“Let’s get you married off then,” Brian said. He placed a hand between Eric’s shoulder blades and gave him a shove toward the church. It was the only prodding Eric needed. “You were slated to get married next.”
“I was? Since when?” Eric said.
“You caught Myrna’s garter, remember?”
Eric chuckled. He’d completely forgotten about that. “I still have it,” he said. “I saved it for luck. It’s in the glovebox of the Corvette. I was going to hang it from the rearview mirror when I got it fixed, but I forgot.”
“Maybe Rebekah should wear it today,” Brian suggested. “It could become a Sinners tradition.”
“One lucky garter coming up,” Jace said and trotted back toward Eric’s car.
Inside the church, Eric was shown to a small room behind the altar so he could change from his jeans into his tuxedo pants. He kind of liked that he was stuck wearing his Converse. He still wasn’t sure about wearing Hanes under Armani, but he had little choice. Unless he went bare-chested under his tux. He scratched that idea as soon as it occurred to him.
He hadn’t seen any sign of Rebekah as he’d walked through the welcoming church, but he had noticed that the bouquets of artificial flowers on the ends of the pews were bright pink and didn’t match the golden yellow roses on the big candelabras near the altar. Considering that the lady Sinners had had less than two hours to pull it together, they’d done an amazing job of giving Rebekah a real wedding. He figured Jess owed him one after he’d gone to jail for her proposal to Sed, but he’d have to think of something nice to repay Myrna and Aggie for helping out.
The door opened, and Rebekah’s father poked his head into the room. He was dressed in full ceremonial garb, which made Eric even more nervous, but the pudgy balding man smiled a welcome and walked in, closing the door behind him. He sat beside Eric on the bench and clasped his hands between his knees.
“I figured I’d have more time to prepare my talk,” Father Blake said.
Eric glanced at him, his stomach churning with nerves. He wanted this man’s respect, but wasn’t sure how to earn it.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Eric said.
“But I do. That’s my little girl you’re marrying.”
Eric steeled himself for the barrage of criticism that was sure to follow.
“For most fathers, letting go of a daughter so she can offer her love to a man is probably one of the hardest things he’ll ever do, but after watching my little girl get so sick and lose all her hair and almost die, this is easy.”
“If she gets sick again, I’ll be there for her,” Eric promised.
Father Blake smiled warmly. “I know that, son.”
Son… All the air evacuated the little overwarm room.
Father Blake patted Eric’s back and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “A lot of people will be there for her if she gets sick again. What I ask of you is that you’re there for her when the sink gets clogged or she burns the eggs or her car won’t start.”
Eric chuckled. “She’d be better at getting the car started than I would, but I’ve got the eggs covered.”
“That’s not what I mean. You don’t need to be there to fix everything for her. Just be there for her. And love her. Even when she doesn’t seem to need a reminder of how you feel, she does. Don’t forget to tell her. Show her. Not only when her world comes crashing down, but when it really matters most. Every day.”
“That will be absolutely no problem at all,” Eric said without pausing between words.
“Good. If you forget, I’ll be sure to remind you none too gently.”
“I won’t forget. Your daughter—Rebekah—she’s my everything. My everything.”
Smiling, Father Blake searched Eric’s eyes and then after a long moment, he cleared his throat. “Uh, we don’t need to have a sex talk, do we?”
Eric’s face went numb as the blood drained from his head. “Uh, no, sir.” He shook his head emphatically.
“Good. Because that would be awkward.” Father Blake laughed.
Awkward? Uh, yeah. Just a little.
“I also wanted to ask if you were overly attached to the wedding bands you bought for the ceremony.”
“Wedding bands?” Eric shot to his feet. “Crap! We forgot to get wedding bands.”
“Good.” Father Blake said. He fumbled in a pocket in his robe.
“Good?” Would they have to call off the wedding? Was that what Rebekah’s father thought was good about forgetting something so important? Had he changed his mind? Did he not really want to marry them? Rebekah would be crushed. So crushed she’d probably call the whole thing off.
“Sit down, Eric.”
Eric sat. Partially because his knees were weak, partially because he was slightly terrified to do anything that would make this man dislike him. Father Blake pulled his hand out of his pocket and opened it to show Eric two silver rings resting on his palm.
“These have been in my family for five generations. It would mean a lot to me if you would use them for the ceremony today.”
Eric was so stunned—so touched—that he couldn’t find any words. His family didn’t have heirlooms. Hell, he didn’t have a family, so the idea that Rebekah’s father would offer something so precious to him completely threw Eric for a loop.
“I…” He couldn’t talk through the sudden tightness in his chest.
“If you don’t want them, I understand. They are a bit tarnished, even though I tried to clean them up this afternoon. A rich guy like you would probably rather have platinum.”