Page 3 of I’m Fine Save Me (The Spiral Duet #1)

Chapter two

Tegan

Two Years Later

“ I t’s not too late to run, sweetie. You know that,” my mother says as she adjusts my veil and hands me my bouquet of lilies that she arranged herself.

“I know, mama.” I smirk at her and shake my head. Both of my sisters give me that look that asks if I’m sure I don’t want to run, making me laugh a little. They’re both dressed in the black and silver dresses I let them pick for themselves to give me away.

I never wanted some huge ceremony. I might have done that thing that all girls do and planned a twelve bridesmaid lineup with big flowers, colorful dresses, and a decked out cathedral hall; but really, I just wanted to marry the love of my life.

The party never mattered as much to me as the person waiting at the end of the aisle.

So our favorite spot on Lake Sinclair with our closest friends and family is just perfect.

My biological father showed up at the salon when my sisters and I were getting our hair done. He bought everyone something to eat when I mentioned we hadn’t stopped for food in all our wedding prep for the day.

Everyone except me.

He also pointedly paid for my sisters’ hair to be done before he left the salon.

All of it was a way to get back at me for not letting him give me away.

Apparently ever since the day he had a daughter, all he wanted to do was to give us all away.

Cheating on Mama and telling us he had a new family wasn’t enough for him.

He really wanted that five seconds of finality of giving us away to someone else.

My hairdresser laughed when he left and kissed my cheek when she saw me trying not to cry.

“This was my wedding gift to you anyway. Fuck ’em.

” She had whispered to me before we left the salon.

I love that woman. Not that I wasn’t prepared to pay for the half up, half down look she’d gone with.

I’m just the type of person that cries when I’m angry, sad, frustrated, or happy.

My sisters had seen it all for what it was and we talked shit all the way to the lake. There’s something about bitching with your sisters that just makes everything right in the world.

Once we’re in our dresses, I try not to think about the events of the morning.

Mama puts my veil into my hair, adjusts my bouquet, and we stand waiting for the photographer to finish with her photos of Cooper’s family.

With my mom holding my hand, I talk to family members who wanted to see me before the ceremony.

Cooper’s best friend, Theo, returned from his basic training for the Army with a pretty new wife in tow. Neither of us even knew he’d been dating before he left for training, but Annie is beautiful and sweet. She fit right in with everything I ever pictured for Theo.

After thanking them for coming, I feel mama grip my hand a little tighter and I look at her with confusion.

“You okay?” I ask and the look on her face says it all.

My mom doesn’t like to cause a scene during special occasions.

Today is mine and Cooper’s day, but she also has that look on her face that promises loudly shouted, southern mama rage if the wrong thing is said.

That look alone tells me who exactly is walking up behind me.

I kiss her cheek and murmur softly so only she can hear. “I’ve got it. You go help Nana to the spot where we’re going to take pictures. I’ll be right there.”

I know she’s reluctant to leave my side. She knows what happened at the hair salon, but I don’t want her going to jail on my wedding day either.

I hope Cooper is having a less stressful time than I am.

I make sure my smile is in place before I turn to see my biological father, Wayne Millington, in a tweed suit.

Tweed.

It’s September in Georgia, lakeside, the humidity is almost stifling; and the man is in a three piece tweed suit that is the ugliest color beige I’ve ever seen in my fucking life.

“I got all dressed up just in case you did the right thing and changed your mind,” he says and puts his arms around me in a hug.

I return it by patting the back of his shoulder with my free hand.

Both of my sisters and their best friends have the same look as mama when they see him; and it takes all my willpower to keep that smile on my face as I pull back away from the bullshit hug.

He’s not worth my anger. Not today of all days.

“You know Dani and Kat already have their dresses and I promised them they could give their big sister away,” I say to placate him. His tantrums can be as bad as a tired toddler fighting a nap.

“I’m your daddy and this is supposed to be my day to give my little girl away.

” He sounds so offended that it’s almost laughable.

I remember every time he didn’t take his role as a father seriously, every time he blamed my mom for their divorce, every time he left me to flip the bill for family dinner with my sisters after the divorce…

dinners he invited us out to in order to spend time with us once he was no longer living with us.

I remember being told that he had a new family that was his priority.

He made sure to point out Dani, Kat, and I would just have to get over that fact.

Funny how this is the one thing he’s seeing as the perk of being a father.

I keep my smile in place and nod at him. “I thought it was my day to marry the love of my life. The one you gave your blessing to because it would be one less mouth for you to feed.” My voice is quiet and so sweet one might think I was telling him how handsome he looked in his wheat woven suit.

Seriously, where did he even find it?

“Right before you got the waitress’s phone number.” I lean in to press my cheek close to his, kissing the air before I lean back. “We didn’t assign sides for families to sit on. Go find your seat. We’ll be starting soon.”

I feel him turn as I walk away and I brace myself for him to cause a scene; but I keep my eyes on my sisters as I walk towards them, my mom, and my grandmother who are all now waiting.

We take our pictures, and just as my family is stepping away to go get seated, Wayne steps up and calls to the photographer. “You didn’t get any with the father of the bride.”

The woman with long blonde curls looks shocked and apologizes to him, even with me trying to silently tell her it’s fine. She snaps a photo of us and because she’s clicking away to get as many frames per second as possible, he leans over and kisses my cheek.

“Awe, how sweet!” the photographer exclaims and I feel like I might vomit. Gritting my teeth so hard my jaw hurts, I pull away from him. Before he can make another demand, I go up the trail to the top of the hill to wait for the bridal march to start.

I’m glad we hired a photographer because by the time we get back to our apartment that night, I hardly remember the ceremony.

I remember laughing because the breeze was just strong enough that my mom and Cooper’s mom couldn’t keep their lighters lit for us to put the flames to our unity candle.

Us laughing the whole time is another memory that stands out in the blur.

I remember the preacher asking if anyone had any reason… and then she chuckled at the silence and said 'That’s what I like to hear.' Of course, being announced as Mr. and Mrs. Michaels will never be wiped from my mind.

I remember Cooper kissing me and resting his forehead against mine, telling me ”I love you so much. You are so fucking beautiful. Thank you. Thank you for marrying me, baby.”

For the rest of my life I’ll remember that he thanked me for saying I do.

The rest is such a blur of mixed emotions.

I’m so happy to be married to Coop and was so terrified Wayne was going to throw a tantrum and make a scene.

I didn’t even eat at the reception. I didn’t feel hungry until I saw him leave the Lake in the car he borrowed from his new wife.

I walk back to our bedroom and reach back to unzip my dress.

“Nope,” Cooper says and comes up behind me to wrap his arms around my waist, pressing kisses down along the curve of my neck and shoulder. “I think as your new husband, it’s my job to remove this, Mrs. Michaels.”

I laugh and shake my head, leaning back against him.

Tilting my head back, I trail kisses along his smooth jaw, taking in that decadent scent of his cologne.

Something like cedar and vetiver with a touch of spice that I can never figure out, but love all the same.

“Ah, but Mr. Michaels, your sisters and mine thought it was so very important to throw birdseed at us as we left. I promise you, what is under this dress is not at all sexy. There’s a corset and spanx to smooth out the rolls, and I’m about one thousand percent positive that there is birdseed embedded into my fucking bone marrow right now. ”

His smile is so bright that his eyes light up in his reflection of our dresser mirror.

I can feel his smile against the skin of my shoulder, but those eyes…

. They’re a gorgeous ice blue with little flecks of green around the center and a dark blue ring around the outside.

They’re mesmerizing and so full of love.

“You’re sexy now. You’re sexy without all the extra stuff. You’re sexy covered in birdseed. You’re gorgeous, babe.” He kisses my cheek softly and smooths his hands over my hips.