Chapter Sixteen
Adelaide
The second I agreed to marry him, Poe became a whirlwind of activity.
I thought we were heading to bed without dinner.
In reality, he went into his study with his phone and stayed there for hours, making plans. When I banged on the door to tell him to eat, he barked back that he wanted everything to be perfect and to leave him alone.
Crazy man.
The ring has a tiny raccoon face and a trailing curl of a tail with diamond stripes. When I finally looked at it, I cried happy tears.
My excitement didn’t sidetrack my irritation with his sudden self-isolation.
I ate dinner, grumbling to Racer about useless dogs, until he reappeared with a giddy grin that stopped my heart.
He booked a flight to a beach in LA, set up a hotel and a wedding venue, and planned all sorts of sightseeing—all in one hour. One hour is all it took to get me under lock and key.
Determined , crazy man.
He started packing the very next day, blissfully ignoring his manager’s calls. I had to be the one to tell Murphy the news in a giddy rush. He pouted about not being invited to the wedding.
As a matter of fact, who could we invite to be witnesses? We need something like that, don’t we?
As soon as I asked, Poe hushed me as if I was spreading bad luck and called Damon like they’d been best friends forever. Listening to Poe demand that Damon enjoy a paid vacation with Grace for one favor was hilarious. They’ll be the only witnesses to the next chapter of our lives. Murphy is going to get a celebration dinner when we return.
The wedding is scheduled for Tuesday morning. We have a whole week away with enough time to come back for the expo he started planning. As this is the first one, he wants to make sure we’re both there to see how it goes.
He’s so excited that I said yes that I have to laugh as I watch him. Mr. Calm is ready to burst open with happiness at all the changes I’ve dragged into his life. Every time I try to calm him down and protest at the rush, it makes him worse. He’s like a kid at Christmas. Over the moon with joy and unwilling to let it go. He’s refusing to allow any more delays to stand in his way. He even threatened to gag me and put me in a suitcase if I didn’t start playing along.
I won’t lie. I’m no better. This feels like centuries in the making and a blip of time at once. I’m embracing it with everything in me. I can’t help it. He’s my one. Legal paper or not, I’d never leave anyway.
By the time we’re on our flight, my nerves have taken over. Part of it is the fact that I’ve never been on a plane before. I’ve never been to LA. All the thoughts of what ifs.
Is this a mistake? What if things don’t work out? Everything any normal person would think about.
Damon and Grace are with us, excited to be included instead of trying to talk us out of this. I’m surprised at their sudden change in attitude about us rushing things until Damon makes a determined comment while we’re boarding the flight.
“One more step of pure happiness down,” His ecstatic grin right in my face said it all.
He sees me grabbing something happy and not letting go. A sign that I might be a crazy raccoon lady, but I’m moving forward instead of wallowing.
My doubts are making Poe more nervous. He doesn’t want me to say no at the last minute. The way he holds Racer to him while we unpack at the hotel is exactly the tight grip I have on my plush. It’s been pierced all over by Damon and dressed in one of Poe’s white collar shirts and a tiny leather jacket. We named it Trouble.
My paranoia takes a backseat when we start sightseeing. There are so many people crammed all together that no one notices me. At all. And half of them act crazier than I do.
We have dinner with a bunch of long-distance members of SoT. They helped get everything together for Poe. He had them on standby in case I said yes, with things already planned. His night on the phone was him saying we’re a go and hanging up, then calling them back to explain himself. They joke about it nonstop.
We spend the weekend lounging on the beach or sightseeing.
I thought it would be as chaotic a rush as it was packing up. Instead, I’m comfortable being invisible here. We take our time with everything. All our rushing has slowed to a crawl as we enjoy the sights together. Damon’s explosive personality mixed with Grace’s gentle acceptance of him is fun to watch, too.
On Monday, Grace convinced me to get my hair done. We spent way too much time pouring over pictures of cuts and colors before I made the leap.
I want the length gone. No more hair dangling down like a dead weight that I don’t know what to do with. And no blonde . My only two requirements.
I end up with a pixie cut long enough to reach my chin with a lot of textured layers. It flips up at the ends, feeling fun and flirty. The color is black with a subtle tinge of cherry red highlights to mimic the stripes of a raccoon tail.
When Poe sees it, he cancels our planned romantic dinner out to keep me in bed.
When the day of the wedding dawns, I’m covered in sweat and nerves.
We haven’t thought this out at all. It’s going to go bad. He’s making a mistake going all in with me. I need to save him from himself. The dress we bought from the fancy boutique in downtown LA is probably going to fall off of me at the last minute. I don’t have anything blue or old or a single brain cell. The cold feet are ice blocks of nerves that I’m not strong enough to lift.
Thank God for Grace at that moment. She’s the only reason I didn’t run for my life.
She handed me a blue garter belt, her mom’s old engagement ring, fixed my hair and makeup, and ignored my panicking with silent endurance.
Not a single "I told you so" was uttered; it was simply implied with knowing looks. This is real friendship at its finest.
She walks ahead of me through the hotel in my fancy white dress. It’s a slim mermaid tail with dazzling jewels all over it. Poe wasn’t allowed to see it because Grace insisted it was bad luck.
I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime.
I’m sweating and hoping my makeup stays on under the veil. I like raccoons and all, but I don’t want to have eyes to match on my wedding day.
What if he hates this dress?
My feet pause as Grace hands me Trouble. It has its own tux on, looking dashing with its ear and nose piercings. Grace smirks at me before she hurries to do her march down the winding path toward the gazebo where I’ll tie my life to Poe’s forever.
I miss her sanity already.
I peek out first to see how far the walk is and lose my breath.
Purple ribbons dance in the breeze coming off the ocean. I can see an arch of red carnations and pink camellias with flowing leaves trailing to the path. Deep love and longing screamed out in petals.
Poe is standing under it with a stiff posture that’s unnatural. He’s holding onto Racer. The plush is dressed up in a wedding gown that’s more ruffles than anything. It hides the tux he’s wearing from this angle.
Damon is at his side with a bright grin. Grace has already made her barefoot walk through the sand to stand on the other side, sharing his smug joy in watching us both fall apart.
There aren’t any seats set out for people. The big wedding I once imagined is nowhere in sight.
I’m thankful for that. I can’t imagine how stressed I would be if there were more people. Especially the drama the Broussards would bring. None of this would be good enough for them.
But this isn’t about them. It’s about us . Me and Poe.
It hurts that they aren’t here, but this is peaceful. Something I could never have hoped to get on such a stress-filled day.
Poe catches sight of me waiting nervously to begin my march. His eyes widen, and he swallows hard enough that I can see his Adam’s apple bob. He looked nervous until he saw me. Now, he looks like he’s ready to run at me and steal me away.
The thought makes me grin. The curve that he calls my chaotic smile. It’s the first one I’ve had for a while. The realization startles me.
This man has been by my side through it all. Every tear. Every boxed-up raccoon. Every cheap takeout dinner because I’m too fatigued to do anything else. He holds me and wipes my tears without a single complaint.
Why am I hesitating?
Instead of the stately walk I planned on using, I hurry with a laugh. I’ll run to him any chance I get.
He starts laughing and opens his arms wide for me to leap into them.