Borrow My Heart

"Paul!" Tessa yelled up the stairs. "You're gonna be late!"

Paul Martin hurried down the stairs, tying his tie as he went. Tessa shook her head and stopped him, reaching for the tie and correctly tying it in place.

"Perfect," she smiled, patting the knot. He smiled and pulled her into a kiss.

"The next time I see you you'll be walking down the aisle."

"How did you ever get so lucky?" She teased him.

"No idea. Must be that damn good."

"Pretty good," she smirked.

"You're still picking my parents up and taking them to the game?"

"Yep. And then they're going to follow you to the hotel."

"Carol-Lyne is driving you there?"

"Mm-hmm, her and Pascal. James will meet me there."

Paul rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're going through with him standing up for you."

"You're just jealous you couldn't have him to yourself."

"Hardly."

She leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Get out of here before you're late."

"I'm going. I love you, Tessa."

"I love you too, Paul."



Tessa stepped into her wedding dress, and with Carol-Lyne's help, zipped it into place.

"You look stunning, Tessa," she told her.

"Thank you. I really appreciate you helping me get everything ready for today."

"Someone had to with Nealer down in Nashville and unavailable for all the girlyness. Although he did do a good job for the bachelorette party. I'll give him credit for that."

She giggled. "He did do a pretty good job with that. Although he did have a little help from his girlfriend."

"I can't wait to meet her."

"You're sure you don't mind her sitting with you and Pascal?"

"Of course not. It's going to be overwhelming for her and who better to keep things light than my husband?"

As if on cue, they heard Pascal's voice in the hall and then a knock at the door. Carol-Lyne opened the door and Pascal entered, followed by James and Delilah.

"Wow," James said, stopping and staring at Tessa. "You look beautiful, Tess." A devilish smirk played on his lips. "Are you sure you want to waste it all on Paul? I've got some single teammates I could set you up with."

Delilah smacked his arm. "Really?"

He shrugged. "We could set her up with Smitty, get him off my back."

"I wouldn't torture her like that." She turned to Carol-Lyne. "Hi, you must be Carol-Lyne. I'm Delilah, the unfortunate soul dating this idiot," she said, thumbing her finger in James' direction.

"Oh, I like you so much already," Carol-Lyne replied, hugging the new woman. "Don't go messing this up, James."

"I'm trying not to," he answered as Carol-Lyne turned to hug him.

Pascal glanced at his watch. "Almost time. Let's go find our seats." He kissed Tessa's cheek and Carol-Lyne and Delilah each hugged her before leaving her with James.

"You really do look stunning, Tess," James said to her when the others were gone. "Paul is lucky to have you."

"Thank you, James," she replied. "I'm so glad you're here to share this with us."

"Me too," he grinned. "So what's next?"

"What's next is I'm going to straighten your tie and then I'm going to put on my veil and then you are walking me down that aisle to become Mrs. Paul Martin."