“Holy fuck!”
I turned around to see she was white as a ghost.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Holy fuck!”
We all turned and looked at Matt. Oh great, at least he won’t be saying assmole anymore.
“I wanna be a mudder-f**king cowboy, just like in Jeff’s song.”
I had to grab onto the wall, or I would have went straight to the floor.
“I’m going to kill Jefferson for listening to that song around him,” Ellie said.
She walked up to the door and opened it.
Then, she immediately slammed it shut.
“Oh, um…shit.”
“Would someone please tell me why y’all keep slamming the door shut?” I asked.
“It’s Jeff,” Ellie and Jenny said at the same time.
“Wait... what?”
Ellie said, “I’ll see what he wants. Everyone just needs to keep getting ready. Jen, the flowers?”
Jenny seemed shocked as hell and out of it for a good minute or so. “Yes…right the flowers.”
I watched as Ellie opened the door and went out into the hall. I just stared at the door.
What does he want? Did he change his mind? Oh god, what if Rebecca is here? Wait…why would she be here?
The door opened, and Ellie walked in.
“Um, can everyone leave the room for just a few minutes? The groom would like to talk to his bride.”
Ellie looked over at me, smiling as she winked.
After everyone was out, including Matt who kept saying he wanted to be a mudder-f**king cowboy, Jeff walked in the door. He stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me.
I sucked in a breath of air when I saw him. I’d left what the guys were going to wear up to him, so he’d said he would surprise me. He was dressed in his black tuxedo pants with a platinum herringbone vest and matching platinum tie. He looked breathtakingly handsome.
“Is everything okay, baby?” I asked.
He rushed over to me and took me in his arms. He kissed me like he was never going to kiss me again.
When he finally pulled his lips away from mine, he held me tighter in his arms.
“Jeff, what’s wrong?” I asked as I leaned back to look at him.
His eyes were filled with tears.
“I just needed to make sure this wasn’t a dream, Ari. I needed to see you. I needed to touch you. I needed to kiss you and tell you how lucky I am to have you in my life. Thank you so much for not giving up on me when I gave you so many reasons to just walk away. I was so lost when you weren’t in my life, baby. You literally saved me, Arianna.”
I stood there and just stared at him. I was fighting back the tears. I would be so pissed if I started crying right now.
“Jeff, I love you more than life itself. I never thought this day would come. To be standing here in front of you, pregnant with our baby, knowing I get to wake up to you every morning for the rest of my life, I’m so overwhelmed by happiness I can’t even think straight. The only thing I can think about is if Matt’s going to walk down the aisle, singing about being a mudder-f**king cowboy.”
Jeff threw his head back and laughed. He took a step away and looked me up and down.
“You’re breath-taking. Do you know that, baby?”
I smiled and let my eyes move up and down his body.
“You look pretty handsome yourself.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Jeff walked over and opened it.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” my mother asked.
“I’m leaving right now. I just needed to see my beautiful bride and tell her how much I love her.” Jeff turned to look at me.
I smiled at him, and my heart just melted with the smile he gave back. Good Lord, that boy is handsome as hell. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, how am I going to look at him and say those vows when all I’m thinking about is getting his ass nak*d?
My mom and dad walked in as Jeff left the room. My mother let out a gasp when she saw me, and my father had a grin from ear to ear.
“Tu es belle Arianna.”
I loved it when my father spoke to me in French.
“Merci, papa, pour dire que je suis beau.”
“Oh Arianna, you literally took my breath away when I saw you,” my mother said as she walked up and hugged me.
Jenny walked in and smiled.
“So, Matt and Lauren are ready to go. Lauren is beyond thrilled that she gets to be yet another flower girl. She informed me that she knows what to do, so I can leave it up to her.”
I let out a laugh. Lauren my little cousin, looked like a princess and acted like it, too. I let her pick out her own dress. Damn, that girl has good taste. I’ve taught her well. It was an elegant silver satin dress with a pin pick-up in the front and a satin bow. The bodice was embroidered with rosettes. It looked perfect on her.
“Ari, it’s about that time. Do you need a minute or two with your mom and dad?” Jen asked.
Daddy looked at me and winked. “Hell no, I paid for some good food, and I’m starving. The faster I get her down the aisle, the faster I can sit down and eat.”
I just smiled at my father. He didn’t want any time alone with me because his ass was afraid he would cry.
“Allez-vous à pleurer papa?” I asked with a wink.
“No, I’m not going to cry. Now, let’s walk you down that aisle baby girl.”
As everyone came back into the room, bouquets of flowers were passed out. Heather, Amanda, and Ellie had white and silver roses in their bouquets. I still had no idea how they got the roses to be silver, and I didn’t care. They were beautiful.
My bouquet was full of stargazer lilies. I smiled when Jenny handed them to me. She winked at me because I was sure she knew I was thinking back to the night Jeff asked me to marry him.
When I started to hear the music play, I walked over to the window.
Holy fuck. There were a ton of people out there. I moved my eyes up until I saw Jeff standing there with Gunner and Matthew. Holy hell, is it normal for me to be thinking about nothing but hav**g s*x with him right now? It must be the whole pregnancy thing….nope, I think this is just me.
“Ari, are you ready?” Jenny asked.
As I moved down the stairs, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I needed to stop and catch my breath. I must have squeezed my father’s arm because he slowed down a bit and looked at me.
“Baby girl, breathe in your nose and out your mouth. Think about nothing but the love you feel for Jeff and that baby growing inside you right now. Never mind all the people; it’s just the three of you.”
Oh my god. I’m going to cry before I even make it outside.
I bit down on my cheek as hard as I could, but all that did was make my eyes water. Motherfucker.
Ellie turned and gave me one last look before she walked outside. The moment she smiled at me, I calmed down. I got this.
When my father and I walked out the door, I looked up. The first thing I saw was Jeff. Our eyes met at the same time, and we both smiled. I didn’t take my eyes off of him the whole way down the aisle. I heard oh’s and ah’s, but I held my gaze on his eyes only.
When my father placed my hand in Jeff’s, he leaned over, so only Jeff and I could hear him.
“You ever hurt her, and I’ll kill you.”
Jeff’s face went white, and I let out a giggle.
We walked up to the preacher, and Jeff looked over at me.
He leaned down and put his lips to my ear.
“Gunner told me to whisper something romantic to you, but honestly, your dad just scared the shit out of me. I’ve got nothing right now.”
I laughed, and I swore I almost peed my pants.
I knew there was nothing more that this man could ever do to make me happier than I was this very moment.
“Want to know where we’re going on our honeymoon?”
“Now, Jeff? You’re going to tell me now?”
I looked at Pastor Rob and smiled. Jeff wouldn’t tell me where we were going until after the wedding, so why he was telling me now had me baffled.
Jeff looked over at Gunner and gave him a shit-eating grin. Then looked back at me.
“We’re going to Paris, baby.”
Oh. My. God. Wait… what?
“You bastard!” Gunner said. Then, He looked at Pastor Rob. “Oh sorry, Pastor.”
Jeff let out a laugh and looked down at Matt. Oh no.
Matt started singing, “I wanna be...”
Gunner bent down really quick and whispered something into Matt’s ear. Matt laughed and nodded his head. Gunner stood up and raised his eyebrows at us.
“Um, are y’all ready now?” Pastor Rob asked.
Jeff and I both looked at each other and smiled. At the same time, we both said, “Yes.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
JEFF
I sat back and drank my beer while I watched Ari move from person to person, making sure to talk to each guest. I gave up an hour ago and decided my place to be was right here with a beer in my hand, enjoying the view of my beautiful bride.
During the toast earlier, Ari had taken two sips from a small glass of red wine. We planned on telling everyone about the pregnancy when we came back from our honeymoon.
I felt a hard slap on my back and rolled my eyes. Damn Gunner. I looked and sat up straighter. It was Mark.
He pulled up a chair next to me and sat down.
He raised his beer toward mine.
“You did it, son.”
Son?
“What did I do?”
“You made my little girl the happiest I’ve ever seen her, and that makes me happy.”
“Well, sir, I’m glad to hear that.”
“Jeff, don’t call me sir. It makes my ass feel old. Call me Mark.”
“Mark, it is. She makes me very happy as well, more than she’ll ever know.”
Mark smiled and glanced to where Ari was talking to Heather. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be a grandfather,” Mark said as he kept his eyes on his daughter.
I finished off my beer and set it down on the table. “Mark, can I talk to you about something?”
“Of course, Jeff. Please always know that I’m here to talk.”
“My father left when Ellie and I were both pretty young. I remember him more than Ellie does, but, I never had an example and of a father figure, and…well, I’m afraid that….” I stopped because I couldn’t even form the next words out of my mouth.
Mark looked over at me and put his hand on my shoulder.
“Jeff, I might give you hell all the time, but do you honestly believe that I would ever allow my daughter to marry a man who I didn’t think was going to be the best husband for her and father for her kids? I see something in you, son. You have a drive to be the best you can be and a passion for the work that you do. I see the way you look at Arianna, and I have no doubt in my mind that you love that girl with every ounce of your being. You’re going to be one hell of a husband and a wonderful father to my grandkids. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
I felt the tears building in my eyes…at least, right up to the point when he threatened my life again.
“You do know you’ve threatened to kill me at least twice today.”
Smiling at me, Mark stood up, finished his beer, and set it on the table.