"This is not funny. She must have organized the fastest wedding in history," June said, complaining.
Trey listened to her through the bathroom. He was blindfolded at Lexie's insistence. Seeing the bride before the wedding was against the law.
"It's not bad."
"We're getting married on Christmas Eve, Trey. It's not funny. I asked for a New Year wedding, not a Christmas one."
He chuckled as she yelped again. Molly was in there with her trying to arrange her hair.
"What's all the fuss about?" he asked. "New Year, Christmas, what does it matter so long as we're together?"
"She did it on purpose."
"Why?"
"Mom is making sure we stay for dinner. She has
arranged everything even down to our honeymoon."
Trey laughed as Molly cursed and ordered her around. "Will you sit still? I'm trying to get your hair right." "June, tonight we're going to be alone. Yes, the
wedding is a little fairy tale, but it's going to be amazing. You're going to be beautiful, and everything is going to work out."
"Do you promise?" June asked.
"It's the nerves, baby. I promise you we'll get through this and have something magical to tell our kids when they're ready."
Lexie knocked on the door and breezed in. "I'm stealing the groom, honey. Hurry up, you've got five minutes and we'll need you downstairs."
He was pulled from the bed and herded outside where Lexie removed the blindfold. Blinking from the light, he stayed still as she put his hair back into place.
His future mother-in-law had him covered from head to toe. The ink around his neck was hidden from the collar of his shirt. Lexie didn't want ink to get in the way. It had been amusing hearing her screech when she'd caught sight of June's ink on her back. He had a surprise in store for his wife and begged her parents to let him take her home with him that night.
Neither of them wanted to agree with his request, but they had after June talked to them.
"Go on. I'll bring her down ready for you. I'm so proud of you, Trey. You're going to make my daughter very happy."
She shooed him away. Dale and Max were stood waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Sasha and Luke were sat on Dale's lap as they waited. A couple of weeks ago Dale had married Molly in a civil ceremony. He, Max, and June had attended the small event. The couple was married, but he didn't know if things were going well for them.
"Are you ready to no longer be single? I can make an excuse, and you can cut out the back," Max said.
Trey laughed. "Very funny. I'm getting married today, and I'm excited."
"No hot sex for you."
"You'd be surprised," Trey said. June was as horny as they came.
He went through to the main room, where the wedding was taking place at the Armstrong household. Lexie wanted to control every aspect of it, and the only way for her to do that was to do it here.
He stood where Lexie had marked a cross with his name on waiting for the music to start. The room was packed with family and friends. Trey didn't care about them. He waited for the music to start, and when it did, he looked in the direction of the door.
Lexie came through first, walking down the aisle followed by June. Her father held her arm as he escorted her down. Trey only had eyes for his woman, the woman who meant the world to him.
Taking a deep breath he stared at her, and then he took her from Elliot, shook his hand and together they faced the priest.
Through the ceremony, he faced his future bride and smiled at her through the veil. Her black hair contrasted with the white. When it was time to say his vows Trey spoke from the heart.
June pushed the veil up so he could see her face as she spoke her vows to him.
"You may now kiss the bride."
Trey held her tight, pressing his lips to hers. The room went up in applause. For the rest of the night he held her close to his side, refusing to let her go. He had the first dance with her, and only when Elliot demanded a dance with his daughter, did he let her go. It was hard for him to watch her go, but he stayed close to her.
"The car is ready for you to leave when you want," Lexie said, cutting into his thoughts.
"Thank you."
"I don't know what you've got planned, but I see the love in your eyes. You're going to be good to my daughter."
She tapped him on the back giving him her blessing. When it was time to leave, he waited for June to throw the bouquet of roses. He didn't recognize who caught the flowers.
"Where are we going?" she asked, buckling up.
"I've got one last surprise. We're going to do it in privacy."
He drove to Get Inked and climbed out.
"Our wedding night and you're taking me to your ink parlor?" she asked.
"Trust me. You'll love it."
Taking her hand he led her back to the chair. Grabbing his book, he gave her a piece of paper for her to unfold.
"What is this? I'm in a white fluffy wedding dress," she said.
"Have a look. Tell me what you think."
He stood, tapping his fingers together, waiting for her to speak. She opened the piece of paper and stared at his design. He loved drawing, and when he realized how close the wedding was he'd been struck by inspiration.
The drawing consisted of ink on both their arms. Separated, the ink would look normal, but together it opened up on a design. It was a picture of the fronts of their buildings, Get Inked and Just Another Slice. In the middle were their names, entwined and banded together. It didn't look tacky at all.
"This is beautiful," she said.