Page 116 of Sinful Skulls
His eyes lock on mine. “Nope. I’ll forever see you as the same girl I met on the beach.”
“Even when I’m wrinkled and grey?”
“Especially then.” He turns me in his arms and holds my face in his hands. “I wish I could find poetic words to describe how your smile made me feel that day. I’ll remember it forever.” He chuckles and presses his forehead to mine. “I’m just so fucking glad we were both there.”
Brody then proceeds to slowly place soft kisses over every single inch of my face. “I love you,” he whispers after each one.
A knock on the door interrupts us.
“Get your fucking asses out here. You’ll have time for that shit later,” Dirk yells from the other side of the door. “The dancing is about to start.”
Brody’s entire face lights up.
“Can you dance?” I ask, looking down at his big feet.
“Can I dance?” He places his hand over his heart as if I wounded him. He opens the door with one hand while pulling me close with the other. We do a quick little two step out the door, passing Dirk.
He dances me all the way out to the patio where they’ve set up the dance floor.
“I’ll never doubt you again,” I say, laughing as he dips me. The club cheers.
After our first dance, Brody hands me off to my father.
“This makes me miss all of those daddy-daughter dances we used to go to,” he tells me.
I smile at the memory. “Oh my gosh, I loved those nights. Every year you bought me a little wrist corsage. I think it was my favorite part. Do you remember that?”
“I do.”
“I’m sorry if this isn’t the wedding you imagined for me.”
“It’s exactly as I imagined.”
“What? How could that possibly be?” I glance around at all of the bikers surrounding us.
“Daisy, I pictured you happy. Everything surrounding that was fuzzy and irrelevant to this day. I just wanted my girl to be genuinely full of joy.”
A lump forms in my throat as I realize Brody was right. The rift I built up between my parents and myself was in my mind. It wasn’t real. They’ve done nothing but accept me with unconditional love.
He cups my cheek, guessing my thoughts. “The best part of being your dad is getting to be included in your story, no matterhow it reads.” He hugs me tight when I rest my cheek against his chest.
As he moves us across the dance floor, I notice my mother snapping photos of us on her phone. Then there’s Elizabeth … her tear-filled eyes are locked on us, and I wonder how much seeing my dad and I together is healing her heart.
She saved me from a father who would have pulled me into the darkness, and then she gave me to one who would harness the light of the entire sun just to see me shine.
So far, the day has been upbeat, but I feel the tension in Brody as he prepares himself to ask Rachel to dance with him.
“I’m going to be too emotional,” he tells me, nervously rubbing his hands together. He shakes his head. “I can’t do it. Let’s just skip it.”
I pat his chest. “You’ve helped me realize that it’s okay to let people see the darker parts of me. Listen to your own advice.” His eyes meet mine. “Just be yourself. It’s a memory you’ll cherish one day.”
He pulls me close, kisses my forehead, and then walks over to Rachel. He kneels in front of her, and I know he’s taking in every moment of this.
Everyone in the room pauses to watch my husband lead the woman who filled the motherly void in his life onto the dance floor.
When “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd begins to play, she looks up at him with tears in her eyes. He gives her that boyish smile I’ve fallen in love with. Maybe it’s the same one that made her open her home to him all those years ago. She rests her head against his chest as they dance. He holds her close, taking most of her weight. He doesn’t let go of her. Not even to wipe the tears that are streaming down his face.
Raffe sits down beside me and drapes his arm over my shoulders, watching them with me. He leans close, whispering in my ear. “I’m forever in your debt for this.”
