Protect Me: Oakville Series:Book Three (28 page)

“Hello, Miss Holly. If you ever get tired of that sensational looking man, you can just send him my way,” Zeus laughs as he hugs me. Becky spits her mimosa all over the back of Chelsie’s head. I forgot they weren’t part of our previous interaction with Zeus. Both girls were probably fantasizing about this gorgeous Greek god and now their bubbles have been burst.

“Why are all the really hot guys either taken or gay?” Chelsie asks, wiping mimosa out of her hair. Her inquiry has us all laughing.

“Uh, some of us really hot guys aren’t,” Angel says as he struts into the room. I notice Chelsie blushing and Zeus drooling. Oh, this is going to be fun. In a flash, Zeus is leaving my side to go to Angel. Immediately, Angel starts to look a little uncomfortable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this side of Angel. He’s always so damn cocky and confident. When Zeus extends his hand to him, I swear I see drops of sweat forming on his forehead. You’d think as sexy as Angel is he’d be used to getting hit on by both women and men. By his behavior, I think it’s safe to say that’s so not the case.

“Hello, stud. I’m Zeus and you are?” Zeus coos. Poor Angel looks like a deer caught in headlights. It’s priceless. Grabbing my phone, I snap a picture. I just can’t help myself. The guys are going to love this. Amber locks onto Angel’s discomfort and quickly rescues him.

“Zeus, this is Angel. I hate to push, but we really need to get a dress picked out. The clock is ticking.”

“Of course. It was so nice meeting you, Angel,” Zeus says, ogling him. “If you ever decide to switch teams, call me. I’ll take real good care of you,” Zeus says while slipping his card into a speechless Angel’s pocket. Again, everyone in the room is laughing. When Zeus winks at Angel, even he starts to laugh. Angel practically runs out of the living room toward the kitchen.

“Let’s go, girl. We only have a couple hours left to get you ready and we still have a lot left to do,” Amber says as she ushers me into a makeshift dressing room.

Ten dresses later, I finally find the perfect one. It’s just like the one I imagined I would wear as a little girl. I never thought it would happen, but that didn’t stop me from wishing. It has long, lace sleeves and puffy shoulders. The front is a low cut V-neck, all lace and pearl. The bottom is a poufy satin skirt with lace and pearl inlays. The back is a heart-shaped cut out with strings of pearls going across the open gap. It’s beautiful and being in it makes me feel beautiful. Especially when I walk out of the dressing room and all the girls’ mouths drop open in awe. Zeus squeals and claps his hands while jumping up and down. And then, Angel walks into the room and lets out a long whistle followed with his signature wink. But, the one reaction that surprises and touches me the most, is from Beasley. He just came through the front door and when he looks up, he stops dead in his tracks. A wide smile spreads across his face as his eyes fill with tears.

“Wow. Holly, you look beautiful,” Beasley sputters. He walks over and gently kisses my cheek. “I came by to ask you something.” He sounds nervous, which isn’t like him. He looks around the room when he gets to Amber and she nods to him, encouraging him to continue. “I think of you like another daughter and I was hoping you’d allow me to escort you down the aisle.” I’m speechless. I love Beasley and think of him like a father. He’s the closest I’ve ever had to one. I can’t believe he wants to do this for me. “If you’d rather me not, its okay. You—” I stop his nervous babbling.

“I would be honored to have you walk me down the aisle. You are the closest I’ve ever come to having a father and I’m so grateful to have you in my life. Thank you,” I tell him as I wrap my arms around him and squeeze tight. Amber comes and wraps her arms around the both of us. When I pull away, all three of us have tears running down our faces. I’m so glad my make-up hasn’t been done yet.

K
YLE AND
I are on our way to the lake to make sure Angel’s wedding planner is as good as he says. If not, I’ll knock his block off. I chose this place because it’s where I first made love to her. That’s one of my favorite memories of us. Here, at this lake, Holly laid out in the back of my truck, the rain pouring down on our hot, naked bodies…my pants are getting tighter from just picturing a sexy wet Holly.

“What’s got you smiling like the Joker?” Kyle asks.

“Just thinking about the couple times I’ve brought Holly here.”

“This is a magical place. I have several memories of Amber and I here, too. We had our first time together here,” he says with a smile I can only assume matches the one I am sporting. He’s right, there’s something magical about this place. I could feel it that first night I brought Holly here. That night changed our lives forever. She opened up to me. Trusted me enough to tell me about a past she would love to just bury away and never think of again. Thanks to the strength and trust she found that night, her past no longer haunted her when she’d sleep.

Pulling onto the dirt road that leads back to the lake causes my heart to beat quicker.
Please, let it be perfect
, I plead in my head. She deserves the best of everything. She’s been through so much bad lately. I want this to be a day she looks back on and can’t help but smile. I want it to be one of the stories she tells our daughter. Most of all, I want this day to be the door to our past closing. Putting to bed all of the demons we struggle with and have fought so hard to overcome. We have both come so far. As the lake comes into view, I can see I’m not going to be disappointed and neither will my bride.

It’s perfect. There are black chairs set up in rows with pink bows attached to the backs. A pink velvet runner lays as an aisle between the rows of chairs. A beautiful archway stands in front of the chairs. With the view of the lake behind it, it’s perfect. Over to the side, in a clearing, a huge reception area is all set up. There are tables with black table clothes and pink accents. There’s also a sizable bar, buffet table, and stage. She’s even had wood put down to make a floor for dancing and the tables to sit on. I can see twinkle lights strung all over the place. I bet it’ll be beautiful when the sun starts to set. She’s going to love it. It’s exactly how she’d set it up if she were throwing it. Angel came through. He owes Sasha one hell of a night for pulling this off with such little notice.

“Everything looks amazing, man. I think it’s time to go home and get into our penguin suits. You won’t want to keep your Bride waiting,” Kyle says. He’s right, I don’t want to keep her waiting. She’s been waiting for this day her whole life. The day she can finally feel completely loved, safe, and protected. I won’t force her to wait even a second longer for that.

I let Kyle drive us back to his house, my mind too focused on Holly to concentrate on the road. I can’t believe she’ll be my wife in a couple hours. I wish my mom were here to share this day with us. She would have really liked Holly. They’re a lot alike, both very strong women who feel anything but. All because an asshole of a man kept them from seeing their true selves. I wish my mom could’ve been a little more like Holly and gotten away from my dad. Maybe if she had met someone who would’ve loved her like I do Holly, she’d be celebrating with us today. She might have had a chance to get to know her granddaughter.

“What’s got you so deep in thought over there?” Kyle questions. He’s my best friend and I’ve talked to him countless times about my parents. He just doesn’t fully get what I’m feeling. How could he? He grew up in a perfect family. At least, compared to mine it was perfect. He had two parents who loved each other and him. There was no yelling and screaming. There were no beatings. His father didn’t kill his mother.

Every time we talk about my past, he always has this look of pity on his face. It’s the same look everyone in town gave me after my parents died. I know Kyle is only concerned, but I just can’t take the pity look.

“Everything,” I laugh. “Today, I’ll be a husband, and in a few short months, I’ll be a father. If I’m being honest, I’m a little scared.” He nods his head in understanding. He was in my shoes not too long ago.

“It’s perfectly normal. I’d be worried if you weren’t nervous and scared. You want to do what’s best for Holly and the baby. That shows you love them. As long as you hold on to that love, you’ll be just fine. I was terrified when Cody was born. Hell, I still am at times. I don’t want to be a bad father and mess things up,” Kyle says, his face lighting up from thinking about his son. “You and Holly will be awesome parents. I can see how much you both love that baby already and how great you are with Cody. Besides, you have all of us around to keep you in line.” That makes me smile and calms my nerves. I’m so lucky to have all these amazing people in my life. We may not be related by blood, but this connection we all have with one another makes us family. A very strange family, but still a family, nonetheless. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to be by my side.

When we pull up to the house, Angel and Beasley are just getting out of their cars. I’m anxious to know how Beasley’s talk with Holly went. Last night, he told me he wanted to walk her down the aisle. The moment he said it, I knew Holly would be all for it. Beasley is like a father to all us misfits. He’s the only father figure some of us in this group have ever had. No matter what the situation, Beasley is always there with a way to help.

He turns toward me and his eyes are red. I immediately know he’s been crying. Not that I’d ever say that out loud to him, though. He may be old enough to be my father, but I bet he could kick my ass without breaking a sweat. The dude scares me when he’s angry. He’s definitely the guy you want on your side.

Before I can say a word to Beasley, Angel walks up and slaps me upside my head. “What the fuck was that for?”

“Like you don’t know. Sending me over to your house so I can be hit on by a man who’s bigger and hotter than me,” Angel barks. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but I have a feeling I know who does. Kyle bursts out laughing so hard, he doubles over.

“Kyle, would you like to fill us in? I have no clue as to what’s going on.” He continues laughing, unable to stop. When he finally catches his breath, tears are rolling down his face.

“I arranged to have Zeus bring dresses to Holly so she could choose the wedding dress of her dreams.” Well, that was a wonderful thing to do. I hope she feels like a princess today with all the pampering and attention she’s getting. “I thought it would be funny to send Angel over to meet him. I knew how much he liked you, so I figured he’d really like Angel,” he confesses, breaking out in a fit of laughter again.

“Oh, he liked me alright, you asshole. He made me look like an idiot in front of—” he abruptly stops himself before finishing that sentence. We all know he was going to say Chelsie. The chemistry between those two is so obvious and they both fight it with all they have. I was really bad when it came to steering clear of any kind of relationship or emotional connection, but Angel puts my ass to shame. He won’t talk about his past at all, no matter how hard we try to get him to. Judging by the nightmares he has almost every night, I think it’s safe to say he may have had it worse than any of us. “I do have a reputation to uphold,” Angel huffs and storms into the house. His little fit causes Beasley and I to join Kyle in laughter.

Once we contain our laughter, we go inside to get dressed. It won’t be too long before I’ll be watching my doll face walking down the aisle to me. My pace quickens so I can get ready faster. I can’t wait to see her. The beautiful Holly in my head is nothing compared to what the real one will look like.