Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Parker
Of course, my brother would ruin everything. The sad thing is, it’s not the brother I thought it would be.
“Thanks a lot Phillip.” I shove past him toward the host stand. “Can I talk to your manager really fast?”
The guy behind the stand hurries off to grab Mrs. Cavasos. I’m doing everything in my power not to hit my brother as he walks by me and out the door.
She comes from the back and gives me a quick hug. “Hi Parker. It’s good to see you.”
“You too. Do you still happen to have my card on file?”
“I think so.” She crosses her arms and studies me. “What’s wrong?”
She doesn’t need to know all the details. “I have to leave, but can you make sure the bride to be and her family are taken care of with that card info? Not the whole table, but the back side against the wall.”
“Yes, I can. If there are any issues I’ll give you a call.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Cavasos.” I give her a quick hug then head out to my truck.
As much as I want to console Jasmin, I know when she needs her space. I’ll call her later. Or maybe I should wait until she reaches out to me. I don’t want to make things worse.
I don’t bother turning on the radio on the way to the winery, and I think this is the fastest I’ve ever gotten here from town. Good thing there weren’t any cops out tonight.
My sister is struggling with a ladder as I make my way up the hill to see what she needs help with. Phillip could have handled this instead of wasting gas to blow up my entire world.
“Get down, Piper.” I hold the ladder steady as she climbs down. “What happened?”
Now that she’s on the ground she glares at the canopy. “A huge gust of wind came through and knocked the top rail out of its place. I almost had it, but I’m not quite tall enough.”
“Hold the ladder in place. I’ll reconnect it.” I wait until she has a firm grasp and begin my ascent.
“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the rehearsal dinner with Jasmin.”
I find the connecting pieces and push them together. There probably needs to be a clamp added to secure it. That’s something I’ll worry about after the inquisition with my sister. She’s probably going to attack me after she hears all of it.
Climbing down the ladder, I begin to answer. The way I see it if I’m closer to the ground I won’t have as far to fall if she gets mad and pushes the ladder over.
“I was supposed to be. But Phillip came in and ruined everything.”
“How did he ruin things?” Her eyebrow arches up and I know I’m in trouble. “Besides, I told him I had it. If I couldn’t get it locked back into place, I was going to call Beau to help me. Now spill.”
I don’t want to do this. She’ll be pissed, but I need to explain myself.
“He may have come into the restaurant and demanded that I come fix this.” She taps her foot. She knows it’s not the whole story. “And Daniela may have overhead him when he griped at me for being there in the first place since me and Jasmin have been fake dating this whole time.”
“You’ve been WHAT?” She pushes my shoulder. Hard enough I almost fall into the canopy pole.
“Calm down, Piper. It’s not as bad as it seems. She needed a plus one for the wedding, and I wanted to prove to you that I’m more than a screw up. That I can take things seriously.”
“You’re doing a bang-up job.”
“Yes, I know. I screwed up big this time. But it’s not fake for me.
I-I love her.” I clear my throat and rub the back of my head.
“I planned on telling her tonight after dinner. Then all this happened. Her sister hates me, and I’m sure by the time the wedding rolls around tomorrow her brother-in-law will too. ”
“What is it with you Summers’ boys not telling people how you feel? The only one who’s managed it is Peter, and he told Callie as soon as he realized he had them. You need to fix this.”
“I know. I’m trying to figure out how.”
“First, you need to make things right with Daniela. That will go a long way.” She pushes me again, but this time I’m ready for it. “Then you need to tell Jasmin how you feel. I can’t believe you would try to fake chemistry that was already there.”
“What do you mean?”
“I knew from the night at the Valentine’s party that the two of you had sparks.
It’s why I was shocked nothing came of it right after.
But seeing the two of you interact with each other, there’s no way to fake how you feel.
Especially after she put that Nicole girl in her place.
” She pushes me away from the canopy. “Now go fix things. Tomorrow everything will be fine.”
I hope like hell she’s right. I can’t lose Jasmin.
Not because of my brother or because we lied to everyone.
She’s, my person. Even thinking it is wild to me because I didn’t think I’d ever find someone, I loved spending time with, even when we’re doing something boring.
Hopefully she doesn’t turn me away because she’s scared of the fallout.
The stage is set. I’m standing in the back to make sure we don’t have any canopy issues. It fell apart again overnight, but I fixed it with a clamp. Today will go off without a hitch, just like I promised Daniela when I talked to her this morning.
Piper pulled Jasmin away so I could say my piece. She looked like she wanted to punch me, and was well within her right to do it. But I’m glad she at least listened to what I had to say.
Jacob knew, of course. She had him on speaker phone since he was still at the inn. I’m not sure if we’re completely forgiven, they aren’t holding any grudges. It’ll be a different story when her parents hear the story during the reception.
I know Jasmin doesn’t like big spectacles but I need to show her that she doesn’t need to clean up this mess. I can do it for the both of us.
“I think we’re ready.” Jacob claps me on the back. “Don’t worry, no hard feelings from me. I knew the second you were stalking her socials you were done for. Just don’t screw up the rest of my weekend.”
“You’ve got it.” I shake his hands. “Congratulations, man.”
He nods his head and joins his groomsmen at the front of the tent. I wait a few minutes and press play on my phone. A slow song plays through the speakers as their moms lead the procession. The bridesmaids follow and once they are situated, I stop the music.
My finger hits the wedding march and it begins playing.
All of the guests stand and I move out of the way as Abraham leads Daniela down the aisle.
She gives me a small smile as she passes by.
The fairy lights on the canopy light up and her eyes widen.
It was the response I hoped I’d get. They add the perfect glow to set the tone for the evening.
When they make it to the front, I stop the music and take a few steps back. This is their moment. Even if I’ve come to care about them the say way I do my family, I need to give them this moment.
I feel someone move beside me. At first, I think it’s Piper, but a heavy hand falls on my shoulders. “I’m sorry, Park.” Phillips words are soft as not to interrupt the wedding happening in front of us.
“It’s fine.” I brush the apology away. “I’m taking care of it. But whatever has your undies in a twist needs to work itself out. You’re acting a lot like Pierce and it’s not cute.”
“I know. There are some things going on, and I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
The need to make things right between us is strong. I hate fighting with my siblings. Well, most of them. But he needs to know what he did wasn’t cool.
“You know where to find me when you’re ready. Right now, I have a wedding to attend to.”
He doesn’t say anything and walks away. Do I feel bad? Yes. But I can’t worry about that right now. This requires my full attention.
Dinner is well underway when I get to the reception. I missed all the fun stuff like Daniela and Jacob’s first dance. But I was busy going over my speech and making sure all the guests made their way to event building.
“Is this seat taken?” Jasmin is sitting by herself at the table while her parents tear up the dance floor and her sister is off mingling with other guests.
“I wasn’t sure you were actually going to show up after the text I sent you last night.” She turns to face me. “Things got out of hand.”
“I know.” I lean over and place a kiss on her cheek. “You are breathtaking by the way. I wanted to say something after the ceremony but I had a few things to take care of.
“Thank you.” She blushes and tries to hide her face. “My sister said it would make you lose your mind.”
“She’s not wrong.” I chuckle. “I wanted to shield you from every other guy here.”
“You don’t have to say that you know. The game is up since my sister knows it wasn’t real.”
Now is my moment. “Can you excuse me for a moment?”
Her mouth drops open. I don’t blame her. She gave me an opening, and I’m leaving her alone at the table. It’s for a good reason, though.
I catch Daniela’s eye and she nods. Her blessing is the only thing I need right now. Rushing over to the DJ, I ask him to cut the music and hand me a microphone. It’s not time for toasts or anything yet. But I need the world to know how much I care about Jasmin.
The microphone has a bit of feedback when I tap it to make sure it’s on. I take a deep breath and lay it all out.
“Hi, everyone. I know it’s not time for speeches, but I have a few words I’d like to say.” Everyone goes silent as they are trying to figure out who the hell I am. “First off, congrats to Daniela and Jacob. I wish you many years of bliss.”
I grab a glass off a table and lift it in their direction. Daniela rolls her eyes and Jacob nods at me to keep going.
“Some of you may not know that I am here as Jasmine's date. Everyone, take a look at her. She's stunning.”
She buries her face in her hands and shakes her head. I know that has to be embarrassing, but everybody needs to know she looks absolutely phenomenal tonight.
“What you don't know is that we started as a fake relationship.” I hear gasps around the room.
“Now, before y'all get pitchforks out, I want you to know it was my idea.
She needed a plus one for the wedding, and I needed my family to take me seriously.
Everything kind of went from there, until it stopped feeling fake.
“Every day, I wake up wanting her by my side. I look forward to talking to her. Any chance we get, which isn't always easy since I'm busy here and she has a job. So, we spend a lot of late nights on the phone.
“I never thought I would see the day I would find somebody who completes me in ways I didn't know I needed. She's the calm to my chaos. And doesn't chastise me when I'm being silly or laid back in situations that I should probably pay more attention to.”
I hear her mom whisper to her dad; “I knew it was too good to be true. I can't believe she would stoop so low” Abraham shushes his wife and tells her to listen.
“Anyway, all of this got screwed up last night when my brother was overheard at a restaurant. As much as I wanted to clear things up right then and there, I knew I needed to give both Daniela and Jasmin space to work through it themselves.
“But with Daniela and Jacob's blessing, the time has come for me to tell Jasmine exactly how I feel about her.”
This grabs her attention, and her eyes meet mine. I count to three. Take a breath, and speak from the heart.
“Jasmine, you mean more to me than anything. Even my siblings, though I'm sure they'll probably fight you on that. I can't imagine doing life without you. Or taking you on rides that you don't really want to be on, but you do it because, you know I have your back.
What started out as a simple friendship, grew into something so much more.
And I can tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you.
It was seeing Asheville from the sky. I knew then and there, I want to take you on all my ferris wheel rides.
I love you, Jasmin, and I hope this doesn't scare you.
I hope you won't let your fear of letting anyone down keep you from taking this chance with me. And I hope you're as in love with me as I am with you. Friendships can blossom into something more. And I'll never regret the night I met you on Valentine's Day”
Before I realize what's happening, she's out of her chair, and running across the dance floor.
Her heels clacking in the quiet moment. She throws her arms around my neck, and her lips meet mine.
We melt into each other, not caring that there's an audience.
In all honesty, I forget there are people all over the room.
When she finally pulls back, she whispers the four words I’ve longed to hear. “I love you, too.”
Moments later, Jacob and Daniela wrap their arms around us.
“You're forgiven.” Jacob says.
“But we won't make this easy.” Daniela adds. “Now, get off the dance floor and stop stealing our thunder.”
They push us back toward our table, and we happily hurry over there with applause. surrounding us. I don't miss the stink eye her mom gives me, but Abraham must sense that my words ring true, because he gives me a nod and a small smile. Honestly, that's all I can ask from him at this point.
Now that the attention's on the bride and groom, Jasmin pulls my chair closer to hers. “You know you could have said that to me without an audience, right?”
She buries her head in my shoulder.
“Yeah, I know, but this is the one time I needed everyone to see just how much I love you. I needed to squash any apprehension about that fact.”
“Well, I definitely think you succeeded, and my sister and Jacob will have a wedding nobody will soon forget.” She leans back and stares at me. “Just don't expect to do this at every wedding. You are not falling in love with any more maids of honor.”
I place a hand against her cheek and pull her close. “There's only one maid of honor I want.”
My lips meet hers, and the kiss is soft and sweet. I don't want to do anything to garner more attention than we already have.
Even though she started as a one-night stand, she barreled me over with her careful playfulness. She let loose and allowed me to take care of her. And I couldn't be happier. Daniela and Jacob aren't the only ones I'm wishing many happy years for tonight.