Society Weddings (Corrigan & Co. Book 11) (7 page)

“Yes, we do. Now stop worrying about the
color pink, and let’s get the rest of this stuff finalized.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Our fourteen-month wedding anniversary is
coming up this weekend, and it’s past time that I give Tegan the
wedding she’s always dreamed of. She says she’s just happy we’re
married, but I know the wedding chapel isn’t what she’d always
hoped for. For a long time, I wasn’t the guy she’d hoped for, but
now I am. She doesn’t expect anything from me except me, but I want
her to have everything I can give her. Starting with this wedding.
Her dream wedding by our creek.

“I don’t have to wear pink, do I? I mean, I
love Mama, but I have a rep to protect,” Ethan says, speaking up
from behind my desk where he’s been doing his homework.

“A rep? Really, E?”

“Yeah. I’m cool.”

“Ooh, are the little teeny girls wanting to
get busy with you?” Stella asks.

“Shut it, Stell,” I warn her with a
glare.

“They are,” he tells her, ignoring me. “I
got five numbers today.”

“You are way too young for that shit.”

“I’m almost thirteen. Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll
cover my snake when the time comes.”

“Oh. My. God,” Stella says, nearly falling
off the chair as she laughs. “Snake? Have you not had the talk with
him?”

“I have. And you’re more than half a year
from being thirteen, so keep it in your damn pants.”

“I know how it works,” he says. “I won’t
take it out until I’m ready.”

“Baby boy, if you think you’re man enough to
be using it, you should be calling it what it is. No girl wants to
hear your dick referred to as a snake. None. Trust me on this.”

“Is that what you call it, Dad?”

Kill me now. Or rather, kill Stella. I know
she’s Teeg’s BFFL, but she needs to rein it in with our pre-teen
son. He’s still looking at me for an answer, and I know he’s not
going to let it go. I glare at Stella before answering.

“Sometimes.”

“What do you call it the rest of the
time?”

“We’ll talk about this later.”

“Why? I mean, you’re not embarrassed to have
me here while you talk about your ‘love member’ are you?”

“Who the hell calls it that? Kace?”

“Yeah, no.”

“Come on Dad, just tell me.”

“Cock,” I mumble.

“Like a gun?”

Stella falls off the chair that time. She’s
on the floor holding her stomach when Tegan walks in. “What’s going
on?”

“Dad was telling me how he calls his wiener
a cock. Like a gun.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s her fault,” I say, pointing at
Stella.

“Don’t act like you don’t love it when he
cocks his gun for you, Teeg.”

“Kill me now,” I say with a groan.

“I just might,” Tegan says. “I fucking just
might.”

* * *

Tegan

I’ve been freezing Caleb out for a couple of
days now. Stella and Ethan told me it wasn’t his fault, but he’s
the most adult of the three, and he should’ve known better than to
get sucked into that conversation. Our anniversary is tomorrow,
though, and I’m planning to let him back into our bed tonight. I
know most people don’t celebrate every month, but we do. We’re so
happy to be back together after so long that we celebrate as much
as we can. I have the perfect gift for him, and really, I’m
punishing myself just as much as him when I make him sleep in the
guest room.

“We need to head out,” Stella says, coming
into my office with a tentative smile on her face. I haven’t kept
my anger at her a secret, either.

“I have no place to be.”

“Actually, you do.”

“Where?”

“Texas,” Ethan tells me, running into the
room and hugging me. “We get to see Grandma and Grandpa.”

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“I have a surprise for you,” Caleb tells me.
He’s standing outside of the door, and I feel bad that he looks
nervous and unsure.

“You can come into my office, you know.”

He shrugs. “I know you’re angry with
me.”

“Which is stupid,” Ethan tells me.

“Excuse me?”

“I asked Dad about his dick, and he told me.
Isn’t that what he’s supposed to do? Or do you want me just
watching porn and thinking that’s what sex should be?”

I try hard not to have a panic attack, but
my breathing grows heavy. “Have you been watching porn?”

“Not yet. But it’s what guys do.”

“Not just guys,” Stella says.

“Not helping, Stell.”

“She is. I want to know everything. You
always say a person should know as much as they can so they can
make an educated decision. I want to know all about sex, so when
the time’s right, I’ll do it right.”

He’s right. Darn kid. “I’m
not sure we know
everything
, but your Dad and I will
tell you what we know.”

“Me and Kace too. In fact, I bet everyone
would tell you things. Not details about our sex lives, because
that would be weird, but we could try to answer your
questions.”

“Cool. Maybe just the guys, though.”

“I think we can arrange that,” Caleb
says.”

“Now that we’ve settled the sex ed dilemma,
can someone please tell me why we’re going to Texas?”

“We’re getting married,” Caleb tells me with
a smile.

I grab his left hand with mine and hold them
up. “Been there, done that. I’ve been Mrs. Caleb Hall for over a
year.”

“We got married in a wedding chapel. Now
it’s time for the real thing, in the real place.”

My mouth drops open, and my heart starts to
race again, but in a good way this time. “The creek?”

“Of course.”

I launch myself into his arms as I fuse my
lips to his. He catches me and holds me in his arms until Ethan
starts making gagging noises. We break apart with a laugh. “I need
a dress, and flowers, and…”

“It’s all taken care of,” Stella tells me.
“Caleb and I have been working on this for over a month.”

“Of course you have. Let’s go.”

I can’t believe Cal is doing this for me.
But actually, yeah, I can. Despite me telling him I’m fine with our
Vegas wedding, he knows me well enough to know what I really
wanted. I’ll never regret marrying him when I did, but I secretly
hoped that one day we could go to the creek and do it all over
again. It looks like tomorrow is the day. For his surprise, and
mine, too.

* * *

Caleb

“You’re really not going to let me see the
setup?” Tegan says, running her fingers up and down my t-shirt. She
plays dirty, but that’s more than fine with me.

“Nope. It wouldn’t be a surprise then, would
it?”

“But the pier is down there,” she reminds
me, biting her lip, and moving her hands lower. “We’ve had some
good times at the pier.”

“We have,” I concede, grabbing her hands and
bringing them to my lips. “Very good times. In fact, I’m looking
forward to a trip down there tomorrow night.”

“What about our guests? We are having
guests, aren’t we?”

“For a spy, your fishing skills are a little
obvious.” She smacks my arm, and I pull her close. “Our friends,
and my family will be in the barn for the reception.”

I realize that was the wrong thing to say.
“The barn? Let’s go to the loft so you can make me scream.”

“And you can see the decorations in
there?”

She shrugs. “Don’t you want to put your
mouth on me and make me scream? It’s been so long.”

“You’re the one who made me sleep in the
guest room the last two nights. You missed all of those screaming
opportunities.”

“I’m not going to win, am I?”

“Not a chance. You’ll love everything. I
promise.”

“I know I will. Between you and Stella, it
can only be great.”

“Ethan helped, too.”

“About him. What are we going to do with all
his interest in sex?”

“Just be there when he needs us. He’s about
to be a teenage boy. Being curious is natural. I’m just glad he
wants to know the truth from us.”

“I know you’re right, but he’s my little
guy.”

“Who’s almost as tall as you.”

She bursts out crying then. “I don’t want
him to grow up.”

Whoa. I pull her into my arms, and rub her
back. “He has to grow up, darlin’, you know that. You also know our
boy loves you more than anything.”

“He loves you too,” she says, sniffling into
my shirt.

“I know he does.” I do know that. We had a
rocky start because he thought I would hurt her again, and he’ll
protect Tegan to the death. Once he realized I would do the same,
and I stopped being an ass to her, we’ve been as close as my own
dad and I are.

“I’m a mess.”

“Yeah, but you’re a sexy mess, and I love
you.”

“I love you, too.”

The doorbell rings, and I smile. “That’s
your girls. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait, what? I was going to let you back
into bed with me tonight.”

“You’re seriously killing me.”

“So stay.”

“It’s the night before our wedding.”

“We’re already married, and I’m not
superstitious.”

The doorbell rings again. “Let me do this
right for you. Please.”

“Fine. Get out of here before I take you to
the floor right here.”

I kiss her hard and then force myself to run
to the door. I let them in and head next door to my parents’ ranch.
Ethan is waiting for me in the driveway, and I smile at him as I
get out of my truck.

“Waiting for your dear old dad?”

“You’re not that old yet.”

“Thanks, kid.”

“Can we go look at everything? Grandpa said
we had to wait for you.”

“Sure. Let’s see what magic Stella made
happen.”

We see the rows of white chairs when we
enter the clearing bordering the creek. There are also some hooked
thingies in the ground that I think flowers will be hanging off of.
Right in front of the pier is a white structure with white fabric,
which is where we’ll renew our vows. It’s simple, but
beautiful.

“Wow. This is perfect. Mama’s gonna love
it.”

“Stella knows what your mom likes.”

“So do you. I really like that you’re doing
this for her.”

“I’d do anything for her. And you.”

“I believe you. I’m glad you’re my dad.”

“Me too, E. Me too.”

* * *

Tegan

“Am I going to get to see my dress anytime
soon?” I ask Stella, pouting a little.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“When your hair and makeup is done, Mrs.
Impatient.”

I stick out my tongue at her, but then turn
serious. “Thank you for doing this.”

“It was Caleb’s idea, and he helped me pick
a lot of things.”

“You made it happen.”

She shrugs. “You’re my best friend. Of
course I want you to have your dream wedding.”

“Just like you did.”

“Yep. We’re some lucky bitches.”

“That we are.”

“Hey, no tears yet,” Reina says, coming up
and enveloping us both in a group hug.

She’s got her bridesmaid dress on, and I
absolutely love it. It’s a deep pink strapless dress that looks
like it’s made of flowers and petals throughout the fitted top, and
short, flared skirt. I look down and start to laugh. “I never
thought I’d see the day when Reina Corrigan had cowboy boots on her
feet.”

“You make me sound like an uptight bitch,”
she says, laughing along with me.

“Nah. Just classy.”

“These boots are classy.”

They really are. The bridesmaids are all
wearing white and silver cowboy boots. I wonder what Stella has
planned for me. If I’m being totally honest, I don’t want to wear
boots. I did that once, and I had always thought I wanted to do it
at the creek, but I don’t. I want pretty shoes for the ceremony,
and my everyday worn brown boots for the reception. That’s my new
dream.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have boots,” Stella
says with a smile.

“What?”

“I know you better than anyone, except
Caleb. You want shoes this time around. Maybe boots later.”

She really does know me. “You’re the best,
Stell.”

“Back at ya, Teeg. I think you’re ready for
your dress.”

I stand up as she opens the bag, and pulls
out the perfect dress. It’s chiffon, yards and yards of white
chiffon. The top is strapless and gathered. Actually, nothing on
the dress is smooth, with the exception of the dark pink band of
satin at the waist. The bottom is swirls of chiffon all the way to
the ground. There’s a long veil that will flow to the floor as
well.

“I love it. I love you. Thank you so
much.”

“Love you, too.”

Stella helps me into everything, having to
fight the zipper a little because I’ve gained a few pounds. She
just shakes her head and says she should’ve measured me. Once the
dress and veil are on, I slip into the pink satin shoes she has for
me. She hasn’t given me any jewelry, and I guess I don’t really
need it, but I feel like something is missing.

“Looking for this?” she asks, holding up a
necklace made up of diamond and gemstone flowers. The flowers are
all different colors, and it’s just adorable. Obviously expensive,
but still sweet.

“Wow. You even got me the perfect
jewelry.”

“Nope. Your husband got you the perfect
jewelry.”

“I’m so lucky.”

“So is he,” Jade tells me, hugging me from
behind before putting my veil on for me.

Alex hands me a bouquet of roses, lilies,
and wildflowers done in shades of pink, white, and green. “Caleb
again?”

“Ethan.”

My heart is so full right now. For my guys,
my friends, and Caleb’s family. I really am lucky, and I’ll try my
hardest to never take advantage of any of them.

We walk out to the creek, and then I’m
walking down the aisle on the arm of Caleb’s dad. Ethan is the best
man today, and so both of my boys greet me when I reach the end of
the aisle.