Текст книги "The Song Remains the Same"

Автор книги: Kelli Jean

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Текущая страница: 28 (всего у книги 28 страниц)

Phil

“This makes no fuckin’ sense, Jace. Why don’t you two just get fuckin’ married like normal people?”

“Because Sheri wants it this way,” he replied, sounding irritated.

He wasn’t the only fuckin’ one. This was ri-goddamn-diculous.

Jason had decided to propose to Sheri—all well and good. But instead of busting out a fuckin’ ring and popping the fuckin’ question, they’d decided to have a mock wedding ceremony to show everyone they meant it

On the day before Halloween, here we stood, in the gazebo in my backyard with two hundred fuckin’ guests. The whole place had been done up to the nines for a fake wedding/engagement party for the two blond weirdos to declare their diva-love to the world. Our friends and Sheri’s grandparents had flown in for this thing. Even Jason’s Granny had crawled out of her bayou shack in the swamp to see this farce.

And their fake honeymoon getaway? Three fuckin’ months in an ashram in India! An ashram, where the loony fuckers planned on purifying their souls and eating lentils—so fuckin’ glad I’m missin’ out on that—before coming home and getting married for fuckin’ real.

“Just think of it as more of a rehearsal, yeah?” said Jason. “We might get married in India. We don’t know. This way, we’ll have a weddin’ with all y’all, and then when we finally do it, we still have a memory of bein’ married with everyone around us.”

Yeah, I got that. The thing was…I was fuckin’ jealous.

Since the day we were supposed to get married, Kenna and I hadn’t talked about it again. Badgering my Baby Girl into planning another wedding didn’t seem cool. She had been so stressed out with planning the first one that I didn’t want to put her through that again. I wanted Kenna to mention it. Until then, I was gonna keep my mouth shut even though it was killing me to do so.

Things between us had never been better. Kenna was my best friend, and I was hers. Our sex was off the fuckin’ chain. We were on a frequency that was just beyond anything we’d ever had before.

“Tantric,” my Baby Girl had called it.

The feel, the sight, the scent, the energy within us were focused only on each other. Amazed by the level of love we had for one another, it was tangible on all planes of existence. Transcendence would blaze bright golden light when we came together. Two hearts, two minds, one soul were reunited.

She could still piss me off though. It wasn’t all fuckin’ peachy keen. I’d piss her off, too. But it was fun making up. It would be weird and boring if we didn’t fight. I liked her feisty.

Speaking of feisty, I’d woken up to find Kenna gone. She knew how pissed I would get when she pulled that shit. So, I’d had to do my yoga alone. I liked doing yoga with my Baby Girl. She would help me do it right, and I’d fuckin’ get to watch her do all sorts of badass bendy shit.

When I’d called her, she’d said she was too busy to talk to me, and she would see me later. Later had come and gone with no fuckin’ Baby Girl.

Then, Connor, Jason, Flipper, Devon, and I’d had to go and get ready for this charade. Sheri had demanded we get haircuts and styles, which I’d protested my ass off about. I’d been growing my hair out for Kenna, but Sheri had wanted us looking like we gave a shit about how we looked. So, my hair had been cut in a style that made me look like a fancy Civil War veteran—long on top, stiffened up with some sort of paste, and cropped real close at the sides and back. The only cool thing was that the dream catchers kinda showed.

Sheri had suggested that I shave off my beard, and I guessed I had a bit of the diva in me, too, because I had gone apeshit. I’d spent months growing and maintaining my magnificent fuckin’ face fuzz, and I’d be damned if I was gonna lose that as well. Sheri had settled for a trim. I’d been ready to do damage.

I just hoped Kenna would be all right with it. I thought she missed my long hair.

Still, I hadn’t seen my Baby Girl. She could have at least tried to see what I looked like and told me what she thought. Maybe cop a feel. That was always nice.

Sheri had planned everything to the last detail. A fake autumn wedding meant that we were dressed in brown vest suits, minus the jacket since it was still hot as balls in Louisiana, with ties the color of orange sherbet and cream-colored button-down shirts. I had to hand it to the woman. She knew how to make us look good.

What was fuckin’ badass were the decorations. Jack-o’-lanterns carved with swirly patterns lit the walkway to the gazebo. Streamers made of fake autumn leaves in reds, gold, and browns and white fairy lights wound around the posts and lined the aisle where the girls would walk down. Little bouquets of Kenna’s favorite lotus blossoms in creams and oranges bunched with leaves and ferns were everywhere. Jason had the biggest, fattest lotus blossom I’d ever seen stuck on his vest, and I wanted to flip Sheri the bird for using my Baby Girl’s favorite flower.

It was just too bad that Sheri had thought of a Halloweenish fake wedding because I bet Kenna would love it if our real one could be like this.

Whenever that would be.

The music started playing, thanks to Siggie hidden behind the gazebo with the sound system remote. The congregation all turned to watch the bridesmaids begin their trek down the path. They would be exiting through the sliding glass kitchen door on the big half, which was camouflaged with a white tent and more decorations.

“Oh, shit!” cried Jason.

As his fake best man, I rolled my eyes. “What?”

“We’re in the wrong spots!” He grabbed me, pulling me into the groom’s place.

“No, I’m pretty sure we had it right.”

“No, I’m supposed to be on your left.”

“No, you’re the one marryin’ Sheri, Jace. Remember? I’m marryin’ Kenna.”

“I know,” he replied, his face splitting into a huge grin. “Everyone knows you’re marryin’ Kenna.”

“Then…”

What?

Connor smiled at me and winked, and Jason snatched my puny lotus blossom from my vest and switched it with his.

“What?” I asked out loud this time. “Shut the fuck up!”

Looking around, I saw everyone smiling at me. Some people were laughing outright. And no fuckin’ wonder! My jaw dropped, and my head and heart started tripping. The truth of the situation started to sink in, and then it fuckin’ hit.

I’m marryin’ Kenna? Right now? Today? Holy shit!

My heart, she was exploding in my chest!

I’m marryin’ Kenna! Right now! Today!

Viv emerged from the tent, looking all sweet in a champagne-colored dress. Flipper whistled.

Is this for real?

Then, Sheri looked mighty elegant, and next to me, Jason swelled with pride for the woman he wasn’t fake-marryin’ today.

Because I’m marryin’ Kenna! As in, for real!

Then, Lili…aw, Pygmy looked stunning, and I saw her wave, wriggling her fingers, to Lewis in the audience.

What the fuck is playin’? Is it…

It was Led Zeppelin’s “The Rain Song.”

Except…that was fuckin’ Connor singing that shit.

“Oh, Baby Girl…” I whispered.

My heart, she was full to bursting.

It was as though I were having an out-of-body experience. My head was all over the place. Of course, it fuckin’ was! I’d just fuckin’ found out that my Baby Girl and all my friends had just pulled off the most awesome surprise of my entire life.

Alys looked lovely, and her eyes shone on Connor like a lifeline. When the fuck those two would get together was a running bet between us in the band. I had two grand on it happening, like, yesterday.

When Alys took her place next to Lili in the maid-of-honor spot, the music turned up slightly, and everyone stood up.

My knees started shaking.

In my head, flashes of every memory I’d made with my Baby Girl, from the time we were little kids until this very moment, blasted through me.

The tent flaps pulled back, and my reason for existing—dressed in a simple off-white silk dress with her flaming bear of a father on her arm—stepped out. Her hair was softly curled about her precious face, and that dress…it was low cut enough to show her heart.

My heart.

Kenna had had Darren Wright tattoo a heart identical to the one on my chest. Only hers had Phil across it, looking as though it’d been branded into it. She’d gotten it at the tattoo convention in London.

To top it all off, my Baby Girl was fuckin’ barefoot on our wedding day.

Fuck it.

I kicked off my shoes and tore off my socks, and I heard her laugh from the tent, the little shit. Behind me, the Notary Public laughed, too, and I glanced at her. She was an older woman, fifties probably, and she smiled at me.

“I’m gettin’ married today!” I whispered.

“You are,” she replied.

Tossing my shoes and socks aside, I stood up straight, and my heart…she nearly beat her way out of my chest. My dream come true—my muse, my goddess, my fuckin’ everything—was walking toward me in her wedding dress, a vision I had only fantasized before now. The evening sunlight caught her coppery hair and turned her skin to warm honey, just as I had dreamed.

My imagination fuckin’ sucked compared to the beauty walking up the steps with her Da. Sigmund had tears in his eyes, and briefly, I wondered if he wore anything under his kilt. The things one thought about during times like these…

“Are ye sure ye want m’lass?”

Nodding my head, I told Papa Soulless, “More than anythin’ in the whole universe, sir.”

Sniffling, he turned to his daughter, the gorgeous creature he’d created with the love of his life, and he kissed her cheek. “Love ye.”

“Love you, too, Da,” she replied.

Da placed her hand in mine, and before he could turn around, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her most inappropriately in front of all our friends and family.

“Man, I think you’re supposed to wait until the I dos,” said Flipper.

“Is this real, Kenna?” I whispered, just like I had the night she walked her sweet ass back into my life.

“I believe so,” she replied, smiling a secret sort of smile.

The Notary Public began the civil union. Unlike traditional ceremonies, I refused to stand next to Kenna. No, I had her wrapped in my arms as I stared down into her shining emerald eyes. When she realized I wasn’t gonna let her go, she slipped her arms around my waist and held on just as tight.

There were no personal written vows. We’d already said everything to each other, the last two years a promise carried through with all the words and confessions and confiding between us.

“Do you, Philip Louis Deveraux, take Zephyr Kenna MacGregor to be your lawfully wedded wife, from this moment forward, in truth, fidelity, and love?” asked the Notary.

“I do,” I replied.

Connor stepped forward and handed Kenna a simple platinum wedding band. I yanked off the DiAblo in a flash, and Kenna slipped it on my finger. It was taking every ounce of my willpower not to break out in a dance. Instead, I shoved the DiAblo back on behind my wedding band. Kenna handed over her engagement ring, and Connor handed me her wedding band.

“Do you, Zephyr Kenna MacGregor, take Philip Louis Deveraux as your lawfully wedded husband, from this moment forward, in truth, fidelity, and love?”

“I do,” she replied with a blazing smile.

Suddenly, I was higher than I’d ever been in my whole fuckin’ life. The band and then her engagement ring went on her hand, and fuck me, was it a beautiful thing to see.

My wife!

“By the power vested in me by the State of Louisiana, I now pronounce you partners in life, equals, as husband and wife. You may once again kiss your bride!”

I grabbed my woman, and I ate her fuckin’ face. Her cheeks were flaming hot when I set her back on her bare feet.

“Baby Girl!” I breathed.

“Hmm?”

“You ready to take our first step as man and wife?”

“Too fuckin’ right, I am!”

“Language!” roared Da.

THE END

Thank you to my family. Espen and Makenna, you are my life.

For my lifelong friends who have inspired the people of NOLA’s Own—thank you so much for being YOU. Without you guys, my life would be a lot less wonderful.

Thank you, Em, for being my rock, my voice of reason, and for all the love and support you’ve given me through this experience. You’ve held my hand the whole way. I’d be lost without you.

A huge thank you to my beta readers—Mandy and Jaime, you two are the best cheerleaders a person can have. Sigrid, you were the first to read NOLA’s Own, and you were the one who told me I really had something worth publishing.

Thank you, Renee Ericson, for creating the covers of this series. You listened to what was in my head and heart and made it visual. And thank you for being such a great friend.

Jovana Shirley, I can’t thank you enough for all the magic you create. You take my words and make them shine.

To my street team—Where would I be without you guys? Thank you for all your hard work and all that delicious eye-candy. You know how to keep a woman happy!

A shout-out to my COPA Cabana chicas. I’m honored to be a part of such an awesome group of ladies. Thank you for all the support and positivity. I love you gals hard!

And, as always, music.

Born and raised in Miami, Kelli Jean traded the tropical heat for the Arctic. Now, she deals with twenty-four-hour daylight in the summer and zero sunlight in the winter, and she believes the Northern Lights make up for the mind-boggling amount of ice and snow she has to put up with for seven months out of the year. She’s surrounded by mountains and ocean and sheep, and she claims her bizarre sense of humor is what keeps her sane.

The insane don’t know they’re insane.

Kelli uses her imagination to create worlds she can escape to from the mundane tasks of everyday life, such as washing the damn dishes and vacuuming up Legos off the floor—and don’t get her started on the mad amount of cat hair on the end of the couch. She gave up on that a long time ago. When the household goes to sleep at night, she writes down everything that happened in her head while doing such tedious chores. But she enjoys living in her own head, so that’s pretty cool.

Technology terrifies her. She can barely turn on a computer, and she was completely shocked when she’d actually written a book on one. To this day, she has no explanation for this baffling mystery. It took her three years to realize she could take screenshots of messages and pictures of bearded, tattooed men with her phone. Now that she’s mastered this task, her phone is slowly dying. She’s nervous that she’s going to have to buy a new one, and it will take her another three years to learn how to use it.