Chapter 56
Layla
Seth hasn’t stopped touching me since the ceremony. Even now as we’re sipping champagne and mingling with guests, he has my hand in his.
“Did you know about this?” he whispers in my ear.
“No! I asked Jeannie when she had the time because she just gave birth weeks ago. She told me not to worry about it and to enjoy myself.” My eyes fill with tears, and if I had a free hand, I’d fan my face with it.
“You look so beautiful,” my mom says.
Donna nods but she’s too busy crying to say a word.
“You really do,” my dad says.
“Shut up, Leon. No one asked you,” my mom says, but her words lack their usual bite. “And I haven’t had to cut your dick off yet, Seth, so you’re doing a good job.”
“Mom!” I look around the room, and sure enough, Reverend Okoye is watching. He stares at us in disbelief.
“Do you do exorcisms?” my dad asks. “Or is that only the Catholics? Whatever you can do to cast the devil out of them,” he says while pointing at my mom and Donna.
“I’ll pray for you all,” the reverend says before walking away.
June Bug cackles, but instead of saying something smart, he offers Seth his hand. After they shake, he pulls me into a hug that turns into him putting me in a headlock like he did when I was little. He rubs his knuckles over my hair until Seth pulls me away. He puts his arm across my shoulders.
It takes another hour for everyone to come out and congratulate us, including the owner of the team, Wayne Valen, and his grandson, Ryder.
“She’s a beautiful bride, Seth,” he says after kissing the back of my hand. I find myself blushing at the compliment. “Remember what I told you. Keep your willy in your pants, and I better not hear about any more shenanigans.”
“Yes, sir,” Seth says.
“Ryder set an alarm on my phone. Every time you’re mentioned, I’ll know. I better not get any alerts that will cause a hullabaloo. You got that?”
“Thanks, Ryder,” Seth says with a hint of sarcasm. All Ryder does is grin as he continues to stare at me. He stares for so long, I blush.
“Anytime,” Ryder says. Then he takes my hand in his and kisses the back of it. “I’m Ryder Valen.” The entire time he never looks away. Seth finally reaches over and pulls my hand from his. “Thanks for stopping by,” Seth says to him and his grandfather.
Seth looks at Ryder and tilts his head to the other side of the room, but Ryder is either oblivious or thoughtless because his eyes won’t leave my face. He pulls something out of his blazer pocket and hands me his card.
As I’m about to say something to him, Jasmine taps Mr. Valen’s leg, and Johnny does the same. He starts to chase them, and they run out laughing and screaming.
“Feel free to contact me,” Ryder says to me.
Seth takes the card from me and slides it into his pocket. Finally, Ryder takes the hint and walks away.
“Fucking asshole,” Seth whispers, before he snakes an arm around my waist. While more people congratulate us, I look across the room and lock eyes with Jeannie. She smiles at me and holds up her champagne flute. I do the same. She tilts her head towards Seth and mouths, ‘Tell him.’
The conversation I had with her flashes through my mind.
Earlier today:
While Vickie and my mom fuss over Jasmine and change her into the dress they bought for her, I’m alone with Jeannie for the first time in a long time.
“I can’t believe you did all of this. You just had twins!” I exclaim as if she could possibly forget she just birthed two babies.
“I have an assistant, and Vickie did most of it. In case you forgot, I’m rich now.” She bumps her shoulder with mine, and tears pool in my eyes before sliding down my cheeks. “Oh, don’t you dare. The makeup artist just left.” She grabs a tissue and dabs my eyes. “Suck it up until after the ceremony.”
Once I get myself together, I say, “I remember you cried like a baby the entire week leading up to your wedding.” I cross my arms and look at her.
She just shrugs. “Tell me how everything is going. You guys are—”
“We’re good,” I say. “We’re great. Seth’s not the fuckboy I thought he was. Well, he was, but there’s more to him. And I’m not going to make excuses for how he was, but I understand him so much more now. He has a bit of a tragic story, but that’s his story to tell,” I say quickly.
“I know some,” she says. “And you’re right. Underneath all that whoring, he was just a lonely kid, but you three seem to be happy. I was worried when you first married, but you’re making it work.”
“We are,” I say, relieved that she gets it.
“You care about him.” She gestures for me to follow her into the closet where she pulls out my wedding dress. I gasp. I knew it would be beautiful, but this is the exact one I gushed over when we went shopping for her dress. I remember begging her to try it on and was disappointed when she said it wasn’t right for her. It’s a simple dress with a long train. I remember how it molded to her body, and I almost died at the peephole cutout in the back.
“I do,” I admit. I more than care. She stares at me and waits for me to say more.
“Say it,” she says. “It’s okay. It’s just us here.”
“I think I’ve fallen in love with my husband, Jeannie. I don’t know how that happened because it was an arrangement, but after living with him all this time, and getting to know the real Seth Herman Wakowski, I—”
“Herman?” she asks before she bursts into laughter.
“Oh my god! Don’t tell him I told you. I saw it on his birth certificate.” We both giggle. “He told me not to ever mention it again.”
“Continue,” she says once we get our giggling under control.
“Once I got to know the real him, I couldn’t help myself. He’s such a good dad. I mean amazing. And it’s all because he did not want his child to go through what he went through. It would have been so easy for him to repeat old patterns, you know. I don’t mean the agoraphobia but the neglect. He didn’t do that though. He stepped up and not only did he break old patterns, he shattered them. And he did it at such a young age. It’s amazing that he recognized that his childhood wasn’t right and didn’t want his child to go through that. It’s so selfless.”
“Yes, that’s great. He stepped up even though he couldn’t dress the baby for shit.” We laugh at that.
“Well, that’s my job now.”
“Thank goodness for small things, but what about his treatment of you? That’s important too.”
“He’s wonderful to me. I think he models Aiden and Colt, but he’s a great husband.”
“So, why don’t you tell him you love him?”
“Love was not one of our conditions. This was for Jasmine and my grandma. It will make things weird, especially since he doesn’t feel the same way.”
Jeannie puts the dress over my head, careful that it doesn’t touch my face. Once it’s on, she goes behind me and zips it. It’s a perfect fit, and never did I imagine I would wear a dress like this. Especially after seeing the price tag.
“Are you sure he doesn’t feel the same way?” she asks gently.
My head snaps up and our eyes lock through the mirror. Sure, the sex is incredible, and he always holds me at night. He’s gentle. He gets me flowers and has given me access to everything in his life, including his deepest secrets. He also trusts me with his money, and I’m in the process of getting repairs done on my mom’s house. He’s talked about his childhood and upbringing. He takes care of my grandma and me. But the thing that sticks out the most in my head is how he held me in his arms the other night when I was upset about my grandmother’s condition.
“He doesn’t,” I say.
“Really.” She takes her phone and hands it to me. “Look through those pictures.”
I snatch the phone from her. There are several photos, and in most of them, Seth is looking at me. Even when I’m not next to him, he’s looking at me from across the room. In one of the pictures, he’s talking to Coach and I’m talking to Vickie, but we’re holding hands. There’s one of me holding Jasmine, and I can see how emotional he is as he watches us.
“Those looks say otherwise. Tell him.”