Page 26

Harlee

To say things were back to normal would be an understatement.

They were slowly getting there, but there was a dark cloud hanging over us, trying to process that Granger had really left this world.

And speaking of Granger.

I sat there as Optimus, the owner of Badd Motha Ink, worked on a memorial piece for Carter.

It was a huge piece that took him the whole of his left thigh.

I knew that when it was finished and healed, it was going to be something amazing.

Carter had said a silent prayer that the burn marks on his arm and on his left upper chest were the only ones he had.

I also got two tattoos by Hugo, one of the tattoo artists there.

On the inside of my left wrist, I had him tattoo the words, His light.

And also, on my right hand, I had him tattoo a heart on my middle finger, and then a C on my ring finger.

I didn’t know what I wanted to get for Granger yet; I was still thinking about it.

Optimus had just set his tattoo gun down; he had worked on the lines today, and next week, he would work on the shading. The piece was going to be done in all black; however, Granger’s name was going to be the color of green. His favorite color.

Three weeks later, his tattoo was all done, and thankfully, he had gotten the all clear from the doctors that he could return to work.

I had held it together for Carter.

However, that night in the shower, I let my tears fall.

And my man, clothes and all, climbed into the shower with me, and let me break down in his arms.

And that night, when we were in bed, I pressed soft kisses to the healed skin that still held faint little white scars.

That had caused Carter to growl, and then he made love to me.

Long. Soft. Sweet. Slowly.

I knew what he was saying.

He was cherishing this very moment.

Because we almost hadn’t had it.

***

Carter had informed me a few months ago that it was time, and he wasn’t waiting anymore.

Therefore... today was the day.

The day that almost every little girl dreams of.

My wedding day.

When Carter had asked me where I wanted to get married, he informed me that the sky was the limit.

But if I wanted to go higher, he would make it happen.

When I’d told him where I wanted to get married and the reason why... well... Talia, Lila, Everly, and Tatum had all busted out laughing and promptly left our house.

All because Carter had gathered me in his arms and carried me to our bedroom so he could show me just how much in love he was with that idea.

He had been involved in all of the decisions for the wedding.

The colors.

The food.

The cake.

The guest lists.

Everything.

However, what he hadn’t been happy about was that I hadn’t let him see me in my wedding dress when Talia, Lila, Everly, Tatum, Misty, and my mom had gone dress shopping.

He also hadn’t been happy for him to be kicked out and sent to stay at Garrick’s the night before our wedding.

I’d seen his temper.

And to say it was getting high would have been an understatement.

Which was why I had said one word, “Honey.”

That one word had caused his shoulders to drop.

A kiss was placed on my lips, and he whispered, “Haven’t spent a night apart since we got together unless I was working. Ain’t doing it again. Don’t ever ask me to.”

I nodded, “Promise.”

I had watched my man walk out of our house with his tux in the bag, and a smaller bag at his side.

The moment we all heard his truck start up, Talia threw her hands in the air.

Okay, time to get you ready, and then into bed.”

Face mask. Manicure. Pedicure. The manicure and pedicure were done by Tatum. She loved doing them and was even licensed.

The girls had gotten me in bed, after copious amounts of wine.

And yes, I had a hard time falling asleep.

My phone had pinged with a text.

Sin – Ain’t doing this fucking again. Can’t fucking sleep.

Me – Agreed. It feels so wrong.

Sin – Love you, soon to be Mrs. Griggs.

Me – Love you too, Mr. Griggs.

The next morning had dawned bright and early.

The girls and I loaded up everything we needed and then we headed to Misty and Frank’s house.

I took a few peeks out of the window in Carter’s old bedroom and let out a happy giggle.

Dominik, Bronson, aka Beast, who had gotten close with Dominik and Garrick, and then into the fold, and a few other men were moving chairs around and placing them in rows.

All in front of a lightly stained arbor that had greenery curling around the posts.

It really was beautiful.

Talia clapped her hands behind me, causing my head to turn. “Okay, time to get you ready.”

My hair was curled and in long waves down my back.

The only request Carter had was that he wanted my hair to look like it had when I had gone to prom.

And for my man, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do.

Therefore, the right side of my hair was swept back and pinned with a beautiful diamond clasp, courtesy of Misty, for my something old.

My something borrowed was courtesy of Tatum. It was a pretty little anklet. Granger had bought it for her on her sixteenth birthday.

I had been hesitant in accepting it, but she had informed me that she knew Granger would have approved.

A few tears had been shed at that moment.

My something new was the bracelet I had on my right wrist, courtesy of Carter.

Each letter of Incandescent had been engraved into the little links.

As for my something blue... well... my cheeks had flushed.

I had blue on my laces in my bra and panties.

Once everyone was ready, I stared into the mirror one more time, taking my reflection in.

My dress was a mermaid style.

I had seen it.

My girls had seen it.

And it was the only dress I had tried on.

It had been perfect.

Meant to be.

Same as my engagement ring.

It cut low in the front, a little deeper, giving me awesome cleavage.

It tapered in at the waist and then flowed out around my knees.

I loved it.

It was overlaid in lace.

Classic. Elegant.

I read somewhere that if the man you are walking down the aisle to doesn’t react as if he were blown away, you should turn around and walk back down that aisle.

Well... today, that definitely wasn’t happening.

Because standing there with my arm wrapped through my dad’s, I saw my man standing at the end of the altar.

His eyes were on me, and I saw it.

The single tear that trailed down his right cheek.

Oh, my sweet, sweet man.

Lila, Tatum, and Everly were already standing there as Talia walked down the aisle as my maid of honor.

Beside Carter stood Garrick, Ethan, Alec, and Dominik.

And no, I hadn’t missed as Garrick’s eyes had followed Tatum, and Dominik’s were currently following Talia.

The two of them had come to some sort of deal after I had bitched him out.

And it was weird.

I shook my head to clear it of those thoughts the moment Talia took her place.

I felt my dad’s eyes on me and turned my head to look up at him.

He winked down at me and said, “The day you were born, I promised myself that if this moment ever came and I thought for even a nanosecond that you weren’t going to be happy, I’d have a getaway car at the ready.”

I smiled and tried to hold back my tears. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Really. Nothing I won’t do for you, baby. But that man standing up there, I have zero doubts that he won’t make you happy. That he won’t bust his ass to make sure you have everything you could ever want or need. And now, I see he’s getting a tad bit impatient.”

I looked at Carter and saw that my dad was right.

His eyes were narrowed, and his fists were clenched at his sides.

I chuckled and then said, “Well, let’s go.”

And together, my dad walked me down the aisle to my forever.

***

Carter led me out onto the make-shift dance floor as the opening chords started to play.

He tilted his head, and the moment it hit him, he started laughing, pulling me close and gathering me in his arms.

The song I had chosen was none other than Take My Breath Away by Berlin.

“Of course, you would choose our song from our favorite movie,” he said as he whispered in my hair.

It was only a few moments before his family figured it out, and I heard them all laughing.

We danced to that song, and then once it was over, he pulled me in even closer, pressed a kiss on my forehead, and said, “Told you it was okay for you to choose our song, but I wanted to dance to a second one. This is my vow to you.”

I stared into his oceanlike-colored eyes and felt that flow through me.

And when the song that he had chosen started, he once again used his thumbs to wipe away my tears.

Then I was back in his arms, swaying and dancing to Everything I Do by Bryan Adams.

I sat there feeding cake to my husband as he returned the favor when he jerked his chin at something on the dance floor.

Looking over, I wasn’t surprised to find Tatum and Garrick slow dancing to From This Moment On.

Then I looked for Lance, her boyfriend, and when I didn’t see him, I lifted a brow at Carter.

He shook his head, “No clue. Do know if Granger was here, he’d beat the shit out of Lance.”

I looked back at Garrick and Tatum and said, “Be surprised if they’re not where we are in a few years.”

Carter chuckled, which drew my eyes back to him, “Years? I give Garrick a few months.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. Never seen him like this with anyone.”

As we finished our cake, Stella, our wedding planner, headed to the stage as soon as the song ended and asked for everyone to take their seats.

Once everyone was in their seats, she brought a microphone to her mouth and said, “It has been my honor to help in the marriage of Carter and Harlee. Seen you two out and about over the years, and I’ve never seen a couple more perfect for each other than the two of you. Cheers.”

I smiled as I took a sip of my drink, and Carter took a pull from his beer.

“First up is the best man, Garrick.”

“Anything ever goes wrong with Carter, we choose you,” Garrick said without humor.

I busted out laughing.

Carter just flipped Garrick off.

That resulted in him getting his head slapped by Mama G.

She winked at me, and I winked back.