First Love (29 page)

"I'm sorry. You really want me to walk you down the aisle? Like a real father does?" he asks, all excited like a kid at Christmas. I nod a yes and he smiles. It’s contagious, so I smile back just as wide. Mistake. I am in another bone-crushing hug. Luckily, Kyle saves me this time. He comes over and taps Beasley on the shoulder.

"Do you mind not squeezing the air out of my girl? I would like to marry her in two weeks." He chuckles as he slides into the booth where Beasley had sat before he started hugging me to death. "It looks like your talk went well."

"I think it went very well. I will have the honor of walking this lovely woman down the aisle, and I couldn't be happier," Beasley says with a beaming smile. "I hate to leave so soon, but I do need to get back to the station. I will see you both later." He kisses my forehead and shakes Kyle's hand before he leaves.

A
MBER LOOKS
so much happier than she was last night. I am thrilled that her talk with Beasley went well. I really hope they can get past all of this and have some kind of father-daughter relationship. We go sit up at the bar to eat some lunch and go over some more wedding details with Paul and Holly. They have both been such a huge help. I have a little thank you gift for them that is going to blow them away. As we all start eating, I figure it is the perfect time to give them their gift.

“Holly, remember when you said if my mom ever wanted to sell her house, to let you know?” I ask her. I watch as she and Paul perk up. They both have wanted to buy a house together, and they absolutely love my mom’s house.

“Yes, is she putting up for sale?" she asks, all excited.

"Actually, she gave it to me. She decided to stay in Texas with my aunt, and she said I could do what I wanted with the house."

"So, are you going to sell it? How much?" I can see how much she wants the house.

“Amber and I were talking about it, and we decided we don't want to sell it." I see Holly go from excited to disappointed really quickly. I guess I picked on her long enough. “We decided we would rather just give it to a couple friends that we thought deserved it, because they are always doing so much for us." I watch her waiting for it to sink in. 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... and there it is. Holly runs around the bar and hugs me so tightly it almost knocks me off the stool. She finally lets go of me and moves on to Amber. Paul comes over and hugs me, too.

“Are you sure about this? That's a big thing to just give away," he asks.

“I am positive. I would rather my best friends be happy in a house I know they both love, than sell it to someone who doesn't really care about it. You guys have done so much for us, and we want to say thank you by giving you this house. Plus, Amber likes the fact that Holly will live in walking distance from her.” I laugh.

“Well, how can I deny them a chance to live so close together?" Paul says with a chuckle.

I just can't believe this is my life. Everything seems so perfect. The bar is doing great, I will be marrying Amber soon, and I have great friends. I can't remember the last time I have felt this content and happy. And it’s all because of the beautiful woman sitting next to me. Now, all I have to do is find Beau. Once Amber no longer has him to worry about, she will be a lot more relaxed, and frankly, so will I.

"W
AKE UP!
Wake up!" Holly is yelling as she jumps up and down on my bed like a little kid. I open one eye to look at her, and she has a huge smile on her face. "Why are you not the one jumping with excitement? It is your wedding day, after all." She has her hands resting on her hips, and she's glaring at me.

"I am excited. I am just not awake." Plus, it felt like it took hours to get to sleep. At first I thought I was just too excited. You know, like when you were a kid on Christmas Eve. It's not that, though. The last couple of days I have had this really bad feeling. I just feel like something bad is going to happen. Maybe its normal wedding jitters, but I just don't think that's it. It could be that we haven't heard anything from or about Beau since he left the flowers at our house a couple weeks ago. The longer he goes without being arrested, the more nervous I get. I promised Holly last night that I wouldn’t worry about anything at all today, so I am going to do my best not to.

"We have everything set up downstairs to do hair and make-up. I also have some food and coffee in the kitchen after you take your shower. Now, move it, lady, we don't have all day." She giggles and bounces back downstairs. I seriously love that girl.

I walk over to the window to see what is underway in the backyard. There are people moving around all over the place out there. The caterers are setting up their grills along with the tables to lay all of the food out on. All of the tables and chairs are being set up all around the back yard. The tables are round with plum, satin table cloths. The chairs have plum covers with a satin black sash on the back. The plates and cloth napkins are black. All of the glassware on the tables is crystal. They are gorgeous, glistening subtly in the sunlight. All of the center pieces are silk flower arrangements consisting of an array of purples and blacks. Holly and I had a difference of opinion when it came to all of this stuff. I wanted simple, something more like a barbecue. I wanted it to feel relaxed and laid back. All the beautiful things were her idea. I am so thankful that she talked me into it now. It’s amazing. The ceremony itself is going to take place over by the pond. There is a small gazebo that hangs out over the water where we will be standing. We set up a few rows of chairs for all of our guests.

I head in to take a shower. As I’m getting dressed, my phone beeps with a text from Kyle.

Kyle:
I really missed sleeping next to you last night. I can't wait to see you and make you my wife :)

Me:
I missed you last night, too. Me either. I love you :)

Kyle:
I love you, too xx

All the guys stayed at Marcus's house and all of us girls stayed here. That, too, was Holly's idea. I thought Kyle was going to strangle her when she said I could not see him until I was walking down the aisle. I like that tradition. I think it adds to the anticipation and makes that moment when you start down the aisle and see each other more special. I still cannot believe in four more hours I will be Mrs. Kyle Connor. It seems like I have waited my whole life for today.

When I walk into the kitchen I am greeted with squeals and hugs from Taryn, Makenna, and Anna. Once they finish I am ambushed again by Beth and Pat who are here to do our make-up and hair. They own the only salon in town. I went to school with both of them, so I have known them for a while. They are really great girls. Holly has fresh fruit, croissants, and mimosas on the counter for breakfast. We all have so much fun while we are having our hair and make-up done. I haven't laughed this hard in a very long time. Time is flying by so quickly. Before I know it, it’s time to put my dress on.

I’m standing in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom, and cannot believe it is my own reflection that I am seeing. It is all perfect; the dress, the hair, and the make-up. I look and feel like a princess. Holly comes in and stands behind me. I can see the tears building up in her eyes. If she starts crying, it will make me cry. I refuse to ruin my make-up.

"Don't you dare start crying, Holly," I scold her playfully.

"You look so beautiful. I am so happy for you and Kyle. You both deserve to be happy."

"Thank you for all of your help with the wedding and everything else that you do. I am so glad you're my friend." I wrap my arms around her in a hug.

"I am glad we are friends, too. Now, no more mushy stuff or we will both be bawling." As she steps back there is a knock at the bedroom door. Holly walks to the door and pokes her head out to see who it is. I turn around and see Beasley walk through the door. Holly says she needs to check on some things and she'll be back in a while.

"Wow. You look beautiful," he says as he kisses my cheek. These last couple of weeks we have spent a lot of time together. It hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be to get used to the fact that he is my father. I haven't had any family in so long, it's nice to know that I have someone. He really is a good man and I’m very happy he’s here with me today.

“You look pretty handsome yourself in that tux." He actually blushes. I never pictured him as the shy type. He acts like he isn’t used to getting compliments. I can't imagine a handsome man like him doesn't have women falling all over themselves to get to him.

“Thank you. I have a couple things for you, do you have a few minutes?" I nod and smile. I’m afraid to talk. I’m so damn emotional and I refuse to cry until Kyle at least sees me first. Beasley pulls out a long, black velvet box from his inside his jacket.