“Talk about shotgun wedding,” Kallie says, turning around and walking into the house.
“Are you going to tell her?” Jacob looks at me, and I just look at him. That is such a loaded question, and I don’t know how or what it means. “Are you going to tell her that you love her?”
“I was going to ease into that,” I say.
“Usually, you ease into the I love you and then you get married.” He laughs. “But I’m not even going to lie, this is exactly like you two.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, and he just shakes his head.
“Both of you in love with each other, but both of you too chicken shit to admit it.” His words are like a kick to my stomach.
“She doesn’t love me,” I say. “You heard her yourself; marrying me is a nightmare.”
“How can you be so smart yet so dumb?” he asks, and I’m about to answer him when the door opens, and Ethan comes running out.
“We’re going to have a wedding,” he says, jumping up and down and clapping his hands at the same time. I call it his excited dance. “Kallie just said that I have to walk Mom down the aisle since no one in the world loves her more than me.”
“Yeah.” I nod at him.
“She says I have to put on my Sunday best,” he groans and gives it the thumbs down.
“What are you guys doing standing around?” Kallie says from the door. “We have a wedding to plan.”
“Dear God,” Jacob says. “She just used her ‘I mean business’ voice.”
“That’s not good,” Ethan says now. “That means no one will have fun.”
I smile at all of them, walking inside to take a shower. When I get out, I’m ushered out of the house and put in the truck. “You can’t see the bride on your wedding day,” Jacob says.
“I saw her an hour ago,” I point out.
“Listen to me, and listen to me good.” He leans in and points at my face. “This shit that you just pulled has everyone teetering on a fine line of crazy. My mother called me and she has all the flowers settled,” Jacob says. “Olivia—don’t even ask how—found someone who is going to send over a one-of-a-kind wedding dress from some designer on a television show. Charlotte and Billy are gathering whoever they can to cook the food. Casey has someone coming in with decorations, and I’m not even going to tell you everyone in town who is stepping up for her.”
“Does she know?” I ask, and he just shakes his head.
“Kallie said it’s best if we surprise her, and again, she used a voice I’ve never heard before,” Jacob says. “Now, I’m in charge of getting you and Ethan a suit, which, by the way, Ethan is against, so good luck with that.”
“We’ll match.” I look at Ethan who sits in the back and just glares at me. “How about you wear the suit for the wedding, and then you can change as soon as we are married?”
“Fine,” he groans, “but I don’t like it.”
“Noted,” I say.
“I want to get married in my backyard,” I tell Jacob who just nods.
“That was already decided. That is the only thing Savannah wanted was to get married at either her house or your house.” I smile when I think about her making that decision.
We drive a town over to get our suits, and we all agree on a cream linen suit. Well, we don’t. Kallie said that it had to be cream or gray. When we get back in town, I drop Jacob and Ethan off with a promise to pick them up in an hour. I walk into my office and see that Bonnie isn’t at her desk. I look around and still don’t see her, and when I try to walk into my office, the door is locked. I knock on the door, and all I hear is rustling, and then the door opens and Bonnie comes out, her hair all over the place as she adjusts her blouse.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, avoiding my eyes. “I thought you would be gone all day.” She walks past me, and I open the door to see my father tucking in his shirt.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I shake my head. “Bonnie, you’re fired.”
She looks at me with her mouth open and then looks behind me to see if my father will say anything. And being the awesome gentleman that he is, he doesn’t say a word.
“But …” she huffs. “He …”
I put my hand up. “I’m really not interested in the story.” Walking into my office, I say, “Just so we’re clear, this isn’t your office anymore.” He glares at me. “Why?”
“Why what, Beau?” He looks at me.
“You’re married. I mean, in case you forgot, to my mother,” I say. “Everyone talks, you know. You hear whispers, but I would always say it can’t be. My father would never do that to my mother. He loves her. And then I just ignored it because how can you fight for something that is a lie?”