You won’t hear me complaining.
The wedding preparation distracts my mind from the terrifying fact that I made a decision – a decision that may very well blow up in my face. I don’t want to lose Grayson as a friend. But he’s right. I’d be a fool – and a wimp – to not take a chance and see where our relationship takes us. I’m okay with being a fool. But a wimp? Suzie is not a wimp. Besides, I have a butcher knife perfect for cutting off his balls should he ever decide to cheat on me.
Chapter 29
Everybody believes in something. I believe I will have another beer.
Pops gasps when Hailey steps out of the bride’s room into the hallway where the wedding party is waiting for her in order to start the ceremony.
“Babycakes,” he mutters as he envelopes her into his arms. “You are the most beautiful bride in the world.”
He’s not wrong. Hailey’s ivory wedding gown is made of shiny satin and fits her to a T. It’s also sleeveless, backless, and sexy as hell. Aiden is going to lose his mind when he sees her. When Hailey sniffs, I look away to give them some privacy for their father-daughter moment.
“At least she doesn’t have to worry about who will walk her down the aisle,” Phoebe complains.
“Pheebs, you have five men vying for the privilege of walking you down the aisle. Sure, your ex-husband is a total a-hole rotting in prison and your birth family sucks donkey balls, but your real family is way cooler than those asshats.”
I hold up my hands and make devil’s horns to illustrate to her exactly how cool her new family is.
“She’s right.” Ryker kisses her forehead. He holds out his elbow for her. “You ready?”
Ryker and Phoebe are first up to walk down the aisle. I make sure they are in place in front of the closed doors with Sam, Aiden’s best man, lined up right behind them before approaching Hailey.
“Are you ready?”
She sniffs again. I wag a finger at her in warning. “Oh no, you don’t. No crying. At least wait until Aiden sees you before you ruin your make-up. Probably best to wait to ruin your make-up until after the pictures are taken too. The photographer looks mean.”
“Hey!” The photographer who is kneeling in the corner taking pictures doesn’t think much of my comment. I wink at her to let her know I’m merely calming the bride down.
Hailey throws her arms around me. “I love you, Suzie Q.”
“Okay, okay.” I bat her arms away. “Stop with the emotional stuff before a rumor starts you’re pregnant.”
“After all the champagne I drank this morning?”
Good point. I squeeze her hands and get serious for a second. “I’m happy for you, Hailey. You done good.”
I can’t express how happy I am for her. My best friend has been pining for Aiden since she first set eyes on the boy in high school. It took more than a decade for them to get over themselves and find love with each other, but they made it. And today they’re getting hitched.
I release her hands and pat her thigh. Hold up. Why am I feeling something hard? “Are you armed?” I hiss at her.
She giggles. “Of course, I am.”
Is she kidding? She better be kidding. “You can’t go into a church armed in a wedding dress. God will smite you!”
“Smite me? Look at you using big words.” She leans close and whispers, “It’s a garter belt.”
Pops walks over. “Time to get you married, Babycakes.”
I wave and make my way to my position in the line. The music starts and the doors open. Ryker winks at Phoebe, and they start up the aisle. Once they arrive at the altar, it’s time for Sam and me to make the trek.
Don’t trip. Don’t trip. I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. When I manage the first steps without tripping over my own two feet, I exhale in relief. I got this. We make it to the front rows where the uncles and Grayson are sitting without a problem. Grayson turns toward me, and my mouth drops open when I see him wearing a suit and tie for the first time. Grayson in jeans and a t-shirt is hot. Grayson in a suit is sizzling. Oh my.
My heel catches on the carpet and I stumble. Sam lifts me by my arm to stop me from falling on my face. “Steady on, klutzy girl.”
I roll my eyes but manage to reach the altar and take my place next to Phoebe without further incident.
“You lost me ten bucks,” she hisses.
I am not dignifying her words with a reply. If she was stupid enough to bet on me not tripping while walking down the aisle, it’s her own fault. Besides, I blame Grayson. If he didn’t look good enough to eat, I wouldn’t have tripped.
The wedding march begins, and everyone stands to watch Hailey walk down the aisle. I concentrate on Aiden instead. I can tell the exact moment he sees Hailey in her wedding dress for the first time. His eyes light up and heat flares in them. His hands ball into fists as he watches her walk toward him. I giggle when he takes his first step forward. He doesn’t stop with one step. Not Aiden. He marches straight down the aisle and meets his intended halfway.
Hailey laughs, but Pops does not look happy. He refuses to let go of his daughter. A tug of war ensues, and the music stops. The guests are now all laughing. Finally, Hailey grasps Aiden’s left hand in hers and tugs as she starts moving. The wedding march resumes, and the three of them walk down the rest of the aisle together.
"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" the preacher asks when the gaggle of three finally reach the alter.
Pops looks down at Hailey and winks. “She gives herself but with her father’s blessing.”
“And her uncles’ blessings!” The uncles can’t help themselves from adding. I’m surprised they let Pops walk Hailey down the aisle by himself.
Pops kisses Hailey’s forehead and gives Aiden one last scowl before moving to his seat in the front pew. Hailey hands her bouquet to me and the ceremony begins. The ceremony itself is short. Hailey wanted a big wedding but not a long and boring ceremony. In no time, the preacher is asking for the rings and the vows are being recited.
As soon as his ring is on Hailey’s finger, Aiden bends forward to kiss her. The preacher clears his throat. When Aiden looks over, he shakes his head. “Not yet,” he whispers.
“Then get to the part where you declare us man and wife,” Aiden insists. Someone is more than ready for Hailey to be his wife.
I wish I could find a love like theirs. But love and marriage are not in the cards for me. My eyes drift to where Grayson is sitting. He meets my gaze and smiles, causing his dimples to pop out. My knees go weak. What is wrong with me? I don’t do weak knees! The man is going to make me forget men are scum who are not to be trusted.
Why did I agree to give a relationship with him a try? I’m obviously losing my mind being surrounded by all these loving couples and their icky shows of personal affection.
“By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss each other!”
“Finally,” Aiden grumbles before drawing Hailey into his arms and bending her backward to kiss her.
The uncles hoot and holler until Aiden releases Hailey. When Hailey looks my way, a smile stretches across her face from ear to ear. I barely manage to hand her the bouquet before Aiden rushes her down the aisle. I shake my head as I follow.
I’m surprised to find Grayson waiting for me when the photographer is finally done with taking pictures. I was kidding earlier about her looking mean, but now I know the truth – she is mean! She had to have been lying when she said my eyes were closed. There’s no way my eyes were closed for ten straight pictures!
“Why are you here?”
Grayson doesn’t bother responding to my question. “You have everything?”
At my nod, he places his hand on my lower back and escorts me to his truck. He has to help me into the truck since my bridesmaid dress was not made for movement. Seriously. I feel like someone rolled me into a swath of satin. Uncomfortable is entirely too mild a description f
or this dress.
“By the way,” he says as his hands skim over the satiny material of the dress, “you look beautiful.”
I roll my eyes. Me and beautiful don’t belong in the same sentence. “No need to flatter me. You’re getting laid later either way.”
He snarls and leans forward to get all up in my face. “You are beautiful, and I’ll compliment you as often as I want. I’m not saying the words to get laid. You hear me?”
“Yes,” I agree because he’s kind of freaking me out right now.
When we arrive at the reception, I’m not surprised to see Grayson is seated at the table for the bridal party. Hailey and Phoebe think they’re being sneaky and pushing us together. They can think whatever they want. It doesn’t mean they’re right.
While we eat, Grayson and I laugh and joke. I’m relieved we can still act like friends despite the basis of our relationship changing. It’s not exactly the same, though, with him causing a trail of fire to break out on my skin whenever he ‘casually’ touches me. The man is a great big tease I tell you!
When the dancing starts, I abandon him and rush out onto the dance floor. Hailey and Phoebe follow me, and we get our groove on to the eighties music the DJ is playing. I thought Phoebe would be too stiff to dance with us. She is a recovering spoiled rich girl after all, but she has no problems abandoning decorum to strut her stuff.
When the DJ announces he’s taking a break, I make my way back to the table and collapse in my chair. Grayson hands me a glass of water. I make a face at him – where’s my beer? – but dutifully drink the water.
I haven’t had the chance to catch my breath before Phoebe arrives. “Come on.” She takes my hand and tries to tug me out of my chair. I don’t know what she’s up to, but I’m not going anywhere. “It’s the bouquet toss.”
“Hard pass.” I have no intention of trying to catch the bouquet, let alone actually catching it. No way. I may have agreed to attempt a romance with Grayson, but this girl is not willing to go any further. I am not getting married. Never ever.
Oh, grow up, Adult Suzie orders. Her voice is slurred – someone has been hitting the open bar hard – which means I’m free to ignore her.
Phoebe grunts and suddenly I’m flying out of my chair. “How the hell did you manage to pull me out of my chair?” I ask when I find myself in her arms.
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she maneuvers us toward the dance floor where Hailey stands waiting. Phoebe doesn’t stop until we’re smackdab in the middle of the floor directly behind the bride. I, for one, am not liking the current situation.
The music starts and Hailey twirls around. The DJ starts counting down. “Three, two, one!”
The bouquet flies into the air. Shit. It’s heading straight for me. I take a step to the side and it falls to the floor. I watch as it lays there. No one pounces on it. What the hell? I’m used to all the single ladies diving for the bouquet. What’s going on?
I look around and notice I’m standing all alone on the dance floor. The uncles and Pops are guarding the edge of the area while holding the other women back.
“You promised no pranks!” I shout at them.
“It’s for your own good,” Pops claims. Easy for him to say. He’s not in the line of fire.
Hailey marches to me, picks up the bouquet, and slaps it into my chest. I grab it before it can fall again. Cheers ring out.
I hold out the bouquet to Hailey. “Nope. I am not taking it back. Deal with it,” she says and stomps away. It’s kind of impressive watching her stomp in those obnoxiously high heels Phoebe insisted she buy.
I know when I’ve lost. I walk back to the table and slam the bouquet on the table. “This is ridiculous!”
Grayson doesn’t have a chance to answer before the DJ announces it’s the men’s turn. My mouth drops open as he stands. He winks at me before sauntering off to the dance floor.
“What are you doing?” I scream at his back. Confession – I may be screeching at this point. What? Give me a break. I’m starting to panic here.
I stand and walk to the edge of the floor to watch. Maybe I can prevent whatever disaster is about to happen. Hailey is now sitting on a chair in the middle of the dance floor and Aiden is on his knees in front of her. She gathers the folds of her gown and starts to drag it up her legs, but he growls to stop her.
“These fuckers are not going to see your legs.” He dives under her dress.
Someone grumbles, and I look up at Pops next to me. “I thought you liked Aiden.”
“Doesn’t mean I need to see him with his head under my baby girl’s dress.”
Before I have a chance to remind him Hailey is no longer a baby, Aiden emerges and lifts his hand holding the garter in victory. He doesn’t bother turning around and counting off. He throws it straight to Grayson with a smirk.
“This is some bullshit right here.”
I lift the hem of my dress intent on making a run for it. I don’t make it one step before Pops blocks me. Then, Grayson is there taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor. How is this happening? The lights dim, the music starts up, and Ed Sheeran’s voice begins to sing.
Hailey and Phoebe shout and clap. I flip them off behind Grayson’s back. Their response? They laugh. They fricking laugh!
“This doesn’t mean a thing,” I tell Grayson as we sway to the music.
“I know, Precious. I know.”
He draws me close and I lay my head on his shoulder. His arms wrap around me making me feel like the precious person he calls me. Well, shit. This is not good. Adult Suzie disagrees. This is not good. This is fantastic! I tell her to shut up and enjoy my moment with Grayson. Because there is no doubt in my mind, this can’t last.
Chapter 30
If beer isn’t the answer, your question sucks.
Back at work a few days later, I find myself slamming the phone down.
“What did the phone do to you?” Phoebe asks as she walks out of her office and sits on one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“Stupid clients and their stupid prejudices.”
“You certainly cleared things up for me.”
I snarl at her. “Since when are you snarky?”
She ignores my question. “Are you going to avoid the question all morning?”
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“Not really. Things are slow. Apparently, February is not a popular month to cheat your insurance company.”
“Why don’t you go play hide the cannoli with Ryker then?” I must be desperate to avoid her questions if I’m suggesting a little love in the afternoon to distract her.
She giggles while her cheeks flame. “Ryker’s leaving in ten minutes to go chase a skip.”
Great. Phoebe and I will be all alone in the office then.
“You and Grayson looked snug as a bug at the wedding on Saturday.”
And now you know why I’m not excited to be stuck alone with her in the office. I don’t want to talk about my ‘relationship’ with Grayson with her. I’m not ready to dissect my relationship with anyone. Least of all myself.
I decide to misdirect her by answering her initial question. “A potential client canceled her appointment.”
“Why? Did something happen?” She leans closer. “Did she find her husband in the act with his secretary?”
“Why is it always the secretary?” I shake my head. “But no. She does need PI services just not our services. When I told her Hailey was on her honeymoon, she became belligerent.”
“Belligerent?”
“You know aggressive, confrontational—”
Phoebe holds up her hand. “I know what the word belligerent means. Why was she belligerent?”
“She doesn’t want a PI who is recently married. She started ranting about happily married women being horrible people who could suck her dick.”
“I thought it was a woman?”
I don’t get a chance to answer before the door opens and a delivery man steps inside. “Phoebe
Adams?”
Phoebe sighs before getting to her feet. “Let me guess. You have a package for me.”
After she signs for the delivery, he leaves, and she sets the box on my desk. “Aren’t you going to open it?”
She motions to my desk. “Knock yourself out.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I rip off the wrapping paper to find a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka. Phoebe’s brand of vodka. She’s a bit of a vodka snob who’s addicted to vodka martinis. Ryker tried to switch her onto American vodka, but he failed – big time.
“How much do they think I drink? At this rate, I’ll have enough vodka to drink until I’m old and gray.”
“Like you will ever go gray.”
“Not on purpose anyway.”
“And who’s they?” I tap the card that came with the gift. The card I didn’t touch because opening someone else’s gift is totally normal but reading the card? That’s an invasion of privacy. “You didn’t even look at the card.”
“I don’t need to. It came from one of Hailey’s uncles.”
Ryker steps out of their office. “Princess, you need to make up your mind who is going to walk you down the aisle.”
“And stop getting deliveries of vodka?”
Deliveries she was not two minutes ago complaining about. Someone’s dragging her feet. Interesting.
Ryker grunts. “You need to set a date. I want you wearing my rings and my last name.”
“You don’t wear a last name,” she sasses.
“Babe.”
I giggle. Whenever Ryker says babe, the conversation is over. It annoys Phoebe to no end, which naturally amuses me.
“Leaving, big guy?”
He leans down and kisses her forehead. “Be good. I’ll be back in a day or two.”
I wait until I hear the ding of the elevator before confronting Phoebe.
“Why are you dragging your feet about the wedding? I thought you loved Ryker and want to marry him.”
“I do.” She slumps in her chair. “But another wedding?”
I’m surprised she doesn’t want a wedding. The woman does love to dress up. “Then don’t have a wedding. Elope.”
A Soldier for Suzie: A Military Romantic Comedy (Love will OUT Book 3) Page 16
