Chapter 12
Otto
I’d thought that the few days before the wedding were going to drag, considering the blue balls I was sporting, but surprisingly, they flew by.
My gramps had told me not to bother coming into work, so Esther and I had spent the past few days together, getting to know each other and unfortunately keeping our hands to ourselves.
We’d gone to dinner at my grandparents’ house so Esther could meet the rest of the family, and she’d done pretty well with the onslaught.
There were so many of us that there was no chance of keeping everyone straight, but she’d done her best and by the end of the night had been comfortable enough to be herself and had charmed everyone from my gramps to my cousin’s newborn baby.
There was a sweetness to Esther that you didn’t encounter very often, and I was glad that the people that were most important to me recognized it.
“Lookin’ good,” Micky called out from the doorway.
“Esther’s probably thinkin’ I’m gonna be wearin’ a suit,” I replied, smoothing my hair back from my face. It was longer than I usually wore it, but when I’d considered getting it cut before the wedding, the memory of Esther’s fingers running through it had made me reconsider.
“I have a feelin’ she won’t be surprised,” he joked, gesturing at my clothes.
I was wearing a white button-down and the only pair of pants I owned that weren’t jeans, but she was stuck with the work boots and leather. I didn’t have any other shoes, and I wasn’t getting married without my cut.
“They on their way?” I asked, glancing at the door behind him. The clubhouse was bustling with people and more were showing up every few minutes, but I hadn’t seen any of the women that were helping Esther get ready.
“Emilia said they’d be headed over soon,” he confirmed, glancing around. “Looks nice in here.”
“They rented the tablecloths,” I murmured, distracted. “So don’t spill anything.”
Micky laughed. “Nervous, huh?”
“I’m not nervous.”
“Bullshit. You’re talkin’ to me about tablecloths,” he said dryly. “Either you’re nervous or havin’ some kind of stroke.”
“They’re here,” I blurted, forgetting Micky entirely as I strode toward the door.
“I won’t spill anythin’,” he called out behind me, laughing.
“Well, don’t you look nice?” my little sister Myla greeted, setting down a large wrapped box on the bar.
“Who’d you ride with?” I asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Emilia and Rhett.” She laced her arm through mine and tugged me away from the door. “Mom and Dad are bringing Esther in a few minutes. There was some problem with her flowers.”
“What was wrong with her flowers?”
Myla waved off the question. “You ready to get married?” she asked me cheekily, bumping me with her hip. “I like Esther. She could’ve done way better.”
“You’re funny,” I replied flatly. “Ha. Ha.”
“Wait ’till you see her,” she said happily as Rhett and Emilia came through the door. “She looks gorgeous.”
“She always looks gorgeous.”
“Not this gorgeous,” Myla mumbled. “Just wait.”
“Nova’s right behind me,” Emilia told Micky as he helped take Rhett’s jacket off. “Have you seen Rumi? He’s not answering his phone.”
“He and Bird are around here somewhere,” Micky replied. “Everything good?”
“I think she got some news about her grandma,” Emilia murmured with a shrug. “But don’t say anything to him, I think she wanted to talk to him about it before she said anything to Bird.”
I ignored the rest of their conversation and distractedly greeted a couple of other people as they came through the door, forcing myself not to check the time again. Esther wasn’t late, but it felt like I’d been waiting a long ass time for her to show up.
“You’re acting like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs,” my gram greeted as she came through the door.
“Hey Gram,” I replied, leaning down to hug her as my gramps slapped my shoulder and strode past us.
“Your parents are right behind us,” she whispered conspiratorially. “And it’s starting to sprinkle outside. Why don’t you grab an umbrella and go meet them?”
“Good idea,” I replied, kissing her forehead as I moved around her.
There were quite a few dressed-up women in the building who hadn’t wanted to get rained on, so for once there were actually a few umbrellas stacked against the wall just inside the front door. I grabbed one as I passed them and hurried outside, just in time to see my parents park.
My stomach flipped as I jogged toward my mom’s SUV. My parents were in the front seats, so I knew Esther must be sitting in the back behind the tinted windows.
“Well, if it isn’t the groom,” my mom called out cheerfully as she threw open her door. “I’m guessing that umbrella isn’t for me. I’ll meet you in there!”
She held her purse over her head as she hurried into the building.
“Hey bud,” my dad said, rounding the hood. “You good?”
“I’m good,” I confirmed.
“Alright. We’ll see you inside.”
Then it was just me, standing next to the SUV, super fucking nervous to open the door. The anticipation surprised me. It was a marriage of necessity for fuck’s sake. Why the hell was I dying to see Esther in her wedding dress?
Only the knowledge that she was probably watching me stand outside the door like a fucking idiot made me step forward and open the back door.
Then, there she was. Not smiling. Wide-eyed and just as nervous as I was.
Her dress covered her from throat to ankles, but that was about all I could see before she stepped out of the SUV. I fumbled with the umbrella trying to open it, and then nearly swallowed my tongue.
The dress covered her, yeah, but the entire thing was made of lace and while I was sure that underneath the lace was flesh-colored fabric, it didn’t look that way. It looked like she was fucking naked underneath. I was going to kill my mother… or maybe thank her.
Jesus.
“You’re not saying anything,” she said quietly as I looked her over.
“Holy fuck,” I replied. They were the only words I could think of.
“It’s kind of racy,” she said, her hands fidgeting.
I looked up to meet her eyes, and that’s when I noticed that she was wearing her hair down. It was pulled back on one side with a fancy clip, but the rest of it hung in curls and waves to her waist.
“I might have a heart attack before we make it to the vows,” I told her honestly.
She giggled a little in relief and the nerves I’d been fighting since I’d woken up that morning were gone in an instant.
“You ready to do this?” I asked, thrusting out my elbow so she could grip the arm holding the umbrella over us.
“Are you?” she countered. She turned and grabbed something out of the back seat. When she turned back, I could see that it was a large bouquet of yellow flowers. “I know you said your favorite color wasn’t yellow,” she said lightly. “But I thought—” She shrugged.
“Pretty,” I replied gruffly.
I led her toward the building as a few other cars pulled into the lot. I didn’t say anything about the way her hands were shaking, since mine weren’t exactly steady either.
“I know no one can actually see anything,” she whispered when we were close to the door. “But I’m starting to question how I let your mom talk me into this dress.”
“Probably because it looks fuckin’ phenomenal on you,” I replied, pausing before I reached for the door.
“Thank you,” she murmured, lifting the bouquet up so it covered most of her torso.
“Here—” I chuckled a little as I pulled her hair forward with my free hand, draping it over her shoulder. “That better?”
“Not really,” she said apologetically. “I don’t remember the last time I wore my hair down in public.”
I looked at her blankly for a moment. It took me a minute to understand what the problem was—she looked amazing.
Then it dawned on me that this was Esther.
The girl who had grown up wearing nothing but out-of-date baggy skirts and hid her hair in a bun ruthlessly slicked back from her face for as long as I’d known her.
The past few days, I’d seen her in new clothes and her hair in a loose braid, but that was clearly as far as she’d felt comfortable straying from what she was used to.
“Baby, why didn’t you get somethin’ you were more comfortable in?” I asked quietly, leaning down to meet her eyes.
“For you,” she replied simply.
The words were a blow, both making me feel about ten feet tall and also like a fucking cockroach. There were people headed toward us, taking their time to give us a little space, but I knew we didn’t have more than a minute before we needed to head inside.
“I woulda married you in that denim skirt you were wearin’ the night we got to know each other,” I said, reaching up to wrap my hand around the side of her neck so she couldn’t look away from me.
She blushed at the reminder of the night we’d hooked up but kept her eyes on mine.
“But I seriously fuckin’ love this dress and you know I got a thing for your hair. Thank you.”
I was winging it, but I’d clearly said the right thing because by the time I’d let go, Esther had straightened, her shoulders squared and her chin high. Her eyes still looked a bit like a deer in the headlights, but she’d dropped the bouquet back down by her side.
She jerked in surprise when we stepped inside and the crowd started cheering, but she kept her head high as people came to greet us, telling her how beautiful she looked and congratulating us.
I was proud as fuck when we finally got to the actual wedding part of the day.
Uncle Casper officiated like it was his full-time job and he hadn’t gotten ordained on some website, and Esther practically fucking glowed.
She was so goddamn beautiful that I had a hard time focusing on anything else.
The words of the ceremony were a blur. I curled my hands into fists at my sides so I wouldn’t reach out and grab her and it was a goddamn relief when we were done and I could finally kiss her.