“Yes, but look at how talking about him makes Hailey get all flustered,” I teased.
Hailey balled her hands into fists. “I am not flustered! And Jack does not make me hot and bothered or ready to burst into flames every time he looks at me!”
As Hailey was talking, the exact man we were discussing walked into the barn behind her. I motioned with my hand for her to stop talking, but she was on a roll.
“And just because I haven’t had sex in months, and Jack looks like a man who can make a woman scream in pure pleasure…”
“Oh, dear,” Amy whispered, and I silently prayed for a bolt of lightning to strike and stop Hailey from speaking.
Noah cleared his throat. “Um, Hail?”
“It does not mean I want him to do that to me. Would I like it? Sure! Who wouldn’t want a hot man to walk up and pull you into his arms and kiss the living shit out of you? I mean…hello! Sign me the fuck up for that shit!”
“Hailey!” we all shouted.
Noah scrubbed his hand over his face and groaned. “Stop talking, for the love of God!”
Amy brought her hands to her mouth in an attempt to hide either horror or laughter. I wasn’t sure which. I was pretty sure my mouth was down to the floor of the barn.
Hailey suddenly turned white as a ghost, realization hitting her like a Mack truck. “He’s standing behind me, isn’t he?”
We all nodded.
She closed her eyes and whispered, “Shit.”
The next thing we knew, Jack walked up to Hailey, turned her around, dipped her, and kissed the living shit out of her.
“Why is Jack kissing my sister?” Landon asked, coming up next to me.
Emmit glared down at Jack and Hailey as he got off the forklift. “What in the hell is going on?”
“It’s too hard to explain, Dad,” Landon stated.
“He’s…he’s…” Emmit stuttered, pointing at the still-kissing couple. Then he stared over at Landon.
Landon placed his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Let it go, Dad. Trust me.”
Jack finally pulled Hailey up and stepped away. Amy had to reach out to stop Hailey from swaying and falling over.
“Wow, that was some kiss!” Amy said as she tried not to giggle, and failed.
“So, Jack…Landon and I are getting married in two days, and you are totally welcome to come,” I said with a smile.
“I think Hailey needs a plus-one still,” Noah added with a cheeky grin.
Jack cleared his throat and those dark meadow-green eyes of his landed back on Hailey. “I would be honored to be Hailey’s plus-one.”
Landon clapped his hands. “Then that’s all settled. Since the decorating is done, I would like to take my wife home.”
Jack looked from me to Landon. “Wait. I thought you were getting married in two days?”
I laughed. “We eloped five months ago. This is just the fake wedding we planned when we really weren’t engaged, but then we got married and made it a real wedding.”
Jack’s eyes widened.
“Don’t worry, I’ll explain it all to you tonight when you take me out to dinner,” Hailey said, wrapping her arm around Jack’s and leading him out of the barn—and away from Emmit, who was still glaring at them.
“Why can’t any of our kids do things the normal way?” my father asked as he came and joined the group.
Emmit sighed before he responded, “Because they’re our kids.”
Daddy chuckled. “Touché.”
My mother clutched my hands in hers and gave me the brightest smile I had ever seen. “Emmerson, why in the world are your hands shaking? You’re already married to the man!”
I chuckled slightly as I rapidly blinked my eyes and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
Hailey walked up and put both hands on my exposed shoulders. “You look so beautiful, Emme. Landon is going to shit his pants when he sees you.”
Addie sighed from behind me, where she was adjusting my train. “Hailey Lewis. Just once, do you think you could say one sentence without swearing?”
With a roll of her eyes, Hailey replied, “Hell no, Mom.”
I laughed and focused back on myself in the mirror. My blonde hair was pulled back into some sort of twisted ponytail that Hailey had been working on perfecting for weeks. Loose curls hung down to my exposed shoulders, with some framing my face.
My white and silver mermaid dress hugged my curves in all the right ways and led to a stunning array of tulle ruffles that flowed out into a train. I wore a simple silver necklace with a teardrop pearl and matching earrings that were a gift from Aunt Autumn and Uncle Jack.
“Sit down and I’ll put your shoes on,” my mother said, motioning for me to sit on the bed.
Carefully taking a seat, I held out my foot and she slipped the silver shoes on and buckled the faux diamond buckle. She repeated the process with my other foot as I tried to control my pounding heart.