Tears swell up and I pull her into me. “I can’t thank you enough for this. You thought of everything, made it all perfect.”
“No, you made today happen. You had the strength to walk away from things that weren’t good for you. You’re the one that got you here, Jada. I just got to be the one to help you finalize it.”
“I’m going to marry him,” I whisper. “I’m going to marry the absolute love of my life.”
“You are. And he’s marrying his. That’s what makes this so special. I know I give him all kinds of crap, but you should’ve seen him help plan this. He wanted everything perfect for you. He can’t wait to see you walk down the aisle.”
“The night we met at the restaurant, he told me we would see each other again.” I think back on that night, the way I was drawn to him from the moment he approached our table. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see him again or not. And here I am . . .”
“And here you are, getting ready to do the deal.” She winks at me. “Now let’s make sure we have everything. Something new, your dress. Something old?”
I hold up my right hand. “Mom’s ring.”
“Okay. Something borrowed . . .” She slips off her bracelet and puts it on my wrist. “Something blue, the embroidery. I think we’re good to go.”
“Kari!”
“What?”
“I don’t have a ring for Cane! Oh my God!”
“It’s taken care of.”
My shoulders sag. “Of course it is.”
She laughs at the same time a knock raps on the door.
Kari grins. “I’ll see who that is.”
I look in the mirror again while she answers the door. I hear it open and close. When I look back up, I can’t stop the tears. I don’t even try.
“Daddy!”
He walks to me, tears glittering in his eyes, too. He’s carrying a gorgeous bouquet of pink flowers, a smaller version of the ones delivered to the spa, and is wearing a dark grey suit.
“How are you, baby girl?”
I walk as quickly as I can in my heels and fall into his arms. “You’re here!”
“You think I’d miss this?”
I pull back and dab my face with a tissue. “I can’t believe you’re here.” I dry his cheeks, too.
“That man you’re about to marry didn’t give me much choice.”
“That sounds about right,” I laugh.
“I had two plane tickets hit my desk a week ago for Alice and me.”
“Alice is here, too?”
“She is. Cane went all out for this, Jada. His approach would normally be off-putting, but when everything he does is for your benefit, for your happiness, I can’t argue.”
“I can’t get anywhere arguing with him anyway.”
My father hugs me again and then hands me the bouquet. “These are for you. Are you ready?”
I nod.
“Before we go downstairs, I want to say something.” His face darkens. “You’ve been through a lot in your life from losing your mom to that whole incident with Simon Powers. You continue to amaze me with your strength and kindness.” His voice breaks and he takes a second to compose himself. “I am so proud of you, Jada. Your mother . . . she would’ve loved all of this girl stuff and I wish so badly she could be here today to watch this happen. She would’ve loved the smile on your face today.”
“Oh, Daddy,” I cry.
“In a few minutes, I’m going to walk you down the aisle. And although we’ve done this before, this is the first time I’m handing you over to another man. There’s not an ounce of hesitation on my part, not a second thought to his motivations. Even though I don’t necessarily agree with his methods,” he laughs, “I’m proud to call him my son-in-law, too.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him tightly. His words mean more to me than anything.
“Are you ready?”
“I am.”
“Let’s go.”
CANE
I’ve never done this before.
Fuck, I’ve never wanted to do this before.
I bite the inside of my cheek and look around. I’m not sure how much of this is normal and how much of this is Kari’s doing, but it looks nice. I think Jada will love it.
I’m standing on a stage of sorts, a fountain behind me. Little pink flowers are floating in the water, lights shining up through it. A table to my right has one empty vase, one vase with pink sand, and one vase with gold sand. I have no fucking clue what that’s for. There were no instructions for this and I’m a little out of my depth.
To my left sits Brian, Heather’s boyfriend from Chicago. He’s perched on a stool, strumming his guitar softly, looking up every now and then at Heather who watches him with the look in her eyes that Jada gives me.
Yup. He’s fucked.
I chuckle under my breath and watch the back of the room. I’m fidgety and I try to stop moving, but I can’t.