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And I was going to make sure it went flawlessly.
Chapter 8
Jarrett
My fingers shook as I tried to knot my tie. With a curse, I pulled the damn thing free and tossed it on the little couch in the room where Banks and I were supposed to be getting ready for the wedding.
“She’s going to come to her senses and decide I’m not worthy of her,” I muttered as I dropped down onto the couch beside the tie, raking my fingers through my hair. “Why the fuck would she even want to marry a dumbass like me?”
“Easy there, dude,” a deep, amused voice said from the doorway, causing my head to snap up in surprise.
Drake Stevenson stood there with Devlin Cutter, both of them watching me with narrowed eyes, but it was Drake who stepped forward and waved his fingers in a “gimme” sign. Grimacing, I picked up the tie and dropped it in his hand. “Up,” he commanded.
Grunting, I stood, and he slipped the tie around the back of my neck before starting to fix the knot. “You’re right,” the rock legend said while concentrating on the task. “Trin does deserve better. You broke her heart and left her to fend for herself when you should have been beside her, helping her through the most traumatic time of her life.”
The memories of my own idiocy made my stomach cramp. “She won’t show up,” I choked out. “She’s going to wise up and—”
“She’s already in her dress and waiting for you to get your shit together so we can start the ceremony,” Devlin announced dryly. “Seems like you’re the one pussying out, old man.”
“He’s younger than us,” Drake reminded his brother-in-law.
“Not by much,” Dev muttered, watching the other man fix my tie.
“Guess she got more from her mother than just the Stevenson eyes,” the guitarist said with a hint of a grin. “If I were you, I’d appreciate that your son-in-law is closer to your generation. He’s more likely to take your side when you do dumb shit.”
“Why are you treating him with such kindness?” Dev complained. “He’s the reason Nevi spent the summer in London, and you were so anxious about her and the boys, you ended up with a case of shingles.”
Drake shuddered. “I don’t know what was worse. The pain of recovering from the liver transplant or the shingles.”
“You got shingles because you had chicken pox at some point in your life,” I informed him. “The virus was already inside you.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But the stress of worrying about my daughter and grandsons triggered it. Be thankful I’m not using this damn thing to hang you outside the window right now.” Drake finished with the knot and slapped a hand on my chest. “Stop thinking about the mistakes you made, dumbass. Take some advice from someone who knows all too well about fucking up. It will only eat at you until you can’t appreciate the goodness you now have in your life. Accept that Trin loves you and is ready to be your wife. She’s not going to make a run for it. Believe me, we already asked her if she wanted to. Even offered to drive her to the airport myself in case she wanted a little time away to consider her options.”
I glared at the rocker, but he only grinned, his blue-gray eyes glittering with hilarity. “Relax. She turned me down. Trin loves you too much to walk away now. So, get your shit together, old man. Grab your boy, walk down that aisle, and get ready to have your world turned right-side up when she says I do.”
Devlin dropped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Listen to this old fucker.”
“We’re basically the same age,” Drake grumbled.
“Like I said, listen to this old fucker,” he chuckled. “Now that you’re put together, take my new grandson, and wait for Trin at the end of the aisle. I’ll bring her to you soon.”
Inhaling slowly to try to ease my violently beating heart, I gave a stiff nod in hopes of controlling my emotions and walked to the door. Outside, Banks was waiting, already in his suit and looking a little green. “I thought you were gonna chicken out,” he said with relief coating his voice. “That’s why I sent PopPop to talk to you.”
As pep talks went, Drake had been straight to the point, and I had to thank him for it. Slinging an arm around my son’s shoulders, I guided him toward where everyone was waiting. Luca and Lyric stood outside the double doors. Seeing us coming, they each opened one and waited for us.
“You owe me a hundred bucks,” Luca told his twin as we passed. “I told you he wouldn’t pussy out.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lyric muttered. “He’s sweating bullets, bro. I bet he was two seconds from jumping out a window before the uncles went in there to scare him into following through.”
“I still won the bet,” Luca said smugly, giving Banks a fist bump. “Looking good, little bud.”
Banks beamed at his new idol.
The small venue was packed with at least two hundred people, and all eyes were on us as we walked down the aisle to take our place beside the officiant. Thankfully, we’d barely stopped beside the man before the music started and the double doors opened. Madalyn walked down the aisle with a sweet smile on her face, looking like an angel in her bridesmaid dress. As my daughter took her place, I thought I noticed something different about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
And then the music changed, and the doors opened again. Two little girls, both in the same pretty white princess-style dresses, appeared with little baskets of flower petals. Love Bug and Grier noisily made their way down the aisle, throwing flowers on the floor, at each other, and at various guests. It was a little chaotic, but amusing, nonetheless.
When they got to the end of the aisle, Grier went scurrying off to her mother, but Love Bug walked up to Banks and frowned at him. “You hold me,” she instructed. “Like Daddy.”
