Page 42 of The Sounds of Her
“In your dreams,” Jenna retorts, but she’s grinning.
“In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen Adam as happy as he is now, with the perfect woman by his side. Jen, you’ve become a part of the BreakNeck family, one that is special to each one of us. Not least for keeping this asshole smiling most of the time.”
“Less of the asshole,” Adam scowls. Jenna takes his hand, and he looks back at her with a soft smile.
“See,” I point. “She’s a magician. Anyway,” I lift my glass again as the laughter dies down. “It’s been an honour seeing them today, taking their vows, committing to one another for the rest of their lives, and getting to be a part of their love story. Jenna knows I give the best hugs,” I wink at her.
Adam is way too happy to give me shit about that.
“To the bride and groom,” I raise my glass. It’s echoed by everyone else, and cheers and claps ring out. When I sit down, Jenna reaches across Adam and squeezes my hand. There are tears in the corner of her eyes, but she is smiling.
Sandy gets up next and makes Jenna cry for real when she talks about how proud her dad would be. Adam wraps his arm around her, making Sandy smile and tell them she knows her daughter is in safe hands.
“And if you hurt her, I’ll bury you,” she adds.
“Not gonna happen, Sandy,” Adam shoots back.
After we’re finished with speeches, I do the rounds, making sure they’ve all got drinks and there are no problems. When Ad and Jen take the dancefloor, I gather everyone around.
‘Biblical,’ by Callum Scott plays, and we watch as they hold one another, unaware of the audience now. They’ve only got eyes for each other, lost in their own world.
The lyrics of this song perfectly encapsulate how they feel about each other. At the bridge, Adam spins her out and pulls her back, dipping and kissing her, making everyone cheer.
They invite everyone else to join in towards the end, and I hold out my hand to Sandy. She takes it with a smile. Other couples join us, Brooke takes Stone’s arm, and he spins her around before standing a respectful distance away.
After a few dances, I head over to the bar and grab my new favourite beer. Jordan and Alessa join me, and we talk about the ceremony. He brings up the bet and I roar with laughter when I realise Alessa won.
The party goes on into the night. There is a firework display, and we all move closer to the water to watch. Adam sits with Jenna in his lap, their heads tilted to the sky, her arms wrapped around his neck.
They leave after that, walking through an aisle created by all the guests, holding sparklers, or throwing confetti. When they reach the end, Adam sweeps Jenna up, making her squeal. She waves and blows us kisses as he stomps up the beach, heading for the golf cart.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Sandy shouts, making everyone laugh.
Not long after they’re gone, Adam’s parents take Jake back to their villa to put him to bed so Keira can stay out. She’s been dancing with the other bridesmaids and Stone. I’m surprised at how laid back our bodyguard is. I guess he doesn’t need to be switched on here. We’re the only people on the island.
“Why are you hiding over here?”
I spin to see Brooke behind me. She has two glasses of champagne and hands me one. I take it and we clink glasses, then stand and watch everyone.
“To avoid that.” I nod towards our bodyguard, who is now bumping chests with Joey and putting on a show for everyone as they dance to the fast-paced song. Jordan runs to join them, ripping off his shirt and swinging it around his head, howling at the sky. Brooke cracks up and shakes her head.
“How do you get anything done with him around?”
“Half the time, I don’t know whether to laugh at him or strangle him.”
“Life would be boring without him.”
“Yeah, I’d prefer he keeps his clothes on around other people.”
“Alessa doesn’t seem to mind,” Brooke points out as his woman plasters herself to his chest.
Jordan picks her up, so she has to wrap her legs around his waist, and they move away from everyone else, whispering to each other.
“Jesus, they better not go off to fuck on the beach somewhere. He was talking about it before. Making love to his woman under the moon,” she imitates his voice, making me laugh but grimace too.
I wouldn’t put it past Jordan. Although I’m sure he’d do it where no one can see them. These guys are super possessive and protective of them, and as much as Jordan is happy to flaunt his bare ass, he won’t want anyone seeing Alessa’s.
“You don’t want to dance?” I ask Brooke.