Brian presented Sed with a piece of paper. “Jessica said you are to follow this schedule and not deviate from it at all.”
Sed scanned the contents, scowling at things like trim nails and brush teeth. What? Was he five? He glanced at his fingernails and decided they could use a trim, but still… He could plan things on his own. In fact, he’d planned their entire wedding dinner on his own. When he’d realized that a morning wedding and an afternoon reception meant they’d have the evening free, he’d taken it upon himself to arrange something special so he could celebrate his new wife in style. Having sex in another unusual location had only been part of his motivation for devising his plan. He’d rock her world tonight, he had no doubt. But he knew how important it was for her day to go without a hitch, so he’d follow her stupid list without argument.
Eric handed him a pink box that looked like something a three-year-old would store her beloved plastic princess tiara in.
“What’s this?” Sed asked.
“This is where you’ll keep your balls once you’re married,” Eric said. “Jess probably doesn’t want to continue keeping them for you.”
Eric ducked in time to avoid Sed’s retaliating slap.
“It only hurts for a minute,” Brian said, “and then you’ll wonder why you ever insisted on holding on to them in the first place.”
This bit of teasing was nothing compared to the massive ball and chain they’d manacled to his leg during his bachelor party. They hadn’t removed it until late the next day. Luckily, Jess thought it was hilarious when he came to bed that night and had to sleep in his jeans with his leg dangling outside the covers. It had been Jace who’d finally come to his rescue. Probably because the manacle had originated in Aggie’s dungeon.
“I need mine for baby making,” Sed said and handed the box back to Eric. “And keeping my woman in line.”
Even the strippers in the dining room laughed at that claim.
Chapter Two
Jessica looked skyward and frowned at the heavy black clouds rolling in. Not a good omen, she decided. Especially since her wedding was scheduled to start in two hours and was supposed to take place on the beach.
“It can’t rain,” she said to Myrna, who was driving her from her nail appointment to her hair appointment. “It just can’t.”
Myrna scrunched her neck so she could see the sky better out the windshield of her minivan, a vehicle Jessica couldn’t believe the woman owned, much less drove. But the soft coo from the back seat—where four-month-old Malcolm was secured in his car seat—was the only excuse Myrna needed. Jessica supposed any mother would give up driving her ’57 Thunderbird convertible to keep her baby safe. And the van came in handy for lugging Jessica’s bridesmaids from one appointment to the next. It even had room for the only male tagging along for the day.
“Can’t is a strong word,” Myrna said.
“We’ve been planning this for months.”
“And what was the backup plan for rain?” Aggie asked from the seat directly behind Jessica.
“There is no backup plan for rain.”
“It won’t rain,” Reagan called from the very back seat of the van, where she was sitting with Eric’s wife, Rebekah, and Sed’s youngest sister, Elise. “I won’t let it.”
Jessica hoped Reagan’s confidence had the desired effect. She wanted this wedding to be over with. The planning of it had been driving her nuts. She needed everything to be perfect and for everyone to have a memorable and enjoyable time, but mostly she just wanted to be Sed’s wife. God, she couldn’t wait to see him in his tux. He’d worn one to the Grammy’s during the two years they’d been separated and when she’d seen him in it on television, she’d nearly swallowed her tongue. Not that she’d ever admit to watching the awards in hopes of catching a glimpse of him, because at that time she’d hated his fucking guts. At least that was what she’d been trying to convince herself. Good thing she’d finally figured out that beneath the arrogance and domineering behavior beat the heart of a good man. A man she loved more than anything. A man who made her toes curl and her heart thud.
Maybe he could stop the rain.
“I can call the crew and ask them to set up a beer tent,” Rebekah offered.
Uh, no. Jessica refused to get married in a beer tent. She’d rather be drowned by rain.
“Thanks for the offer, sweetie,” she called, “but it can’t rain. It just can’t.”
“You should have eloped,” Sed’s sister, Kylie, said from her seat between Aggie and Malcolm’s car seat.
“I tried to tell Sed that,” Elise said. “But would he listen? Of course not. This is bullheaded Sed we’re talking about here. He doesn’t listen to anything anyone tells him.”
Sed would have eloped if Jessica had wanted to, but silly her, she’d thought having a big wedding with seven bridesmaids, seven groomsmen, and who even knew how many ushers would be fun. So far, not so fun. And if it rained on their big day… Jessica wasn’t going to let herself think about that.
Feeling as if she were forgetting some important detail, she ran a mental checklist and toyed with the engagement ring on her finger, rubbing the band into her flesh. The inexpensive piece of jewelry meant the world to her; it was by far her most cherished possession. And not because it meant she belonged to Sed, but because he’d carried it around with him for two years while they’d been separated. He might have behaved like a horny imbecile for the entirety of their time apart, but he’d never stopped thinking about her, just as she’d never stopped thinking of him.
“Don’t forget to put that on a different finger for the ceremony,” Myrna said as they sat waiting for a red light to change to green.
She glanced up. “What?”
“You’re getting a new ring today,” she said. “You’re supposed to wear the wedding band close to your heart.”
“This is the one that’s closest to my heart,” she said, but she slipped the ring off and put it on her right hand. It felt weird there, but she didn’t want to mess up at the ceremony. Everything needed to be perfect because as wonderful as it was to be engaged to Sed, being his wife would bring her even more joy.
“I feel like I’ve forgotten something,” Jessica said, going through her mental checklist one more time.
“You haven’t forgotten anything,” Myrna assured her and smiled into her rearview mirror as she checked on her son who was giggling at Kylie’s game of peek-a-boo.
“Beth!” Jessica shouted as her subconscious churned out the missing piece of her morning. Her best friend was a rather important part of the ceremony.
“Did I forget to tell you she called?” Myrna asked sheepishly.
Jessica’s breath caught. “Is she okay? She’s coming, isn’t she?”
“Everything is fine. She overslept and is running late. She’s going to meet us at the salon after she picks up the dresses.”
Even though the bridal shop was on the opposite side of town near Beth’s apartment,
Jessica probably should have picked up the dresses herself. If Beth didn’t show with them in time, they might as well call off the whole wedding.
“Breathe, Jess,” Myrna said and reached over to pat her shoulder.
Jessica sucked a breath into her lungs and attempted to put her head between her knees but was halted by the seatbelt cutting into her shoulder.
“Ow.” She laughed at her own stupidity and rubbed at her sore collarbone.
Everything will be fine, she told herself, but herself wasn’t buying it.
At the beauty salon, Jessica’s hair was yanked, teased, curled, braided, coiled, pinned, and tucked until her wedding veil and long strawberry-blond hair were an entwined work of art.
“Wow, Jess,” Myrna said, her own hair in the small and mighty fist of the son she had resting against one shoulder. “You look stunning.”
She smiled. “So do you,” she said just as Malcolm grasped the pearl adorning one of the bobby pins in his mother’s auburn hair and tugged it free. This sent half of Myrna’s carefully styled up-do cascading down one shoulder.
“Mal,” Myrna said with exasperation, “those aren’t to play with.”
The adorable, black-haired baby, who looked so much like his gorgeous guitarist father his mother didn’t stand a chance, laughed with an orneriness rivaling Trey’s. The tyke was immediately forgiven.
“Will someone hold him while I get the damage repaired?” Myrna asked, holding Malcolm around the middle and out of reach of another pearl he was staring at intently.
Rebekah claimed the honor. She touched Malcolm’s tiny fingers and traced the lines of his face. She was obviously completely enamored. And who could blame her? Jessica would have loved to have held Malcolm, but if Myrna’s tiny pin pearls weren’t safe from his grasp, Jessica’s veil would never survive the interaction.
As soon as the make-up artist was finished with Aggie, she went to work on Jessica’s face. Though the woman had been unable to talk Aggie out of wearing her typical red lipstick, she’d toned down her usual heavy eyeliner for a more understated look. Jessica wouldn’t have minded Aggie showing up looking the way she always did, though she was glad she wasn’t planning on wearing her corset and thigh-high boots. Jessica’s grandparents would likely have keeled over on the spot if she had.