“JayWok?” Her eyes threatened to pop out of her skull. “You want Japanese takeout for our wedding? Really, Josh?”
“Another thing you love. Now it’s not good enough? Who are you trying to impress? This day is supposed to be about us. No one else.” I pushed up from my seat at the table and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.
She shoved the scrambled eggs around the pan. “I’m sorry.” She sighed as her shoulders sagged. “I don’t know what this wedding has done to me. I’ve never cared about any of this kind of stuff. I just … It’s an important day. Our day, about us and the beginning of our marriage. I want it to be perfect.”
Pushing her hair over her right shoulder, I pressed my lips to the back of her neck. “It will be perfect. Going into debt over a cake is not a good way to start our forever.”
She sniffed once. “I would just hate to let anyone down, and—”
“What asshole is going to be let down by our wedding? You’re too stressed out, baby. What can I do to fix it? Let me help.” I turned her around to face me, wrapping my arms around her waist. She tucked her face into the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply.
She shook her head, her whining muffled against my skin. “You can’t fix this.”
“I can fix anything.”
“I don’t have anyone to walk me down the aisle, Josh,” she confessed. “How are you going to fix that?”
I squeezed her tighter, hating that the best day of our lives had opened old wounds.
“Let me handle it.”
“What?” she asked as she pulled back, eyeing me.
“You said you would hate to disappoint everyone. Put it on the list. I’ll take care of it. Just like our dates.”
“No.” She began to shake her head slowly, uncertain. “You can’t ask some random person to give me away at our wedding.”
“I want to. Let me do this. You’ve been working so hard at everything else.”
Her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she slowly bit down, unsure.
I placed my hands on either side of her face, looking her in the eye. “Please. I want to do this.”
She nodded as I pressed my lips to her forehead.
The sizzling in the frying pan snapped us from our tender moment as Avery whipped around to take the pan from the burner.
“Damn it,” she yelled as the pan clattered on the counter. She rushed to the sink and pushed on the cold water, soothing her burnt hand under the stream.
“Jesus Christ, Avery!” I grabbed her hand, stretching out her palm so I could inspect it. The pink outline of the handle on her skin was already beginning to fade.
“Doesn’t look too bad,” I said, offering an encouraging smile.
Groaning, she looked up at me with her bottom lip jutting out. “I give up. I am going back to bed and will try again tomorrow.”
“Hey.” Rubbing the pad of my thumb over her lip, I pulled her back against me. “It’s going to be all right. I promise.”
Her head moved against me as she nodded.
“Go ahead. I’ll finish up the eggs and bring them in to you, and we can both spend the day in bed.”
“You’re too good to me.”
“I didn’t say what it is we’ll be doing while we’re in bed.” I patted her ass as she walked away.
She stopped in the doorway, a sexy grin on her lips. “Like I said, you’re too good to me.”
I’d spent the last two weeks doing my part, booking plane tickets and finalizing time off work. Even a simple wedding took some time to figure out. I still wanted our day to be special, regardless of how simple it was.
Avery didn’t seem as stressed, but she’d stopped discussing the wedding. Every day, I worried more that she was having second thoughts.
“I said no, tit bag. Quit worrying,” Deb said.
I pressed the phone closer to my ear. “Don’t fuck with me. This is important.”
“You know, I used to like you. Back when you were cool. Now you’re like a weepy vagina all the time and trust me, those aren’t fun. I miss when you were fun, Josh.”