Page 39 of Five Goodbyes

I’m sitting in the room trying to keep a smile on my face as pink, purple, blue, green, glitter and blush, yep, I said blush, flashes in front of me in a never-ending parade. Did you know that pink and blush are two different colors? I didn’t know this until today. I have received a fifteen minute lesson about the subtle differences between pink and blush. It’s a lesson I never wanted to have, and one I pray I’ll soon forget all about. I’ll certainly never make the mistake again of saying the two colors look the same.

There are two dozen people in this room with me and I haven’t seen my soon-to-be bride in over an hour as she’s whisked from one area to another. She wasn’t kidding when she said her wedding would be something unlike anything that’s ever been seen before. Why in the world would anyone ever want to have a wedding like this? It’s one day . . . just one day. You’d think a queen is about to be crowned. Then again, Jasmine is unique so I can see why there’s so much fuss over her.

Even with how special Jasmine is though, why do I need to know the difference in the colors of pink and blush? Yep, I’m back on that. It’s insane. All I want to do is have a day of Top Golf while drinking a hell of a lot of beer. I’m just the groom. Everyone knows the wedding is all about the bride and the groom is simply a guest at his own wedding. I want to run . . . and run fast.

I hear laughter and turn to see Smoke leaning against the wall with a full-blown smile on his lips. “You look like you’re having the time of your life,” he says.

I so want to glare at him, but I’m well aware of all of the cameras in the room and that multiple sets of eyes are on me at any given moment.

“There’s no better place to be than planning a wedding for my bride,” I say, hoping I sound somewhat convincing.

Smoke laughs again as Rick Moss, my best friend, moves up next to him. “Well, Smoke, he’s having fun here so we should leave him at it.” He adds a shrug.

“I thought we were springing him,” Smoke says in a conversational tone of voice. I feel panic fill me. Is there a chance of me getting out of here? Are these men, who I’ve considered friends up until this moment, so cruel as to dangle bait in front of me, and then rip it away?

James moves up to the group. “I personally couldn’t stand wedding planning, but Hunter’s always had a firm hold on his feminine side. Let’s leave him to it.”

I want to scream. “What in the hell are you guys talking about?” I ask in an angry whisper.

“We’re heading out to play on the water, take in a baseball game, and maybe have a drink or two,” Rick says with a shrug. “But we’ll leave you to pick out . . . colors.”

I now don’t care who’s looking. I glare at my best friend. “I don’t find you amusing,” I tell him.

All three men laugh as if they think they’re the funniest men alive. I’m not laughing with them. I love Jasmine, but wedding planning is pure torture.

“Run,” a voice whispers in my ear. I turn to find Jasmine behind me as she wraps her arms around my neck.

“I love being here,” I assure my fiancé.

She laughs again. “You love me, there’s zero doubt about it, but this has been pure torture for you all day. You’ve been a great sport. I called Smoke and asked him to spring you from here,” she says.

If I wasn’t already in love with this woman, I’d be head over heels right here and now. I catch her off guard and tug her around the front of me where she falls into my lap. I grab the back of her head and bring her in to give her a kiss sure to make everyone in the room blush. We’re both breathing a little heavy when I reluctantly break away from her.

“You truly are the woman of my dreams,” I tell her.

She smiles as she caresses my cheeks. “And you’re the man of mine,” she whispers. “Now get out of here before my mother asks you to choose cake flavors. There are twenty of them,” she warns.

I kiss her one more time, then carefully place her on her feet before I jump to mine. I look over at Smoke. “I accept your offer of rescue,” I tell him.

All three of the men laugh and I follow them from the room as my bride-to-be laughs behind us. I love being with her, just as I know I will for the rest of our lives, but I hate wedding planning. Her allowing me to escape is just one more reason I love her so damn much.

There’s a hummer limo outside the house which makes me look at Smoke in confusion. A limo seems a bit much.

“None of us want to be the designated driver, and I don’t do small vehicles,” Smoke says as he moves to the back and opens the door.

“Is this my bachelor party?” I ask.

“Nope, this is just a guys day out. We’ll have everyone here for your final night of freedom,” Rick says as all of us climb in after Smoke. I’m handed a beer as soon as I sit and take a nice long swallow, letting out a relieved sigh.

“I love Jasmine, but this week has been pure hell. When she said it was going to be a big wedding, she wasn’t kidding,” I admit.

“She called in a mayday. You’ve been a trooper, but this is a lot to ask of any fiancé,” Smoke says with another laugh.

“Did you have to help plan?” I ask him. He laughs again. “Nope, sadly there was a mission I had to go on during the planning phase.

“I bet you were so bummed,” I tell him, and Smoke beams at me.

“Of course I was bummed. There’s no place I’d rather be than with my wife.”

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