Jace shrugs. "This is my wedding surprise to you. So you"ll just have to wait."
I slouch as much as I can in the pa.s.senger side of Jace"s truck, grabbing a pillow out of the back seat to squish between me and the window. "I"m not good at waiting," I say as I ease myself into the most comfortable position I can manage while sitting up and being buckled in. "So wake me when we get there."
The beauty of sleeping on a road trip is vastly underrated. Sure, you don"t get to experience any of the sights or argue over which gas station looks like you might get murdered if you stop there, or make fun of weird cars you pa.s.s by, but so what? Sleeping is bliss. Sleeping is time travel.
I don"t feel the truck roll to a stop and I don"t wake up when the engine goes silent. I do stir a bit when my pa.s.senger door opens. Jace"s soft voice nudges me out of sleep. "Wake up, my bride. We"re here."
For a brief moment, I"ve completely forgotten why I"m asleep in the truck. My eyes flutter open and I yawn, a big monster of a yawn that makes my eyes water. Man, I was pa.s.sed out. Probably because I didn"t sleep well last night. Too excited...
Too excited for...
Oh my G.o.d! I sit up so quickly my seat belt locks against my neck, halting me with a quick slash of pain across my skin. The wedding is today. How on earth did I forget that very important fact, even if it was only for a few moments?
"You okay, babe?" Jace laughs, brushing the hair out of my eyes. He"s standing next to me, tucked inside the open pa.s.senger door of his truck while I"m still buckled into my seat. The moment I see him, I feel tears pool in the corners of my eyes. I don"t even know why. I"m just happy. And excited.
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him toward me. When I open my eyes a few moments later, I see a very familiar oak tree.
"Why did we stop here?" I say, pulling back and looking around at the front yard I haven"t seen in over a year. "Do we need to pick up something?"
Jace shakes his head. He reaches over and unbuckles my seatbelt, then helps me climb down from the truck. Gooseb.u.mps cover every inch of my skin as I look around. My mouth falls open and I"m not sure it"ll ever close again.
"What do you think?" Jace says, gesturing to the sight in front of us.
Jace"s grandfather"s house, the ma.s.sive manor of a house in Salt Gap, Texas, has been transformed. The shutters are painted, the porch is refinished. Flowerbeds line the perimeter. But that"s not even half of what has changed. Clear lights cover every inch of the grand oak trees in the front yard. Purple and turquoise roses overflow gla.s.s vases at various places on the wraparound porch and petals the same color line the cobblestone driveway, directing us into the back yard.
A gazebo has been erected in the center of the yard, right where Jace"s old dirt bike jumps used to be. Flowers line every walkway. Fifty white chairs with purple and turquoise satin ribbons tied around the backs, all facing toward the gazebo. It"s like a scene right out of a fairytale.
Or, you know, a dream wedding magazine.
"Jace." It"s all I can manage to say, because my hand covers my mouth in the next instant. It"s just all so beautiful, I can"t stand it. And to the left, I can see across the yard to my grandparent"s house. The place I once considered a prison, had become so much more than I ever could have imagined.
"I know it"s not Disney Land," Jace says, wrapping an arm around my waist. "But when I tried to picture where I"d want to marry you, this was my first idea. I thought it would be romantic...to marry you in the same place where I first met you."
I look into his eyes and feel so much love pour through me that I think I might burst. "It"s perfect."
Jace"s late grandfather"s house is no longer the old bachelor"s pad that it was the first time I saw it. It"s been cleaned out, refinished and remodeled. It smells clean and fragrant inside, no longer a smelly memory of all the cigars that were smoked in it daily. At first I"m blown away by all of the work this would have takenwhere was I when Jace was making all of these phone calls and arranging everything?
Jace laughs when I ask him this. "You were usually sitting right next to me," he says. "Watching TV or sleeping or completely ignoring me when I was on the computer."
"You do such boring things on the computer!" I say in protest. "Why would I pay attention to that?"
"Exactly. My friend Matt is a contractor and we communicated through email for the most part. He was in on the secret and knew never to call if you were going to be around."
I draw in a deep breath and shake my head, letting it out again in a sigh. "You never stop amazing me. I mean, how will I ever pay you back for this?"
"Marry me," he says. And he says it like he"s serious, too. Not like he"s just making a joke. In this very moment, I am one hundred percent sure that Jace Adams, former motocross superstar, truly believes that I can pay him back for all his hard work just by marrying him.
And I am so, so unworthy of a love like this.
Chapter 21.
The house"s bedrooms have been outfitted to be bridal changing rooms. Mine overlooks the front yard and Jace"s is upstairs. As I sit on a blush stool getting my hair done by my Aunt Truly, I have a perfect view out of the ma.s.sive window. I can see my mother, David and Bentley arrive. The caterers come next and they"re all dressed in black with purple and turquoise ties.
The band arrives and sets up in the back yard. I can hear them warm up their instruments and vocal cords and Jace was absolutely right. They sound a lot like my favorite band Mumford and Sons.
"Are you nervous?" Aunt Truly asks, bobby pins hanging out of her mouth.
I try not to roll my eyes. "Are you kidding? Of course I am. Not about getting married though."
"Then what for? I was a freaking wreck at my wedding." She pins another curl on top of my head, then grabs the curling iron off the vanity.
"I"m not nervous to marry Jace. I"m nervous about all the people. The possibility of tripping on my face or doing something else equally embarra.s.sing."
"Aww, that won"t happen." Aunt Truly says confidently, as if she"s some kind of mind reader or something.
There"s a soft knock at the door and I start to turn, but Aunt Truly stops my head with her head. "Nuh-uh," she mumbles as her hands work my hair. "Don"t move or I"ll mess it up."
Instead, I choose to watch the vanity mirror in front of me to see who"s at the door. It"s Mom. She"s wearing a cerulean dress, heels and her hair is swept into an up do that makes her look ten years younger.
Just like in the movies, Mom bursts into tears at the sight of me. It makes me giggle. This is all so surreal. "Mom, you look really pretty," I say as she rushes up to me, gushing about my hair and my makeup and my dress.
"Ugh, no," she says, still fawning over me. "I am nothing. You, honey are the star of today. You"re so beautiful, I can"t even..." Yep, it"s all over now. She"s now a sobbing puddle of motherly tears. "I love you so much," she whispers as she leans in for a light handed hug, darting out of Aunt Truly"s way just before the curling iron had a chance to burn her.
"Okay okay," I say, grabbing a tissue and handing it to her. "There will be no crying today!"
Aunt Truly clicks her tongue. "Good luck with that one."
Becca rushes in a few moments later, her face flushed but still beautiful thanks to the amazing makeup job she did on both herself and me. All of those YouTube makeup tutorial videos she spent months watching have really paid off.
"Why are you so frantic?" I ask. I strain to turn to look at her but Aunt Truly puts a stop to that.
Becca looks through the window, and then glances at her phone. "He"s not here yet. He should be here. I don"t know if I should call him again. Should I call him again? Would that be annoying of me? Maybe he got lost."
"Park?" I ask, even though the clarification isn"t necessary. Of course she"s talking about Park. She nods. "I hope he gets here soon. I don"t want your wedding ruined."
"Park will not make or break my wedding, trust me. It would suck if he doesn"t get here on time just because I wouldn"t be able to surprise Jace." I wave my hand in front of her face so she"ll stop watching the road and look at me. "Seriously, Becca. No stressing! I won"t allow it."
Becca nods, looks a whole lot like she wants to start chewing on her newly manicured nails, and then glances out of the window again. I can"t help but laugh. Now I guess I know exactly how she feels when she tells me to stop freaking out and I don"t abide by her advice.
The next half hour zooms by in record speed. I"m talking, thirty minutes in less than five seconds. I don"t know how it happens exactly, I have this theory involving time traveling cyborgs messing with the s.p.a.ce-time continuum, but there"s no time to think about that. Because one second I"m sitting at the vanity in the guest bedroom of Jace"s inherited house, and the next second I hear the band playing and my mother rushes through the door, her eyes looking primed for crying, and says, "It"s time!"
"What? No way!" I look for my cell phone but the thing is buried in my purse which is buried under suitcases and clothing and Aunt Truly"s hair and makeup supplies. Frantically, I look around for Becca but no, of course she isn"t here. She told me she was joining everyone on the back porch so they could get the ceremony started. It felt like she had said that just seconds ago, but I guess it was closer to fifteen minutes ago.
I don"t have time to feel panic or anything as Mom rushes up and gives me a squeeze of a hug, carefully avoiding my hair and makeup. "Okay," I say, unable to hide my big goofy grin. "I guess it"s time to do this thing."
We head into the hallway and walk toward the side door. Earlier they showed me how it was all set up: A white carpeted walkway leads from that door to the back yard, and then into the aisle where I"d meet Jace at the gazebo alter. Becca and Bentley will already be waiting next to Jace. And I guess, well, Jace"s best friend Park won"t be able to attend. I shrug off the disappointment I feel in being unable to surprise Jace. I"ll have a lifetime of surprises to do. Right now it"s time to get married.
Mom stops just at the end of the hall before the side door. She looks around. "Who"s walking you down the aisle? What"s Jace"s dad"s name again?"
"Huh?" I ask, feeling the warmth of dread and nerves creep up my spine.
Mom lifts a worried eyebrow. "Well, who"s walking you? I figured you asked his dad too, since you don"t exactly have a dad...Of course we could ask Grandpa, but he"s sitting up at the front so he"d have to get his walker and come back down here..."
With a total disregard for my makeup, I slam my palm to my forehead. The aisle. The father giving way the groom. In all of our careful planning and late nights spent filling out that wedding notebook, how had we forgotten that I"d need someone to walk me down the freaking aisle?
Mom takes a bouquet of purple and turquoise roses from the shelf next to the door and hands them to me. My wedding bouquet. I didn"t forget I"d need this. I shake my head slowly and fight like h.e.l.l to keep the tears out of my eyes. "I completely forgot to ask anyone to walk me down the aisle," I say, my voice cracking at the last few words. "How could I have been so stupid?"
Mom looks genuinely surprised, and I think a little flash of fear even flickers across her face. I expect her to volunteer to do it, to walk me as if she were my father since she raised me alone. But she doesn"t. She grabs my hand in hers and looks me straight in the eyes.
"Bayleigh, you are a strong girl. You can do absolutely anything you want to. I don"t see why you can"t walk down the aisle yourself. You chose Jaceyou can choose to meet him your way."
"Yeah, I guess," I mumble, kicking at the hardwood flooring with my shoes.
"Excuse me," a male voice says from the end of the hallway. Mom and I jump at the same time, both turning to see who just walked in on our conversation. He"s tall, at least as tall as Jace. And handsome in that cla.s.sic way. He"s wearing a black tux with a turquoise tie. I don"t know why it takes me so long to figure out who this guy isbut I blame my air headedness on a ma.s.sive amount of wedding anxiety. The man steps forward and holds out his hand. "Did I overhear a bride saying she has no one to walk her down the aisle?" He flashes me a million dollar smile. "Maybe I can help?"
I smile. "Park," I say warmly, reaching out for his hand. But instead of shaking my hand, he leans in for a hug. He smells like he"s fresh out of the shower and not like he had been driving for the last twenty four hours.
"Did you just get here?" I ask.
He nods. "There was a ma.s.sive wreck on Interstate forty-five. I lost an hour trying to get around that. Also...my truck is parked in the driveway even though we"re all supposed to park in the lot next door. I knew how late I was and I didn"t want to miss it."
"No worries," I say, grabbing onto his arm again. "I can"t believe you"re here. This is going to be so awesome for Jace." A renewed sense of excitement fills the air as Jace"s best friend smiles back at me.
I glance at Mom and am happy to see that she looks just as excited as I do. She introduces herself to Park and then pulls him in for a hug, too. I guess this is an emotional time for all of us.
Pre-wedding music continues to play and as I glance at the clock on the wall, I am keenly aware that the guests outside are expecting me to walk out there any moment.
I turn toward Jace"s best friend, biting on my bottom lip. It tastes like lipstick. "I would love for you to walk me down the aisle, if you don"t mind."
He holds out his elbow and I take it. "It would be an absolute honor."
Mom opens the door and we step out onto the white carpet. I"m feeling wonderful until we turn around the house and I see a sea of family and friends all rise in their chairs and turn toward me. Now, I"m nervous. Excited. Crazy scared. Happy.
Now, I"m getting married.
Everyone looks at me as we walk. I only look at Jace. The expression on his face can be described as adoration when he first saw me, to shock, surprise and happiness when he noticed who was walking next to me. I glance up and sideways at Park and see him wink at Jace. Jace"s tongue runs across his lips quickly and the dimples in his cheeks tell me that he"s trying hard not to smile like a dork.
We take two steps up the gazebo, and when we reach Jace, Park takes my hand and puts it in Jace"s hand. "She"s all yours, bro."
The minister begins speaking but I"m too enchanted with staring into Jace"s eyes to hear anything he says. Jace squeezes my hands at a couple of parts in the minister"s speech. Realizing that it"s my own wedding, and that I can always stare into Jace"s blue eyes when it"s over, I pull my gaze off of him and glance at the minister as he reads a pa.s.sage about love from the Bible.
When he"s finished, he tells the audience that we"ve written our own vows. Jace goes first. I draw in a deep breath. He always remembered them better than I did when we were practicing. Now, he says the words we crafted together as if they were written on his heart: "Bayleigh, on this day, I give you my heart. I promise to walk with you hand in hand, wherever life takes us. I promise to love and live and learn with you. On this day, I promise that I will forever be yours."
A single tear rolls down my cheek. The minister tells me to go next. I swallow the lump in my throat, take a deep breath and promise myself to Jace.
"Jace, on this day, I give you my heart. I promise to walk with you hand in hand, wherever life takes us. I promise to love and live and learn with you. On this day, I promise that I will forever be yours."
The minister speaks louder this time. "With the power vested in me, I p.r.o.nounce you man and wife. Jace, son, you may now kiss your bride."
Jace wraps an arm around my waist and dips me low, kissing me as if it"s the last chance he"ll ever get. The audience explodes into applause but I only hear the beating of my own heart as I kiss the man who is now my husband.
Chapter 22.
Jace and I sneak out of the reception around nine o"clock. Everyone"s having such a great time dancing under the clear lights in the trees and enjoying the live band playing. I don"t think anyone noticed that we were gone, and they probably won"t for quite some time. I sent Mom and Becca a text so they wouldn"t worry. Jace tells me to grab the bag I had packed and we sneak off, tiptoeing through the ma.s.sive house and slipping out the front door unseen.
I am drunk on love and my heart overflows with happiness. I am Mrs. Jace Adams. I feel like there"s not a d.a.m.n thing on this earth that I couldn"t do.
I lift up my dress, holding on to the tail as we sprint across the yard and into my grandparent"s yard where Jace"s truck is parked. He"s reversed in the driveway so we can make a quick getaway.
I"m breathing hard when we reach the truck. Jace pulls open my door and kisses me before letting me climb inside. "You ready for our honeymoon?" he asks, his eyes full of wonder and mischief.
"I"d be even more ready if I knew where we were going!" I say, laughing.
"Well that"s up to you, Mrs. Adams." Jace gives me a sly smile before starting up the truck. I"m not sure what he means by that. Up to me? This whole honeymoon was planned by him!
We hold hands as we drive. But the drive doesn"t take nearly as long as I had expected it to. Salt Gap is out in the middle of nowhere...hours away from the big cities. So when Jace slows down, puts on his blinker for some random back road, I lift an eyebrow.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"Horseshoe Bend Airport," he says. But I don"t need an answer now because we"re driving past a sign that says the same thing. That"s when I see a few ma.s.sive airplane hangars, and a small control tower.
"I"ve never even heard of this airport," I say, wondering where he"s planned for us to fly to. We pull into a parking spot next to a hangar. I"m still wearing my wedding dress and everything, but I don"t want to take it off. I want to remember this night forever.
A man meets us outside of a hangar, greeting Jace by name.. This is no commercial airline. My mouth falls open as I take in the sight of the private jet waiting in front of us. The majestic, ma.s.sive aircraft is a pearly white with blue details painted on the tail. Our luggage is loaded into the jet and then we"re allowed to board.
Stairs fold out from the side of the plane and Jace motions for me to go first. We step into a luxurious interior of vanilla colored leather chairs and wood grain detailing. I run my fingers along the back of a chair. There are only six chairs. We will be the only guests flying tonight. A private jet. A private trip. This is way too good to be true.
We meet Christopher, who is our pilot. Well, I meet him. Jace has known him for years, apparently. He flew in from Los Angeles just this morning. After a little small talk, I can"t help but ask the question that"s been in my mind ever since we left the wedding.
"So where are we flying tonight?"
Christopher gives me a sly smile, but it"s Jace that speaks up. "This is our jet for the next three weeks," he says. "And it"s ready to take us wherever you"d like to go."
The end.