad’s waist, and then putting my head on his shoulder. A daughter never got too old to hug her daddy.
He straightened to his full height and hugged me tightly. “We were just catching up. Haven’t had a chance to visit much with either one of you since you came back.”
Guilt slammed into me. “I’m sorry.”
He kissed my forehead in a brisk manner and pulled back to look at me. “You have nothing to be sorry for. All parents know there comes a day when you have to let go and watch as your children build their own families.”
“Families? Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here, Andy,” Mark said, hooking a finger at his collar and tugging.
My dad peered down at me, gave me a quick wink, and then looked back at Mark. “Career first. Then kids. Smart man. But, in all seriousness, have them young. Grow with them. And then, when they leave the nest, you’re still young enough to enjoy the second half of your life. And on that note… I think I owe your mother a dance.”
Mark moved in behind me as I watched my dad lead my mom out to the dance floor. After twenty-two years of marriage, they were still in love. They’d built a solid foundation of trust and loyalty. They’d taken their marriage vows as seriously as they took each other. Only the good Lord knows why some marriages fail. Maybe it was because they were rushed into to quickly with blinded eyes. Maybe time changed two people so much they drifted apart. Who knew what the future held? But I believed that so long as you had trust, you could work through the rest.
“Was that, or was that not, his way of saying he wanted us to get to work on some grandbabies?” Mark asked, lips hovering close enough to my ear that I felt the whisper-soft touch of them.
I shivered in response. “Doesn’t matter. You and I both know the situation we’re in now is unsafe for us. I’ll be damned if I bring a kid into it.”
A slight chill worked its way through my body, and it wasn’t from the night air. The heaters Oliver had set up along the inside of the tent had kept us nice and warm without it being too much. No, the chill came from knowing what Mark and I were walking into. What would be expected from us. And what we’d have to give up. Did I want to give up the chance at a normal life? Did I want to give up having a baby before I’d really even thought about it? I loved kids. But my own? I’d never pictured myself as a mother. Didn’t have that ambition in life to create my own mini me. But what about Mark? Had he wanted a family? What would it do to us if he did?
“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked, turning me in his arms.
He pinched my chin between his thumb and finger lightly, lifting my face up before kissing me.
There were hoots and hollers from across the tent. Jared’s voice rang out over all the others as he shouted, “Kiss ‘er again for me.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” Mark grumbled before bending me over his arm and doing a thorough job of kissing me senseless.
From somewhere outside the bubble Mark wrapped me in, an intruding noise broke through. I swayed a bit when Mark righted me and pulled me to his side.
“We should probably pay attention for this,” Mark said, pointing at something across the room.
I followed the direction of his finger, my eyes landing on Jared, who held a microphone in one hand and a glittering glass of bubbly in the other. It was time for the toasts. And instead of him staying put, he crossed the tent to come and stand directly in front of Mark and me.
“Shit,” Mark whispered so low I almost didn’t catch it.
Shit indeed. Jared Jackson had a microphone and a smirk.
He watched us like a hawk circling his prey. Watched us shift, bracing ourselves for whatever craziness would come out of his mouth. And then he watched the grimace I didn’t even try to control contort my face as I said, “Please don’t embarrass me in front of my parents.”
He winked, the bastard, and said, “I wouldn’t dream of it,” before he turned and moved over to Mark’s side.
Blowing into the mic, he grinned at everyone watching. And everyone was watching.
I braced myself. He’d been well behaved through the entire ceremony. Behaved as an officiant should. All bets would be off for the toast. He had to be bursting at the seams to crack a joke. To say something inappropriate. I was already embarrassed, and he hadn’t even opened his mouth yet.
“You can’t toast the bride and groom if they don’t have a glass,” Murphy said, rushing up to us. Champagne sloshed up the sides of the flutes, threatening to spill over.
“What d
o you expect when it comes to Jared and his chance to be the center of attention with a mic in his hand?” Aiden asked. The tent filled with laughter.
Jared fumbled with the mic and his glass, intent on getting one hand free. Murphy cleared her throat, leaned in close, and whispered something in his ear.
“You wouldn’t,” he said, eyes wide.
“Oh, I would. Behave,” she said, giving him a catty sort of smile.
I could only guess that she threatened him. Or maybe it was that I could only hope she did.
Irrelevant as it was, Jared would be Jared. Damn the consequences. He opened his mouth. “About eighteen years ago, I sat beside this guy on the first day of school. I won’t tell you about his goofy-ass haircut—”
“Hey! I cut his hair,” Mark’s mother said, interrupting the chorus of snickering.
“Oops. Sorry, Sheila.” He waved at her to the crowd’s laughter before continuing, “Little did I know that same goofy kid would become one of my very best friends. One of the Six—”
“To the Six!” the others shouted.
“Pipe down and let me finish!” Jared said, stopping to hold his hand up, thumb touching his first finger. The sign of the Six. Eerily, they lifted their arms together in answer to him. It was like watching the Hunger Games, but I’d be damned if I’d volunteer as tribute.
“We grew up. Raised Hell. And through it all, we remained friends. High school came and went, but the bonds of friendship never did. But Mark, he didn’t come alone to our group. Nope, he came with a gangly, flat-chested girl.”
“Do not make me put you on your ass in the middle of your toast, Jared Jackson!” Riley hollered.
Jared, wise enough to know he’d pushed his luck, scrambled to continue. “I’m just saying that if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have Paige.”
Mark leaned close to Jared. “What’s this we shit?”
Jared rolled his eyes. “If everyone would stop interrupting me, that would be great! Now, as I was saying, through Riley, we got Paige. Now, here’s where it gets interesting… Paige couldn’t stand us.”
The Vows We Make (The Six Series Book 4) Page 12