“Sister, why don’t you for once keep your habit out of my families business?”
Elizabeth walked up to my father and stood directly in front of him. “The day you dropped Paislie off at St. Patrick’s, you gave up any right to call her your family. She is my family. Our family here at the church, so why don’t you just take a few steps back and leave before I have you thrown out on your . . . on your . . . on your ass!”
I gasped when I heard Elizabeth curse. My father was as stunned as I, but what happened next I was pretty sure neither of us was expecting.
Pushing Elizabeth out of the way, he said, “Get out of my way, you bitch.” Elizabeth spun around and stepped back in front of him and punched him square in the jaw.
Not being able to hold the scream back, the doors opened and Father Tim came rushing out as Janet shut the doors and walked over to me. Father Tim quickly walked up to Elizabeth and pulled her close to him.
“Elizabeth, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head and took a few steps away from him. “I’m fine, but Father forgive me for I have sinned.” They both turned and looked at my father holding his chin.
“She hit me! She called me an ass and then hit me!”
Father Tim took my dad by the arm and pulled him toward the door. I quickly turned to Elizabeth.
“Where in the heck did you learn to punch like that?”
She shrugged and said, “I took a class on self-defense.”
Janet attempted to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.
Letting out a gasp, I took her hand in mine. “It’s swelling up.”
She brushed it off like it was nothing. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it after the wedding.”
Father Tim walked up to us and blew out a breath. “Okay, let’s try this again. Let me head back down and let your worried fiancé know everything is okay. Once the music starts, please open the door and let’s pick up where we left off.”
My heart was still pounding, but everyone else acted like what had just happened wasn’t that big of a deal as my eyes bounced between them all.
A few moments later, the music started, the doors opened and I my eyes were pierced by the bluest of blue. “Malcolm,” I whispered as I let my gaze move across his body. He was dressed in a black suit and a white tie.
“He looks amazing,” I said with a wide smile.
Elizabeth replied, “He certainly does.”
I tried to pull my eyes from him to smile at our guests, but I couldn’t. I was in a trance and I never wanted him to stop looking at me like he was that very moment.
When we finally made it to him
I heard nothing but the sound of his breathing and mine. “Is everything okay?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“Everything is perfect,” I responded.
After Elizabeth placed my hand in Malcolm’s, we turned and made our way to the altar. The next forty minutes was a total blur. The moment Father Tim announced us as Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Wallace, I couldn’t contain my tears. Pressing his lips to mine, I lost myself in Malcolm’s kiss as the entire church erupted in cheers.
When we started down the aisle, I smiled and waved to friends and family, as well as complete strangers who knew Malcolm either from racing or were distant relatives. The thought of meeting all those people at the reception seemed daunting.
Walking out the door of the church, I sucked in a breath when I saw the Rolls Royce Phantom car parked out front. After quickly searching for my father, I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally slipped into the car and drove off.
My head was spinning from the two different emotions swimming in my head. Happiness and shear fear that my father would be waiting outside the church for us.
Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes and calmed my breathing down.
“Are you going to tell me what happened back there at the church so I don’t wonder for the rest of my life if you had second thoughts about marrying me?”
I snapped my head up and looked into Malcolm’s eyes. “I’ve never once had second thoughts. It wasn’t anything like that.”