Speaking of my dad, I jerked my hand away from my stomach when he swung the door open before I reached for the knob. “Hey, Daddy.”
He gripped my wrist and twirled me around as he scanned me from head to toe. “You’re such a beautiful bride.”
“Thanks.” I did an extra spin before smoothing out the skirt of my dress. “I’m not sure how the designer managed to finish the gown in such a short amount of time, but she did an amazing job.”
As he bent his arm so I could slide mine in the crook of his elbow, he shook his head. “You’ve got it backward. You make the dress more beautiful, not the other way around.”
“Aw, Daddy. You can’t say things like that right now,” I wailed, sniffling back tears. “You’re going to make me cry.”
He patted my hand. “I guess I’d better stop then. It’s my job to kick someone’s ass whenever you cry, and your mom will join in on the tears if I fuck up your wedding. So you better buck up before you get me into trouble, kiddo.”
Gah! He was being too sweet for me to handle right now. I was only a little more than a month into my pregnancy, but I was already so darn hormonal. It didn’t take much to set me off lately. Rhett had found me bawling over a silly commercial with kittens the other day, for goodness' sake.
I needed the mood to lighten up big time before my dad realized that the wedding wasn’t the only reason I felt so emotional. If he figured out that I was pregnant, then odds were good that he’d decide that it was Rhett’s sexy butt that needed kicking. Fluttering my eyelashes, I murmured, “And before I mess up my makeup. I don’t want to test how waterproof this mascara really is. Can you imagine everyone’s reaction if I walked down the aisle with big black streaks going down my cheeks?”
“I don’t know why you bother with that stuff when you’re already just as gorgeous as your mom.” I was starting to worry he’d make me cry again when he just chuckled, leading me out of the room and down the hallway. “But we both know that your brothers would never let you live it down if that happened.”
Rolling my eyes, I added, “And they’d have the photos to prove it.”
“Then you better rein those tears in, kiddo. Or else, you’ll hear about mascara-gate for the rest of your life.” His dark green eyes were filled with humor as he winked at me, making me laugh.
My joke had done the trick, and the tension eased from my body as we made our way to the chapel. When we came to a stop behind my bridesmaids, the music switched to the song Rhett and I had picked out for me to walk down the aisle to. After I’d narrowed it down to “Make You Feel My Love” and “At Last,” he had wanted to go with the Etta James song. He felt as though the lyrics were perfect for us because he’d found a dream that ended his lonely days when he spotted me with the rest of the interns during the tour on my first day.
Any hope I’d had for keeping my tears at bay disappeared as the opening notes of the song began. My dad patted my hand again, and the door to the chapel swung open. I couldn’t see anything other than the back pew as my cousins started to march down the aisle, but I took comfort in knowing that I’d soon see Rhett waiting for me.
“It seems like just yesterday when we were here for your baptism.”
My dad’s words had me tearing up even more, but then my sister had me laughing again when she glanced over her shoulder and grinned at us. “Uh-oh, is he about to balk at giving you away to your groom?”
He grumbled something under his breath about still being the most important man in my life, making me laugh even harder. I’d barely gotten myself back under control when it was our turn to walk into the chapel. My huge smile somehow grew even bigger when Rhett started to stalk up the aisle as soon as he saw me. My dad shook his head, laughter in his tone as he said, “Your groom seems impatient to get to you.”
“Damn straight,” Rhett muttered, reaching for my free arm when he got near.
I walked the rest of the way down the aisle guided by two men who loved me unconditionally. And when the priest asked who was giving me away, my dad’s voice rang through the church as he answered, “Her mother and I do...but I think he just proved that he would’ve taken her even if we didn’t.”