The garden area had been completely transformed. At the end of the lawn, masses of bright flowers and solar lamps made a footpath to a large, white wooden altar where the pastor would stand. Fairy lights were everywhere: in the trees, draped over the outside of the house, the fences… Mol was going to love it; it was the perfect romantic setting.
My uncle had been killing himself, getting the house ready for today. I knew it was because he still felt some guilt over what’d happened over the past year, hell, the past twenty-two years, but he shouldn’t have. It was all under the bridge now that my daddy was in prison and my momma had apparently gone to live with her sister in Louisiana.
They were completely out of my life. For good.
“It’s great, thank you,” I replied, surprising him by slinging an arm around his shoulder and planting a kiss on his head. Yeah, yeah, I was all caught up in the moment too.
Suddenly, a loud slam of a door caused us all to look around.
Aunt Alita bolted out of the house, all flustered. “Gabe! Rome! The pastor is here.” She gestured wildly with her hands at the five of us, still in our jeans and shirts, “Ay, ay! You’re not even dressed! Vamose! You have thirty minutes!” Screaming like a Spanish banshee, she reentered the house almost as quickly as she came out.
Austin, Jimmy-Don, and Reece just stared at the now-empty doorway, and laughing, my uncle put two hands on my shoulders from behind. “The joys of married life… something for you to look forward to!”
Even though my fucker friends snickered at my uncle’s comment, all I could think was that those thirty minutes couldn’t pass quickly enough.
Standing at the altar was surreal, and the friggin’ penguin suit I was trapped in almost choked me. Austin stood to my left as my best man, Jimmy-Don, Reece, and Uncle Gabe as my groomsmen.
Music started playing, some classical shit my aunt had picked out, and it immediately set off the nerves. I wanted to be married. I wanted to marry Molly so much that the reality of this moment was hard for me to digest.
It was actually happening.
Aunt Alita walked out of the house first and my uncle beamed with pride as he looked at his wife. Aunt Alita was Ally in twenty years: long brown hair, brown eyes, olive skin—very beautiful. Even after all these years of marriage, he was obviously still crazy about her. He had walked away from my grandparents and all his family for her, and it was comforting to see that true love could stand the test of time.
Cass and Lexi walked out next, wearing matching pink dresses and holding small bouquets of white flowers. Lexi was stripped of her usual heavy makeup, and Austin shifted beside me, a huge damn grin on his face as he watched her walk closer.
Ally was the last of the bridesmaids—Molly’s maid of honor—and I knew that in just a few minutes, my girl would step out of that door. My heart beat furiously in anticipation.
As Ally took her place next to Cass and Lexi on the opposite side of the altar, I closed my eyes, taking a long, calming breath, and when I opened them again, that same breath was knocked right out of me.
Fuck. Me.
Molly had just stepped out of the house and was walking slowly toward me… and she was so beautiful. Her long, brown hair had been swept away from her face, held up by a white rose. Her dress was white lace, sleeveless, high-necked, and hugged every part of her stunning body. Finally, she held a bouquet of white roses in her hands—and she was gripping onto them as though her life depended on it.
I couldn’t help but smile as she kept her eyes on the floor. She hated attention, even this small affair, but when she nervously darted those golden browns to meet mine, a relieved smile tugged on her lips, her shoulders relaxed, and she never looked away from me as she made it to my outstretched hand.
As soon as her hand met mine, I leaned in and whispered, “Hey, Mol.”
Blushing, she replied, “Hey, you,” and we both broke into laughter, the tension dissipating to excitement and happiness.
“You look beautiful,” I said quietly, and the pastor cleared his throat. His face was humored, and narrowing my eyes at his subtle reprimand, I stepped back, signaling for him to begin the ceremony.
I couldn’t exactly go apeshit at a man of God now, could I?
After listening to the pastor’s advice and prayers, and bible readings from Uncle Gabe and Ally, it was time for the vows. We’d decided to write our own, and, gripping onto Mol’s hands and clearing my throat, I began.