Chapter 9 – Mack
“I swear, Mack, if you don’t stop fidgeting, I’m going to smack you!”
Those are some pretty threatening words coming from a big city lawyer wearing an Armani suit that probably costs more than I make in a month.
I glance down at Troy Spencer—that’s not unusual as I glance down at pretty much everyone. “Will you please hurry up? I want to go check on Erin, make sure she’s doing okay.”
“Relax, dude,” Sam says as he strolls into the library, where my groomsmen and I are dressing for the ceremony.
“She’s fine. I just came from there. She’s got her girl posse with her.
Besides, Mama Bear is with her.” He means Beth, of course.
“She’ll make sure Erin’s okay.” Sam watches as Troy adjusts the fit of my tie, making sure it’s just right .
“Beth says they’ll be ready in about twenty minutes. ”
Dominic Zaretti walks into the room dressed in a pair of black trousers, a white dress shirt, and a pair of black boots. It’s the most dressed up I’ve ever seen him. “Cooper told me to tell you everything’s ready and you can come in any time. Jonah’s playing music to entertain the crowd.”
It’s hardly a crowd out there. We kept the ceremony small on purpose—it’s just the McIntyre clan, me and Erin, and of course Haley. Plus our friends, most of whom are either one of my groomsmen or one of Erin’s bridesmaids.
It looks like I’m the last one to finish getting dressed. We’re all wearing black tuxes with white dress shirts and gray vests. Our ties are lavender, to match Erin’s color scheme—cream and lavender.
Shane walks into the room holding his young son’s hand. Shane’s already dressed in his best man outfit. Luke is wearing a pair of dark gray trousers, sneakers, a white shirt, and a lavender vest.
Philip, Jason, and Liam, my groomsmen, are ready, too. They’re seated at a poker table in the corner of the room playing a few hands to pass the time.
“You nervous?” Shane asks as he walks up to me and pats my back. “Take a deep breath, man. You’ve got this.”
He’s right. I am nervous, but not because I’m about to get married. There’s nothing more I want on this Earth than to marry Erin. I’m worried about her —that she might get overwhelmed.
“Smile, Mack,” Sam says. “This is your big day.”
When we’re ready, Sam shoos us out of the library and we get in order in the foyer outside the great room.
The doors are open, and we can see the guests seated in neat rows of padded folding chairs.
The room is decorated with garlands of greenery.
The chairs along the center aisle are decorated with small clusters of cream and lavender roses, to match Erin’s bouquet.
Jonah is off to the side of the room, seated on a stool, his guitar propped on his thigh. Right now, he’s quietly strumming a piece of classical music.
Cooper is straight ahead, standing on the dais. He catches our eyes and nods, motioning for us to come forward.
Shane nudges me to the front of the line, and I start us off by walking down the aisle to the front of the room, where Cooper is waiting. I’m followed by my best man and my groomsmen.
The music changes once more as the bridesmaids walk next, single file down the center aisle. They’re followed by Haley and Beth.
Sam waits in the foyer with the kids. Luke and his cousin, Aiden—Jake and Annie’s son—will be the ring bearers.
Aiden’s little twin sisters, Emerly and Everly, will be the flower girls…
maybe . It depends on whether or not they decide to cooperate.
We did a dress rehearsal the previous weekend, and the girls definitely did not feel like participating.
They were too shy and insisted on clinging to Jake and Annie.
As I stand next to Cooper at the front of the room, I gaze out over the small audience.
All familiar faces, of course. Friends and family.
My parents are seated in front. Bridget and Calum McIntyre, all their kids and their kids’ spouses are here as well, along with their rapidly growing passel of grandkids.
Beth’s mom, Ingrid, sits beside Bridget, holding her granddaughter, Ava.
Beth’s older brother, Tyler, and his new husband, Ian, are here as well. As are Miguel and Ruby.
I nod to Miguel, who’s seated in the back row, in the corner, beside his girlfriend, Ruby Foster.
I’m so glad—not to mention surprised—they came.
Miguel has one arm around Ruby’s shoulders, and I can tell he’s holding one of her hands with his free hand.
Erin will be so touched that Ruby overcame her agoraphobia to attend our wedding.
Suddenly, Jonah shifts gears and begins playing Pachelbel’s Canon. I glance through the open doors leading to the foyer and watch as Sam wrangles the kids in the wedding party.
Aiden and Luke are next to walk down the aisle.
Together, they’re holding a cream silk pillow upon which our wedding rings are tied with a thin lavender ribbon.
The two boys walk side by side, their gaits perfectly matched.
They must have practiced a lot since the rehearsal.
Poor Luke looks a bit intimidated, but he seems determined to keep up with his older cousin.
The boys walk right up to me. Luke holds the pillow steady while Aiden unties the ribbon and hands the rings to me.
Next up are the twins. Emerly and Everly are dressed in matching pale lavender lace dresses with cream-colored satin sashes tied around their waists and little cream-colored sandals on their feet.
They’re standing just inside the great room, each holding a small white wicker basket filled with cream and lavender rose petals.
Their mother, Annie, attempts to encourage them to proceed up the aisle, but they’re frozen to the spot. There’s a quiet murmur from the audience as everyone takes bets on whether or not the girls will scatter those rose petals or not.
Suddenly, Jake appears at the front of the room. He crouches down in front of the dais and motions with both arms for his pint-sized little daughters to come to him.
With a big smile on his face, Jake waves them forward. “Come on, girls! Come to Daddy! You can do it. Be my big, brave girls.”
They take off at a fast clip, moving swiftly down the aisle, tossing rose petals willy-nilly on the floor. When they reach their father, they rush into his arms. When he scoops them up and rises to his feet, the guests break into applause, and the little girls hide their faces against Jake’s chest.
Then Erin appears in the doorway, her arm linked with Sam’s. I’m so glad he agreed to walk her down the aisle. He’s probably her closest male friend seeing as how they spend so much time together at the bookstore.
My eyes are glued to Erin’s, and my throat tightens as I see the depth of emotion on her face. Her dark hair is up in a fancy twist, with a few curls hanging down at the sides of her head. There are tiny cream-colored flowers tucked into her hair.
She takes my breath away.
And then it hits me. Erin almost didn’t live to see this day.
That monster came so damn close to taking her away from me forever, before I even had the chance to earn her forgiveness.
My vision blurs as tears fill my eyes. My chest feels like it’s being squeezed in a vice, and my lungs seize up on me.
Shane puts his hand on my back, offering silent support.
Erin gazes at me from halfway across the room, her eyes shiny now, too, with unshed tears.
When she reaches my side, I pull her into my arms and kiss her with everything I have, hoping she will feel how much I love her and know what she means to me.
It’s a kiss that—I hope—says everything I’m feeling…
I love you.
I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me most.
Please forgive me.
And for God’s sake, please let me spend the rest of my life making it up to you.
The room goes silent, and other than a few babies babbling, no one says a word. Although I do hear a few sniffles.
Cooper pats me on the shoulder and says, “Um, Mack, I’m supposed to tell you when you can kiss the bride.”
As I pull back from Erin, quiet laughter fills the room. She gazes up at me, giving me a teary, heartfelt smile filled with more love than I’ll ever deserve.
I take Erin’s small, soft hands in mine and stare into her beautiful blue eyes as Cooper says what he’s supposed to say. I hardly pay any attention to the words because I’m so focused on Erin.
I grip her hands tightly, trying hard not to crush them.
I still can’t believe this moment is finally here.
I’ve wanted this for so long. In the early stages of her recuperation, she was so emotionally closed off from everyone, including me.
I didn’t know if she’d ever be able to trust again, let alone let a man into her life. Let a man love her.
As I say my vows, honoring to love and cherish her for the rest of our lives, my throat tightens up so much I can hardly speak. She squeezes my hands, offering me support, when I’m the one who’s supposed to be doing that for her.
As Erin says her vows, her hands tremble in mine. I stroke the backs of them, so silky soft, and give them a light squeeze when tears threaten to spill down her cheeks.
Finally, it’s time for me to slip her wedding ring on her finger. I fish the slender gold band out of my pocket and slide it onto her finger. And, then I hand her my ring, and she does the same for me.
It’s done.
It’s official.
We’re married.
“ Now you may kiss,” Cooper says with a wry chuckle.
Our friends break into cheers and applause as I take her in my arms and kiss her senseless.
And just like that, I’m hers, and she is mine for all time.