A Forever Love

  After getting the dress on and Margie fussing over my hair, I slipped on my shoes and slowly turned to look at myself in the mirror. I let out a gasp as I stared back at myself. My blonde hair was piled on top of my head with curls falling loosely around my face. I tried desperately not to cry.

  “Garrett is going to be over the moon,” I whispered to no one in particular.

  “Yes, he is,” my father said from behind me.

  My eyes caught his reflection in the mirror, and he smiled.

  My father placed his hands on my shoulders. “You look beyond breathtaking, Emma Rose. I’ve never laid my eyes on such a rare beauty. Someone should probably be ready to hold Garrett up when he sees you.”

  I quickly spun around and went to talk when my father held up his hand.

  “Wait. Before you say anything, let me speak first. I couldn’t have picked out a better man for my little girl if I had handpicked him myself. The love in Garrett’s eyes when he looks at you is evident. I see the way he can’t pull his eyes off of you, and I know he would lay down his life for you and your safety at any given moment. I know with all my heart that he will love you, like I love you, for the rest of your life. I’m so proud of the man he has become, and I’m so proud of the woman you’ve grown to be. I love you, Emma Rose, and no one, not even Garrett Mathews, could ever love you as much as I do.”

  I threw myself into my father’s arms and began crying as he held on to me.

  He whispered, “No, baby girl, don’t cry.”

  “Daddy,” I whispered, “I love him so much.”

  My father pulled back and used his thumbs to gently wipe away my tears. “Your mother is going to be upset with me for making you cry and for ruining your makeup.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t care.”

  My father laughed and then looked into my eyes. “I know you love him, Emma. I also know he loves you so very much. That is the only reason he is alive today.”

  I felt the heat move up to my cheeks as I looked down. I was pretty sure my father and mother knew I hadn’t been a virgin when Garrett and I had gotten married last year.

  “Charles Birk, did you make her cry?” my mother said.

  When I looked behind my father, I saw my mother standing there with her hands on her hips, ready for all-out war.

  “I have something else for you,” Daddy said in almost a whisper.

  I looked as he pulled a box out of his pocket.

  “They were my great grandmother’s. She wore them in her wedding and then passed them on to my mother. Your grandmother gave them to me the day before I married your mother. Now, it is your turn to wear them.”

  I let out a gasp as he opened the box and revealed the most beautiful set of pearl earrings I’d ever seen. There were hints of rose, green, and gold colors.

  “These are a very rare pair of copper baroque pearl earrings. When I first saw them on your mother, I couldn’t believe how beautiful they were. Now, to see them on my own daughter…” His voice cracked before trailing off.

  I struggled to keep from crying again.

  Daddy cleared this throat. “To see them on my own daughter is an even more rare gift.”

  I gently took one of the earrings out, and I turned to face the mirror. I put the earring on, and when I took the other earring out, I glanced over to my mother. She was now crying, but she smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

  Once both earrings were in, I just stared at my reflection. I looked like a princess.

  My father kissed me on the cheek. “Okay, well, I’m going to go take my place now.”

  Peggy walked in with my veil and said, “Next step is the veil.”

  Margie and Peggy walked up and began pinning the silk and lace wedding veil on. I just stood there and dreamed of what Garrett’s face would look like when he saw me walking down the aisle.

  Margie gave me a smile. “He’s gonna shit his pants when he sees you.”

  Peggy and I both started laughing.

  Peggy reached for my hand. “Shall we make you Mrs. Garrett Mathews…yet again?”

  I nodded my head and took a deep breath to settle my nerves. “That sounds like an amazing idea.”

  As I began to head out, I stopped at the door, and a huge bouquet of white daisies was handed to me. I smiled, thinking back to Garrett giving me the first of many bouquets of white daisies. Then, my mind began drifting.

  Peggy whispered into my ear, “Stop thinking about him like that. You just let out a moan, you horny bitch.”

  I snapped my head over to Peggy and dropped my mouth open. “Oh my! Did I really?” I asked.

  She nodded her head and winked at me.

  I smiled and started walking. “I blame it all on Garrett Mathews.”

  Margie huffed. “Romantic bastard.”

  We all looked at each other and laughed.

  I nodded my head and whispered, “Romantic doesn’t even begin to describe Garrett.”

  “Son, are you okay?” my father asked from the other side of the door.

  Yet again, I splashed my face with cold water. “Yes, sir. Just give me a few seconds.”

  “Three times. Who throws up three times right before his wedding?” Billy said.

  I rolled my eyes and looked into the mirror. “Lord, please…I don’t want to throw up on my beautiful bride.”

  “What was that, Garrett? I didn’t hear you,” my father said.

  I opened the door and tried to smile. “I was praying that I wouldn’t throw up on Emma.”

  Billy was laughing his ass off.

  I gave him a good shove and said, “Push off, you ass.”

  “Boys, that’s enough. Billy, you’re fixin’ to be a father, so start acting like it,” my father said as he turned and looked at Billy.

  I peeked around my father’s back and gave Billy the middle finger. I mouthed, Candy-ass.

  His mouth dropped open, and he quickly said, “Dad! He’s giving me the finger.”

  Our father walked away and said, “It’s his wedding, son. If he gave you the finger, I’m sure you deserved it. Oh, Garrett, don’t forget about my toast.”

  I smiled and felt triumphant…for a whole two seconds.

  “Garrett, it’s time,” Pastor Spencer gently said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

  I swallowed hard. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

  Billy threw his head back and laughed as he walked into the sanctuary.

  Pastor Spencer giggled. “Son, take a deep breath, and let’s make our way.”

  As we walked down the aisle at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, I took everything in. I inhaled a deep breath and smelled the flowers as I took in the color of them. Light blue bows were tied on to the end of every pew. It all said Emma. I smiled as I pictured her here last night, putting on the bows and directing exactly where she’d wanted every flower to go. When I glanced up, I saw all the white daisies, and my mind drifted back to that warm day on the quilt under our tree.

  I was snapped out of my daydream when Pastor Spencer said, “Garrett, take your spot.”

  Billy was standing there, grinning from ear to ear. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. I shook my head as I thought about him becoming a father and making me an uncle. Even though we weren’t blood brothers, he would always be a brother to me. I looked at Raymond standing next to Billy, and when he winked at me, I gave him a nod back. The only person missing was Wayne. He had joined the Marines right after we graduated from college, and Billy had said the only reason he had joined was to get away from Anna and her constant hounding about getting married. Now, Wayne was engaged to a girl from South Carolina, and he’d talked about bringing her home to Texas soon.

  The music began playing, and all three of us stood up straight.

  Billy hit me on the arm and said, “Look at how cute she is!”

  Lily, our two-year-old little sister, began walking down the aisle. Rather, she was running while she threw rose petals in the a
ir and laughed. Peggy was next, and she looked beautiful. I glanced over to look at Raymond, and he was beaming with pride.

  “Holy shit,” Billy whispered.

  I turned and saw Margie walking down the aisle. She was glowing, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen her so happy.

  Then, the music changed, and my heart slammed in my chest. Don’t get sick. Don’t get sick. I closed my eyes, and when I slowly opened them, I saw the most beautiful girl standing at the end of the aisle.

  “Garrett, breathe. You’ve got to breathe,” Billy whispered as he nudged my arm.

  “I’ve…never…so…breathtaking,” I barely said.

  I watched as Emma gracefully walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. Nothing could have ever prepared me for this moment. My heart was so overfilled with love…and lust. I could hardly think straight. Everything was in a fog, and I couldn’t even hear what the pastor was saying.

  I did, however, hear when Charles leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “You ever hurt my daughter…I’ll kill you, chop you up into a million pieces, and toss you in the trash.”

  I pulled back and swallowed hard. “I, um…”

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts, but he just smiled and placed Emma’s hand in mine. When I looked down into her beautiful eyes, I quickly forgot all about her father’s threat.

  “Em, you look stunning. You take my breath away,” I said. I began to rub my thumbs across her hand in a rather quick and nervous fashion.

  She smiled. “You look so handsome, Garrett.”

  When she bit on her lower lip, I wanted to lift her veil and take her lips against mine.

  I leaned down and whispered next to her ear, “The things I’m going to do to you tonight are going to make your body shake with desire.”

  She sucked in a breath of air and dropped her mouth open as she pulled back and looked at me. She slowly smiled. “Two can play at that game, Mr. Mathews. I have my own plans for you.”

  The rest of the ceremony was a blur. I couldn’t stop thinking about what plans Emma had. My whole body was practically shaking with anticipation at the idea of being with her on our wedding night. Since I had been in the hospital during our first wedding, our wedding night had consisted of me sleeping most of the time from the pain pills. Now, I had every intention of making it up to her tonight.

  “Are you about ready to leave?” I whispered into Emma’s ear.

  She looked up at me, and her eyes spoke for her loud and clear.

  “You have no idea how ready I am to leave,” she whispered back.

  I still hadn’t told her where we were going. For the last three years, I’d been saving every spare penny I could to take her on this honeymoon. Her parents had wanted to pay for the honeymoon, but I’d said no. The fact that they had paid for our entire wedding was more than enough.

  I placed my hand on the small of her back and looked at my watch. Our plane would be leaving tomorrow, but I really wanted to get Emma out of here. I looked around for Margie. When her eyes caught mine, I gave her a look, and she nodded her head. She had made sure that Emma was packed up with everything she would need for our honeymoon. One week in Venice would be just what the doctor had ordered. I needed to take a break from the ranch, and Emma had been dreaming of going to Italy. For me to be able to make her dream come true felt amazing.

  Emma was talking to some people.

  I politely interrupted and said, “I hate to pull the bride away, but we have a flight waiting for us in Austin, and we really need to leave soon.”

  The oohs and aahs coming from everyone when I’d mentioned the word bride caused me to roll my eyes. As I led Emma toward the front door, our guests kept stopping us.

  “Where are you going on your honeymoon?” someone asked from behind me.

  Emma giggled. “He won’t tell me where we are going. It’s a surprise.”

  “It’s probably to a cheap motel in Austin, if I know Garrett!” someone yelled out.

  If I weren’t in such a hurry, I would have turned around and given whoever had said that a knuckle sandwich.

  “Garrett, you’re practically pulling my arm out,” Emma said.

  We stopped at the door and waited for everyone to line up. They were all opening up the small bags that contained the rice.

  Emma and I both said at the same time, “Oh, great.”

  Emma had begged her parents to skip this part, but they wouldn’t have it. Their little girl would not be sneaking off. She deserved a proper send-off.

  “Are you ready?” Maria asked as she looked at Emma and then me.

  We both nodded our heads, and before we took off, I leaned down and said, “Take off your shoes.”

  Emma snapped her head and looked at me. “What? Why?”

  I was looking at everyone smiling. “We can run faster if you’re not running in damn heels.”

  “Oh, smart thinking!” Emma reached down and slipped one shoe off and then the other.

  I leaned in to her and said, “I have a plan. Before your dad gets done talking, we take off running. We’ll catch everyone off guard that way.”

  Emma laughed. “I knew I married you for a reason.”

  Charles walked up. “It’s time to send off the bride and groom! May I—”

  I pulled Emma’s hand, and we both took off running. Everyone began scrambling to throw the rice.

  “Um…well, there goes Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Thomas Mathews!” Emma’s dad called out.

  We were more than halfway to the car when the first rice pellets began hitting us. Once we got to the car, they were still pelting us.

  “Shit! Why aren’t they stopping?” I yelled out.

  Emma laughed uncontrollably.

  “Ouch! Son of a bitch! Who threw the whole bag at me?” I shouted. I looked up and saw Billy smiling from ear to ear. I pointed at him and said, “I’ll get you back for that, you bas—”

  “Garrett! We should go,” Emma said as she pulled me back.

  I quickly opened her door as her mother walked up, and we helped Emma into the truck. I ran around to the driver’s side and waved. “Thanks, everyone! See y’all in a week!”

  I attempted to get the rice out of my hair before I jumped into the truck. Emma was still laughing, and she grabbed my hand as I took off down the road.

  “Bastards! I think some of those people purposely hit me with full bags of rice,” I said.

  Emma began picking rice out of her hair. “Garrett, pull over, so I can let my hair down and get this rice out.”

  I looked over at her. There was no way in hell I was letting her take her hair down. That was my job. “We’ll be home soon, and I’ll get it out. I want to take your hair down.”

  She turned, and from the corner of my eye, I could see her staring at me.

  “I thought we had a flight to catch. You told everyone—” She stopped talking and put her hand up to her mouth. “You lied to everyone!”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “Yes and no. I won’t deny it. I needed an excuse to get you out of there and in my arms. Technically, we do have a flight waiting for us in Austin…tomorrow. Do you know how crazy I’ve been, seeing you in that dress?”

  Emma laughed and then let out a gasp. “Our dance. Oh my God, Garrett…we never had our first dance.”

  I slammed on the brakes and looked at her.

  “How did we not have our first dance?” I asked.

  She looked at me like I was stupid.

  I glanced into the rearview mirror and said, “Oh, holy hell.”

  Billy pulled up next to us, honking his horn, and I rolled down my window.

  Margie said, “The first dance!”

  Emma yelled, “We’re coming back right now!”

  I shook my head and quickly turned the truck around, making our way back to the church. The reception was being held in the basement, and by the time we pulled up, everyone was already back in the basement.

  When we walked in, everyone began clapping, and Emma and I
both just smiled.

  “I still don’t see how we forgot to do the first dance,” she whispered.

  “I know why. Ever since we cut the damn cake, everyone has been talking to us. I’ve never fake-smiled so much in my life.”

  Emma hit me in the stomach and smiled as we walked to the middle of the room. “Oh, Garrett. Did you remember to tell Billy the song you wanted for our first dance?”

  I smiled as I reached down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Yes, Buttercup, I did.”

  We were standing in the middle of the dance floor, and Charles was about to introduce us again.

  “I don’t think anything else needs to be said. Ladies and gentlemen, here is Emma and Garrett for their first dance as husband and wife.”

  Emma and I both laughed. Everyone knew we had been married for a year now, but it didn’t seem to matter. Emma turned and gave me that smile that made my knees weak every time I saw it. Then, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” started, and her eyes misted over with tears. I pulled her into my arms and began singing along with Elvis. The moment I’d first heard this song, I had known it was my song to her. She held on to me like her life depended on it.

  “Emma, your smile melts my heart and makes me weak in the knees at the same time. Your laughter is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard, and I plan on hearing it every day for the rest of our lives.” I placed my hand on the side of her face and wiped a tear away with my thumb. “Your eyes…my God, your eyes cause me to lose my breath every time I look into them. Your lips are the sweetest things on your body, and I crave them daily. Every day I wake up next to you and hear your voice, my heart beats harder in my chest, and I fall in love with you more. I will give you everything, Emma. My entire world is yours—always and forever.”