The wedding party table was unreal. They had placed bigger birch trees in the middle and surrounded the base with white roses and stargazers. I could smell the flowers. I looked up and saw clear ornaments hanging from the trees. They were catching all the light from the candles and chandeliers.
“I can’t believe how incredibly beautiful this all looks, y’all. I’m beyond words right now,” I said as I started to feel the tears well up in my eyes.
“Don’t cry, we’ll have to touch up your makeup even more,” Amanda said as she took my hand and led me over to the dance floor.
Gunner’s dad was talking to the DJ as he handed him a list. I’d left all that up to Jeff. I didn’t care what we had as far as music went. My dad had wanted a band, and Jeff had wanted a DJ. I saw that Jeff won that fight.
Then, I saw the table with the cakes. I smiled when I saw Jeff’s cake. It was a chocolate cake with a Ford truck on it. As I got closer, I really started laughing. I looked at Ellie, who was frowning.
“Are you kidding me? You let him put that on his cake?” Ellie said as she placed her hands on her hips.
Amanda and Heather busted out laughing.
“I did, Ellie, it’s his cake. He wanted a truck on it with the words ‘Truck Yeah. ’ Who am I to say no?” I said while trying to hold back my laughter.
Ellie turned to face at me. “You’re all crazy. I hope you know that. ”
I gave her a wink and walked over to the bride’s cake. It was breath-taking. It was a four- tiered white cake with silver accents along the edge and a few crystal snowflakes carefully placed around it. I loved it.
“Ari, are you happy with everything?” Jen asked as she put her arm around me.
“Oh my gosh, Jen, I’m beyond happy. You’ve really outdone yourself this time. I mean, this is like a fairy-tale wedding. ”
“Good,” Jen said, smiling.
I turned around to see my dad leaning up against the wall. I smiled at how handsome he looked and how happy he seemed to be.
“Oh, Daddy. ” I ran into his arms and held him tight. “You’ve made all my dreams come true with this wedding. It must have cost you a small fortune!”
“You, my baby girl, are worth every single dime. After all, you gave me a pretty good advanced notice when you announced your marriage to your mother and me at age ten. ”
I let out a giggle. “Mom brought that up to me a little bit ago. ”
“He’s a good man, Ari, and he loves you very much. ”
Oh shit. I was going to cry. I was so going to cry.
“Daddy…. ”
As my voice cracked, he held out his arms. I walked into his arms, and he held me so tight.
“Always know this, Arianna. No man will ever love you like I love you. He will never worry about you like I’ll worry about you. He will never be able to hurt anyone who hurts you like I will. ”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Thank you, Daddy. Thank you so much for everything. I know you like Jeff, Daddy. So why do you give him such a hard time?”
“The same reason why he’ll do it to some poor sap when he wants to marry your daughter. ”
“Fair enough, but can I ask you something?”
“Anything. ”
“You’ve never had Jeff followed, have you?”
Daddy gave me his Cheshire Cat smile, winked at me, and then turned, walking away.
Oh shit.
“Ari, we really need to get you back up-stairs, so you can get ready. ” Jenny said.