Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (27 page)

Thankfully
the morning passed pretty quickly. Once I was out of bed and showered, I found
the girls and Mom already waiting for me. Mom had cooked us a huge breakfast
and Beau arranged for a team of stylists to come to the house and pamper us, complete
with a masseuse, nail technicians, hair stylists, and makeup artists. By the
time I was ready to step into my wedding dress I was completely relaxed and
didn’t have a care in the world.

Once
my manicure and pedicure had dried, Sadie helped me up and walked me to my
bedroom.

“So,
have you talked to him?” I asked her. “How’s he doing?”

Sadie
smiled at me and in that brief moment I really looked at her. She was already
wearing her maroon strapless bridesmaid gown and her hair had been twisted and
styled beautifully. Her pink and purple highlights really stood out in her
snowy blonde hair. Her makeup was toned down accentuating her beautiful brown
eyes; she was gorgeous. I suddenly felt self-conscious standing next to her. I
was as big as a whale and she was tiny and svelte. She had the small of her
hand at my back as she led me into the room.

“He’s
about to jump out of his skin,” she laughed.

“What
do you mean? Is he nervous or having second thoughts? Did he have it out with
Jake or something?” I asked, worried.

“No,
no, Danni, everything is completely fine. He’s anxious to marry you. The last text
I got from him said this is the longest day of his life. I think he’s driving
the guys bat-shit crazy,” she answered, laughing.

My
chest felt warm and slippery and I smiled so widely that my cheeks hurt. “I
can’t wait either. Sadie,” I said, stopping and taking her hands in mine. “I
hope you know that I love your brother so, so much and I plan on making him
happy for the rest of his life.”

She
smiled at me proudly and her eyes blinked rapidly, obviously trying to hold
back tears.

“I
love him too, and I’m so happy for you both. You know Beau and I didn’t have it
easy as kids. He was always trying to drink and fuck away that pain Sharon
caused us. He appeared to be doing okay on the outside, but I don’t think he
ever knew how much he wanted or needed someone to make all of that hurt go
away. Until he met you Danni. You saved my brother in more ways than one and
meeting you was the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Thank you for
loving him,” she said, her voice breaking.

“Oh
Sadie,” I said, letting go of her hands and embracing her in my arms. “It’s not
hard to love him. I promise I will do it for the rest of my life.”

My
belly jerked as my little girl kicked and Sadie giggled. She put a hand on my
belly saying, “I think she’s happy too. My niece is going to be a little
hellion like her Aunt Sadie.”

I
laughed. “Dear God help us all!”

“Well,
I’m going to go check on Everleigh. That giant she’s carrying has to make it
hard to get around so I’m going to see if she needs help with anything. I’ll
leave you to get dressed. You just holler if you need me, okay?”

“I
will. Thank you, Sadie.”

“Anytime.
Love you, girl.”

“Love
you too,” I replied, and she left me to get ready.

My
dress was lying on the bed but before I put it on, I had to know how Beau was
doing; I was going crazy. I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my yoga pants
and as soon as I swiped the screen there was a text message. It was from Beau.

Can’t wait to marry you today, counting
down the seconds until I see you walking toward me as my beautiful bride.

My
heart jumped and I sighed with relief that he wasn’t freaking out or having
cold feet. I texted back.

I love you too, can’t wait to see
you at the altar waiting for me
.

I
quickly began to get dressed, my excitement building. God this day was dragging
on…

As
soon as I walked out of the bedroom in my wedding gown, everyone gasped.
Despite the fact that I was as big as a whale, I felt like a princess. My dress
was strapless with rhinestones and sequins covering the top, and it flowed out in
soft waves around my belly; it was gorgeous. The stylist had pulled and twisted
my hair into an elegant chignon and had added a few white and maroon flowers
that matched the roses in my bouquet.

I
was so overjoyed in that moment; I felt like I was floating on air. I was marrying
the love of my life while our daughter danced in my belly. As I took in
everyone’s jubilant faces, I was the happiest I’d ever been.

“Oh
Danni, you’re so beautiful!” my mom exclaimed with tears flowing down her
cheeks. She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief mumbling, “Thank God for
waterproof mascara.”

“Aw,
Mom,” I said, walking over and embracing her. “It’ll be okay.”

“I
know honey. It’s just that…you’re my baby girl,” she replied, her lip
quivering. “You’ve made me so happy these past twenty-six years. I can only hope
that when your daughter is born you will know the incredible joy I felt when I
held you for the very first time. Beau is a wonderful man who loves you so
much…that’s all a mother can ever wish for her daughter. I know you two will be
as happy as I’ve been with your father.”

I
felt tears burning in my eyes. “Don’t make me cry. I want to save the tears for
when I see Beau in his tux,” I said, smiling. “He’s going to stop my heart, I
know it.”

Everleigh
stood up from her chair (with much-needed help from Sadie) and waddled over to
me.

“Danni,”
she said, already crying. “I…there’s so much I want to say to you.”

I
took her hands in mine.

“Ev,”
I said, my voice breaking, “I love you so much.”

“Let
me get this out before I can’t. I can’t say you’re the sister I never had,
because you aren’t. You’ve been my sister from the first day we met on the preschool
playground when Emily Johnson and Jana Michaelson were picking on me and you
came charging in to defend me,” she said, and I chuckled. “We’ve been there for
each other through everything from crushes, arguments, boyfriends, and the
whole thing in New York…”

She
started to cry harder so I gently placed my hand on her swollen belly. “Ev, it’s
okay. Think of Max,” I told her.

She
shook her head and sniffed. “I’m okay. You just…you mean so much to me and I’m
so glad that I’m here today standing by your side. You are an amazing woman
inside and out. You’re going to be a wonderful mother, and Beau is the luckiest
man alive to have you.”

“Ev,”
I croaked, hugging her close as a few tears escaped from my perfectly made-up
eyes.

“I-I
love you.”

I
was barely able to choke out the words as we hugged, our bellies bumping
together between us, which seemed to lighten the mood. Everyone joined in a
quick group hug before we heard a knock at the front door.

Sadie
answered it and as soon as I saw who it was, I squealed and smiled. “John?”

“Hello,
Danni,” he answered, stepping into the house. “You look beautiful.”

John
had been away for the past few weeks after receiving a call that his mother was
sick. We’d gotten word last week that she passed away, and even though we all
wanted to travel and be there for him, he insisted that no one come. He knew
that if any of the guys went, we’d all want to go and Everleigh and I weren’t
allowed to travel as pregnant as we both were. I didn’t know if he’d be able to
make it back in time so I was thrilled that he was here now.

Wrapping
my arms around his big muscular frame, I exclaimed, “Oh John, I’m so glad
you’re here! Now this day feels complete.”

“I’m
glad to be here with you. So, are you ready to go to the church?”

“What
do you mean? I thought we were taking a stretch limo,” Sadie stated.

“You
are. I’ll be your driver for the evening,” he said, grinning. He held out his
arm to me and asked, “Are you ready to get married?”

I
smiled and laced my arm through his. “More than you know.”

As
John helped us all into the limo and drove us to the church, I felt my daughter
kicking and I contemplated telling him to disobey all speed limits to get us
there. I had never felt so anxious in all my life; it was literally hurting me
to not be near Beau. I needed to be with him, to be safe in his arms…to be his
wife. I took comfort in knowing that by the end of the day, I would be all of
those things and my dreams would finally be a reality.

Beau

The Night
Before

“So,
you ready to be shackled tomorrow, bro?” Ryder asked me after we’d all placed
our orders.

Instead
of hitting some sleazy strip club or a bar where we’d have fans groping us, I
had decided I wanted to hit up our favorite steak house for my bachelor party.

“Bring
on that ball and chain,” I answered, laughing.

As
much as I wanted to spend my last night as a sort-of single guy with my
friends, the only place I really wanted to be was at home with my beautiful
fiancée in my arms. But Danni wanted to be traditional and that meant following
all of the usual pre-wedding customs, including the one I hated the most; the
groom being forbidden to see the bride for twenty-four hours before the
wedding. I could text and call her, sure, but it wasn’t the same. I’d only been
away from her for like twelve hours, and I was craving her presence like…like
an alcoholic that needed a drink.

I
also wasn’t loving the fact that Jake Riggins had made it into town with
Jagger, Cash, Logan, and Zayne. Technically, I had no reason to be mad at him,
but I still couldn’t erase the image of their kiss out of my mind, no matter
how innocent it may have been. I knew it was lame to feel angry, especially
considering what despicable act I performed right after I’d witnessed their
kiss, but it still bothered me that my friend had made out with my now fiancée.

I
didn’t speak to him much during the night, focusing my conversations mainly on
my band brothers and the guys in Eternal Down. I knew Jake wanted to hash this
thing out, and I’d avoided it as long as I could. I knew he wasn’t going to let
it slide though, and when that time came I’d have to bite the bullet and quit
being a whiny bitch.

“Well,
thank God you are driving me tonight because I plan on getting fall-on-my-ass
drunk,” Jude stated. “No pussy for me equals all the alcohol in the restaurant
will be in my blood stream before the night is over.”

“Yeah,
what’s up with that anyway?” Zayne asked, taking a long drink from his beer.
“You still do like pussy, right?”

Jagger
snickered into his beer as Jude answered, “I love pussy and I want it morning,
noon, and night.”

“Then
why the fuck are you keeping your cock in the barn these days?” Jake asked him.

“Because
I’m living with Sadie now and I just didn’t feel right bringing women to the
house with her there,” Jude stated smugly.

“Wait,
so you’ve given up pussy and you live with Sadie Cavanaugh, a girl that’s as
hot as
fuck
? Dude, are you gay or am I missing something?” Jagger asked.

Jude
grumbled, swallowing the last of his beer.

“Damn
it, I’m not gay, okay? I just didn’t want to have a bunch of hoes hanging
around all the time. Sadie’s one of my best friends and I was trying to be
considerate.”

“Well,
you know you can still get laid and not take them home with you. I’m not even
in your band and have walked in on you fucking some girl in a random bathroom
more times than I care to remember,” Logan pointed.

“So,
you and Sadie aren’t hitting the sheets I take it?” Jagger asked.

Jude
shook his head frustratingly. “No, we aren’t. It’s not like that with us, we’re
just friends. Besides, even if we were, why would it matter to you?”

Jagger
shrugged his shoulder and smiled crookedly. “I don’t know, I might ask her out.
Why would it bother you?”

“It
wouldn’t,” Jude answered, but he seemed irritated that Jagger had suddenly
taken an interest in Sadie.

“Dude,
none of you fuckers are taking a shot at my sister,” I informed them. “Forget
it.”

Jagger
snickered, smirking at me.

“Fine,
fine. Hands off the sister,” he answered, looking up and smiling.

My
eyes followed his to find he had already set his sight on a brunette who was
eye-fucking him from across the restaurant.

“Well,
I don’t mean to steer the conversation to something other than pussy and hot
sisters, but there was something I wanted to tell you guys now that we are all
together,” Kris said somewhat seriously.

“What
is it, man?” I asked him.