Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(43)
Nick choked. “I can’t believe he got that last part out with a straight face.”
Beth elbowed him in the ribs and continued to listen to Gray. “We apologize that we sprung this on you, but I think you know that Suzy loves surprises and, truthfully, I love her and this idea. I hope that the men in the group will be my unofficial groomsmen, and I know Suzy wants the women to be her bridesmaids.”
Beth ran forward and gave her sister a hug. “I’m going to kill you for not telling me.”
“Me, too,” Claire chimed in. “How could you deny us the torture . . . um, I mean pleasure of planning your wedding?”
Ella stepped forward and gave Suzy a tentative hug next. “You look so beautiful. Your dress is so—”
“Not me?” Suzy asked.
Ella stammered, “No, I mean, it’s just so . . . soft.”
Claire stepped in to bail out Ella. “I believe Ella means that the dress is different from your usual style, but I love it. You make a beautiful bride and I’m so happy for you.”
Suzy did a twirl in the dress, saying, “I don’t know why, but I loved this dress as soon as I saw it. I wanted to look different for my wedding day and this is drastic for me. Ella was right, the dress is soft and that’s why I liked it so much. Gray makes me a softer version of myself, so it’s fitting.”
Gray’s parents stepped forward to hug Suzy, and they all lined up for the informal ceremony.
Mr. Maxwell, the justice of the peace and the man Beth hadn’t recognized, had agreed to perform the private ceremony. He started with the standard wedding passages, and then said, “Grayson and Suzanna have written their own vows and will be exchanging them now.”
Suzy looked into Gray’s eyes while holding on to his hands and said, “I, Suzanna Denton, take thee, Grayson Merimon, to be my lawfully wedded husband. I promise that from this day forward, your life will never be predictable or boring. I promise to limit our family dinners and rescue you anytime my parents have you cornered, and I promise to tell you when you are being uptight, and forgive you when you apologize. You are every fairy tale that I dreamed of and the forever after that I never dared to hope for. My heart is finally at home with yours, and it will remain there as long as we both shall live and into the beyond.”
Gray brushed a tear from Suzy’s cheek with his thumb as he looked into her eyes. “I, Grayson Merimon, take thee, Suzanna Denton, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise never to use starch in my underwear again. I promise to attend all the Gamecock football games with you, and I promise to learn all of the words to every Bon Jovi song. You are my soul mate, the love of my life, and the woman of my dreams. Never will there be another woman for me. Our hearts and our paths will forever be intertwined.”
Beth sobbed quietly as she watched her sister marry the man of her dreams and was relieved to feel Nick gently slip in behind her and pull her back into his arms. “Shhh, it’s okay, princess,” he whispered into her ear as his lips gently grazed her neck.
When the couple were pronounced husband and wife, Gray swept Suzy into his arms in an elaborate dip and kissed her until Mr. Maxwell cleared his throat and said, “I am pleased to present Mr. and Mrs. Grayson Merimon. May every happiness in life be bestowed upon your union.”
Tears and hugs flowed freely as everyone rushed to congratulate the happy couple. Beth threw her arms around her sister, whispering in her ear, “I’m so happy for you, sis, and I’m sorry that Mom and Dad didn’t come.”
Suzy looked at her with a smile. “Hey, it doesn’t matter. If we had parents like Gray’s, then I would have been upset, but our parents would have ruined the day and you know it. Besides,” she joked, “they gave me some funny lines for my vows, so it’s all good.”
Leave it to Suzy to see the bright side of anything. Gray had mellowed her wild-child sister and it was amazing. She was still the same outspoken, edgy person, but Gray had softened those edges to where they were no longer razor sharp. He had finally shown her the unconditional love that Beth had come to think was a myth. Looking at them now, so deeply in love and so at peace with each other, caused a pang of emptiness in Beth’s heart. Would that ever happen to her? Her relationship with Nick was both exciting and comfortable, but would it ever grow to be love?
* * *
Nick made it a point to be the first in line to kiss the bride at any wedding he attended, but the bride’s sister beat him today. But if he had to lose, then who better to prevail over him? Beth’s eyes were still misty from the ceremony. She was a lot more emotional these days than when they had first met. He found that he secretly liked this softer side she had started to show him. She had never been jarring like Suzy, but she could cut you off at the knees when she wanted to.
Nick still worried about the situation with her parents. There had been no contact since he had blown up at them at the last dinner, and although he didn’t miss them, he wasn’t so sure about Beth. She usually changed the subject when he brought them up. She assured him that she wasn’t bothered by their ugly words about her, but he wasn’t sure about that. Her eating habits had changed since then and he suspected that her parents were the reason. He never saw her eat anymore. She seemed to avoid meals with him altogether, and the few times they did eat together, he couldn’t recall anything actually going in her mouth.
Maybe he was worrying over nothing. Her parents may have made her too self-conscious to eat in front of him now, which was a damn shame. She said she was just trying to lessen her morning sickness and he hoped that was all it was, although something about it gave him a feeling of unease. This was a tough time for a woman and she probably needed more support and compliments from him. He could definitely step things up in that area. He would ask Suzy to keep an eye on her as well. There was no way he was going to allow the poisonous words of her parents to shed a single doubt on what a beautiful woman she was.