Mine To Hold Page 2

  I pull open my office door and see Mallory, our head waitstaff server, with a silver tray and a crystal champagne glass. "What is this?"

  "Happy day before your wedding, Shelby," she says, handing me the glass. "You look beautiful."

  "Thank you," I reply, grabbing the glass and trying to take a sip, but my nerves get the best of me, and I finish it all. I look at Mallory, trying to find the words, when she pulls a shot glass out from behind her. "I don't think that's a good idea." The words come out of my mouth, but my hand is grabbing the glass, and I take the shot. I hiss as the liquid burns all the way down. "That was definitely a bad idea." We share a smile. "How many of these have we done together?” I ask, turning and walking out with her beside me.

  "More than I can count," she says, smiling at me and leaning into me. "Are you ready?" she urges, holding the door of the venue in her hand.

  "Not even a bit," I admit, and she just laughs.

  "How hard was it to let go of the control and have them plan the whole thing?" she asks.

  "Don't tell anyone," I say, making sure that my dress is perfect. "But I tried to break into their emails at least four times." I side-eye her as she just laughs out loud. "I wish I was kidding."

  "Well, I hope it was worth it," she says and pulls open the door, and I step in. The photographer is there waiting to catch the moment that I see everything. I glare at him, and he laughs while I hear him clicking away.

  "Happy day before your wedding," he says to me from behind the camera, and I flip him the bird.

  "These pictures are going to be up on the website," he tells me, and it's my turn to laugh.

  I look around, speechless at what my sisters did. It's perfect. Everything is perfect. When they asked me what I thought it should be, I said a forest wedding. I put my hands to my mouth as I take it all in. The trees are everywhere, and I can only imagine what is to come. It looks like we are in the middle of the forest.

  I look around for my sisters, knowing they are somewhere, when I see them in the corner talking to each other as they both type nervously on their phones. I wait a couple of seconds to see if they look over at me, but I can see from their faces that something is wrong.

  "What's wrong?" I ask, my voice loud. The two of them look over at me, and I know exactly what they are doing when they smile.

  "Oh, look at how beautiful you look," Clarabella says, putting her phone behind her.

  "Knock that shit out. You saw me before," I remind her, putting my hands on my hips when the door opens, and I see some guests come in. I walk over to my sisters, smiling and waving at a couple of people who come in. "What's going on?"

  "Nothing," Presley says. "How do you like the decorations?"

  "They suck," I say, knowing that it's going to bother them. I'm right when they both gasp. "Now, what is all the chatter about?"

  "What do you mean?" Clarabella asks, looking around, trying to pretend, but I know she's lying.

  "I swear to God," I say, my teeth clenched tight.

  "Okay, fine," Presley relents, and I see Clarabella open her eyes wide. "Don't freak out, but"—she looks around with a smile on her face, making it seem like everything is okay—"Joseph is MIA."

  Chapter 2

  Shelby

  My heart speeds up faster in my chest. The last thing anyone wants to hear right before they start their wedding festivities is the “don't freak out” speech. It doesn’t, in fact, ever work, and the other person automatically starts to freak the fuck out. "Joseph is MIA." I hear the words come out of her mouth, and they’re slowly beginning to seep into my brain.

  "What?" I shake my head, not sure I understand what she is saying. My body feels like it's coming out of itself. I put my hand on my stomach, feeling the need because I feel like I'm going to barf all over the place.

  "She's in shock," Clarabella says, and I'm about to tell her to fuck off when someone puts their hand on my back.

  "Hey." I hear Ace's voice before I turn and look at him. "You look beautiful," he compliments, leaning down and kissing my cheek. He looks at my sisters and then looks at me. He's dressed in a tailored blue suit. His baby-blue button-down shirt has the two top buttons open. "Who died?" He chuckles nervously, and I don't know why all the words are suddenly stuck in my throat. It's all these fucking nerves.

  "No one died," Presley says between clenched teeth, her own eyes going big as she looks around the room to see if maybe she sees Joseph.

  "God, can you imagine," Clarabella voices out loud, laughing, and the only sound I can make is a groan. "That might be even worse than being left at the altar." Her face goes into a grimace before Presley hits her, and she looks at me. "He's not dead." She tries to sound calm about it, but all she can do is laugh nervously. "We would have been contacted."

  "Maybe you should stop talking," Presley urges between clenched teeth toward Clarabella.

  "Okay, everyone needs to calm down a minute." I hold up my hands finally. "There has to be a reason he's late." I look at my wrist, but I took off my watch for this outfit. "What time is it?"

  Ace picks up his arm and turns it, and I see his monogram on his sleeve with the cuff links I bought him when he became a partner at his firm. We've been friends since we took our first business class together in college. After a couple of study groups, we found we had lots in common and just started hanging out with each other more and more. When we both graduated, I moved back home, and it was just my luck that the company he would be working for was opening an office in town. It was at Ace's New Year's Eve party that I met Joseph. "It's five thirty."

  "He's not late." I look at my sisters. "It starts at five thirty."

  "It started at five," Presley says and then looks at Ace. "You're late. As the best man, you were supposed to be here at five."

  "One." He holds up his finger. "I was here at four forty-five," he argues. "And two, I had a business call I had to take."

  "Hey, sorry I'm late," my brother, Travis, says as he rushes to us. "We just . . ." He starts to say and then looks around, spotting his wife, Harlow, walking in with their baby in her arms. They were college sweethearts, and he broke up with her two weeks before they graduated, not wanting to change her plans. Four years later, she showed up at his wedding. Needless to say, he wasn't meant to marry Jennifer in the first place. "It's been a day," he admits and then looks at us. "What's going on?" His eyes go from me to my sisters and then back to me.

  "Nothing is going on," I confirm while Presley blurts out, "Just a minor issue." She holds up her thumb and finger, showing a small space. "Joseph isn't here." I watch Travis's face and see that his eyes go big, but when he looks at me and sees I'm looking at him, he pretends it's okay.

  "Well, we had traffic driving here," Travis informs us, and I can tell from his face he's lying right through his teeth, and if I wasn't nervous already, I would call him out on it.

  "It's not a minor issue," Clarabella says, and I close my eyes.

  "Can we not do this right now?" I look at them as they glare at each other. "There has to be a reason." I look around, smiling at people who are arriving and holding up my hand to say hello. "Give me a phone." I look at the three of them. "Someone, give me a phone." I run out of patience.

  Clarabella hands me her phone, and I dial Joseph's number, putting the phone to my ear and trying not to freak out externally. Internally, however, I'm a fucking mess. How is this happening? Why isn't he here? Is he dead? I shake my head to get that thought out of my head. I wait for him to answer, counting to ten in my head. "Answer the phone," I mumble and turn around so no one can see the tears that are forming in my eyes. The phone picks up, and I feel better until I hear the automatic message.

  "Hi, you reached Joseph," I hear his voice say, "I can't take your call right now." I look over my shoulder at the four of them, who just look at me.

  "Hey, it's me. Can you call me back?" I hang up the phone and look back at them. "He didn't answer."

  "Maybe he's busy," Clarabella offers. "Bu
t not dead."

  "You are the worst." Presley turns to Clarabella, and I think she's going to hit her.

  "He's not dead," Travis says. "Why would you even say that?" He shakes his head. "He's going to be here." He puts his hands in his pockets now. "And if he isn’t, I'll go out and find him myself."

  I look down at the phone, blinking away the tears and trying to tell myself that it's going to be okay. My hands shake with the phone as I will it to ring when hands are on my arms. I look up and see Ace. "Hey," he says softly. "You know what he's probably doing?" I look into his blue eyes.

  "Not dying." Presley leans in, and I have to laugh as I wipe the corner of my eye.

  "Yes, he's not dying," Ace assures me. "He's out buying you a gift."

  Clarabella snaps her fingers and then points. "Yessss," she says as if she solved the whole thing. "He's getting you a bride's gift."

  "That has to be it." Travis smiles at me.

  "You know men," Presley says as she leers at Travis. "They always wait until the last minute to do everything." And then at Ace.

  "What is that look even for?" He glares back at her. "Why am I getting that look?" He shakes his head and looks back at me. "We were talking about it today," he says. "That's why he is late."

  I nod my head, not sure I can say anything. "You know what we need?" Clarabella says, looking around and holding up her finger toward Mallory, who just nods at her. Clarabella turns and looks back at me. "You are going to grab a glass of champagne, and then you are going to go out there and mingle with your guests." She motions with her hand. "I mean, we aren't even starting anything until six thirty, so he has enough time to get here."

  "Yes," Ace agrees. "Besides, you know he's always late." He tries to comfort me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. "It's a good thing he'll be sleeping at my house tonight."

  "Yes." I smile and push away the nagging feeling that I'm getting now. "I'm sure he's fine," I say and look over at Mallory, who walks over with the same silver tray that she had when she came to greet me at my office door.

  "Here you go," she offers, handing me the glass of champagne, and Ace drops his hands from my arms and stands next to me.

  "Okay," I say, taking a sip. The sweet cold bubbly champagne hits my tongue. "We need to go out there and pretend that everything is okay." I look at them as they all nod at me. "We take sections of the place and work our way around. If anyone hears from Joseph . . ."

  "We'll come and get you," Clarabella says, smiling at me and nodding as I walk away from them.

  "He's going to be here," Travis reassures me, turning and walking toward Harlow, who stands talking to one of my aunts.

  I look around the room, spotting my mother standing by the front door greeting people. She smiles at the man who walks in and then turns to look at me. Her eyes meet mine, and her smile starts to fade, but then she turns it back on as she makes her way to me. She's wearing a baby-blue off-the-shoulder dress that goes down to the floor. Her blond hair is in a perfect bob with a string of pearls around her neck. She's been without my father for a while now, and all she does is make sure that we are all right. "Hi," she says, leaning toward me to kiss my cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

  "I'm not crying." I don't look back at her. Instead, I take another drink of my champagne.

  "You forget who you are talking to." She side-eyes me and smiles, nodding her head at someone who just waved at her.

  "It's nothing. Might be nerves," I share, not ready to admit that something might be wrong because I don't know. "Did my dress arrive?" I ask, and she nods. "What about the headpiece? Did it finally come in?" She smiles and nods. I'm going through the checklist in my head to keep my mind off what is really going on. "Did my pjs for tomorrow morning get steamed?"

  She's about to say something when I see Presley running toward us. "It's Joseph." She hands me the phone, and my shoulders slump just a touch.

  "Hello." I put the phone to my ear and hear that he's in the car.

  "Hey, honey," he says. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I’m around the corner."

  "That's okay," I reply, but inside, I know it's not okay, and if it was any other time, I would probably freak out more if there weren't so many people around me. "Just get here when you can," I say and disconnect, putting away the anger I have in me.

  "He's fine," I inform Presley. "He's on his way. Will be here in a couple of minutes."

  "I'll go and tell the valet to keep a lookout for him," she tells me and squeezes my hand when she takes the phone. "It's almost showtime."

  "Almost." I smile at her, trying to pretend I'm okay. I take another sip of my champagne when I look up and see Sheila walking into the venue. Ace spots her right away and walks to her with a smile on his face.

  I can't help but smile when I look at them. They started dating a couple of months after Joseph and I did. We had so many double dates that I've grown very close to her and consider her one of my best friends.

  My eyes go to the door when I see Joseph walking in. His black suit looks like he just put it on, his blond hair looks like he just ran his hand through it, and it even looks like it's wet in the back. "Hey." He smiles when he sees me and bends to kiss my lips. "Sorry I'm late."

  "No worries," I say, ignoring the pull in my stomach. "Now that you're here." I put down the glass in my hand and clap my hands. "Let's get the show on the road."

  Chapter 3

  Shelby

  "Let's get the show on the road," Joseph repeats from beside me as I smell his aftershave. He puts his hand in mine, and picks up my hand, and brings it to his lips. "You look nice," he says with a smirk.

  "Thank you," I say, trying to tell myself that it's all good that he's here, but I'm pissed he showed up so late.

  "Oh, look who showed up," Presley declares, giving him a side glare.

  "So, he's not dead after all," Clarabella adds, coming up behind her.

  "What?" he asks, confused, looking at my sisters and then turning to look at me. His eyebrows are pressed together.

  "Nothing." I shake my head. "Can we just get on with it?" I say between clenched teeth.

  "Yes, let's," Presley says, and she turns, clapping her hands. "If I can have everyone's attention," she announces, and everyone stops talking and looks over at us. She starts directing people to their places. Joseph's hand slips out of mine, and I see him walking toward his parents. His mother smiles at him, and he shakes his father's hand as he goes in for a side hug.

  I'm usually the one who does all of this, but with me being the bride, Presley is taking over this part. "I need you to stand right there," she tells me as she pulls me out of the venue space, and I see Clarabella and Sheila coming over to me.

  "You look absolutely stunning," Sheila compliments once she sees me. "I'm so sorry I was late. I was stuck in traffic, and then I couldn't find my bag for tomorrow." She shakes her head. "It was a mess." Her blond hair is piled on top of her head with soft curls coming out on the side, her green eyes made up with a smoky look, making them pop more.

  "Okay, Sheila," Presley directs. "I need you to walk down the aisle, counting to three every time you take the next step.” Sheila nods at her and walks down the aisle as we do a run-through for the next day. It takes about an hour for us to get it the way that Presley thinks works, and I won't even bother telling her that it's probably going to not be right at all, but it'll be okay.

  "Time for us to eat," Joseph says from beside me, and everyone walks over to the tables that are set up to eat. "Are you hungry?" he smiles at me and asks.

  "Yeah," I answer, and I can't tell you what I feel right now. It's a feeling I don't think I would be able to explain. He walks over to the table and pulls out the chair for me. I sit down and wait for everyone to sit. Mallory comes over and fills up the champagne glasses at the table.

  "You okay?" Ace asks from beside me, and I nod my head. "You look pale."

  "Thanks," I tell him, and he just laughs.

  "You are fine." He shakes his head and
looks over at Sheila, who just sits there talking to Clarabella next to her.

  "If I can have everyone's attention." Joseph stands up, clicking the champagne glass in front of him with a spoon. The whole room goes quiet as Presley sits next to him in the empty seat right next to Harlow. "I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight," he says. "And for Shelby not ripping into me for being late," he jokes, and everyone else laughs. He looks down at me, and all I can do is fake a smile as all eyes are on me. "But all joking aside." He puts his hand on my shoulder. "I can't wait until tomorrow. Love you, honey." He leans down and kisses my lips. "Cheers." He holds up his glass, and I look around as everyone picks up their glasses and holds them toward us. I grab my glass and hold it up.

  "We said no speeches until tomorrow," Clarabella reminds him while she smiles at us. "Someone didn't get the memo."

  "Someone can hear just fine," Joseph replies, sitting down. "I was just saying thank you." He puts his hand around my chair now. "It was okay, right?" he asks, and I just nod my head as a plate of food is put in front of me.

  "You are too quiet," Ace says from beside me. "And that should scare anyone."

  "I'm just thinking about tomorrow," I tell him. "When it's your turn"—I smile at him, knowing that tomorrow, he will be proposing to Sheila—"I'll be reminding you when you get quiet all of a sudden."

  "Nah," he denies, grabbing his bottle of beer. "With you handling everything, I know it will be perfect."

  I finally laugh for the first time today. "Touché," I tell him, grabbing my own glass. "Touché."

  "Okay, it's time for the bride to hit the road," Clarabella directs. "We have a whole night of pampering and drinking to get on with."

  "Are we really doing the whole not seeing each other until the wedding day?" Joseph shakes his head, getting up. "It's pretty stupid."

  "So is showing up late, but it is what it is." Clarabella shrugs, and he just looks at her. "You can survive the night without her."