“Boys, that’s enough. Billy, you’re fixin’ to be a father, so start acting like it,” my father said as he turned and looked at Billy.
I peeked around my father’s back and gave Billy the middle finger. I mouthed, Candy-ass.
His mouth dropped open, and he quickly said, “Dad! He’s giving me the finger.”
Our father walked away and said, “It’s his wedding, son. If he gave you the finger, I’m sure you deserved it. Oh, Garrett, don’t forget about my toast.”
I smiled and felt triumphant…for a whole two seconds.
“Garrett, it’s time,” Pastor Spencer gently said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
I swallowed hard. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
Billy threw his head back and laughed as he walked into the sanctuary.
Pastor Spencer giggled. “Son, take a deep breath, and let’s make our way.”
As we walked down the aisle at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, I took everything in. I inhaled a deep breath and smelled the flowers as I took in the color of them. Light blue bows were tied on to the end of every pew. It all said Emma. I smiled as I pictured her here last night, putting on the bows and directing exactly where she’d wanted every flower to go. When I glanced up, I saw all the white daisies, and my mind drifted back to that warm day on the quilt under our tree.
I was snapped out of my daydream when Pastor Spencer said, “Garrett, take your spot.”
Billy was standing there, grinning from ear to ear. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. I shook my head as I thought about him becoming a father and making me an uncle. Even though we weren’t blood brothers, he would always be a brother to me. I looked at Raymond standing next to Billy, and when he winked at me, I gave him a nod back. The only person missing was Wayne. He had joined the Marines right after we graduated from college, and Billy had said the only reason he had joined was to get away from Anna and her constant hounding about getting married. Now, Wayne was engaged to a girl from South Carolina, and he’d talked about bringing her home to Texas soon.
The music began playing, and all three of us stood up straight.
Billy hit me on the arm and said, “Look at how cute she is!”
Lily, our two-year-old little sister, began walking down the aisle. Rather, she was running while she threw rose petals in the air and laughed. Peggy was next, and she looked beautiful. I glanced over to look at Raymond, and he was beaming with pride.
“Holy shit,” Billy whispered.
I turned and saw Margie walking down the aisle. She was glowing, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen her so happy.
Then, the music changed, and my heart slammed in my chest. Don’t get sick. Don’t get sick. I closed my eyes, and when I slowly opened them, I saw the most beautiful girl standing at the end of the aisle.
“Garrett, breathe. You’ve got to breathe,” Billy whispered as he nudged my arm.
“I’ve…never…so…breathtaking,” I barely said.
I watched as Emma gracefully walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. Nothing could have ever prepared me for this moment. My heart was so overfilled with love…and lust. I could hardly think straight. Everything was in a fog, and I couldn’t even hear what the pastor was saying.
I did, however, hear when Charles leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “You ever hurt my daughter…I’ll kill you, chop you up into a million pieces, and toss you in the trash.”
I pulled back and swallowed hard. “I, um…”
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, but he just smiled and placed Emma’s hand in mine. When I looked down into her beautiful eyes, I quickly forgot all about her father’s threat.
“Em, you look stunning. You take my breath away,” I said. I began to rub my thumbs across her hand in a rather quick and nervous fashion.
She smiled. “You look so handsome, Garrett.”
When she bit on her lower lip, I wanted to lift her veil and take her lips against mine.
I leaned down and whispered next to her ear, “The things I’m going to do to you tonight are going to make your body shake with desire.”
She sucked in a breath of air and dropped her mouth open as she pulled back and looked at me. She slowly smiled. “Two can play at that game, Mr. Mathews. I have my own plans for you.”
The rest of the ceremony was a blur. I couldn’t stop thinking about what plans Emma had. My whole body was practically shaking with anticipation at the idea of being with her on our wedding night. Since I had been in the hospital during our first wedding, our wedding night had consisted of me sleeping most of the time from the pain pills. Now, I had every intention of making it up to her tonight.
“Are you about ready to leave?” I whispered into Emma’s ear.
She looked up at me, and her eyes spoke for her loud and clear.
“You have no idea how ready I am to leave,” she whispered back.
I still hadn’t told her where we were going. For the last three years, I’d been saving every spare penny I could to take her on this honeymoon. Her parents had wanted to pay for the honeymoon, but I’d said no. The fact that they had paid for our entire wedding was more than enough.
I placed my hand on the small of her back and looked at my watch. Our plane would be leaving tomorrow, but I really wanted to get Emma out of here. I looked around for Margie. When her eyes caught mine, I gave her a look, and she nodded her head. She had made sure that Emma was packed up with everything she would need for our honeymoon. One week in Venice would be just what the doctor had ordered. I needed to take a break from the ranch, and Emma had been dreaming of going to Italy. For me to be able to make her dream come true felt amazing.
Emma was talking to some people.
I politely interrupted and said, “I hate to pull the bride away, but we have a flight waiting for us in Austin, and we really need to leave soon.”
The oohs and aahs coming from everyone when I’d mentioned the word bride caused me to roll my eyes. As I led Emma toward the front door, our guests kept stopping us.
“Where are you going on your honeymoon?” someone asked from behind me.
Emma giggled. “He won’t tell me where we are going. It’s a surprise.”
“It’s probably to a cheap motel in Austin, if I know Garrett!” someone yelled out.
If I weren’t in such a hurry, I would have turned around and given whoever had said that a knuckle sandwich.
“Garrett, you’re practically pulling my arm out,” Emma said.