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“Glad to see you all alive,” he said, standing up to shake my hand.
I laughed. “We’re here, and we’re alive, but that’s all we can really say,” I replied.
We all took our seats as Dad blessed the food. As we stood up again to serve ourselves, he said to me, “The day I got married to your mother, my groomsmen had to prop me up at the altar. We’d had so much to drink, and so little to eat, that I ended up being sick the next day. Your mother was not pleased.”
I snorted. “I bet.”
He smiled. “She was like Mack in that way. She always needed things to go according to plan, howsheplanned them, or else there was hell to pay. She gave me an earful before we took our wedding photos.”
John hooted in laughter, putting the tongs down next to the sausage patties. “Dad, in the doghouse before the marriage even started,” he crowed.
“I was a young man then, barely out of college,” Dad replied, shaking his head. “I was too young to know better. But you won’t have that problem, Nathan. You and Ciara seem to be on the same page.”
With a pang, I remembered how distant she sounded on the phone. I shook myself out of my thoughts and said, “Yep.”
We ate and talked about this and that, with Damien updating my dad on what he told us about proposing to Alex. The mood was lighthearted and fun, but I was a nervous wreck. I just wanted to see my wife.
By the time one o’clock came, I was ready to jump out of my own skin. I couldn’t sit still, and my stomach was twisted in knots. The night before, I made sure to go easy on the drinks, but my head throbbed from the lack of sleep. I willed the day to go by quicker so I could just be in bed with Ciara and sleep.
Mack had emphasized that we should be at the church by one-thirty, half an hour before the ceremony, so she and Sara could make sure we were all accounted for. We made it to the church with ten minutes to spare. When she met us at the front of the church, she gave us all a quick once-over, saving me for last. She shook her head.
“Y’all look like you haven’t slept and drank too much,” she announced.
“We haven’t and we did.” John smirked.
Rolling her eyes, Mack stepped up to me, straightening my bow tie. “How are you doing?” she asked only so I could hear. “Any nerves?”
“Not about the wedding, no,” I said. “Just wanna see my bride.”
She smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “No first looks,” she reminded me. “You’ll see her when she walks down the aisle.”
“How does she look?”
Mack sighed, putting her hand over her heart. “Like a princess. Like Cinderella. She told me about your lil’ nickname.”
I grinned. “It was her username when we met online.”
“Well, it’s cute or whatever.” She smirked.
Stepping back, she eyed her handiwork. “That’ll do. Now for the rest of you hapless-ass men, let me fix you.”
She went down the line of groomsmen, one by one, until we were all “fixed” to her liking. While she was doing that, the bridesmaids—Brooklyn, Alex, and Estelle—filed in and waited for Mack’s instructions. Soon, we were all ready.
“Now, you guys can go through that side door there, and the bridesmaids will walk down the aisle,” Mack instructed.
John rolled his eyes. “We know, Sergeant Mackenzie. We’re going.”
The groomsmen headed toward the door, but before I could follow, Brooklyn stopped me with a hand to my arm.
I turned to her, worried that something had happened to Ciara. “What’s up, Brooklyn?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said, dropping her hand. “I just wanted to say something.”
“Yeah?”
“Take care of my best friend, please.” She fiddled with her bouquet. “I haven’t exactly been a great friend to her lately, but I only want what’s best for her. She loves you, truly loves you, so you’d better love her just as much, if not more.”
“I will,” I promised. “I’ll love her till my dying breath.”
