Mine to Promise (Southern Wedding #6)(9)
“Did you deliver the gift?” he asks me, sitting up, nervous I didn’t deliver the gift.
“I did,” I inform him. “Who is planning your wedding?” The question comes out without me even thinking twice, which is not normal for me. I always, always make a plan before I have any discussion with anyone.
“Clarabella, Presley, and Shelby,” he replies, leaning back in the chair, taking a pull of his beer,
“they work together.”
“Who is Addison to Sofia?” I ask him, trying not to seem like I’m prying or even seeming like I would care who she is. But he doesn’t answer me. Instead, he just glares at me.
“Off-limits,” he grouses between clenched teeth. “She’s a single mom.” He tells me something I already know. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Aren’t you here with a girl?” Stone laughs as he asks me the question.
“Didn’t you just start dating her also?” Christopher follows up with his own question.
All I can do is ignore them. “How old is Avery?” I ask him, even though I know deep down inside
me she’s mine. I can’t explain it, but I know. I knew the minute I locked eyes on her, she was mine.
“I have no idea, four… five… six.” He shrugs.
“Have you met her little girl?” I ask him, and his glare gets even more intense.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? You want to do this at my wedding?” he shouts and Christopher and Stone try not to laugh at his tone.
“I’m not doing anything,” I say, my leg shaking up and down with nerves. “I’m just asking who they are. I just met them.”
“Sofia usually has them over when I’m on the road,” Matty shares. “I’ve seen Avery a couple of times, here and there.”
“Is she dating anyone?” Christopher asks, and now I’m glaring at him.
“Listen.” Matty stands up. “None of you perverts are allowed to make a play for her.” He points at all three of us, and I throw in if the other two even try it, I’m going to throat punch them before they even get a word out. Actually, if they even think it, I’ll hurt them.
“Relax there,” Stone assures. “I’m already spoken for.”
Christopher laughs at that. “Does she even know you exist?”
“Oh, she knows,” Stone says with a smirk, and I’m happy they are talking about something else besides Addison.
The door opens and my uncle Viktor comes in. “It’s time.” Matty stands up and puts the beer down on the table in front of him. “She’s coming out now?”
“No, God no,” Viktor says, “but the photographer wants to take pictures with us and all of that.”
“And considering there are a million of us, it’s like herding cats,” Christopher announces, finishing off his beer.
“They need a lot of time.” Stone gets up and slaps Matty on the shoulder. “Getting married.”
“It’s great,” he states, “you should try it.”
“She doesn’t even want to date him, how is he going to marry her?” Christopher laughs while Stone glares at him.
“I mean, Uncle Matthew handcuffed Aunt Karrie to the bed,” Viktor reminds us, and the three of us literally groan.
“What is wrong with you people?” Matty says. “It’s my wedding day; can we not talk about my aunt and uncle having sex?”
“I didn’t say they had sex,” Viktor defends. “You guys are perverts and your minds just went there.”
“How could it not?” Stone shakes his head and walks to the door. “Why else would you use handcuffs?”
“You should see if you can borrow them,” Christopher tells him, “maybe, then Ryleigh will give you the time of day.”
Stone just flips him the bird. “Can we not anger Romeo by talking about his sister dating Stone?”
Matty pleads between clenched teeth.
“They aren’t dating,” Christopher says right before walking out the door. “I think she said, ‘when donkeys help pigs fly.’”
“She changed her tune.” Stone says winking at us.
“Can we just not mess up my wedding?” Matty asks as we walk out of the house.
“No one is going to mess up your wedding,” I reassure him, looking at the house that I want to go back to. Instead, I look over to the side, seeing my family starting to get together.
I start walking to them when I turn to the side and see my father walking toward me. He’s wearing a light-blue suit without a tie. His aviator glasses cover his eyes, but with his face going into a huge smile, I know his eyes are a light brown.
“There he is,” he says when he gets close enough to me as he takes me in a hug. I got my height from my father, for sure. He slaps my back and kisses the side of my head before letting me go. “You look good.”
“You saw me two months ago.” I laugh at him as he puts his arm over my shoulder. “And we FaceTime at least twice a week.”
“It’s different when I see you face-to-face.” He lets his hands drop from my shoulders. “How’ve you been?”
“Okay,” I reply, looking down before I look at him and confess to him what just happened. My father is my biggest supporter. He’s also the one I go to anytime I have a problem, no matter what.