Everlasting (Family Justice Book 6) Read online

  “Yes, thank you, Chief Winston. And tell my son, would you?”

  The gaggle of hair and makeup people were looking at each other with Instagram-worthy expressions that said, “Damn, girl!”

  Sophie tried to lighten the mood after Duke left, but Angie was careening emotionally. One of them had an enemy or at the very least a bad case of shitty PR. Where the hell had she been while people gossiped about them? With her head in the sand?

  Carmen appeared at the perfect moment with a tray of mimosas. Her mother moved the stylists out of the room, and the whole group trooped downstairs to wait until she was dressed.

  “I have a present for you,” her mom said as she handed over an obvious jewelry box. “Parker said I was to give this to you before you started dressing.”

  Angie’s heart pounded in her chest. She held the long rectangular box and took a deep breath. When she cracked it open and saw what was inside, she gasped with delight.

  On a card, he’d scribbled, ‘To replace the one I took.”

  A delicate diamond-studded anklet lay on a velvet backdrop. Instead of a heart as the clasp, a tiny jeweled sun joined the two sides. It struck her as odd, but she was sure she’d learn the significance before the day was out.

  “I’d say that qualifies as the something new.” Sophie’s face registered approval when she got a good look at the gift.

  Angie’s hands shook when she lifted the lovely piece from the box and wrapped it around her ankle. It was easy to close the clasp—a good thing because a case of the jitters made using her fingers a challenge.

  She heard her mother’s soft sigh and looked in her direction. She was laying out the delicate silk and lace of her bridal lingerie, a special gift from Meghan.

  “Oh, my goodness.”

  A smile spread across Angie’s face. “I totally agree,” she told her mom.

  Sophie held up a pair of elegant silk panties to the light streaming in the window. “Lord,” she muttered. “Are these real?”

  A layer at a time, she dressed for her wedding. When they helped her into the spectacular ball gown with the pearl beaded bodice and beautiful six-foot train, she got emotional. The magnificent dress was modestly cut with long sleeves and layers of organza that made her feel like a bride.

  She frantically waved her hands as she attempted to ward off the tears threatening to destroy her makeup. Sophie was blowing her nose, and her mom was on cloud nine when Aunt Wendy walked in the room. It was impossible for any of them to remain composed after that.

  “Hot damn,” Aunt Wendy burbled between blowing her nose and laughing. “I get the prettiest daughter-in-law award. Honey, I’m speechless.”

  “You two picked it out,” Angie reminded Wendy and her mom.

  “Perfect for the bride of a prominent man,” Sophie murmured. It sounded like she spoke out loud without realizing it.

  “I have something borrowed for you,” her aunt said. She held up a lace hanky and pointed at the embroidered letters. “This belonged to Parker’s great-grandmother on the Sullivan side of the family. Today, it’s borrowed. If I’m lucky enough to get a granddaughter out of this deal, it’ll be hers one day.”

  Taking Angie’s wrist, she said, “Look,” pointing out a tiny button sewn into the end of her sleeve. The hanky had a corresponding buttonhole. Hooking the two together made the fragile lace dangle from her sleeve.

  “That is so cool.” Sophie chuckled.

  Her mom approached with something in her hand. Between several layers of tissue paper, she withdrew a small, beautiful hair comb.

  “I wanted you to see this before I put it in your hair. It’s very old and has been passed down through several generations.”

  Angie heart was beating erratically.

  “When Granny passed, I got her collection of Spanish peinetas and everyday hair combs. This one was a gift to Abuelita from a Castilian Duke.”

  Her mother took the antique comb and slid it into the knot of her styled hair. Sophie snapped a picture with her phone and showed it to Angie.

  Finally, when they brought out the breathtaking lace trimmed mantilla that cost a fortune, Wendy had one last surprise.

  “Something old—an antique hair comb. Something new is an anklet, I believe?” Angie nodded.

  “The something borrowed is your hanky, and here is something blue. From Uncle Matt and I.”

  “I can’t take anymore,” Angie whimpered. The emotion overload was too much.

  “Tough titties, tootsie,” her aunt teased, using an old expression Angie hadn’t heard in ages. “Suck it up, buttercup. Today is all about the feels.”

  Her shaking hands made it impossible for her to open the box, so she handed it to Sophie and asked her to open it. A pair of drop-dead gorgeous earrings made with sapphire stones and the same pearls as her dress twinkled at her.

  Earrings on and the lace veil in place, she allowed her mother to grasp her hand and lead her to the full-length cheval mirror in the corner of the room. The rapturous expression on Ashleigh Marquez’s face would remain with her forever. So would the image of Aunt Wendy wiping away tears and Sophie’s astonished look of approval.

  She looked like a traditional bride. Exactly what Parker had wanted. A slow smile crept across her face.

  “Are you ready, honey?”

  Angie looked at her mom and then at Wendy and Sophie. “I love you all so much.”

  Sophie—dear sweet, prickly Sophie—got in a shot. “Thanks for not giving a shit about the details, sis. Gave us,” she said with a thumb jerk at their mom and aunt, “a chance to step in and do things up right.”

  She smirked and stuck out her tongue, but in her head, she was laughing. Her big sister was more right than she knew. If this thing had been left to her, they’d be having a pig roast in the backyard, the decorations would be mason jars full of flowers, a truckload of tequila shooters would be making things interesting, and she’d be wearing an outrageously sexy dress from the Hookers-R-Us Collection.

  “Everyone feeling appropriately emotional?” she innocently asked.

  Nods, sniffs, and murmurs assured her there were plenty of good vibes to go around.

  “Great. Now tell me where I’m going on my honeymoon. Don’t leave me hanging, ladies. You know how important a bride’s wardrobe is.”

  “Relax.” Sophie sniggered in a less than subtle way. “I packed for you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she bit back sharply. “I saw. One suitcase? Really?”

  An indifferent shrug was all she got.

  “Girls!” Alex’s voice boomed out. “What the hell, ladies? How long does it take to put on a dress? Come on. Move it and let’s go.”

  She heard Meghan’s amused chuckle.

  Aunt Wendy had a good laugh. “Some things never change, do they? That boy has been tapping his foot and checking his watch since he was old enough to tell time.”

  “He’s a pain in the ass,” Sophie declared. She walked to the door and yelled back—suggesting that Alexander have sexual intercourse with himself in a particularly painful way.

  Alex’s snappy comeback was exactly what you’d expect. Angie grinned. So much for showing a bit of couth on her wedding day.

  As expected, a flurry of activity ensued before they had everything and headed downstairs. In the hallway, they found Meghan placing a mini replica of Angie’s bouquet on the table beneath Abuelita’s portrait. When she saw them moving down the hallway, she put her hands over her heart and smiled.

  Angie felt regal marching down the long hall as her train floated behind her and the delicate mantilla swayed with every footstep.

  “Angie!” Meghan’s gasp was filled with wonder. “You look beautiful.”

  She smirked. Couldn’t help it. “Aunt Wendy, cover your ears.” Wendy rolled her eyes but followed through and put her fingers in her ears.

  Meghan and Sophie had a good laugh, and then Angie asked, “Think that old pervert will like this getup?”

  Forgetting her mother was
standing right there, Angie sputtered a lame apology when a horrified exclamation punctuated her words.

  Without batting an eyelash, Sophie took the flack for Angie’s gaffe.

  “Relax, Mom. It’s an old joke that I totally started.”

  “I will kill that boy if doesn’t treat you right,” Ashleigh Dane Marquez said with an ass load of sincerity.

  Angie thought of the symbol wrapped around her ankle and sought to reassure her mother.

  “Mom, I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t know for certain that I have Parker’s respect. It’s not just love, is it?”

  Her mom had to agree.

  Meghan surprised her when she touched her mother-in-law’s arm and said, “Alex trusts him.”

  Wendy tapped her foot and cleared her throat.

  Alex hollered again. “Oh, my god—would you hurry it up? The photographer just showed up, and your stylists are getting antsy. Meghan! Honey, come on.”

  “He’s growling,” Meghan said with a dreamy sigh that Angie recognized.

  She reached out and grabbed her aunt’s hand. “Come on, ladies. Better get me to the church on time.”

  They descended the staircase as a group while the photographer Meghan had hired snapped away. That was the moment Angie remembered she wasn’t the only one dressed for the occasion.

  Meghan and Sophie wore beautiful chiffon gowns in sapphire blue. Bella was wearing a floor-length chiffon junior bridesmaid dress in the same color with a white sash.

  Her mother and Aunt Wendy each wore stunning designer gowns. Wendy’s was a gorgeous gray Elie Saab dress while the mother of the bride rocked a breathtaking Alexander McQueen gown in dusty rose that made the most of her blond coloring.

  Alex stopped them halfway down and asked the photographer for a specific shot.

  Then the stylists swarmed around her like fruit flies, and people were talking. She couldn’t think. And where the hell was her dad?

  Like a knight in shining armor, Cristián Gabriel Alejandro Valleja-Marquez strode through the wooden front door as a shaft of sunlight backlit him to perfection. He came right to her and took her hands in his.

  “Today, my sweet baby angel is a bride. You look wonderful, honey.”

  “Where were you?” she asked when he drew her into a hug.

  “Oh, sorry. Matt asked me to help peel Parker off the floor.”

  “What? Dad! What’s that mean? Is he okay?”

  He chuckled. “From the way he’s behaving, you would think the fate of civilization rests on him getting this wedding right. Let’s just say he wasn’t overly fond of the church decorations.”

  She released the breath she’d been holding. “Oh. You mean he threw a fit because there are too many shades of blue, and he doesn’t like any of them?”

  “Something like that.” He kissed her forehead. “You clean up real nice, sweetheart.”

  Alex directed the proceedings and the photographer took about five hundred family shots. By the time she was in the limo and could think, the butterflies began. The long drive from the Villa into Sedona took forever, and her nerves increased with every quarter mile.

  Alex, Meghan, Sophie, and Wendy were following in a second limousine while the rest of her crew rode in an SUV. It all felt a little snotty—like an entourage or something.

  Her parents did all the chatting while she sat across from them and wrung her hands. Whose damn idea was it to keep a bride and groom apart before their wedding? Whoever it was, she wanted to smack them.

  She needed Parker.

  “Who’s got a phone?” she asked with her hand out.

  “Did you forget to turn the stove off?” her mother jested.

  “I need to talk to him, Mom. Give me your phone.”

  Her dad looked genuinely startled. “Are you backing out, Angie?”

  “Backing out? What? No! Aw, jeez, Dad. Can’t I please talk to Parker?”

  She started with the frantic fluttering of her hands as more and more anxiety piled into her system. Had she gotten this right? Was her fiancé expecting a conservative, traditional bride? Why hadn’t she talked to him about this more?

  “What’s the matter, hon? Tell your old dad.”

  “Do I look all right? I mean, is this okay?” she asked with a hand gesture. “Parker had his heart set on a traditional, old-fashioned wedding. Is this what he had in mind? Everyone keeps telling me what an important guy he is, and I don’t know. I sorta feel like a kid playing dress-up without knowing the theme.”

  “You look magnificent,” her dad assured.

  The rest of the drive zoomed by. As they drove to the rear of the church where she could enter without drawing a crowd, she let out a little laugh when Bella came tearing out a side door. Tori was right behind her with her hand out like she’d been trying to stop her impetuous dash from the building.

  Getting into the church turned out to be a production. Her stylists threw a fit about some wrinkling in the dress, and Sophie and Alex started bickering. So … nothing new.

  They were in the bride’s lounge when Uncle Ed knocked and asked to come in. She flew into his arms when he came through the door. They spoke quietly for a few minutes—separating from the group and going off into a quiet corner. He said a bunch of lovely things about being a devoted wife and asked God’s blessing as she and Parker started a family. He gave her his childhood rosary and asked her to pass it on to her son someday.

  A dozen more photographs were snapped. Then it was time.

  They moved into the vestibule, and the impressive sound of a church organ filled the air.

  Bella winked and then solemnly began the long, lonely walk down the aisle.

  Angie’s nerves were shredding. She kept wiggling up and down, her head whipping around to check every sound and movement.

  Meghan gave her a hug. “Happily ever after guaranteed, sweetie.”

  Then it was Sophie’s turn. They wrapped their arms around each other. “I love you, ya little twerp.” She stroked her belly. “And I can’t wait for Zippy to meet his kickass aunty.”

  They kissed and then Sophie looked at their dad and chuckled. “You got this?”

  Angie looked back and forth between the two and wondered what their exchange was about.

  Her father took her hand and threaded it through the crook of his arm.

  The beautiful organ music swelled until it matched the way her spirit soared. They moved into the church sanctuary, and she watched Sophie’s slow progress down the aisle.

  The place was packed—over three hundred guests had been invited. Garlands of white flowers and sapphire ribbons draped the pews. Sunlight streamed in through the stained glass windows.

  She couldn’t see Parker yet, but she knew he was at the end of the aisle—waiting for her at the altar.

  A hush fell over the guests, and everyone stood as “Wedding March” began. Her dad chuckled lightly and patted her hand. “Honey, this is about to be the longest three minutes of your life.”

  She looked at him and wondered why he was laughing.

  At the end of the aisle, she saw Parker step into position. The song began, and she started to walk, but her dad held her back. The organ boomed for a few seconds, and then a sound like a record being scratched came through the sound system.

  Oh, god. What the hell happened?

  The next thing she heard was Parker’s laughing snicker.

  “Hold on, hold on, hold on. That’s not the music for my bride.” He snapped his fingers and barked, “Boys!”

  Drae, Ed, Cam, and Brody gathered as a group between the amused priest and where Parker stood. Alex strode to the spot next to Parker with a guitar around his neck. All of them wore wireless microphones.

  “Dad?”

  He patted her hand again. “Patience, Angie.”

  The guitar started, and immediately, a small cheer went up from the guests because there wasn’t a single person in the church who didn’t instantly recognize “Here Comes the Sun.”

&nbs
p; The jeweled sun on the delicate anklet suddenly made sense. Angie exploded with joy and pulled her dad. She wanted to get to Parker as fast as she could.

  He leaned over and murmured, “They’ve been practicing for weeks. Let the man have his moment.”

  She was laughing and had an enormous smile on her face when Parker started singing. “Little darling …”

  Alex’s guitar was perfect, and the guys with their backing vocals and hand claps filled her with joy. After holding at the back of the church until the right moment, they finally started down the aisle. If her dad hadn’t been holding her, she would have flown.

  Parker with his hand over his heart, pointing at her and smiling for all he was worth as he sang the memorable lyrics, was something she’d replay in her mind’s eye with her last thoughts on this side of the grave.

  The whole church joined the synchronized clapping as she neared the end of the long aisle. As the final lyrics rang out and the guitar strummed to a glorious finish, she shoved her bouquet into her dad’s hands and took off running with her train and veil flapping behind her. She heard her dad’s booming laugh as she jumped and threw herself at her groom. She hit his chest with a thud, ripped the microphone off his head, and gave him a lip lock that’d be talked about for years to come.

  It was Alex who broke it up.

  “All right, cut it out, you two. Do I need to douse you guys with holy water?”

  The priest chuckled. Alex sheeshed her with a stern headshake as he quite comically wiped lipstick off Parker’s face. Sophie was almost crying she was laughing so hard as she too tried to make Angie presentable after her unseemly outburst.

  She didn’t care what anyone thought. The wonderful, loving man who meant more than her own life had given them both what they needed. He got the dignified formal affair befitting his station in life, and she got her quirky moment of Zen.

  The ceremony itself was lovely and poignant. Uncle Ed did a reading, and when the moment in the service came when those gathered were asked who gave the woman to be married, a change in the wording made her breath catch.

  The priest asked, “Who gives these two to be married?” Both sets of their parents stood and said, “We do.”