Faithful (41 page)

“Take our breaths away with just a smile.”

I looked back at Josh as he was making his way over to us.

“Yes,” Ari, Jessie, and I all said at the same time. Then, we started laughing.

I hooked my arm around Jessie’s as we headed over to Josh. “Give him a chance, Jessie. If I learned anything from what happened between Josh and me, it was that if you want something bad enough, you fight for it. Don’t let some jealous ex-girlfriend get in the way. Just take it slow.”

She looked at me and grinned as Ellie walked up and took her other arm.

“Ells, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Did you ever talk to Gunner about…well, about what happened with me and him?” Jessie asked.

Ellie smiled. “Yes. The next day, we took Big Roy and Rose out for a ride, and we had a long chat. Everything is fine, and Gunner promised to never hold back the truth about anything ever again. It actually taught me a lesson. It helped me to bury some of those old insecurities a little deeper. Plus, we ended up making love by the river. It was magical!”

I smiled as I thought about the wonderful time Josh and I had spent together on the riverbank where he’d asked me to marry him.

“Wow…what a lucky guy I am. Look at these four drop-dead beautiful girls all walking my way,” Josh said with a smile. He took me in his arms and kissed me like he was saying hello after not seeing me for months.

When he pulled away from my lips, I smiled. “Wow.”

“I missed you,” he said.

“You better get it in now. Jenny will have her locked away tonight with heavy security watching,” Ari said.

Ellie started laughing.

Jessie giggled. “I actually heard her ask Aaron if they should hire someone to watch Heather’s door because she didn’t trust Josh!”

Josh smiled and shook his head. “Damn. That girl knows me too well.” He winked and kissed me again.

The rehearsal on the beach had been flawless, and everything had gone smoothly. Everyone was now on the island, and we were making our way to the hotel restaurant for the rehearsal dinner.

After kissing and hugging, laughing and talking, we were finally sitting down to eat. Jeff, Gunner, Ellie, and Ari all gave speeches. I had never cried and laughed so much in my life. The night went on, and I told Josh it was probably one of the best nights of my life.

Then, Jenny came to me and said Josh wanted me to meet him outside.

When I found him, he was looking out at the black ocean. He was wearing a gray pullover with white linen pants, and I had been lusting after him all night.

I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Are you nervous?”

He laughed. “Yep! You?” He turned around and looked into my eyes.

I caught my breath as I just lost myself in those eyes. I barely whispered, “Yes.”

He took my hand, and we strolled along the beach for what seemed like forever. We talked about everything from us both being scared to death…to why we were scared…to the babies and how I’d decided to stay home with them…to Josh’s business and how it had just taken off…and then my parents.

“More than anything, I wish they were here, princess.”

He held me, and I leaned my head back on his chest and stared out at the ocean.

“I feel them with me. That might sound weird, but I do.” I let out a small laugh and shook my head. “Sometimes, I swear that my dad talks through you!”

Josh asked, “Why’s that?”

“Just from little things you say to me. You say something to me right at the exact moment I need to hear it. Sometimes when I’m scared, I can hear my dad whisper, reminding me to breathe, and then you say it within in a few seconds.”

He held me closer. “We better get back.”

“Are you going to behave tonight?”

Josh threw his head back and laughed. “I almost paid Aaron two hundred bucks to set up a blanket down here, so I could make love to you on the beach, but I wanted to save that for our honeymoon.”

Oh my god! Where is he taking me? To a beach? He must be taking me to a beach somewhere. Act cool, Heather. He just slipped up. He might give you more!
“Sounds like heaven!”

“That is, if there is a beach around where we’re going,” he said.

My smile faded, and my mouth dropped open.
He did not just do that! Bastard!

I sat and watched as the sun moved above the horizon. When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I looked up to see my father standing there. I smiled as I motioned for him to sit down. We sat there for a good ten minutes, just watching the sun rising on one of the most important days of my life.

“Did you write your vows?” he asked.

“Nope.”

He laughed. “Holy shit, you’re more like me than I thought.”

I glanced over at him as he looked out at the ocean. “Dad, can I ask you something?”

He looked at me and smiled. “Always, son.”

“Do you ever look back on your life and regret things you did?”

He let out a gruff laugh and shook his head. “Not so much anymore, but when I was younger, I did. Sometimes in life, when we’re looking for something, we don’t know the right way to go about looking for it. We want it so desperately that we search for it in all the wrong places, for all the wrong reasons, and with all the wrong people.”

I sighed, looking back out at the ocean. “I’ve never in my life felt the way I do when I’m with her, Dad. All those other girls…they meant nothing. I never felt anything but emptiness afterward. When I look at Heather though, when I look into her eyes, I pray to God that I’m not dreaming. I’m so afraid this is a dream, and I’m going to wake up, still searching for that one person who moves my heart and soul. She’s the air that I need to breathe.”

My dad put his hand on my back and winked at me. “It’s not a dream, son. It’s very real, and you’re both very much in love with one another. In a way, I think you rescued each other.”

I nodded as I thought about what he’d just said. “Is it wrong I just want to say to her what’s in my heart? That I’m not planning it out beforehand?”

“Hell no, it’s not wrong. It’s your wedding. You do what you feel in your heart is the right thing to do. I think you could tell a joke, and Heather wouldn’t care. That girl is over-the-moon in love with you.”

“I’m over-the-moon in love with her, too.” I started laughing. “Especially with how she keeps trying to trick me into telling her where I’m taking her for the honeymoon!”

My dad laughed and slapped me on the back. “I’m proud of you, Josh.”

I snapped my head over to my father. “Dad…”

He looked at me with tears in his eyes. “I am. I know I’ve never said this before, but when you were in high school and you told me you wanted to follow in my footsteps…my heart filled with joy. I actually had to walk outside because I didn’t want to cry in front of you.”

“Dad…I never knew that it made you so happy.”

“What makes me happy, Josh, is that you followed your dreams. You go for what you want, and you absolutely excel at it. Your mother and I are so proud of the man you’ve become. You help people, and you don’t even think twice about it. You give your love with your whole heart, like the way you love Matthew. When I see you with him, my heart swells up. And the way you love Heather…you take care of her and put her needs before yours. Even when you lost your memory, you still put her first. Yes, son, you’ve made your mother and me so very proud. I’m so damn blessed to call myself your father.”

I felt a tear rolling down my face. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, Josh.”

When my dad slapped the shit out of his legs, I jumped. “Fuck, Dad! You just scared the shit out of me! We were having a moment.”

He stood up and reached down for my hand. “Moment is over, son. Let’s go. You’re getting married in a few hours, and I have to go and give your mother a wake-up call.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

“Oh, for the love of God…I didn’t need to hear that, Dad. Shit, I think I’m going to hurl.”

“Josh?” Gunner said.

I turned around, looked at my three best friends, and smiled. “Jesus H. Christ. If I were a woman, I’d be wet right now from the sight of the three of you!”

They all laughed.

Brad walked up and shook my hand. “You look pretty damn good yourself.”

“It’s getting close to that time. Did you want to walk down to the beach and check everything out?” Gunner asked.

“No.”

Jeff started laughing. “Why the hell not?”

“I want to be surprised!” I said.

The three of them just stared at me.

“Pussy,” Brad said.

“Shut the hell up, you bastard!”

Gunner winked as he said, “You know when I said I was going to push you in the water? Dude, I was only kidding.”

I smiled as I sat down. “I really do want to be surprised. I think Heather does, too. She told Jenny she wanted it simple with only a white arch sitting on the beach. I trust Jenny. I’ve seen her plan three kick-ass weddings so far, so I’m pretty sure she’s got this.”

“Okay. How about a beer from the bar then?” Jeff asked.

“Fuck yes!” I jumped up.

Just then, Matt came running in with his dad, Mark, right behind him.

“Josh!” Matt yelled.

I bent down and held out my arms for him.

Like always, he stopped, just short of me. “I’m going to hug you, Josh,” he said.

“Go for it, buddy!”

He slammed into me, and I hugged him back.

He pulled away and smiled. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“Jeff and Ari found a place that has horses! They are going to take me for a ride on the beach!” He started to jump up and down, and he looked at Jeff, who was smiling at him.

“Oh yeah?” I said.

He turned back to me. “Yeah, and guess what else?”

“I give up!”

“Josh…you assmole…you didn’t even try to guess.”

I smiled, glancing up at Mark. Sue and Mark had pretty much given up on trying to stop Matt from saying
assmole
.

“Um…your mommy and daddy are going with you?”

“Nope! Better! Luke is going with us.”

“That’s pretty cool, buddy. How lucky are you that you get to be with him on his first ride on the beach?”

“I know!”

“Come on, Matt. Let’s leave the big boys to get ready now. One hour, guys…don’t forget.” Mark looked right at Jeff. “Don’t get him drunk. One beer, and that’s all.” He took Matt’s hand, turned, and left.

Jeff gave me a shocked look. “What the hell? That man has no faith in me whatsoever.”

Gunner, Brad, and I all lost it and started laughing.

Gunner slapped Jeff on the back. “Come on, let’s all go grab a beer.”

As Gunner and Jeff began walking out, Brad grabbed my arm. “Josh, can I talk to you for a minute?”

As Gunner shut the door, Brad turned and smiled at me.

“What’s up, dude?” I sat down.

Brad took a seat across from me. He smiled and let out a laugh. “Dude, out of all of us, I honestly never pictured you getting married. I’m so damn happy for you, Josh.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate that…I think.”

He looked down at the ground and then back up at me.

Oh fuck. What if he’s doing drugs again? Or he wants to do drugs again? Dude, don’t do this on my wedding day.