“I want you to be surprised. When I walk down the aisle, I want your jaw to drop so hard, you’ll have a mouthful of sand.”
He chuckles. “Doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. I’m always in awe of you.” He tilts his head. “Wait, you already have your wedding…whatever?”
“Yup. I’ve been ready whenever you were.”
His expression softens. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long.”
I loop my arms around his neck and reach up to kiss him. “This is better. We have the whole summer together. How long are we staying in Hawaii?”
He shrugs. “We have the resort for the week. We can go island hopping. Whatever you want.”
When we arrive, we’re whisked into a car and driven about an hour from the airport. “Everything’s so beautiful.”
“We’re not doing the spend the night before our wedding apart thing, are we?” he asks.
“Seems kind of pointless.” I narrow my eyes at him. “You can’t see me before the wedding, though. You’ll have to get dressed somewhere else.”
His lips twitch. “Fair enough.”
“You’re sure…” I glance at our driver who doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to us. “No one will find out?”
“I was assured absolute discretion. They’re not even going to be fully staffed to minimize the risk. But they do this sort of thing for celebrities all the time they told me and never had an issue.”
“Chaser, it must have cost a fortune.”
“Nothing’s too good for my girl.”
The tang of sea-salt greets us at the resort. We’re shown to our room. Soft, white curtains billowing in the breeze frame a picturesque ocean view.
“I love this.”
“I thought you might.” He nods to our suitcases. “You want to unpack? Day after tomorrow’s the big day.” He slaps his hand over his eyes. “I promise I won’t peek.”
“It’s bad luck, so you better not.”
The playful expression vanishes. “We’ve had enough of that.”
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chaser
The morning of our wedding, I slip out of bed early to check on everything. Lush flowers decorate the bannister of the staircase. Mallory said she wanted pink and purple flowers and that’s what they are.
“Perfect,” I mutter.
“Are you trying to escape?” Alvin greets me downstairs.
“Fuck, when did you get in?” I give him a quick hug. “I was worried you weren’t going to make it.”
“Just now.” He cocks his head toward the door. “Audrey and Doug just got here too.”
“Great. Mallory will be so excited.” I slap his chest. “Come check the wedding site out with me?”
The officiant with the hotel is a kind man with a genuine smile. He shakes my hand and gives me a few encouraging words as I inspect the area.
“Do you have a ring?” Alvin asks.
I pat my pocket. “Yup.”
“You want me to hang onto it?”
“Nope.”
“If you’re keeping this a secret, aren’t people going to notice a wedding ring?”
“Nah.” I pull out the small blue velvet box and show him the slim diamond band. “It should fit right under her engagement ring. I’ll buy her a matching one to stack on top when we do the big, public thing.”
Since we’ve spent so much time together over the last few months, Alvin knows all the details about Mallory’s father and why this secret wedding is so important to us. Mallory and I trust him not to share that knowledge with anyone.
A path down to the beach has been marked off by large green palm fronds, seashells, and pink flowers. No chairs. The ceremony won’t be long and the guest list is short.
On the way back, we run into Doug and Audrey.
“Thank you for coming.” I hold out my hand to Doug and give Audrey a quick embrace.
“Where’s the bride?” she asks.
“Still sleeping.” I nod to the beach. “I wanted to check on all the stuff I asked for.”
“You planned this?” Audrey searches my face. “By yourself?”
“I didn’t plan much. I paid them a lot of money and told them what we wanted.” I shrug. Thank you, Mitchell Howard, for asking me to play on three more songs for your new album. Even if he never uses them, at least the checks cleared.
“Mallory finished filming, so I whisked her away.”
“Wow, Chaser. I never would’ve pegged you as such a romantic when we first met.”
I shrug again, uncomfortable with the turn our conversation’s taken. “Had no reason to be before Mallory.”
Mallory
Waking up alone isn’t how I thought I’d start my wedding day.
There’s a note on the pillow next to me.
Beautiful Bride,
“No bad luck today. Everything will be sent to your room. I’ll meet you at the altar.