Page 55 of Four-ever Single

Jones

Today was the day. I was getting married and making Bella my wife.

I had been a nervous wreck since I got up this morning, thinking about all of the ways I could screw this up. But then I would think about Bella, and everything just felt right. It was unnerving how just the thought of her could calm me. How I had ever gotten lucky enough to get her attention, I would never know. But I was going to work hard every single day for the rest of my life to make sure I kept it.

The guys were already at the fire station when I got there, excitement buzzing around me as they worked to get it set up for us. Abby and her sister Jane had taken the lead, guiding everyone on where to put the chairs and how to arrange the flowers perfectly over the arch Rodriguez had built for us.

“This looks amazing,” I said, stopping beside Abby and Nate and staring in disbelief.

It didn’t even look like the same place I spent the majority of my time. Not only was it spotless and cleaner than I’d ever seen, but it was exactly what I had envisioned when Bella told Kensy about what her dream wedding would look like the night we were there to plan everything.

Rows and rows of chairs were lined up with a light cream-colored runner for Bella to walk down the aisle. Pink and red rose petals had already been dropped along the side of the runner, leaving her path clear.

“Thank you,” Abby said, inhaling deeply before looking at me. “We were hoping you guys would love it.”

“Has Bella seen it yet?” I asked, already counting down the minutes until I could see her again.

“No, she wanted to be surprised. She’s still at Lia’s house getting ready. Kensy said they should be here in an hour.”

“We’ve got the table over there set up for gifts and cards,” Abby said, pulling my attention back to her when all I wanted to focus on was my bride-to-be. “And then we’ll use that table for the cake. I finished it this morning but didn’t want to bring it over until everything else was set up. I spoke with Capshaw, and he confirmed the food is already set for delivery from Surf ’N Shack to arrive after the ceremony, so I think everything is ready to go.”

I nodded but couldn’t get any words to come out of my mouth as my throat tightened and constricted around them. What if Bella changed her mind and decided not to go through with this? I would be left waiting for someone to love me—again, only for it to never come. I wanted nothing more than to be with Bella, but what if she realized she could do better than me? What if I wasn’t enough for her?

I tried to take a deep breath to calm myself down, but as the thoughts raced through my head, so did my heart.

“Thanks for taking care of all of this, baby. It looks great,” Nate said, hugging Abby and planting a kiss on her forehead. “I’m going to take Jones to my office until we’re ready to start.”

I looked up at him, a panicked look on my face, until I realized he wasn’t about to reprimand me. He was saving me.

We stepped inside his office, where I began pacing wildly, my hands folded behind my head to keep from fidgeting as he shut the door and sat at his desk. He looked calm and relaxed while I resembled a wild animal, caged in and ready to flee.

I had been so excited this morning when I was just thinking about marrying Bella. But now that things were set up and a wedding was planned to happen in the next hour—I was losing my shit and second-guessing everything.

“What if I’m not what she wants?” I asked, looking for the answer I expected to see on his face.

The sympathy etched deeply into his smile as he shook his head no. Or the softness of his tone as he told me she changed her mind and didn’t want me after all.

My stomach tightened, remembering all of the times I had gotten close to being adopted, but then it never happened. So many times I thought I would get my forever family, that I would have somewhere I belonged. But it always ended with me not being enough for them. I was a good kid, but they wanted someone else.

“You are what she wants,” he said, kicking his feet up on his desk and resting his hands on his stomach.

He wasn’t dressed yet—but neither was I—and that made me wonder if it was because he knew this wasn’t going to happen after all.

“She could change her mind,” I countered. “They always change their mind.”

Nate shook his head, his energy still annoyingly calm.

“She’s not going to.”

“How do you know that?” I yelled in frustration, but he didn’t even flinch. He was as cool as a cucumber. “Everyone always changes their minds when it comes to me, Nate. Why would she be any different?”

“I didn’t change my mind.” He shrugged.

“You and Abby are different.” I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

“I’m not talking about Abby,” he said, putting his feet down and walking over to where I was standing. “I’m talking about you.”

I furrowed my brow, no idea what he was talking about.

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