Lana(28)

I tried on my short silk wedding dress, pleased with the fit. It was a simple design, and perfect for the beach. I couldn’t have been happier with how it had turned out. It hugged my curves in a flattering way, showing my legs off to advantage.

Mari and Bianca tried on their light blue silk dresses. They were designed very similarly to my wedding dress, and both of the stunning women were suited to the look, if in very different ways.

“Have the other bridesmaids pay me a visit as soon as they get into town,” the dressmaker told me as we left. The fitting hadn’t taken more than a half an hour. “The sooner the better.”

I nodded that I would. Sophia and Jackie weren’t due in town for three more days, but I would pass the message along.

We spent a long, lazy afternoon at the spa, Mari joining us as we caught up on every little thing. Tutu showed up within an hour of our arrival, and Bianca and I good-naturedly gave up on a day of one-on-one time. There was plenty of time for that later, when we weren’t in the midst of wedding madness.

I could tell right away that Tutu liked Bianca, but that she liked messing with her, too.

“You aren’t another tall blonde woman that’s here to steal our local men, are you?” Tutu asked Bianca with a glare, as we had our toes done. “Around here, we smack the nerve right out of white girls for doing that.”

Bianca wasn’t intimidated, as Tutu had been expecting. Instead, she threw her head back and laughed. She pointed at Tutu, still smiling. “I’ve heard all about you, Tutu. Lana warned me that you might call me a haole and give me a hard time. I’m ready for you. But you don’t have to worry about me stealing any men. I’m engaged, and he’s not a local, though when you get a look at him, you’ll still probably want to smack me.”

Tutu grinned back at her. “You’re another sassy blonde girl. I like that.”

I was relieved. When Tutu decided to dislike somebody, things got a little too interesting. I could only hope that she wouldn’t take exception to any of my other bridesmaids.

Bianca was staying with me at my family estate, since it was the location of the wedding, and there was plenty of room for all of the mainland bridesmaids and groomsmen. Akira and I hadn’t even considered the idea of sleeping separately until the wedding, so he was staying there with me, as well.

He met us the second we all came, laughing, through the front door of the villa. He was smiling. I quickly saw why as two men appeared behind him.

Stephan didn’t hesitate, striding forward with a smile to embrace a startled Bianca, and then me. He politely introduced himself to Mari and Tutu while I glanced at James, who was still hanging back, studying Bianca with a wary look. I glanced at her.

She looked a little surprised, but not unhappy, that she’d been followed.

As though he couldn’t help himself, James moved to her, crushing her against him as he said something into her ear that had her blushing profusely as he pulled back.

“And how are you, Lana?” James asked, looking towards me with a grin.

I grinned back, knowing the part he’d played in my own personal bliss. “As well as you could expect, considering that I have the best friends in the world.”

Jackie and Camden, and Parker and Sophia all showed up two days later, my parents a day after that. Watching my father with Akira did something very good for my soul, especially with everything on the table as it now was.

My father greeted Akira before he even gave me, his favorite little girl, so much as a glance. I didn’t feel slighted, and I wasn’t the least bit worried about his approval. He, like me, had only ever seen the good in Akira.

The two men embraced, and I saw that my father said something into Akira’s ear that had the huge man looking suspiciously watery eyed.

I hadn’t heard my father’s words, but I did hear Akira’s clear, quiet response. “Thank you, sir. That means the world to me.”

My dad was in his fifties, but still a very handsome man. Camden and I both took after our mother in looks, but I thought that we’d both have been fine taking after him, too. Our dad was tall and elegantly built, with silver hair and warm brown eyes that at that moment somehow reminded me of Akira. He had the warmest, most enchanting smile, and it enchanted me more than ever when he turned it on Akira.

“Call me Dad,” I heard him say quietly to Akira, and I just about lost it. I had to fight not to burst into sappy tears, at the dumbfounded, grateful look on Akira’s face.

I asked Akira later what my father had said into his ear. He clenched his jaw, and I could see that he had to struggle not to get choked up at just the memory.

“He told me, ‘About damn time, son.’ I didn’t expect him to approve.”

“I know,” I told him, giving him a tight hug. “Which is silly. He thinks the world of you, you know. He always has.”

“I don’t feel worthy. Of either of you.”

I squeezed him tighter. “Well, you’re just going to have to get over that. We’re all family now. All we can hope is that Tutu doesn’t try to box my dad’s ears at the wedding.”

I wasn’t really worried about that possibility, but if I was just a touch worried, I needn’t have been. When Tutu and my father finally met again, face to face, they embraced for so long, whispering into each other’s ears, that my ravishingly beautiful mother had begun to shoot them some rather disgruntled looks. That was ridiculous, of course, because when they pulled back I saw the tears in Tutu’s eyes. After all these years, she had finally thanked him for all he had done to mentor her son. I could tell by the look on my dad’s face that it had been worth the wait.