“No. No, they did not,” was all Leah could manage. I think I heard Ella say holy shit under her breath at the same time.
There must have been thousands of dollars of lingerie in there. A beautiful dark blue satin and lace corset with a matching blue thong lay
amongst layers of tissue paper. White stockings with little blue bows and, of course, a blue garter was also in there.
“You know what this means?” Leah said.
“My fiancé has a shopping problem?”
“Nope, we’ve got to strip you down again and get you all sexified.”
Awesome…putting on the lingerie I will wear on my wedding night…with my mom and new mother-in-law.
Great way to bond.
Logan
I was quickly discovering that being the groom on the day of a wedding was vastly different than being the bride. As Clare was being primped
and pampered, going from appointment to appointment doing whatever it was that women did for these types of things, I was sitting in the bar
with the guys.
“We really should have planned this day out a bit better,” Colin said, taking a swig from his half empty beer.
“When I woke up this morning and realized I had an entire day with nothing to do, I thought we had it made. But dude, this is fucking boring.
I’d rather be golfing.”
I hated golfing. It was what rich people did to appear outdoorsy, and I’d been around it my entire life. My father was a huge golfer, and I
had spent many summers caged up in a golf cart following him around while he tried to explain the virtues of the game.
“Golf is important Logan. I’ve made many important business deals over a good game of golf,” he’d said. Yeah, whatever.
The fact that I’d rather be out hitting golf balls spoke volumes of the depth of my boredom.
“How long does it take to get ready for a wedding?” I asked.
“Really fucking long,” Colin answered, “Don’t you remember doing this same damn thing at my wedding? Those girls were gone for years
getting ready. Damn if I couldn’t tell the difference when she walked down the aisle either.”
I gave him a look, the look I’d been giving him for years that told him he was crossing the line into his douchebag alter-ego. Colin and I had
been best friends since college and I’d quickly learned he was cocky, self-assured and outspoken. Sometimes the combination of those got out
of hand, and he went from being what women would classify as cute and cocky to instant jackass.
“No, man…I don’t mean it like that. I just meant that she was already gorgeous. She could have spent an entire week getting herself pampered
and ready to walk down that aisle, or she could have showed up in a paper sack, and I still would have thought she was the most beautiful woman
in the world.”
“Damn, Colin. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something so poetic before in my entire life. Garrett—write this down,” I said,
motioning to my soon-to-be brother in law who was also nursing a beer next to us. “Colin just said something heartfelt and touchy-feely. I
want evidence.”
Garrett just shook his head and grinned.
“So, ‘Colin the Wise’, what last words of wisdom do you have for me before I take my vows?”
He gave me a doubtful look, “You seriously want me to give you advice…about marriage?”
“Well, it’s not like we have anything else to do,” I said, motioning to the rest of the bar which was completely empty except for the three
of us. Make that four. I greeted my future father in law as he strolled in, taking a seat next to his son. He ordered a beer and then turned to
our small group.
“Afternoon, gentlemen. What did I miss?” he asked.
“Colin was about to give me marriage advice,” I answered, pointing to Colin who grinned like an asshole.
“This should be good,” Mr. Finnegan, or Tom as he liked to be called, said. We all chuckled and agreed.
“Hey! For your information, I am a damn good husband. It’s not easy, and it’s not always hearts and flowers, but if you find the right
woman, like Ella….it’s worth it. Every damn minute. And if you’re really lucky, she’ll give you the greatest gift imaginable….a mini
version of the two of you all mushed together. It’s incredible.”
“You had me,” I said, clutching my chest, “right here….until you starting talking about mush, and then I got lost.”
“Shut up Logan! You asked for wisdom and there it is. Work at it, every day. They may drive you crazy, run you ragged and send your mind
spinning, but one look from Ella and I’m a goner. Still. She’s it for me, and I will spend every day of my life reminding her that I’m the
same for her.”
“That was actually pretty good Colin. I’m mighty impressed,” Tom said.