Fucking love the brotherhood.
***
It was time. Maestro was ready. I’d asked Emily how she wanted us dressed, and she’d said comfortably. She honestly didn’t care, but I’d asked the brothers to wear nice jeans and button down shirts under their cuts. I’d had boutonnieres made for the brothers that I know matched Emily’s colour choices because I’d had the same florist that was making her bouquet do them. Each one had a red and white rose with greenery and a red ribbon.She’d added a clip instead of a pin so that we could clip them to the edge of our cuts and not damage them.
The common room had been cleaned up and chairs set up in rows. The Old Ladies had covered the chairs with white covers and tied red ribbons around them. It was simple but pretty.
Lizzie came in and walked towards us. Beaming a smile at me. That she loved Emily was a bonus.
“She’s on her way, Dad, and she looks beautiful.” Lizzie smiled, tugging on my cut to get me to bend towards her. “Happy for you, Dad. Emily is wonderful.”
Enfolding my daughter in my arms, I hug her tightly. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m glad you like her. Love you.”
“I do and I love you, too,” Lizzie smiles and swipes a finger under her eye before blowing out a breath. “Don’t make me cry.”
Chuckling, I release her with a last kiss to her cheek. She turns and walks to Cash, who immediately wraps an arm around her.
Stacey had followed Lizzie in and slipped into a seat next to Rosie and Kyle, who has Poppy on his lap, leaving the end seat for Ford. Emily had asked if he’d walk her down the aisle, and I thought the boy would burst with pride.
The clubhouse door opened one more time, and there they were, framed in the doorway. Ford in his jeans, button down and prospect cut, he’d had a haircut that changed him from a softerteenage boy into a man. Looking so much like Chains, it hurt. Maestro’s breath caught, and he whispered quietly, “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” I swallow hard and turn my attention to Emily. The pain of seeing Ford looking so much like Chains fades as I get a proper look at her.
“Holy fuck,” I mumble, covering my mouth. Maestro sniggers and the rest who heard me laugh softly.
She’s a vision. In a long dress in a deep burgundy colour that nips in at the waist with a gold pattern that swirls up towards her shoulders. The front dips into a vee. There’s a train edged in the same gold pattern that falls from her shoulders to the floor, creating a puddle just below the hem of her dress. Her bouquet is a mix of red and white roses interspersed with greenery and white ribbon. Her long hair is up and off her face with small wisps framing her cheeks. I’m aware I’m smiling so wide my cheeks hurt as Ford escorts her to me.
“Make sure you look after her, Grandad,” he orders before he places her hand in mine.
“I will, Ford,” I promise before turning to Emily. “You look beautiful darlin’. Are you ready to make an honest man of me?”
“So ready honey,” she assures me, turning to Maestro. “Ready when you are.”
“You got it,” Maestro laughs and begins the ceremony. It’s not long before we’re exchanging our vows and slipping our wedding rings on.
“You may kiss the bride,” Maestro tells me.
“Thanks for the permission, son,” I laugh, taking Emily into my arms. I tilt her back over my arm and kiss her laughing mouth. Pulling her back up, I hug her to me, whispering in her ear.
“Happy Valentine's Wedding Day, Mrs. Ivor. Love you from the bottom of my soul.”
She looks up at me with tearful eyes but as she’s smiling, I know they’re happy ones. “Love you, Mr. Ivor, and thank you for my Valentine’s Wedding Day.”
EPILOGUE
VALENTINES DAY - 7 YEARS LATER
RED
So many changes over the last few years. Most of them good with a few bad. That’s how life rolled no matter how much you didn’t want it to.
Maestro and Cash have taken the club from strength to strength. Coal is doing the same with the one in the UK.
Today is Emily’s and my anniversary. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that seven years have passed in the blink of an eye. We were living every year to the fullest.
Our businesses were doing well with managers who were more than capable of running them without us. With that worry taken from us, and with Maura and Thor flitting all around the world, we’d decided to join them on a few of their travels.
Which meant that we got to visit the UK chapter and travel to Africa as both of Thor’s children were in a club there.
