by Maddie Wade
I can’t wait to be your wife.
Jace smiled and sent a text back.
I can’t wait to fuck my wife.
;) Perv.
He grinned at her reply before sliding the phone away and walking out onto the deck. Jack, Will, Dane, and Daniel were all drinking coffee, and Dane looked almost as hungover as he felt. “What is this, a boy band reunion?”
“Ha fucking ha, choir boy.” Jack glared at him from behind sunglasses. They were all standing, tanned and wearing either aviators or wraparound sunglasses, and they looked like a boy band, albeit a slightly older one.
“Choir boy? What the fuck?” Daniel asked with a look of interest on his face.
Will laughed. “Didn’t you know? Our Jace here was in the county choir as a boy.”
“Fuck off, he was not,” Dane said.
Jack nodded, enjoying Jace’s discomfort. “Voice of an angel.”
“What happened?” Daniel asked with a smirk.
“His balls dropped, that’s what happened.”
Jace shook his head while they all laughed. “Yeah, laugh it up, pencil dicks.”
Will pointed at Jack. “Put that in the best man speech.”
“Yeah good one.” Jack grabbed some paper from the table and scribbled some notes.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Dane asked as he bit into a piece of watermelon.
“Well the wedding is at three, so breakfast and then you boys can chill for a bit. I have to pick up the kids and deliver them to the oldies so the girls can commence operation bridal perfection, and then it’s showtime,” Daniel replied.
“I can’t believe it’s actually here after all these months,” Jace said.
“Yeah, your women have been driving me nuts with emails about wedding shit. I kid you not, I’ve spent more time answering emails about my inside leg measurement than anything else these last few months.” Jack shook his head in mock annoyance.
“I know. Luce has been a little over the top, wanting everything perfect, but let her have this.”
“I know, and I have. But seriously, if you have a kid together, don’t pick me as godfather.”
“As if we’d pick you to care for our child. Poor kid would be executing drills outside in the freezing rain by the time he or she was five.”
“Damn straight.”
Daniel stood abruptly. “Right, boys, we’re on the clock so let’s meet the others for food and then we get our primp on. We have to be out by ten o’clock, so we don’t run into the girls on their way to the spa.”
“Are you serious?” Will asked.
“As a fucking heart attack. If I upset Lucy, Megan will have my balls, and I don’t mean in a good way.”
Dane punched his best friend in the arm. “Dude, that’s my fucking sister you’re talking about.”
Daniel smirked, not sorry in the slightest. “Yeah, well, the point still stands. We need to go.”
They made their way out of the suite, and Jace saw his suit hanging up in the spare bedroom. He wondered if Lucy had gotten his gift yet.
* * *
Lucy heard the knock as she was getting out of the shower. She was going to get her nails and hair done then her make-up, hopefully leaving little time for her to freak out. Not about marrying Jace, just about something going wrong.
“Luce,” Megan called before poking her head around the door.
“Yes,” she answered with a warm smile for her beautiful baby sister, who had a parcel in one hand and Zoey on her hip.
“You have a parcel.”
“Oh, I wonder what it is?” She made a show of grabby hands, making Meg laugh.
Megan pushed it towards her. “Only one way to find out.”
Lucy put the parcel down on the bed and sat down.
“Do you want some privacy?”
She looked up at Meg. “No, come on, sit down with me.”
Lizzie poked her head in the door. “Private party?”
“No, come in. Luce just got a parcel.”
Lizzie moved into the room and took Zoey, kissing the child. “Oh, presents, I love presents.”
Lucy smiled at her sisters and felt the knot of emotion in her throat. She’d never believed she would have both her sisters by her side on her wedding day, and her niece too.
“Can you believe we’re all together like this?” she asked, taking her sisters’ hands in hers.
“No, it’s hard to believe thinking about everything that’s happened in the past few years. both good and bad,” Meg said looking at Lizzie.
Lizzie smiled. “The good far outweighs the bad. Just look at this little one here. We never thought this day would come, and while I hate what’s happened, I wouldn’t change anything as it meant we ended up here.”
“I know. Everything we’ve been through had to happen for us to end up together,” Lucy said. “I know it took me longer to come to terms with everything, but I want you to know, Meg, that I never stopped loving you and I never gave up hope. I was a bitch in the beginning, I know. That’s on me, and I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel unwanted. The last thing you are is unwanted in this family. You were the missing piece all these years, and now we’re whole and building the future in Zoey.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.” Meg sniffed. “Damn hormones still make me weepy.”
“Finally, the Bennet sisters are together. It feels surreal but also right. When I’m with you two, I feel like I can take on the world,” Lizzie said softly.
“Me too. Do you think that was why Rhea took me? Because she knew that together we could do,” Meg waved her hand around, “this shield thing?”
“Maybe, but she didn’t win. When we get home, we’ll need to see exactly what we’re capable of,” Lucy said.
“For now, let’s enjoy the day,” Lizzie said.
Megan nodded at the parcel. “Open it.”
Lucy pulled the wrapping off, and her heart skipped as she saw the designer’s name on the box.
“Holy cow is that...” Lizzie trailed off as Lucy nodded and lifted the lid to reveal the most beautiful shoes she had ever seen, three-inch stiletto pumps with a pointy toe, covered in tiny exquisite crystals.
“Oh, wow!” breathed Meg.
Lucy took the shoe out of the box and held it up to the light, watching as the tiny crystals glinted in the streaming sunlight.
“That man really loves you,” Megan said softly.
“He really does, and I love him. So much it terrifies me sometimes.”
“That’s how you know it’s real. I never had that with Marco. He gave me a beautiful son, and I don’t regret that, but we never had what either of you two have,” she said, encompassing both her sisters in a hug around Zoey. “Cherish it, because it’s something most people never have.”
“I will, Liz,” Lucy said.
Lizzie nodded and handed a fussing Zoey back to Megan. “Now let’s go to the spa and get ready for you to walk down the aisle, or should I say sand.”
Three hours later Lucy stood in the bedroom beside Lauren, both in their bridal gowns. Her dress had a white lace bodice with a scoop neckline, and a layered chiffon skirt split up the middle. She’d decided against a veil, and her hair was in a loose intricate knot with a pearl and crystal comb at the back. She wore flat thong sandals with crystals on the T-bar and was carrying a bouquet of white orchids with pale peach roses and areca palm leaves.
Lauren wore an ivory gown with spaghetti straps, a deep plunging neckline, and a full chiffon skirt with a handkerchief bottom. Her hair was swept back into soft curls that fell down the bare expanse of her back, and tiny peach roses and gypsophila adorned her hair. On her feet she had a pair of cream lace wedges with ties wound around her ankles, and she was carrying cream roses with coral hibiscus flowers, pan leaves, and a few tiny forget-me-nots in honour of Claire. Her jewellery was a single diamond chain around her neck, a wedding present from Dane.
“You both look so beautiful,” Skye said.
“So do you all,” Lucy said as she turned to the women who would stand up for her. “Look at you, the most stunning bridesmaids in history.”
Skye, Lizzie, Megan, Ava, Celeste, Aubrey, and Roz were their joint bridesmaids. While they all wore knee-length pale peach chiffon dresses, they had differing necklines. The flower girls—Paige, Katarina, Natalia, and Leah—looked gorgeous in ivory dresses with lace around the shoulders and neck and tiny pleats falling to their calves.
A knock broke through her thoughts and her father stepped inside, looking dashing in a navy suit with a white orchid in his lapel. The white shirt with no tie fit perfectly for a beach wedding. He was followed by Drew who looked just as handsome in the same outfit. Even as hopelessly in love with Jace as she was, she could acknowledge Drew’s handsomeness. He was a good man with a big heart, and he’d make someone very happy one day. Lucy had a feeling Drew’s time was coming and he’d get his happy ending.
“Princess,” her father said as he walked to her and took her hand, then turning to take one of Lauren’s too. “You both look stunning.” Lucy heard the wobble in his voice and swallowed, trying her best to hold it together.
“We’ll give you a few minutes. But no making her cry, Dad,” Lizzie warned as she and the others left the four of them alone.
“I hope you know how happy it makes me to welcome you into our family, Lauren. My son was lost until he found you. Now he’s happier than I ever could’ve hoped for.”
“Thank you, Colin. I love him very much.”
“I know you do, sweetheart.” He turned to Lucy. “My baby girl, for so many years you carried a burden I never would’ve wished on anyone. I am so proud of the woman you are and the battles you’ve overcome to get to this place. I know your mother would be as proud as I am today.”
“Thank you, Daddy, that means a lot,” she said, sniffing.
Her father had always been her rock, the man she wanted her life partner to measure up to, and she knew she had that in Jace.
“She would’ve wanted you to have this.” He produced a set of pearl and diamond earrings from his pocket. “I gave them to her the day we got married. She’d want you to have them.”
Lucy was losing the battle now and swiped a stray tear from her eye. Her father held her bouquet while she clipped in the earrings. “Now, how about we get you two down to the beach before those boys send the cavalry after you?”
Lucy and Lauren nodded and as she took her father’s arm and Lauren took Drew’s. She knew she’d remember this moment until she died as the day she finally forgave herself for the past.
Chapter 15
The car journey was short, less than a mile to where they’d marry the men they loved. Drew helped Lauren from the car, and she saw her bridesmaids and flower girls waiting. Aaron and Leah were being looked after by Meg and Ava. Mateo was the ring bearer for Lucy and Jace, and Noah was doing the honours for her and Dane. Riley was an usher with his father. The boys looked like mini versions of their handsome fathers in their suits.
Looking around, she could see all the details Lucy had put into the day and knew it was those details she would cherish as much as the day itself. A sign on the carpeted aisle read: ‘Please pick a side, you are loved by the groom and the bride.’ A wicker basket with free flip flops for everyone at the entrance of the beach made her smile.
“Ready?” Drew asked as the acoustic version of ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran started playing. It had taken the four of them nearly three hours to agree on that song, and she’d honestly thought Dane was going to strangle Lucy by the end of it. At least the recessional song had been an easy one to pick.
She took Drew’s arm and smiled. “Ready.” She was going to walk down first, then the bridesmaids, and then Lucy and Colin.
As she stepped onto the pale coral carpet and saw all her friends and family waiting to watch her get married, she felt a pang in her heart that her mother and her best friend couldn’t be there to see her happy.
Drew squeezed her arm gently. “They’re with you, Lauren. Your mum and Claire are with you every day.”
“When did you get so wise?” she asked as she laid her hand on his cheek.
“When I met my big sister.”
Then as the music played, everything else except the man waiting for her fell away. He was dressed in the same outfit as Colin and Drew but with an added waistcoat. Daniel stood beside him and beside them, Jace and Jack. Her eyes held his, and she saw him swallow as he watched every step she took towards him.
“Hi,” she said when she got to him. Drew kissed her cheek and passed her hand over to Dane.
“You look breath-taking.” The shaking in his voice almost made her cry.
“So do you,” she said, smiling to force the emotion away.
They both turned to watch Lucy make her way towards Jace. Lauren saw him wipe a tear from his eye and then bend towards Lucy to whisper something after her father had passed her hand to Jace. Lucy sucked in a breath, and Lauren saw her visibly pulling it together as the four of them turned to the minister.
The ceremony itself was a beautiful blur as vows were exchanged and promises made. She and Dane had chosen rings with an imprint of their fingerprints inside the platinum. In no time at all, they were pronounced husband and wife.
“You may kiss the bride,” the minister said, and neither Dane nor Jace wasted any time getting with the programme.
Dane took her face in his hands and kissed her soft and deep, putting what he was feeling into the kiss. He pulled away and she could see the emotion he felt for her in his eyes. “I love you, Mrs Bennet.”
“Ditto, Mr Bennet.”
He offered her his arm and she took it, leaning into him as they followed Lucy and Jace back down the aisle, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ making everyone smile.
The reception was at their hotel, twinkling lights strung through tresses above the wooden floor which had been put down on the sand, and above round tables covered with pure white tablecloths bearing coral and white floral centrepieces.
Two wedding cakes were side by side on a table in the corner. She and Dane had opted for a three-tier white and gold-leaf cake with coral hibiscus and roses on top while Lucy and Jace had gone for a peach and white ombre cake with three tiers covered in seashells.
Lauren tapped Dane and pointed as Skye went straight over to the cakes to inspect them. Not having made them, she would be extremely critical as she studied them. They both laughed when Nate pulled her away, distracting her with a long kiss that made Noah shove his fingers down his throat.
“Oh, that boy has a lot to learn,” her new husband whispered in her ear.
“Can you believe we’re married? That we actually did it?” she asked, her voice full of wonder.
“I knew I would marry you the day I met you.”
“You did not,” she said, calling him on his fib.
“Well, maybe not the first time but the second time for sure.” He swung her into his arms and kissed her again until she was breathless.
“Okay you two, enough of that. We have photos, food, speeches, and then cake cutting, dancing, and throwing of the bouquet before the wedding night starts,” Zack said, laughing as he and Ava moved forward to congratulate them.
“Tell me again why we agreed to this?” Dane asked.
“Because I wanted a proper wedding, and this is perfect.”
Dane nodded. “It is. You and Lucy did a fabulous job.”
“Yeah, we make a great team,” she said, looking around at all their friends and family surrounding them. Liam, Smithy, Jack, Will, and Aubrey were talking to David and Mimi. Bebe and Astrid were twirling Katarina and Natalia around, and Drew was in the corner talking to Mara.
Mara had been surprised at the unexpected invitation to the reception, and had said she’d try and pop in but was flying home later that night. Lauren had convinced her she’d be welcome and wished her well after her ordeal.
She felt her husband’s lips next to h
er ear. “You meddling again?”
She held her fingers a pinch apart. “Yes, just a teeny tiny bit.”
He shook his head. “Poor boy has no clue, does he?”
“Nope.”
“Well if they work out as well as we did, one day he’ll thank you.”
After photographs had been taken on the beach, they sat down to the exquisite menu of grilled shrimp and plantain with mango puree to start, cucumber wrapped salad with carrot spears and feta, followed by a blackened prime rib of beef with creamed potatoes and asparagus for mains, and the wedding cakes for dessert.
Lauren was happy as she sat with her husband and children, surrounded by her friends and family, and waited for the speeches to start. She knew Daniel probably had a multitude of stories about them both, which he’d bring out with relish.
She glanced at Jace, who was giving Jack a warning look as he got up and began to speak. “I’m going to make this quick as we all know the bar closes at midnight and Daniel here can jabber on like an old woman.”
“Only old woman here is you, Jack,” Daniel said, laughing.
“Yeah, yeah. First, I’d like to say that as Jace’s cousin, it was my honour to be asked to stand beside him as his best man. There are many fine men in this room, and you asking me means a lot.” Jace nodded and lifted his glass to Jack. “Second, I would like to comment on how beautiful Lucy and Lauren look today. How Dane and Jace ever managed to pull you two is beyond my comprehension. But nobody knows better than them how lucky they are.” Lauren felt Dane pull her closer, wrapping his arm around her middle and smiling to acknowledge the comment.
“Today was a day I never thought would happen, and not because I had any doubt about how they felt about each other. A blind man can see the love they have for each other but because of the hurdles that have been thrown in their way. Not least Jace taking so long to get his head out his ass. But I, for one, am thrilled to welcome you into our family, Lucy. So please join me in raising your glasses to the bride and groom. To Lucy and Jace.” Jack raised his glass, and they all toasted the happy couple.
