Page 31 of Don't Make Me Beg
He taps his pocket and nods. “Got them right here.” He studies me for a moment, then finally asks, “You sure about this? You know this is going to get complicated as fuck, don’t you?”
“Nah. It’s going to be fine.” I shake my head, my eyes trained on Scout, while Miss Scarlett removes her pearl necklace and claps it around Scout’s neck.
It takes a moment to realize what they’re doing before it dawns on me.
I jog over to them, placing the bouquet in Scout’s hands. “Something blue.” I nod toward the flowers, the pale blue hydrangeas peeking out between the light pink roses and bright yellow wildflowers.
Scout’s eyes grow wide, bringing the flowers up to her nose to smell them. “Oh, Luka. These are beautiful.”
“Yeah, they really are,” I agree, but it’s not the flowers I’m looking at.
“Why don’t I give you two a moment of privacy,” Miss Scarlett says before turning to take her position underneath the string lights.
I notice Scout’s hair is neatly pulled back, the white lace bow in her hair freshly tied, and it looks like she’s applied a fresh coat of lip gloss. There aren’t many people who can make a simple sundress look like a wedding dress, but apparently, all Scout needed was a bouquet of flowers.
I can’t help but feel a little flicker of pride knowing that after today, she’s going to be all mine. Maybe just on paper, but mine, all the same.
I nudge her with my elbow. “You still good to go through with this?”
Her response comes on a soft breath. “Yeah… I think I am.”
I clap my hands together. “All right then. Let’s get married.”
CHAPTER NINE
Luka
Fucking hell. In a matter of seconds, the air turns dense, thick, and electric, like this moment is being branded into my memory whether I want it to or not.
It’s like my soul already knows this is a turning point. That whatever happens next has the power to rewrite everything.
Good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Both feel equally inevitable.
And they’re both going to hurt like hell.
I ball my hands into fists by my side, trying to stop their trembling as I force my feet to stay glued in place.
My heart races in my chest, making my breath come out in shallow pants as I stand frozen in anticipation.
Miss Scarlett stands on my left and Jett on my right, and for a minute, I wish the rest of my family could be here, because I know this will be the only time I do this. My one and only wedding day, and perhaps the most important day of my life.
I can’t imagine how Scout must be feeling.
For a moment, I feel a prickle of guilt rising in my chest at the thought of robbing her of her dream wedding. But then I thinkback to my first night in prison, how the only hope I had to cling to was that I saved Scout from the same fate. How the sacrifice I made for her would be worth it, because she had the freedom to finally live out her dreams—it’s not like I felt she owed me. My decision wasn’t made with a transaction in mind. But I did hope she’d do something with her life…not just throw it all away just to go along with whatever her parents wanted for her.
Three years of my life, wasted, and what do I have to show for it?
And that’s all it takes for the guilt to subside. I feel my nerves begin to settle as I finally take a deep breath.
I hear music playing, the song, Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls, and it takes a moment for me to realize it’s coming from Jett’s phone.
Damn, I think he may have missed his calling as a wedding planner. I smile to myself from yet another considerate gesture.
But when Scout steps out from behind a tree looking like an angel sent to destroy me, it’s all I can do to keep myself from falling to my knees.
Her brown hair hangs down her shoulders in loose waves, her soft yellow sundress fluttering around her knees, so graceful that I can’t tell if she’s walking or floating toward me.
She’s so damn beautiful. There’s nothing new about that, but I feel like I can finally let my guard down and really see her for the first time.
