Bishop drew in a deep breath as my stepfather and I leaned forward anxiously in our chairs. “I’ve spent most of my life dealing with people thinking I’m the scum of the earth because I wear a cut and ride a Harley. I’ve learned to accept that. And while my brothers and I weren’t always model citizens, I can swear to you on my life that we are decent, law-abiding men now.”
My mother waved her hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, Samantha has told me that a hundred times. But it still doesn’t change anything for me.”
“I hate to hear you say that. I want you to be able to be happy that your daughter is in love and that she is loved in return. I will work until my fingers bleed to provide for her a safe and stable life. I will always put her life before mine.”
I reached over and squeezed Bishop’s hand. “Just like he has done not once, but twice.”
“Twice?” my mother questioned in surprise.
While she knew what had happened with Eddy, she had no idea what Bishop had done during the Diablos’ attack. Her hardened expression relaxed when I told her about Bishop throwing himself on top of me. “I see,” she murmured.
“More than anything in the world, we would like your blessing,” Bishop said.
My mother played with a piece of lint on the tablecloth. “I can’t say that I’m ever going to feel completely comfortable with Samantha being a biker’s wife and being involved with outlaws—”
“Former outlaws, ma’am,” Bishop argued with a grin.
She nodded. “But at the same time, I don’t think she could find a man who would love her more than you do.”
Although I was never one to cry, tears pooled in my eyes. “No. I couldn’t.”
“So all I can say is I’ll try.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bennett.” With a wink, he added, “Just you wait. I’ll win you over before you know it!”
And he did. By the time we left to go home, my mother had made huge strides in coming to accept Bishop. Of course, he was only one biker. Now she was about to face a roomful of men in cuts.
“I’d say it’s going okay. I steered them down to Mama Beth’s, since I thought it was a safer bet than keeping them out of the roadhouse.”
“Good thinking. I’ll go straight there when I leave. I’ll have Peterson with me. He’s still a little skeptical about this whole marrying-in-the-woods thing.”
Bishop laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me.” At the sound of voices in the background, Bishop sighed. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Okay. Bye. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
No matter how many times he said it, I never got tired of hearing Bishop say he loved me. There was a time I thought I’d never get to hear the words, so that made them even sweeter. I was thankful he wasn’t the type of man to shy away from saying how he felt.
As we started into the clearing at Tohi Ama, the sun sat low on the horizon, sending streaks of pink, orange, and purple across the sky. I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful evening, and furthermore a more beautiful location to have my wedding ceremony tomorrow. “Okay, once the bridesmaids are in place, then we’ll cue the wedding march, and, Samantha, you’ll come down the aisle.”
“Now?”
Alexandra waved her hands wildly. “No, no, no! It’s bad luck to walk down the aisle during the rehearsal. Mr. Peterson can walk down the aisle, but you need to come around the chairs.”
“I stand corrected,” I replied with a grin. Alexandra was taking this wedding stuff way too seriously. But the last thing Bishop and I needed was more bad luck, so I decided to humor her for the both of us. After bypassing the aisle, I rejoined Peterson at the altar, where Bishop waited. Both Rev and Deacon were his best men, and Mac, Boone, and Breakneck evened out the groomsmen.
Besides my sister, Sophie, my bridesmaids represented the world I was entering, and there was no one from my past before Bishop. Alexandra, Annabel, Kim, and Annie filled the spots. It was a no-brainer that Willow would be the flower girl, and Wyatt was going to try his best at being the ring bearer. Since he wasn’t quite two, it was going to be interesting seeing how he did.
“Now we’ll practice the vows.”
The minister, who was a Raider from out of town named Fuzz, went over the parts of the service with us without our actually saying the vows. That would be reserved for tomorrow. “And then it’ll be the ‘by the power vested in me’ jazz, and you may now kiss the bride.”
Bishop drew me into his arms and brought his lips to mine. I melted into his embrace, letting my hands run up and down his back.
At Fuzz’s whistle, we pulled apart. “Now, that’s enough of that. You weren’t supposed to practice that part,” he said.
Bishop grinned. “But I needed to make sure I get it just right for tomorrow.”
“Like you need practice,” I mused.
Alexandra stepped forward again. “After the kiss is the processional and the service is done. Once we do some pictures, we’ll move on to the reception.”
“Speaking of the reception, I’m starved. Let’s head back for dinner,” Bishop said.
Back at the clubhouse, we had a sit-down dinner of homemade BBQ and sides. It wasn’t fancy or classy, but I loved it all the same. Bishop and I were making a dent in an enormous piece of chocolate cake when a scream of pain echoed through the room. Two tables down from us, Kim’s daughter, Cassie, was bent over, huffing and puffing. Considering the special circumstances of her pregnancy—she was the surrogate making Rev and Annabel’s dreams of parenthood come true—everyone’s attention was immediately riveted to her. Turning over their chairs in a rush, Rev and Annabel sprinted over to Cassie.