Vintage Volume Two (17 page)

twenty-seven

After the gifts, Brittany finished my make-up and Bethany did my hair. She curled it in loose waves, pinning back pieces into the barrette I’d purchased with my dress. Before I even put on my gown, I felt like a princess. And when I finally slipped it on, I felt like a goddess.

Before I knew it, I was sitting in a white Bentley with George behind the wheel as we made our way to my dad’s house. Kimmy allowed me to be lost in my thoughts as I stared out the window. It wasn’t a long drive, but the quiet of the car was peaceful and calming.

“Are you doing okay?” Kimmy asked.

I nodded. “Calmer than I was expecting.”

George pulled into the driveway after flashing some credentials at the security team, and we were ushered into the house.

Of all the people in the world who I didn’t want ruining the peaceful moments before I was about to walk down the aisle, my mother stood ready to greet me.

“Oh Roxanna!” she whimpered when she saw me. “You look beautiful.”

It would have been great if she’d left it at that. But that wasn’t her style. Instead, she reminded me all the reasons why I preferred her to be out of the country.

“That dress, though. Is it old? It’s gorgeous, but it looks old. Also, your dad and his new wife are just the worst. I barely slept with the noises coming out of their room. And the backyard wedding. Isn’t it a little informal? Almost like a barbecue? I don’t know, Roxanna. Are you sure you don’t want to wait? Why are you rushing this?”

I held up my hand. “Mother. Stop. If you don’t approve, you don’t need to attend.”

I pushed my way past her toward my dad’s office.

I turned back to Kimmy, who was grinning, and I caught my mom’s shocked face out of the corner of my eye. I ignored it. “Tell Parker that I’ll be the hot one in white.”

She laughed, and then she turned on her quest to find her brother while I made my way toward my dad’s office.

The office was empty, so I sat on the couch and looked around, in awe as always at all of the awards on the walls. When I really thought about it, it was pretty damn cool that Gideon Price was actually my father. He was an amazing man and the best dad a girl could ask for. I was truly blessed.

The door opened and my dad stepped in.

He looked handsome in his tuxedo. He was my daddy, but I could see why women swooned over him. His dark hair was a mess, the scruff on his cheeks and chin was a little more grown in than usual, and the same blue eyes that he’d passed down to me stared back at me.

I felt immediate relief when I saw him. I’d been so busy all day between hair and make-up and getting dressed that I hadn’t really had time to process the fear that was nibbling at my conscience after my dream.

I’d dreamt that Damien was going to die, and he had.

So a dream that my dad was with Damien and Katie pressed a heavy weight upon my chest. I knew the natural order of life was to lose your parents before they lost you, but it was too early. My dad was healthy, young, and athletic. He had a long life ahead of him. Seeing him full of life in the doorway before me was pretty solid evidence.

I stood from my position on the couch, and he stopped in the doorway and gazed at me for a moment.

And then his face broke into a proud smile. “When did my little girl grow old enough to get married?”

I rushed into his waiting arms. My dad wasn’t always perfect, but he was always comforting.

“You look absolutely stunning, CC.” He kissed the top of my head.

“Thank you for the thoughtful gifts, Daddy,” I murmured, trying my hardest not to cry again.

“I wish I could have given you more. I would give you the world. You know that.”

“You did. You brought Parker into my life, and he’s my world now.”

My dad pulled back from our hug. “I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

God, that one short conversation with my dad was so fucking different from the one with my mom. They were such different people that it was nearly impossible for me to imagine the two of them ever somehow getting together.

The photographer my dad hired had given us a schedule of pictures to take before the wedding. The men were first, so my dad went out back while Kimmy hung with me in my dad’s office. She left when my dad came back so she could take pictures with her brother. Flashing Light was scheduled for a photo shoot, too, and once the men returned to their hiding place in my dad’s mansion, it was my turn. I met Kimmy and my family out by the arbor. I took some pictures with my mom, who was a little cold after I’d silenced her, and my dad. We even took a few with Jadyn.

And somehow, at this point, I was pretty sure I preferred Jadyn’s company to my mother’s.

But I still really disliked her, and I still didn’t trust a damn word out of her lying mouth. Today wasn’t the day to air my grievances, though.

Time was passing quickly—too quickly. I barely had time to catch my breath before I was heading back inside.

I glanced one last time toward the arbor where I’d stand with Parker less than an hour later. I drew in a cleansing, calming breath.

My last moment outside was tranquil. Peaceful. The sun was starting its descent in the west, and the night sky would be beautiful for our outdoor wedding.

The calm before the storm.

twenty-eight

My dad and I were alone in his office. I sat on the couch, and he leaned against the desk just a few feet away from me. He was handsome in his tuxedo. I’d seen him dressed up for various charity events over the years. He’d never been the type of rock star who wore a uniform of black jeans and black shirts all the time. He was different from my almost-husband in many ways, but they did share some similarities.

One was their need to protect me.

My dad held a tumbler of whiskey—neat—while I held a glass of white wine. I wanted red, but it seemed inadvisable in a white dress.

“I need to apologize to you one last time, CC,” my dad started.

I glanced up at him in confusion.

What could he possibly have to apologize for?

I was trying to think of some proper way to express my gratitude to the man who’d done so much for me, not just to make this day possible, but for everything he’d done for me my entire life. It was true that he’d been in and out for much of my childhood, that I’d been stuck with my mother or some hired nanny, but he was always there when I needed him. Always.

And I knew that wouldn’t change just because I was getting married. I knew my dad would be there for me any time I needed him for the rest of my life. It was just who he was. Most people didn’t see him as a family man, but I saw him as Dad.

He had always done whatever he could to ensure that I was happy, but more than that, he did everything he could to ensure I was safe. As I thought about that, I realized how much he’d done for my mental stability. Even though I’d felt someone watching me for the better part of the past year, my dad had done everything he could to keep me out of harm’s way without interrupting my daily existence.

Randy had been after me, after the item he knew was somewhere in my possession, but my dad made sure that his threats were hidden from me to protect my state of mind. I hated being left in the dark, but ignorance truly had been bliss. Now that I was privy to the secrets, I sort of wished I hadn’t known in the first place.

Life seemed so much easier back then.

Every decision he’d made had been in my best interest. My dad was truly my hero, and most importantly, he’d brought Parker into my life.

He was the reason I was sitting on his office couch in a white dress, just minutes away from walking down the aisle toward the man I loved with my entire heart.

I felt safe with the security around us. A police officer was stationed right outside the office door, allowing my dad and me our privacy. My dad had a camera system in the hallways of the house, and a security team was watching screens to check for any possible breaches. Police milled the area and the driveway. No one got in or out without credentials.

I still wished my dad had done something with Damien’s DVD before the wedding, though. He had his reasons, and maybe he
had
done something and just hadn’t told me. I’d been pretty busy over the past couple of days, and it had been less than forty-eight hours since we’d seen the last words Damien had ever spoken to me.

I pushed those thoughts out of my mind and focused on my dad. He’d told me he owed me an apology, and I hadn’t responded.

“For what?” I finally asked.

“For not telling you everything sooner. For the fake engagement. For keeping the truth about who Parker was from you for so long.”

Remorse lined his handsome face.

I stood from my perch on the couch and set my wineglass on the end table.

He’d already apologized, but he didn’t owe me an apology. Not then, and not now.

It hadn’t been the easiest road. It certainly hadn’t been the straightest road. My short history with Parker had been filled with twists and turns, detours and road blocks, but if I changed a single moment, we would be in a different place. We wouldn’t be moments away from marriage.

And I wouldn’t want to change that for anything in the world.

My dad wasn’t the type to offer an apology easily. He didn’t become as successful as he was by apologizing his way to the top. He was a gentleman, but he was shrewd and ruthless when he needed to be. He was stubborn, and most of all, he was always right.

So even though I felt he didn’t need to apologize, I accepted it anyway. I hugged him and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Dad. And I haven’t thanked you for everything you’ve done to protect me.” I voiced the realization I’d come to only seconds before. “Thank you for keeping me in the dark, because not knowing helped me maintain my sanity. Thank you for making sure that I was always protected. And thank you for this wedding.”

He smiled at me as I broke our hug and went to get my wineglass to toast my dad.

Despite my complaints that I hadn’t asked for this life, that I hadn’t asked to be thrust into the spotlight just because I was the daughter of Gideon Price, I was pretty damn lucky.

And for once, I wasn’t going to take those blessings for granted. I raised my wineglass in the air, and my dad raised his nearly empty tumbler of whiskey toward me.

“Thank you for being the best dad that a girl could ask for.”

Our glasses were centimeters from contact in a touching moment between father and daughter when the corner of my eye caught a movement.

I turned my attention to the shadow. A figure stepped out from behind a thick curtain.

The wineglass fell out of my hand, shattering to the floor and splashing pale yellow liquid on the bottom my dress.

A gasp fell from my lips as time slowed down. My entire day had been on speed mode until the moment my eyes met his.

After that, everything happened in slow motion.

My dress was ruined.

My shoes were ruined.

My wedding was ruined.

And it was about to get a whole hell of a lot worse.

Because the man standing in the office with us held a gun in his hands.

I was gun stupid. I hadn’t grown up around them. I didn’t really know anything about them—the type, the speed, the weight, the bullets.

All I knew was that the man in the room with us wasn’t just holding a gun.

He was aiming it at me.

“How the fuck did you get in here?”

My dad’s voice sounded loud in our quiet space. But it was more than loud.

It was scared.

I could sense the fear in my dad’s voice, and that alone triggered my terror over anything else.

My dad was my rock. I’d never seen him scared about anything. Ever.

He was steady.

He was strong.

He was my hero.

And together we were facing a man with a gun and a grudge.

twenty-nine

Certain moments in life define us. They define who we are, what we stand for, and what matters most.

Some are moments we never want to forget. Others are moments we wish we didn’t remember.

My wedding day was supposed to be the former—a day I never wanted to forget.

Instead, it became a moment I wished I could erase from my memory. Instead of the romantic delights that create the fantasy of a perfect wedding day, it became the living nightmare that would haunt my dreams. 

It was a moment in time where I panicked, where I froze, and where I couldn’t react because I was too frightened.

Katie and Damien were in the room with me, ready to take me with them.

Parker’s face ran through my mind.

How would he react? Would he move on? Would he be okay?

What about my dad? He’d never get over losing his CC. He’d only have Jadyn to take care of him.

And what about my mother? Would she even miss me? It was a horrible thought to have, but I didn’t know the answer. And maybe I never would.

But Parker. He didn’t deserve to lose what he’d just found in me. I didn’t want to die. Even through the indifference I’d latched onto when Damien had left me, death was never one of my options. I had trudged through life, careless and ambitionless. And now I had cares. I had ambitions.

But more than that, I had love.              

These were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I stared down the barrel of the gun pointed at me.

Time was momentarily suspended as a quiet moment hung between the three of us.

Where the quiet moment had meant peaceful serenity only seconds before, this new quiet moment turned into a cacophonous discord of loud silence.

And the loud silence was shattered when Randy flicked the safety on the gun in his hand.