Текст книги "Saved"

Автор книги: Kelly Elliott

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 24 (всего у книги 28 страниц)

“Are you ready, Ari?” Jenny asked.

As she took down the dress, Ellie grabbed my hands and turned me toward her.

“You’re beautiful, and by far, you are the strongest person I know. You’re the only person I can say ‘fuck you’ to, and you laugh. You’ve got this, baby.”

I smiled at her as I nodded my head.

After listening to all four of them yell at each other for two long-ass minutes about watching out for my hair and makeup, the dress was finally on.

I turned and looked into the mirror as Ellie and Heather put on my veil. Oh my god, I was getting married.

“Do you think the baby will ask about us getting married after I got pregnant?”

Ellie looked at me. “Umm, that’s random as hell, Ari, but no. Even if she does, it doesn’t matter. Y’all loved each other when she was made.”

I turned to face Ellie. “She?”

“Or he. It doesn’t matter as long as she is healthy,” Ellie said with a smile.

I turned around and looked at my three best friends. They were all so beautiful. Amanda had her spit-and-fire attitude and that red hair of hers. Sweet Heather, was blessed with her caring heart and soul, beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes, and those boobs. Lucky bitch. Then there was Ellie….my soul sister…my other half. With her beautiful blue eyes and brown hair, she was just breath-taking.

They were each dressed in a fitted strapless silver taffeta dress that flared just at the bottom. The beading on the bodice was amazing, and I loved the corset back. The light from all the candles would reflect off their dresses, and I knew it was going to be so damn pretty.

We all just stared at each other.

My mother had brought Matt in to see me before the wedding.

“Ari, you are most beautiful!” Matt said as he smiled up at me.

“I love you, buddy.”

Then, I heard a knock on the door. Jenny opened it and then slammed it shut.

“Holy fuck!”

I turned around to see she was white as a ghost.

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Holy fuck!”

We all turned and looked at Matt. Oh great, at least he won’t be saying assmole anymore.

“I wanna be a mudder-fucking cowboy, just like in Jeff’s song.”

I had to grab onto the wall, or I would have went straight to the floor.

“I’m going to kill Jefferson for listening to that song around him,” Ellie said.

She walked up to the door and opened it.

Then, she immediately slammed it shut.

“Oh, um…shit.”

“Would someone please tell me why y’all keep slamming the door shut?” I asked.

“It’s Jeff,” Ellie and Jenny said at the same time.

“Wait... what?”

Ellie said, “I’ll see what he wants. Everyone just needs to keep getting ready. Jen, the flowers?”

Jenny seemed shocked as hell and out of it for a good minute or so. “Yes…right the flowers.”

I watched as Ellie opened the door and went out into the hall. I just stared at the door.

What does he want? Did he change his mind? Oh god, what if Rebecca is here? Wait…why would she be here?

The door opened, and Ellie walked in.

“Um, can everyone leave the room for just a few minutes? The groom would like to talk to his bride.”

Ellie looked over at me, smiling as she winked.

After everyone was out, including Matt who kept saying he wanted to be a mudder-fucking cowboy, Jeff walked in the door. He stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me.

I sucked in a breath of air when I saw him. I’d left what the guys were going to wear up to him, so he’d said he would surprise me. He was dressed in his black tuxedo pants with a platinum herringbone vest and matching platinum tie. He looked breathtakingly handsome.

“Is everything okay, baby?” I asked.

He rushed over to me and took me in his arms. He kissed me like he was never going to kiss me again.

When he finally pulled his lips away from mine, he held me tighter in his arms.

“Jeff, what’s wrong?” I asked as I leaned back to look at him.

His eyes were filled with tears.

“I just needed to make sure this wasn’t a dream, Ari. I needed to see you. I needed to touch you. I needed to kiss you and tell you how lucky I am to have you in my life. Thank you so much for not giving up on me when I gave you so many reasons to just walk away. I was so lost when you weren’t in my life, baby. You literally saved me, Arianna.”

I stood there and just stared at him. I was fighting back the tears. I would be so pissed if I started crying right now.

“Jeff, I love you more than life itself. I never thought this day would come. To be standing here in front of you, pregnant with our baby, knowing I get to wake up to you every morning for the rest of my life, I’m so overwhelmed by happiness I can’t even think straight. The only thing I can think about is if Matt’s going to walk down the aisle, singing about being a mudder-fucking cowboy.”

Jeff threw his head back and laughed. He took a step away and looked me up and down.

“You’re breath-taking. Do you know that, baby?”

I smiled and let my eyes move up and down his body.

“You look pretty handsome yourself.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Jeff walked over and opened it.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” my mother asked.

“I’m leaving right now. I just needed to see my beautiful bride and tell her how much I love her.” Jeff turned to look at me.

I smiled at him, and my heart just melted with the smile he gave back. Good Lord, that boy is handsome as hell. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, how am I going to look at him and say those vows when all I’m thinking about is getting his ass naked?

My mom and dad walked in as Jeff left the room. My mother let out a gasp when she saw me, and my father had a grin from ear to ear.

“Tu es belle Arianna.”

I loved it when my father spoke to me in French.

“Merci, papa, pour dire que je suis beau.”

“Oh Arianna, you literally took my breath away when I saw you,” my mother said as she walked up and hugged me.

Jenny walked in and smiled.

“So, Matt and Lauren are ready to go. Lauren is beyond thrilled that she gets to be yet another flower girl. She informed me that she knows what to do, so I can leave it up to her.”

I let out a laugh. Lauren my little cousin, looked like a princess and acted like it, too. I let her pick out her own dress. Damn, that girl has good taste. I’ve taught her well. It was an elegant silver satin dress with a pin pick-up in the front and a satin bow. The bodice was embroidered with rosettes. It looked perfect on her.

“Ari, it’s about that time. Do you need a minute or two with your mom and dad?” Jen asked.

Daddy looked at me and winked. “Hell no, I paid for some good food, and I’m starving. The faster I get her down the aisle, the faster I can sit down and eat.”

I just smiled at my father. He didn’t want any time alone with me because his ass was afraid he would cry.

“Allez-vous à pleurer papa?” I asked with a wink.

“No, I’m not going to cry. Now, let’s walk you down that aisle baby girl.”

As everyone came back into the room, bouquets of flowers were passed out. Heather, Amanda, and Ellie had white and silver roses in their bouquets. I still had no idea how they got the roses to be silver, and I didn’t care. They were beautiful.

My bouquet was full of stargazer lilies. I smiled when Jenny handed them to me. She winked at me because I was sure she knew I was thinking back to the night Jeff asked me to marry him.

When I started to hear the music play, I walked over to the window.

Holy fuck. There were a ton of people out there. I moved my eyes up until I saw Jeff standing there with Gunner and Matthew. Holy hell, is it normal for me to be thinking about nothing but having sex with him right now? It must be the whole pregnancy thing….nope, I think this is just me.

“Ari, are you ready?” Jenny asked.

As I moved down the stairs, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I needed to stop and catch my breath. I must have squeezed my father’s arm because he slowed down a bit and looked at me.

“Baby girl, breathe in your nose and out your mouth. Think about nothing but the love you feel for Jeff and that baby growing inside you right now. Never mind all the people; it’s just the three of you.”

Oh my god. I’m going to cry before I even make it outside.

I bit down on my cheek as hard as I could, but all that did was make my eyes water. Motherfucker.

Ellie turned and gave me one last look before she walked outside. The moment she smiled at me, I calmed down. I got this.

When my father and I walked out the door, I looked up. The first thing I saw was Jeff. Our eyes met at the same time, and we both smiled. I didn’t take my eyes off of him the whole way down the aisle. I heard oh’s and ah’s, but I held my gaze on his eyes only.

When my father placed my hand in Jeff’s, he leaned over, so only Jeff and I could hear him.

“You ever hurt her, and I’ll kill you.”

Jeff’s face went white, and I let out a giggle.

We walked up to the preacher, and Jeff looked over at me.

He leaned down and put his lips to my ear.

“Gunner told me to whisper something romantic to you, but honestly, your dad just scared the shit out of me. I’ve got nothing right now.”

I laughed, and I swore I almost peed my pants.

I knew there was nothing more that this man could ever do to make me happier than I was this very moment.

“Want to know where we’re going on our honeymoon?”

“Now, Jeff? You’re going to tell me now?”

I looked at Pastor Rob and smiled. Jeff wouldn’t tell me where we were going until after the wedding, so why he was telling me now had me baffled.

Jeff looked over at Gunner and gave him a shit-eating grin. Then looked back at me.

“We’re going to Paris, baby.”

Oh. My. God. Wait… what?

“You bastard!” Gunner said. Then, He looked at Pastor Rob. “Oh sorry, Pastor.”

Jeff let out a laugh and looked down at Matt. Oh no.

Matt started singing, “I wanna be...”

Gunner bent down really quick and whispered something into Matt’s ear. Matt laughed and nodded his head. Gunner stood up and raised his eyebrows at us.

“Um, are y’all ready now?” Pastor Rob asked.

Jeff and I both looked at each other and smiled. At the same time, we both said, “Yes.”

CHAPTER FIFTY

JEFF

I sat back and drank my beer while I watched Ari move from person to person, making sure to talk to each guest. I gave up an hour ago and decided my place to be was right here with a beer in my hand, enjoying the view of my beautiful bride.

During the toast earlier, Ari had taken two sips from a small glass of red wine. We planned on telling everyone about the pregnancy when we came back from our honeymoon.

I felt a hard slap on my back and rolled my eyes. Damn Gunner. I looked and sat up straighter. It was Mark.

He pulled up a chair next to me and sat down.

He raised his beer toward mine.

“You did it, son.”

Son?

“What did I do?”

“You made my little girl the happiest I’ve ever seen her, and that makes me happy.”

“Well, sir, I’m glad to hear that.”

“Jeff, don’t call me sir. It makes my ass feel old. Call me Mark.”

“Mark, it is. She makes me very happy as well, more than she’ll ever know.”

Mark smiled and glanced to where Ari was talking to Heather. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be a grandfather,” Mark said as he kept his eyes on his daughter.

I finished off my beer and set it down on the table. “Mark, can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course, Jeff. Please always know that I’m here to talk.”

“My father left when Ellie and I were both pretty young. I remember him more than Ellie does, but, I never had an example and of a father figure, and…well, I’m afraid that….” I stopped because I couldn’t even form the next words out of my mouth.

Mark looked over at me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Jeff, I might give you hell all the time, but do you honestly believe that I would ever allow my daughter to marry a man who I didn’t think was going to be the best husband for her and father for her kids? I see something in you, son. You have a drive to be the best you can be and a passion for the work that you do. I see the way you look at Arianna, and I have no doubt in my mind that you love that girl with every ounce of your being. You’re going to be one hell of a husband and a wonderful father to my grandkids. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”

I felt the tears building in my eyes…at least, right up to the point when he threatened my life again.

“You do know you’ve threatened to kill me at least twice today.”

Smiling at me, Mark stood up, finished his beer, and set it on the table.

“And I’ll probably do it at least two more times before this party is over.”

He walked off laughing and slapped some poor lawyer friend of his on the back.

I shook my head. That man scares the shit out of me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew someone who knew someone who could get rid of a body with no questions asked.

Gunner walked up and sat down where Mark had been sitting. He let out a sigh and leaned his head back.

“Taking her to Paris, you prick.”

I let a small smile play across my face. “Yeah, I know.”

“Now, when Ellie tells me she’s pregnant, you know that I’m going to have to outdo Paris.”

I looked over at him and saw him trying not to smile.

“Dude, really? You’re gonna try to outdo my honeymoon? That’s fucked up.”

“You took Paris away from me, Jeff. Paris was mine. I laid claim to it.”

“You’re going to be a big baby about this, aren’t you? Just because I’m going to Paris first? Dude, it was my fucking idea in the first place!”

“I wanted Paris, you bastard.”

“Ari speaks French for fuck’s sake.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m sure you broke some sort of man code.”

“Man code? I broke the man code? You bastard, it was my idea…you’re the one who broke the man code trying to steal it from me.”

“What the fuck are you two talking about?” Josh said from behind me.

“Gunner’s pissed because I’m taking Ari to Paris before he takes Ellie. He’s being a baby.”

“Well, he did lay claim to it, dude,” Josh said.

“Thank you!” Gunner shouted out and high-fived Josh.

Traitor bastard is never staying at my house again. He could bunk with Garrett and Emma from now on.

“Go to hell, Josh.”

Josh and Gunner both let out a laugh.

“Oh fuck,” Josh said as he stepped behind me.

He looked like he was hiding from Lynda.

“Dude, are you hiding from your girlfriend?” I asked.

“Yes! She’s fucking driving me crazy. Sorry, Gun, I know she’s your cousin, but fuck, she’s already pressuring me with marriage. We’ve only been dating for five months! If she keeps this up, I think I’m gonna need a break from her.”

“Dude just tell her she’s putting too much pressure on you and to back off,” I said.

“I’ve tried. Every time I do, she says I don’t want to get married because I really want Heather. She’s driving me mad as hell.”

“Why do you stay with her then?” Gunner asked.

“Honestly?”

“Yeah, honestly,” Gunner said as he looked at his cousin walking up.

“I’m lonely, and she’s not too bad in bed.”

Gunner turned and looked at Josh.

Josh held up his arms. “Dude, you asked, and I answered.”

“Fucker,” Gunner said.

“Hey, boys, whatcha up to? It looks like a deep conversation over here,” Lynda said.

She walked up and gave Josh a kiss. He barely smiled at her.

“We were just talking about Jeff and Ari’s honeymoon,” Josh said.

Lynda jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Where are y’all going? Does she know?”

Gunner let out a sigh. “I’m going to get another beer.”

“Paris, and yes, she knows,” I said.

“Oh, how romantic. I hope you’re taking notes, Josh,” Lynda said as she gave him a wink.

I saw Jenny walking up to us. Ari was right behind her along with Ellie and Heather. As soon as Heather saw Lynda, she moved to the other side of the table, standing as far away from Lynda as possible.

“Jeff, it’s time for the first dance. Jack already gave the DJ the song you requested for the first dance,” Ari said.

I had asked Ari if I could pick out our song, and she had said yes. Thank God she hadn’t been a control freak while planning this whole wedding.

“Would you please do me the honor of dancing with me, Mrs. Johnson?” I said as I stood up and reached for her hand.

“I would be more than happy to, Mr. Johnson.”

Jenny walked up to the DJ and nodded her head at him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are now going to have their first dance as man and wife.”

Ari looked up at me, smiling, and then put her hand on her stomach. I pulled her to me and put my lips right up to her ear.

“What? Are you nervous about dancing with your old man?”

She leaned back a little and gave me that damn beautiful smile of hers, and I swore I felt my knees wobble.

“No, I just felt the baby move, I think.” she said.

I smiled as I pulled her closer to me.

“Everything that I’ve wanted to say to you is in this song, baby. I love you so much, Ari, and I wouldn’t be able to last a day without you in my life. I’ll always love you.”

Kenny Chesney’s “You Save Me” started to play. I took her in my arms and started to two-step with her. She looked up at me with tears rolling down her face.

I will never, ever hurt this girl again.

“I promise you, baby, that I’ll always make you happy. Never in my life will I ever hurt you or cause you pain again. I promise you. Thank you so much, Ari, for saving me.”

Ari tried to talk but couldn’t. She put her head down on my chest, and grabbed my vest, and squeezed it tight. She finally looked up at me and smiled.

“You have that wrong, Jeff. You saved me.”

We finished the rest of the dance in silence. When the song ended, we kissed, and I’d never felt so much love pour through my body like I did during that kiss.

“I can’t wait until I can feel him moving,” I said in her ear.

I started to kiss down her neck and she giggled.

“I have to warn you, Jeff. I’m horny as fuck, so you might want to stop doing that, or I’ll take you right here on the dance floor.”

Oh god, I love this girl. I reached down, picked her up and started to walk off the dance floor.

Gunner was standing there, smiling.

“We need to leave,” I said.

“Now?” Gunner asked in a shocked voice.

“Yes, now. Come up with something. You’re my best man dude. You owe me this. My wife is horny, and I need to take of it now if I’m to start out my husbandly duties right.”

“Oh, Jesus H. Christ, I didn’t need to over-hear that,” Ellie said rolling her eyes.

Gunner let out a laugh as he grabbed Ellie and kissed her. “You’re next!”

“Yeah, I didn’t need to hear that. That’s my sister, you prick,”

“She’s my wife.”

“Can y’all just come up with a reason for us to leave? I just want a goddamn cheeseburger from McDonald’s.” Ari shouted.

I set Ari down, and we all just stared at her.

“What? I want a cheeseburger. What’s so wrong with that?”

“Nothing, baby. You want a cheeseburger so I’ll get you a cheeseburger.” I looked over at Gunner. “Gunner, go get Ari a cheeseburger.”

“What the fuck? You just said you wanted to leave. Now you’re telling me to go get a cheeseburger! I don’t remember that in my list of best man duties.”

“Who wants a cheeseburger?” Heather said as she walked up from the dance floor.

“Ari does, but they also want to leave,” Gunner said.

“Then, just leave.”

We all turned and looked at Heather.

“They can’t leave yet. They have to stay for at least another hour,” Ellie said.

“Fuck a duck. I need a cheeseburger.” Ari said.

“McDonald’s?” Heather asked.

Ari nodded her head, and Heather laughed.

“Well, since my date seems to have decided that he likes dancing with none other than Lynda, I’m more than happy to go get you one.”

‘Oh god, Heather, I love you! Don’t tell my mom though. She’ll be pissed if she knew I sent you for a burger.”

Heather laughed and headed back up to the room the girls got dressed in to grab her purse and car keys.

I can’t believe she’s really going to McDonald’s for Ari. Damn that’s a good friend.

Josh walked over from the bar, carrying a beer in his hand. “Where is Heather going?”

“Well, since your girlfriend won’t stop dancing with Heather’s date, bitch move by the way, she offered to go and get me a McDonald’s cheeseburger. You should go with her. I’m sure she could use the company and I don’t want her walking in the dark all alone.” Ari said.

Josh set his beer down and looked out to Lynda on the dance floor. “Okay, if Lynda asks where I am.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” Ellie said as she pushed Josh toward the door where Heather would be leaving.

Josh took off and never looked back.

“You sneaky little thing you,” Gunner said as he looked at Ari.

“What? I don’t want Heather walking all alone,” Ari said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Come, Ells, dance with my pregnant ass.” She grabbed Ellie’s hand and off they went. Ari walked up to the DJ and must have asked him to play a song.

“Ah shit, it ain’t good when your wife requests a song. She has a history,” Gunner said.

I had to laugh. I loved how he called her my wife.

Just then, the DJ stopped the song that was playing. “When the bride asks for a song, it gets played right away,” he announced.

Christina Aguilera’s “Desnudate” started to play, and Ellie and Ari began dancing.

Damn, the way that girl moves kills me. I just stood there for a few seconds, watching her dance. My girl sure as shit loves her Christina. I smiled while I watched her seduce me from the dance floor.

“Heather needs to hurry the fuck up,” I said.

Gunner laughed.

“Dude, I never thought I would say this, but when Ellie gets pregnant, be ready. It’s like they’re horny all the time,” I said.

“I’ll remember that. Get out there and dance with your bride. Hey, I called the hotel, and you’re all set.”

I turned to Gunner and smiled. “You really are like a brother to me. Thank you for taking care of that.”

Gunner and I gave each other a quick bro hug before I headed out to the dance floor.

It didn’t take long for Gunner to join Ellie.

I ended up taking Ari by the hand, and leading her back to the main house to go up to the room the girls had booked.

“Jeff, really, we can’t just disappear from our own reception!” Ari said, laughing the whole time I dragged her away.

“The fuck we can’t.”