Piecing Together Sydney (A Sydney West Novel Book 3) (20 page)

It was crazy to think how many little girls dreamed of their wedding day. How they made dream journals and kept little boxes of treasures they thought would be part of their wedding one day. Girls always think of their Prince Charming saving them. How their weddings will be the best day of their life.

I was never that little girl—maybe at first thanks to Disney—but I quickly learned what a myth it was. Maybe, over the years, I went a bit dramatic and thought love didn’t exist at all. Meaningless sex was all I wanted once puberty hit. I never saw this coming…I was currently standing in my bedroom as my mom zipped up my wedding dress.

My mom kissed the top of my head. “You look so beautiful, baby girl.” Her voice cracked. She was going to cry again. Mom was always a mush ball.

“Thanks.” I spun around and hugged her. “Please don’t cry right now. You might make me cry.”

Scarily enough, my eyes did sting with tears. This was overwhelming. I knew this day was coming since December, but to have the day be here was something I didn’t feel prepared for.

Kylie and Ellie knocked on the open door. “Hey, sweetie.” Ellie paused and looked over me from head to toe, as if I was a new person. “You look so lovely!” She swatted Kylie. “Doesn’t she?”

“Yeah. Do you want me to do your makeup?” She lifted up a kit. “I bought some new blushes and lipsticks. I’m adding cosmetology to my resume.”

“Sure.”

“Yay, I can’t wait to start taking your photos too. I’m a pro!” She towed me toward the dresser and set up her makeup. “I’d have you sit, but I don’t want to wrinkle your dress.”

“No worries.” I stood still and closed my eyes as Kylie worked. My hair was already done. It was straightened and pinned up so the veil could be perfectly placed. It felt strange not to have my hair going down my shoulders.

Ellie and my mom talked softly to each other. Amelia came in and clapped her hands, scaring me. “Don’t move,” Kylie warned.

“Sorry,” I muttered, eyeing Amelia. “What’s up?”

“The boys are on track. I made sure of that. They’re on their way to the beach now. How’s it going in here?”

Mom sniffed and cleared her throat. “We’re doing good.”

Kylie ran a brush over my cheeks one last time. “Now for your lips, and you’ll be the best bride ever.” She rubbed some red lipstick on my lips. “Can you make a kissy face?” I puckered my lips so she could finish my face.

She stepped back. I moved to see myself and she body blocked me. “Not yet.”

My mom burst into tears…again. Ellie gave her a tissue, and then had to use one herself. Would anyone be whole after this?

Amelia stood with a necklace hanging from both hands, ready to place it on my neck. “Please turn around.” I did as I was told. She placed a heavy silver necklace on my chest and hooked it. Once she let it go, the pendant hung between my breasts, just above the cut of my dress. I picked it up. The pendant was a diamond teardrop, and the chain was made of silver flowers with diamonds as petals. “This is your something new.”

My mom came up to me. Her blue eyes were a bit red, but she looked happier than I’d seen her in years. “This is something old.” She showed me a pair of diamond earrings. I smiled at her as she stepped forward to place them in my ears. She backed away, dabbing her eyes.

Ellie stepped up next. “This is your something blue.” She put a blue dragonfly hairpin in my hair.

Kylie sprung forward. “This is something borrowed.” She gave me a silver cuff bracelet in the shape of a butterfly. A smile curled her lips as she placed it on my wrist. “Fitting, no?”

She was referring to how Jason proposed, and I loved it to death.

“Yes, very.”

She tapped on the bracelet. “Remember I want it back.” She winked at me, and then moved for Amelia.

“Time for your veil.” She pinned it to the crown on top of my hair bun and then looked at me, as if I were under inspection. “I think you’re done!”

Kylie pointed to my freshly painted black toes. “Are you going barefoot?”

I shrugged, digging a toe into the carpet. My feet felt naked without shoes. “Yeah, don’t want sand in my flats and don’t want to fall in heels. Why put shoes on now when I’m just going to take them off?”

“I think it’s time.” Amelia looked at her phone. “We need to hit the road.”

Kylie and Ellie blew me kisses and waved as they left. Amelia rubbed my upper arm and gave me a huge grin. “You ready, Syd?”

My heartrate increased. I wanted to rush this, yet I didn’t want to forget a thing. I thought I’d get cold feet, but it wasn’t that really. It was knowing everyone would be looking at me, listening to me. That my love of Jason was on display, and it made me nervous. I didn’t want to fuck things up.

My mom touched my other arm. “Do you want a few minutes alone to collect your thoughts?”

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll be ready in a few.”

Amelia hooked her arm with my mom’s. “No worries, Syd. I’ll make sure everyone is in place and the music is queued. Then I’ll call your mom, and she’ll drive you over. Okay?”

I nodded. “Thank you so much, Amelia. You’re the best maid of honor.”

Her smile could’ve cracked her face. “Anything for you, best friend.” With that she and my mom were gone, giving me a few minutes to be by myself.

I let out a breath and went to face my reflection. Kylie did an amazing job. My skin looked flawless and had a bridal glow, if that was a thing. The black liner and a touch of blue eye shadow gave me a perfect yet subtle smoky eye. My lips were as red as a rose, and her blush made my cheekbones look on point. It was crazy what makeup could do. Turn a girl like me into a rocker chick who was in all the nightclubs last summer, and then into a bride the next year.

My fingernails were black French tipped and looked amazing against my black and white dress. I ran my hands down my stomach, feeling the onyx silk beneath my fingers.

For the last time, I scrolled through my Facespace as Sydney West. My friends and family were tagging me, talking about their excitement for my wedding. A smile took my lips seeing everyone’s selfie as they waited for me to drive down.

Deep inside, I was heartsick. My father was an asshole, but it hurt to know we could never make up and have that father-daughter relationship I envied in others.

“I’m sorry you can’t be here, Daddy.” I fought back my tears so they didn’t ruin Kylie’s work. “I do love you, even if you never saw much of it.”

I hung my head, not feeling like looking at my phone anymore. I sat it down on the dresser and looked out the window. The sun highlighted the clouds, painting them orange and pink. My wedding was starting a few miles away. Jason was down at the beach we first met at, awaiting my arrival.

“Sydney?” Mom called from downstairs. “You ready, baby? We need to hit the road so we’re not late.”

I took in a deep breath through my mouth and out through my nose. “Yes, coming!”

Today was going to be one of the best and craziest days of my life.

My mom hooked her arm with mine. The music swirled all around us. The wedding was straight out of a fairytale: the black and white flowers, the sunny weather, the waves breaking on the beach a few yards away, Jason in his sexy tux, and everything else in between. As I walked down the sandy aisle, the wind gently blew my veil. I closed my eyes, inhaling the scent of the ocean.

Everyone stood for me. I smiled at my guests. Jason’s father and his new wife and son were sitting in the second row on the right side of the aisle. Daniel grinned at me, looking like a proud father. Ellie and Kylie were in the front row. They beamed at me and only Kylie looked behind to smile at her father too.

The world faded away when Jason smiled at me. It was like a smile I’d never seen before. There was so much love in his eyes that I almost swore this was a dream and I’d wake up to reality soon. Only this was happening. The warm sand was really under my feet. My mom truly gave my hand over to Jason and went away to sit in the front row of the left side. Jason actually moved my veil behind my head, and his silver eyes locked me in.

God, I was goo in his hands.

“Dearly beloved, we have gathered here…” The pastor went on, but it was only noise coming from my left. I was a goner as Jason’s eyes pierced into mine. He was mine in sickness and in health, to have and to hold, and all that other cliché stuff.

“Now the bride and groom will exchange vows,” the pastor said, hugging his Bible to his chest.

Vows? Shit! I never wrote any vows. I was worried about dresses and flowers and Amelia’s pregnancy, and then Jason’s disappearance. How come Amelia didn’t harp on this?

I looked behind me to my maid of honor, knowing my eyes probably looked crazed.

She smiled and slipped me a piece of paper. “You’re doing fine,” she mouthed.

Jason cleared his throat as he pulled out his vows from his jacket. “Sydney…” He unfolded the paper and glanced down at it before meeting my gaze again. “You’re a tough woman who is bullheaded, stubborn, and a bit insane.” A few people in the crowd laughed. Where was he going? Vows were supposed to be so sweet that your teeth ached. It felt like he was dissing me.

He continued, “We met last summer, and I knew that day when you wanted
surfing lessons
,” he used air quotes around the words, “that somehow you were going to change my life. I wasn’t sure how or why. Maybe because of our best friends.” His eyes moved past me to Amelia and I dared to look at Hunter. He smiled to himself. “I’m thankful for meeting you. We have so much in common, and you push me to be better. I can’t believe I get to wake up to you every day for the rest of my life.”

The pastor nodded and looked to me. “Sydney?”

My mouth felt drier than the Arizona desert. I fumbled with the piece of paper, but the words looked foreign. Were they not in English?

I licked my lips. “Jason…I…umm…”

The atmosphere hung over me like a thick fog. If it wasn’t for the roar of the ocean and the cry of the seagulls, I’d swear I’d gone deaf. I blinked, and the words made a bit more sense.

“‘Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced,’ Soren Kierkegaard.” I paused, closing my eyes. My best friend knew me too well. She threw a quote into my vows. “I never knew what love was until you. As cheesy as that sounds, it’s true.” I put down the vows Amelia wrote and went on with my own version. “Fairytales were nothing to me. I wanted to be the heroine and save myself. I was doing a good job, or at least I thought I was. You showed me it was okay to ask for help, to have someone to lean on. That life is better when you’re having adventures with someone rather than alone. I want to spend the rest of my life having adventures. I will forever beat you in surfing…” Jason laughed and shook his head. I continued, “We’ll graduate college and deal with whatever else life throws at us together. I’m glad we met that day here on this beach, I’m glad I have you, Jason.”

The pastor smiled. “With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Everyone burst into applause as Jason grabbed me and kissed my lips as if it had been a while since he took his last breath. We broke away and walked down the aisle together as one. People threw confetti at us as we made it to the limo. I laughed and held onto Jason tighter. This was the best day of any summer I ever had.

***

The reception was at a fancy hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Jason and I drank some champagne and watched the city go by.

“People are probably rubbernecking, thinking someone famous is in this limo,” I said, laughing, before taking another sip.

Jason kissed the back of my free hand. “There is, though. You’re famous to me.” He winked.

I took my hand back and touched his freshly shaved cheek. “You’re terrible. Why are you so sweet?”

“Because I heard my mom used a lot of sugar on me as a kid.”

I rolled my eyes, swatting him. “You’re too much.”

The limo pulled into the valet section of the hotel. “We’re here!” I bounced up and down in my seat. It was bizarre that I was this excited, but I went with it. My heart was racing like a wild mustang.

We got out and entered the hotel. It smelled like cinnamon, and everyone smiled and shook our hands. Amelia was in charge of the gift station, and my mom made sure people signed into our guest book. Hunter was in control of the music. Currently soft classical music was playing.

Once seated at the table up front, our dinner was served. The air filled with chatter and laughter. Jason held my hand under the table and ran his thumb over my knuckles. I slipped my foot out of my heel and ran it up and down his pant leg. I leaned into his ear. “I can’t wait to make love to you for three weeks straight.”

He side-eyed me. His hand dropped mine and moved to my leg. I was already wet when he squeezed my thigh. “You’ll have to be carried around, because you’re not going to walk for a while,” he whispered.

I bit my lip, slowly raking my teeth over it.

Jason kissed my cheek and touched my chin, turning my head so he could seal his lips over mine. Amelia hit my arm. “Syd, we’re going to play a video. Stop kissing your man for a minute.”

We broke away from each other. I touched my lips, knowing all my lipstick rubbed off. “Stop my kiss with my husband?”

She rolled her eyes. “Just watch.”

The room darkened, and a video started on the back wall. It was of me as a baby in my crib. My mom picked me up and kissed my chubby cheek. Next, it went to me when I was five, and my dad and I were building my new big girl bed. I blinked away my tears at seeing my father. Jason took my hand, knowing my pain. The video switched over to Jason when he was a baby and laughing as Kylie played peekaboo with him. It moved on to Jason winning first place in a spelling bee when he was in elementary school. Later, it moved to clips of us last summer. Nothing dirty, just us kissing and laughing. Some surfing and a shot of me falling asleep on Jason’s shoulder. The video faded out, and the light turned back on.

“What did you think?” Amelia whispered to me.

I pushed a stray hair away from my eye. “It was amazing. Thank you.”

She beamed at me. “Just so you know, you’re going to be my maid of honor.” She rubbed her belly. “Not sure now or later though.”

“Don’t worry. I think I have an understanding of weddings now.” She gave me a skeptical look. “Well, you’ll be there too.” I gave her a shy smile.

The music changed, playing “Wind Beneath My Wings.”

Hunter stood up on the stage and pointed to us. “For the first time, may I introduce Mr. and Mrs. King.”

Jason stood up and offered me his hand. I took it and we walked onto the dance floor next to the dining tables. We twirled a few times as people clapped. Soon, others joined us. Jason dipped me and then spun me around, making my dress swirl around me.

Hunter cut in and danced with me. Amelia replaced me. She hugged Jason and whispered to him. Probably another threat. God, she was hilarious and the best friend a girl could ask for. Hunter complimented my dress and spun me in a fast circle, making me a little dizzy as my dress bloomed around my hips.

After a few minutes, my husband returned to me with wide eyes and Hunter took Amelia away. “What did she say?”

He shrugged, placing his hands on my lower back. “Just another friendly warning to not break your heart.”

“Yeah, you’d have her and my mom gunning for you.” I leaned in close. “I’d be more afraid of my mom. She’s not scared of prison if whatever she did was for me.”

His face turned white. I cracked myself up and hung my arms over his shoulders. “God, you’re too easy.” I pulled myself together. “But seriously, my mom can be a mean bitch. Don’t piss her off.”

“Noted.”

“May I cut in?” a voice said from my left. I turned my head and saw Daniel offering me his hand. I looked over at Jason. He tried to smile, but his lips didn’t work right.

“Yeah,” Jason said, letting me go.

Daniel took my hands, pulling me in close. “You look beautiful, Sydney.”

I forced a polite smile onto my face. “Thank you.”

“You sure make my son happy. I’m glad he found you and that he’s turned out to be a good man despite me never being there to show him how. His mom is amazing.”

“Yeah, she sure is.” I wasn’t going to make him feel better. He knew he was a shitty father, and he needed to own it.

“Can I introduce you to Jared?”

I glanced around and found Jason standing off to the side. He was actually close to Jared, but the two seemed to be staying away like the opposite ends of magnets.

“Just me or…” I was lost. I didn’t want to meet Jared alone, but I also didn’t want to pressure Jason into having to talk to the half-brother he never knew he had. It was hard enough for him to let them come to our wedding.

“Jason and you. Please, he’s been waiting to meet you two for a while.” He twirled me around and held me at arm’s reach. When he pulled me back in, I knew I had to answer.

“Umm…sure.”

“Okay, great.” We stopped talking, and he let go of my hand. It felt strange following him over to Jason. My husband slipped an arm around my waist and kissed my lips.

“Jason, this is…” He waved Jared over. “This is your brother, Jared.” He put his hand on his youngest’s shoulder. “Jared, this is Jason.”

A woman in her late forties with dark brown hair with a hint of gray came over with a glass of wine and smiled at us. “I’m Kat,” she said, offering her hand to me. I shook it and smiled. I saw her at the wedding, but not really. I was busy getting lost in Jason’s eyes as we stood in front of everyone.

“Hi…” I said, looking over at Jason to see how he was taking this. Oddly, he smiled and shook her hand too.

“You’re so handsome, Jason. Just like your dad.” Kat ran her hand down Daniel’s arm. The diamond on her finger reflected the lights above. Jason clenched his jaw and took my hand, squeezing it. I knew this was hard for him, seeing his father’s new family.

Kylie came by and took a few photos. She was super happy with Jason and me, but a little cold to her father. Guess she didn’t like the new family her dad was flashing around. Soon my sister-in-law disappeared, taking her photography job seriously and making sure she captured everything going on.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Jared said, putting his hands in the front pockets of his pressed black pants.

Jason nodded. “Ditto.”

Jared had a long nose and a square jaw. His eyes were a dark green, but when he smiled at me, I saw Daniel in him.

Butterflies attacked my stomach. “We should get back to dancing.” I tugged Jason away. “Talk to you all later?” I said over my shoulder.

Daniel hooked his arm around his wife’s hips. “I’d like that.”

I got Jason back on the floor, and he twirled me around and dipped me. When the song slowed, we pressed up against each other, moving in small motions around the room.

“That was awkward, but a bit better than I thought it was going to be,” I whispered as we moved past my aunt and uncle. They smiled at us, and I had to smile back.

Jason nodded and moved both his hands to my hips. “Agreed. I’ll forgive him and not cut him out, but I doubt he’ll be that involved in our lives. He’s too distant from us now. Kylie and I don’t need him. We’re adults, and we know what we want in life. No need for a father anymore.”

I laid my head on his chest. “I know, baby. But at least you know what happened. The past can rest. Both of our pasts will stay behind us, and we’ll be stronger thanks to them.”

“I’m stronger thanks to you, Syd.” He kissed my lips, and I swear my heart melted. “We should go talk to my mom.” Jason nodded to Ellie. She was swaying to the music, holding a glass of wine. She looked sad. My mom stood next to her. They eyed Jason’s father and his family and whispered to each other.

I nodded, and we moved our way over to our moms. Jason broke away from me.

“Hey, Mom.”

Ellie stood up straighter and smiled at her son. “Hey, darling. You dance beautifully.”

“Thanks. Did you—”

Kylie cut in. Her camera hung from her neck. She had a glass of whiskey in hand. “Ugh, Dad and his new family are getting on my nerves.”