Chapter 66
SIXTY-SIX
Jada
I’m getting antsy. The day flew by, but it feels like I’ve been standing outside these doors for a lifetime. I just want to get inside and get married.
“Can we start now?” I ask, adjusting my arm through the crook of my father’s. I look at Kari and Max, standing in front of the double doors that lead into the room.
“In a second,” Kari says. “Be patient.”
“I’m two seconds from busting the door open and just going in there.”
Max chuckles. “You’re about as bad as him.”
“I love ya, Max, but I’m not really in the mood to be teased right now.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right.” He fights to stop from grinning but fails.
I grin back. “How do we know when it’s time?”
“When I tell ya it is.”
He looks incredibly handsome in his suit and tie with his hair spiked up in the front. Standing next to Kari, they look picture-perfect. I love them together. They love them together.
I hope we are standing outside their wedding next.
Max flashes me his trademarked smile, the one with his dimple popping on his cheek. “You ready, Jada?”
“Obviously.”
He nods. “Let’s do this. Mr. Stanley, you know when to go, right?”
Dad nods. Kari wraps her arm through Max’s, and he kisses her forehead. Music floats through the door a little louder than I’ve been able to hear, and the doors swing open. Max and Kari disappear into the room I can’t yet see into, and my father turns to me.
“Ready, sweetheart?”
“I am, Daddy.”
He pauses a few seconds and then leads me to the doorway.
My face nearly splits in two at the sight before me. All of my close friends are standing, their eyes on me. Max and Kari flank the end of the aisle. Once my eyes land on Cane, I can’t pull them away.
He’s wearing a black suit and a gold tie, and his hair has been cut short since I saw him this morning.
He’s clasping his hands in front of him, a smirk on his face.
He’s trying to play it cool, but I also know him better than that.
He’s rocking slightly back and forth. His eyes have a slightly wild look about them.
I know he’s trying to talk himself out of barreling down the aisle to me.
The thought makes my smile grow even wider.
Brian begins to play “The Book of Love” by Peter Gabriel, and my father begins to move.
We walk slowly down a golden strip of carpeting leading to my world.
With each step, Cane’s smirk lessens, and a grin takes its place.
His eyes widen, and the blues swirl, and I have to choke back the mass of emotions stirring inside me.
It’s really happening.
This man is so much more than I’ve ever even wanted. Just looking at him, standing as patiently as Cane Alexander can, waiting to marry me, is more than I’ve ever dreamed.
Cane
I can’t breathe.
I’m holding my breath, and I know it, but I can’t force my lungs to work. The sight of Jada walking down the aisle to give herself to me forever knocks the air out of me.
She’s so fucking beautiful. Just as beautiful on the outside as I know her to be on the inside. She’s the best person I’ve ever known. It amazes me that something so perfect would willingly want to be with me.
Jada came into my life and turned it on its head. She gave me a reason to do better, be better. She made me want to do those things. She made me want to be a better man, to make her proud of me.
I know there’s a room full of people, but all I see is her.
Why is she walking so damn slow?
My fingers itch to grab her and kiss her, to say “I do” and have her say the same. It’s not that I don’t want to enjoy this. I just want it done. Signed, sealed, and delivered with an “Alexander” at the end.
Hurry the hell up, Jada...
Jada
I want to race down the aisle and into his arms.
Kari told me to try to remember every detail and to take the time to commit it all to memory. She said it would all be over before I know it. I try to live in the moment, but I’m really just waiting for the one at the end.
I know my friends are watching me. I can feel their gazes as we walk to the front of the room. I know I should acknowledge them, but I can’t. My heart is drifting down the aisle, waiting to become one with its other half ... the half I’ve been looking for my whole life.
The song fades away as we reach the front. My father stops us in front of Cane.
The room quiets, and I can hear everyone sitting down. Max stays standing slightly behind Cane, and I know Kari is still standing, too, behind me.
Cane’s eyes are boring into mine, his shy smile on his lips. I want to kiss him. I want to tell him how many ways I love him, and I know he feels the same. I can see it written all over his face.
My father unwinds our arms and kisses my hand before placing it inside Cane’s.
“I’m trusting you with one of the two most precious things I have,” my father says. “I know you’ll take care of her and love her.”
“I give you my word,” Cane says, his tone somber.
My father nods and walks away.