Mine To Honor (Southern Wedding Series Book 7) (Southern Weddings)

“I’m sorry?” Stefano questions as soon as the words “we need her to plan our wedding” come out of my mouth. He laughs and claps. “Jesus.” He chuckles. “I thought you said you needed her to plan your wedding.” He points at Levi, then at me, the laughter on his face fading away as he takes in my face and looks over at Levi, seeing him avoiding his eyes.

“Um.” I start to hum as I move my head back and forth. “It’s a kind-of, sort-of kind of thing.” At this point I’m just putting words that don’t make sense together. I’m trying my best to calm down the situation because I can feel the temperature rising and it’s not from the sun.

“I’m sorry.” Stefano glares first at me, then at Levi, who just stares at him. “What?” he hisses out.

“How about…” I step closer to Stefano and almost in front of Levi. “…we go and see Addison.” I move in front of him to stop him from glaring at Levi and focus on me. I also realize that I’ve stepped in front of Levi to make sure he doesn’t hit him. “Then we can fill you guys both in.”

“Fill us in.” His voice comes out louder than I think he even knows, and with the emptiness of the parking garage, his voice booms and echoes.

“Are you crazy?” He looks at both of us. Levi and I just side-eye each other. “You can’t marry him.” He points at Levi. “He’s—” he says, then he looks back at Levi. This time, Levi’s eyebrows shoot up, waiting to hear what his friend has to say. “He’s—”

“He’s,” Levi says, holding up his hand. “He’s right here.” They share a stare down before Levi puts his hands on his hips. “Also a little bit offended, what’s wrong with me?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Stefano repeats the question, throwing up his hand in the air. “What is wrong with you?” The question is now more shouting than anything else. Levi takes a step forward and I can tell he’s getting pissed, something that isn’t going to help anyone if he does.

I put my hands up toward Stefano to stop him from talking and turn back to Levi to stop him from advancing closer. “Okay, you two.” I try to calm the situation down. “So much for ripping it off like a Band-Aid,” I mumble to myself more than anyone else. “We really don’t have that much time.” Stefano just looks at me. “We have two maybe three days, max.” I look up as I try to remember what freaking day it is. “Maybe four.” Stefano just stares at Levi. “So can we get this show on the road?” I ask and turn to Levi, tapping his chest with my hand. “Shall we?” I slide my hand in his, pulling him to the side of the car. “I’ll sit up front,” I tell him as he reaches for the handle of the door. “Just to make sure.” I try to make a joke. “Stefano,” I call to him as Levi gets in the back seat, “we need to get the show on the road, which means you need to get in the car and move us along.”

He puts his hands on his hips. “Oh, I can’t wait to fucking hear this,” he grits out between clenched teeth, walking toward the driver’s side of the car. Once I see him open the door and get in, I follow his lead.

Pretending to look around his car, I try to cut the tension. “This is a nice car.”

“Save it,” Stefano grumbles to me and I can’t help but chuckle. “It’s the same car Levi has.” I roll my lips trying not to laugh out loud.

I don’t say anything as he pulls out of the parking garage and heads straight to Addison’s work. The drive takes five minutes but no one says anything. He pulls into the parking lot and I stare at the house ahead of us. The little bungalow in front is white and looks so inviting. “I love it,” I say, looking at the house. Once the car is stopped, I open the door and get out.

I take a second to look at the side where it looks like a huge barn is. The barn Addison and Stefano got married in not long ago. You can’t tell from the outside how amazing the inside is. It’s rustic with wooden floors and exposed beams that can be dressed up or dressed down. It doesn’t look like it but it’s huge, and I’m sure can fit five hundred people. I know that right behind the barn is a kitchen where the caterers can set up. I accidentally walked into the kitchen while looking for the bathroom.

I also spot a couple of other buildings behind it that I didn’t notice during the wedding. I’m even more intrigued than I was at the wedding. I hear two car doors shut and look back to see both of the men out of the car but on their side of the car. “Okay, you two,” I say to them, “you both need to stop pouting.” I turn before walking up the five steps and pulling open the door.

I take a step in and gasp at how nice it is. There is a desk in the middle of the room that is empty and I look over to where the living room and dining room would be, but instead it’s a waiting room area. It’s filled with cream-colored couches with a glass table in front of them holding a huge bouquet of white and cream roses. The walls are filled with pictures from the past events they’ve done. I step deeper into the room. Walking over to the side, my eyes go from one picture to the next. I hear the clicking of heels coming closer to me and look over at the hallway when I see Addison coming toward us. Her face goes into full-smile mode. “Oh my goodness,” she says, walking in and seeing us here.

She is followed by four other women and all I can do is gawk at them. “I’m sorry, is this an event planning business or a modeling agency?” I ask them and they all smile at me.

“It’s both,” one of the girls replies to me as Addison walks over to Stefano, kissing his lips. “What a great surprise.” She comes to me, leaning in, and she kisses my cheeks before hugging me. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t meet you,” she apologizes, hugging me. “I’m so sorry to hear about Lisa,” she continues and I just nod at her. I guess I should get used to people telling me that.

“Thank you,” I tell her. “So who are these supermodels?”

“These are my bosses,” she introduces, looking over at them. “Shelby, Clarabella, Presley, and of course you remember Sofia,” she says of the woman who married Stefano’s cousin. It was actually at her wedding that Stefano came face-to-face with the daughter he had no idea he had. It was a shock to everyone, but the minute he found out, he was all in. She’s also the best kid I’ve ever met. I mean, I’m not around many kids, but I’m pretty sure she’s the best there is out there.

“I have to say, every single time I look at the barn, I fall more and more in love,” I tell them as I look around.

“Well, thank you very much,” Shelby says, smiling at me.

“What brings you to town?” Clarabella looks at me with a smile.

“Well, funny you should ask that.” I look over at Levi who is standing to the side, away from Stefano. I really hate that I’ve put him in this position with him. I hate I have to drag him in here with me, but I have no other choice. “We need you guys to help us get married.” I look over at Levi, ignoring the four sets of shocked gasps that come out. “Today would be a good day.”

“Excuse me,” Addison says, putting up her hand, “but what?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Stefano adds before he turns and glares at Levi, who just rolls his eyes at him.

“Would you give her a minute to explain before you come at me guns blazing?” Levi tells him, putting his hands in his pockets.

“My sister passed away.” I look at the girls and ignore the stinging and burning that my eyes feel. “And, well.” My voice trembles and instead of continuing I take a second to steady myself. Levi walks over to me and puts his arm around my shoulders, trying to give me support. If only he knew how much it means to me. “And now I’m going to be adopting my niece.” All the women put their hands to their chests, giving me a sad look. “And the best way for me to do this according to a reputable source”—I use my index finger to wipe the tear that is going to escape from my eyes—“is for me to be married.”

“Which is why we are getting married.” Levi now looks at Stefano. “She needs help and I’m obviously going to help her.”

“Oh, thank God,” Stefano exhales, clapping his hands and putting them on his knees. “I thought you lost your mind.” He laughs at me, then looks at Levi. “This makes much more sense than you two.” He moves his hands from me to Levi. “You know, being together.”

“Again.” Levi sounds a touch irritated, and I feel the heaviness of his arm around my shoulders. “I’m right here.” I reach around his waist, showing him that I’m here for him.

“I’m not saying anything bad,” Stefano backtracks. “I’m just—”

“Maybe you should stop talking,” Addison mumbles to him.

“Now would be the perfect time for you to, I don’t know,” Sofia starts talking, “shut up.” She picks up her hands to her sides and shrugs.

“I’m just saying he’s him,” Stefano states, “and she’s her.”

“I’m looking at a woman and a man who look like they need to get married,” Clarabella states.

“Sorry, want to get married.”

“Look, I need to do this,” I inform them all, “if not for me, then for Cici. So I need to get married.” I shake my head. “We need to get married and we would like you guys to work your magic and make it happen.”

“Or we can go to Vegas,” Levi throws in, and the minute he says the V-word the gasps fill the room again. This time it’s not a sad, shocked gasp, it’s a how dare you say that kind of gasp.

“Did you just use the V-word?” Presley accuses him, putting her hand to her mouth as if he said a bad word.

“And she is not talking about the—” Clarabella says, pointing down at her vagina.

“Everyone needs to just….” Addison picks up her hands. “Just, we are going to do this.” She looks at us, and for the first time since all of this started, I feel a sense of relief. As if it’s all going to be better.

“So we can be married,” Levi asks her, “today?”

“But—” Shelby steps forward, holding up her hand to stop us all from talking. “There are a couple of things you need in order to make this happen, and number one besides obviously having a groom—” She points at Levi.

“Also, can we say you get top props for that?” Clarabella winks at her.

“Not that.” Presley slaps her. “You need a dress.” She points at me and I shake my head.

“I don’t need a dress,” I inform her and feel Levi’s hand move away from my shoulder.

“Yes, she does.” I hear from beside me and I look over at him. “You need a dress,” he assures me and all I can do is stare at him.

“I’m wearing white and something old.” I point at the shirt. “Something sort of blue.” I hold up my arm at the bracelet he gave me for my last birthday. “And someone is going to lend me something.” I look around at the women, waiting for them to offer me something.

“You’re right,” Shelby declares, nodding at me. “We can lend you a dress.”

“Well,” Clarabella adds, “because we are just awesome, we have a selection of dresses that we actually carry from one of the stores in town as samples. It’s good for her and for us, apparently.”

“Why don’t you go with them?” Levi looks at me. “See if there is anything you might like.” I immediately start to shake my head. I am not going to be buying a wedding dress that I don’t need. It’s another expense I can’t take at this time. I’m already dreading the lawyer bill and I don’t even know how much it’s going to cost me in order to draw up the adoption papers. “You do that and I’m going to go and check out where we are going to exchange our vows.”

“Exchange vows?” I repeat his words, suddenly confused by what is going on.

“Well, yeah, this might be my only wedding,” he jokes with me, giving me a sly smile. I shake my head, not sure what to say.

“Okay, then it’s settled,” Clarabella says, clapping her hands happily. “Let’s take her to the bridal suite.”

“You are going to love it,” Addison reassures me, “it’s not as pretty as your place. But it’ll do. I’m going to get some information from Levi and join you guys in there in a little bit.” The girls usher me away from Levi and I look over my shoulder at him, mouthing the words, “Help me.”

He just smiles at me and I look over at Stefano and glare at him. “Don’t hurt my groom before I marry him,” I threaten, right before I’m dragged to the back of the house.

We walk down the back steps. “I can’t believe you are going to be getting married,” Presley says from beside me. “I mean, I would one thousand million percent do the same thing.”

“Without a question, I would marry someone for my niece or nephew,” Shelby agrees.

“It’s not someone,” Presley reminds her, “it’s her best friend.”

“I married my best friend,” Shelby says. “Best decision I ever made.”

“Okay, I think we are all getting ahead of ourselves,” I say. “You married him because you love him. I’m marrying him to get my niece.”

We walk down the path toward the venue, and even when I walk in now seeing that it’s really bare, with no decoration, I just love it. If I ever get married, this is where I’m having the ceremony, I tell myself as we walk to the rear of the venue, heading out to the bridal suite.

The little white cottage is sitting there with a sign that says bridal suite. Presley opens the door and I walk in. I don’t know what I’m expecting but what is there is even better than I had imagined.

Against the side wall are four stations set up with gold vanities and matching gold plush chairs in front of them. Mirrors with big chunky gold frames hang down in front of each chair. White vases of roses fill the room. A rack of dresses is on one side and wedding dresses on the other side of the room. It’s so glamorous and I make notes for back home. “I’m not going to lie,” I say, spinning in the room, “I’m so going to steal this for my place back home.” Thinking maybe we should put in a bridal suite. Where they get ready and head to the ceremony.

“Steal away,” Presley encourages, smiling at me.

I look at them. “But seriously.” I walk over to the rack of wedding dresses and spot a silky sparkly one. “How fast can we get married?”