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“No tears,” Mom commanded, pointing her finger in my face, but I saw how glassy her own eyes were. “You’ll make me cry too, not to mention, you’ll ruin your makeup.”
The twins hugged me from either side. “You need to pick a dress,” Mila reminded me. “I know it’s a hard decision to make, but we are kind of running out of time. I promised my brother we would get you to the clubhouse by a certain hour, or he will come looking for you.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I blinked back my tears and glanced at the dresses again. “I always thought we would run off to Vegas and get married in one of those little chapels, so I never really thought about a wedding dress before.” But I couldn’t say I was unhappy to have to pick one out now.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Aunt Willa said. “That’s what James and I did.”
“It was just your dad and me on a beach in Hawaii,” Mom reminisced. “I had a simple silk dress and was barefoot. It was perfect.”
The mention of my dad made my heart hurt, but I pushed down all thoughts of him and focused on the dress options.
One was a huge ballgown-like dress, while another was mermaid-style. But my gaze kept returning to the one with double spaghetti straps. The top was a mixture of floral lace and pearls that extended down to about the waist. The bottom was a slinky, crepe skirt that flowed into scalloped edging, with more of the floral lace for the train. It was the perfect blend of old-school Hollywood elegance mixed with a touch of contemporary that had me falling in love with it before I’d even tried it on.
Mom noticed my gaze returning to it again and again, and she walked over to take it off the wall. “Don’t just stand there, little girl. You won’t know if it looks good on you or not, just looking at it on the hanger.”
With a happy squeak, I pulled off the dress I’d worn to graduation and then let the others help me into the white dress. When I turned to look at myself in the mirror, fresh tears stung my eyes. “Is there a veil, by any chance?” I asked Mila.
“They sent a veil for each of the options,” she assured me. “Hold tight. I’ll get it.”
An hour later, after Mila and Monroe both changed into bridesmaid dresses, we got into the limo that was waiting for us and rode over to the clubhouse. The parking lot was packed with cars and motorcycles.
Excitement was already making me jittery, but realizing that I was walking into the clubhouse as River Hannigan and walking out as River Masterson made me dizzy with happiness. The others got out of the limo first, and then Mom turned to help me so I didn’t wrinkle my dress.
The twins and Aunt Willa rushed in to make sure everything was in order, while Mom stayed outside with me. The sun was starting to set, and I was glad it wasn’t raining like it had been on the twins’ wedding day. As the door closed behind the others, Mom turned and took my hands.
“Maverick helped plan today, but he’s not the one who made it possible,” my mother informed me, her face suddenly very serious. “Your dad did.”
I stiffened and took a step back from her reflexively. “No, he wouldn’t. He’s been nothing but an asshole since he found out about my relationship with Maverick. And then the other night…” I was getting pissed just thinking about what had happened to Maverick.
“I know, sweetheart. Believe me, more than anyone, I know.” She gave me an imploring look. “But your dad is sorry. He’s trying to make amends and show you that he accepts your relationship now.”
I didn’t believe her. My dad was too stubborn to do a complete 180 like that and suddenly be on board with me being with Maverick. Not wanting to argue with her about it, I turned and walked back to the limo, tempted to get in and let the driver take me as far away from all of this as fast as he could. But as my hand touched the door handle, I stopped.
No, damn it. I was not going to walk away. Not when the man I loved was waiting for me in the clubhouse. Marrying him was my dream, and it honestly didn’t matter to me how it happened, as long as I did happen. Why should I let my feelings for my father ruin it?
Determinedly, I turned to go back, only to find Mom was now gone.
Dad stood where she’d been only moments before, dressed in dress slacks, a white button-up, and his leather MC cut. There was a vulnerable, almost pleading look in his eyes that hurt me to see, but I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.
For the longest time, we stayed just like that, both of us too stubborn to look away or be the first to break the silence. The sun was almost completely set before he cleared his throat. “You look beautiful, sweetheart,” he choked out.
“Did you come to stop the wedding?” I demanded instead of accepting his compliment.
His throat bobbed before he shook his head. “No, River. I heard Kelli tell you that I was the one to set all of this up. Why would I stop something I want to happen?”
I shrugged. “Because you wanted me to get my hopes up. Then, at the last minute, pull the plug on it all.”
“No, I’m not going to do that. I realize how much Maverick means to you now. If I’d realized before—” He broke off, a muscle in his jaw working for a moment before he could speak again. “I’m so sorry for what I did. I know it doesn’t make any sense to you, but when the boy asked to date you, I thought he was just bullshitting me. I didn’t like him playing with you to get a reaction out of me. I honestly didn’t know how serious you two were about each other.”
“He’s my life. I would do anything for him.”
“And I see now that he would do anything for you, too.” He gave me a grim smile. “I’ve realized I don’t know anything about you, River. And I’m sorry about that more than anything. I guess I stopped paying attention somewhere over the years, and for the life of me, I can’t remember when or even why. Maybe if I’d opened my eyes sooner, I would have noticed how you felt about the boy.”
Tears blinded me, and I quickly blinked them away, not wanting him to see them. “It only took you losing me to open them.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But you, more than anyone, should know how stubborn I am.” He tried to grin, but even through my tears, I could see it was more of a pained twist of his lips. “You’re just as bad. Where did you think you got it from?”
“Mom.”
