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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-fucking 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 p
latinum 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-fucking 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 naked?

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 having sex 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.

“And I’ll probably do it at least two more
times before this party is over.”

He walked off laughing and slapped some poor
lawyer friend of his on the back.

I shook my head.
That man scares the shit out of me.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew someone who
knew someone who could get rid of a body with no questions
asked.

Gunner walked up and sat down where Mark had
been sitting. He let out a sigh and leaned his head back.

“Taking her to Paris, you prick.”

I let a small smile play across my face.
“Yeah, I know.”

“Now, when Ellie tells me she’s pregnant, you
know that I’m going to have to outdo Paris.”

I looked over at him and saw him trying not
to smile.

“Dude, really? You’re gonna try to outdo my
honeymoon? That’s fucked up.”

“You took Paris away from me, Jeff. Paris was
mine. I laid claim to it.”

“You’re going to be a big baby about this,
aren’t you? Just because I’m going to Paris first? Dude, it was my
fucking idea in the first place!”

“I wanted Paris, you bastard.”

“Ari speaks French for fuck’s sake.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m sure you broke some sort
of man code.”

“Man code? I broke the man code? You bastard,
it was my idea…you’re the one who broke the man code trying to
steal it from me.”

“What the fuck are you two talking about?”
Josh said from behind me.

“Gunner’s pissed because I’m taking Ari to
Paris before he takes Ellie. He’s being a baby.”

“Well, he did lay claim to it, dude,” Josh
said.

“Thank you!” Gunner shouted out and
high-fived Josh.

Traitor bastard is never staying at my house
again. He could bunk with Garrett and Emma from now on.

“Go to hell, Josh.”

Josh and Gunner both let out a laugh.

“Oh fuck,” Josh said as he stepped behind
me.

He looked like he was hiding from Lynda.

“Dude, are you hiding from your girlfriend?”
I asked.

“Yes! She’s fucking driving me crazy. Sorry,
Gun, I know she’s your cousin, but fuck, she’s already pressuring
me with marriage. We’ve only been dating for five months! If she
keeps this up, I think I’m gonna need a break from her.”

“Dude just tell her she’s putting too much
pressure on you and to back off,” I said.

“I’ve tried. Every time I do, she says I
don’t want to get married because I really want Heather. She’s
driving me mad as hell.”

“Why do you stay with her then?” Gunner
asked.

“Honestly?”

“Yeah, honestly,” Gunner said as he looked at
his cousin walking up.

“I’m lonely, and she’s not too bad in
bed.”

Gunner turned and looked at Josh.

Josh held up his arms. “Dude, you asked, and
I answered.”

“Fucker,” Gunner said.

“Hey, boys, whatcha up to? It looks like a
deep conversation over here,” Lynda said.

She walked up and gave Josh a kiss. He barely
smiled at her.

“We were just talking about Jeff and Ari’s
honeymoon,” Josh said.

Lynda jumped up and down, clapping her hands.
“Where are y’all going? Does she know?”

Gunner let out a sigh. “I’m going to get
another beer.”

“Paris, and yes, she knows,” I said.

“Oh, how romantic. I hope you’re taking
notes, Josh,” Lynda said as she gave him a wink.