Page 20
I blink rapidly, trying to dispel the tears that blur my vision. Taking pictures is difficult when you’re crying…even if they are happy tears. Mr. and Mrs. Crue Pribula. Phia Pribula.
AHH! My girl is hitched! I’m so excited and happy and a big sap. I love love!
For it being short notice, Phia’s mom and the coordinator at the Vegas wedding chapel pulled everything together so beautifully.
And Phia is a vision in a cocktail-style wedding dress.
It’s a wonderful affair and blessedly short and sweet and right to the point.
Frills and attention aren’t Prib and Phia’s style.
“Edee, you alright?” Ty asks from beside me.
“I’m great!” He chuckles, kisses my forehead and leans back into his conversation with some of the guys from the team, including Beiler.
Lyndell is hanging out with Phia and Crue’s parents and my own across the room.
A few other guests mill about and it’s heartwarming to see how many people are here to support them from the university and football team.
Hell, Andres Abbott and Theo Prokop are here!
Of course, I’m told the happy couple is staying at Abbott’s castle in Scotland for their honeymoon. His CASTLE!
The parents of the happy couple take us all out for a celebratory dinner.
The guys have a good time, relaxing now that the season is over and the Rose Bowl is in the rearview.
Listening to Beiler and Ty, I know that the next season is already on the horizon.
No rest for the wicked. I have fun sitting back, people-watching during the meal.
Especially Ty. He’d pivoted, accepted his physical limitations and found a new path to pursue.
Then Beiler put up a fork in the road, and in true Tyrone Wicawiil fashion, he forged his own path right down the middle.
He’s continuing his education to obtain his master’s for special education while coaching a Big10 football team…
and hopefully giving me plenty of orgasms along the way.
I’m not selfish, 10 to 20 a week seems fair.
Dinner winds down, and everyone starts to say their goodbyes to the newlyweds and find some trouble to get into for the night. It’s Vegas, the possibilities are endless.
“When you get back, we’re getting together, and I want all the deets.” I tell Phia as I hug her one last time.
“Oh yeah?” she laughs, an eyebrow rising up her forehead.
“Yeah…like how did Prib secure the mirror to your ceiling and how did you convince your super to let him?”
“Ah…well, I invoke spousal privilege.” I toss my head back and laugh at her well-educated response.
“I’m gonna miss you like crazy, but I hope you and Prib have a great time. Relax, enjoy yourself…live in the moment.”
Phia looks at her husband and grins. “I’m learning to embrace the spontaneity.”
Ty and I walk hand in hand down the busy sidewalk, Lyn and my parents behind us. We have plans to meet up with a few of the others later, but we need to head back to the hotel to change and regroup.
Near the Bellagio, Lyndell grabs my other hand and he and Ty lead me inside the huge hotel.
“Why are we here?” I ask, though continue to follow them inside the Botanical Gardens just off the lobby.
My head is practically on a swivel, trying to take in everything there is to see.
It’s absolutely breathtaking; the artistry involved and the imaginative displays.
The brothers seem to be on a mission as I’m tugged through the garden. We stop at the giant chess board filled with topiary chess pieces. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Ty and Lyn release my hands and begin weaving between the pieces, laughing, as they play hide-and-seek.
“Hey, Edee?” I glance to the right and spot Ty leaning around the large knight piece. “You wanna play a game of chess?”
I give him a shrug, chuckling at the lightness I see in his eyes. He’s happy. Genuinely happy and it tickles me to witness it. “Sure, why not.” The pieces are far too large to move, but who cares.
Ty steps out from behind the sculpted horse head and stops when the toes of his dress shoes touch my heels.
“This king is capturing his queen.” He punctuates his statement with a kiss to my lips.
I miss him as soon as he breaks the kiss and I chase him with my eyes still closed, but there is nothing but air.
I blink them open and he’s not there. Something taps my thigh, and I gasp when I find him and Lyn on one knee in front of me.
He opens a small ring box, revealing a gorgeous gold ring that looks familiar.
“Is that…?” He nods, licks his lips and swallows hard.
“When I asked your parents for permission to propose, your father insisted I take your grandmother’s ring.
I couldn’t say no. Your mom is scary, but this ring…
it’s you. And I couldn’t imagine it anywhere but around your finger telling the world that I am yours…
that I’m enough for you exactly as I am. ”
“Ty—”
“Ty, you skipped me!” Lyn whispers with a glare at his brother, it makes me laugh. When others join in, I realize we are surrounded by almost everyone that was at the wedding, minus Prib and Phia. My parents are watching with happy smiles, and Addelsbach is snapping pictures on my camera.
“Sorry, brother. Go ahead. I’ll wait…” Ty deadpans.
“Thank you.” Lyn smirks. He opens a box of his own, revealing a delicate gold necklace with an entwined heart pendant. “Edee, I love you. Will you be my sister?”
“Lyn, of course, I will! I love you too, big brother.” He lights up, wraps his arms around my legs and stands up with a whoop. I lean down and hug him, then pat his shoulder to put me back on the ground. Ty waits patiently.
I take a deep breath, my stomach doing somersaults and my palms itchy.
“May I?” Ty asks Lyn, who makes a sweeping gesture for Ty to get on with it.
“Edee. You captured me from the beginning; I never stood a chance against you. I want to live in checkmate with you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”
I must take too long, since Lyn huffs and leans in to whisper loudly, “You’re supposed to say ‘yes’.”
“I am?” He nods, pointing at his brother, still on his knee.
“I’m glad you were here to help.” That makes Lyn preen like a peacock.
I look down at Ty with a soft smile, tears in my eyes.
Lifting my left hand between us, I wait for him to take it in his, the warmth of his skin soothing my nerves. “Yes.”