CHAPTER 27 JOLENE

"We didn't have much time to plan, but surprise!" my mom says when I walk into her house. "It's your Baby Bachelorette Bash!"

"Surprise!"

I smile as I glance around my mother's family room and see a group of people I love yelling the word out to me. My mother is here, of course, along with Missy. Sam, Ellie, Jack's wife Kate, Debbie from the Gridiron, and Lincoln's assistant, Megan.

It's not a huge surprise considering I'm getting married tomorrow and this was their only chance to throw me a party, but they scrambled and got it together quickly. It's a small group, but it's a group of people who mean the most to me—all people who will be at the wedding tomorrow.

We took advantage of the bye week. Players are resting, and while Lincoln still has responsibilities and work to do this week, he has a little more freedom in how to use his time. We've used the week to plan, and we'll be getting married on a Wednesday afternoon. Just like we joked about, Jack will be our officiant, and we're going to be getting married in the media room.

We set a date for a big party in May to celebrate. The season will be over, and the baby will be over a month old, and it just felt right since May was when we reconnected in Ohio.

We play silly games that are some combination of baby shower and bachelorette games, and we laugh—a lot—and it's beyond wonderful to see my mom and Lincoln's mom in the same room together again, laughing and having a great time at an event they planned together.

It makes me feel like we actually did bridge these two families back together…barring his father, anyway, but he seems to have made his peace with that.

Jonah and Cade are at Devin's place for the night, and Sam stays the night with me here at my parents' house since Lincoln is staying at our house and we decided to spend the night apart for tradition's sake.

And when I wake in the morning, it's my wedding day.

It's not the big celebrity gathering one would imagine for the coach, but with a tight timeframe, we're doing this our way.

Sam is my maid of honor. Lincoln asked Jonah to be his best man.

My heart practically burst when he told me he wanted to do that, and Jonah was beyond honored to even be asked.

It's really all working out.

And so I shouldn't be surprised when we run into a hitch on the actual day.

We've told nobody outside of our small circle, yet paparazzi stand around outside the Complex as my mom parks her car in the parking lot. I'm not dressed yet, and my make-up artist and hair stylist are meeting me here to help me get ready.

And wouldn't you know it? Leading the pack of the offensive photographers is none other than Ryan Rivera.

"Guess my invitation got lost in the mail," he says to me as I step out of the car and grab the garment bag from my backseat.

I scoff at his words. "I didn't send you one."

"And yet…here I am anyway."

"Is this what you're doing now, Ryan? Working with the paparazzi?" I pull a face and shake my head. "How the mighty have fallen."

My mom is standing behind me shooting him dirty looks.

"It's actually quite a bit more lucrative than working at the station ever was, to be honest." He shrugs. "If you know what you're looking for, anyway."

"Yeah, but there's also the whole morality issue. You got any problems sleeping at night knowing you're invading someone's privacy?"

A man dressed in a black shirt and black pants approaches us. He looks like a lumberjack except he's missing the plaid button-down shirt. "Is there a problem here?"

My brows dip. I'm not sure if he's talking to me or to Rivera, but I answer anyway. "Yes. This man is trespassing."

"I am not," he argues. "I can legally stand right here on this sidewalk."

"Ma'am," the man says to me, and he holds an arm out to escort my mom and me into the building. "I'm with Aces security, and I'm here for you all day."

"Thank you," I murmur. Lincoln somehow managed to think of everything. "Get that man who was arguing with me out of here."

"You got it," he says, and he spins and heads outside without another word.

I'm not sure what I just unleashed, but I am sure that Ryan Rivera deserves whatever is coming to him.

My hair is being curled and my make-up is done in a conference room when there's a knock at the door.

Sam runs over to open it, and her jaw drops when she sees Jack Dalton standing there.

"I will never get used to the fact that Jack Dalton is your almost-husband's boss."

I giggle as Jack laughs.

"Pleasure to meet you," he says. "Sam, right? Thanks for your part in protecting our coach and his soon-to-be wife."

She looks like she's about to faint that he knows who she is, and I grin.

"Thanks for helping us out today, Jack," I say.

"My pleasure. Between the good things you've done for me and wanting to help out my friend Lincoln however I can, I'm happy to be here," he says. "And you look beautiful. Lincoln is a lucky man."

I raise a brow as I press my lips together. "That he is."

He offers a laugh. "I just wanted to let you know that apparently our security goaded Rivera into hitting him, which was obviously caught on camera by the other paparazzi present. Rivera was arrested for stalking, harassment, obstructing, and assault. We're hopeful he'll be put away for a while, but if nothing else, at least he should leave the two of you alone while he's on probation, and he definitely won't be around for the rest of today."

I'll take it as a win. "Thanks, Jack," I say, and I let out the breath I'd been holding since he caught me off guard as I walked into this place today.

"Are you ready to walk down the aisle in a half hour?" he asks.

I nod. "I think I've been ready since I was fifteen. Just a few roadblocks in our way, but this is it."

"This is it," he echoes. "Oh! And Lincoln wanted me to give you this." He hands me a box with a note taped to the top, and I promised myself I would not cry and ruin my fresh make-up, so I'm hesitant to open it.

"Sam?" I say, and my eyes move toward the box I have for him, too.

She nods and grabs the box to hand to Jack, and I can see how she's trembling even from here. "This is for you."

I clear my throat and offer Jack a sly smile and a slight roll of my eyes.

"I mean Lincoln! It's for Lincoln," she says.

Jack laughs. "I'll make sure he gets it."

"Thanks, Jack. Again. For everything," I say.

He presses his lips together and walks over to squeeze my hand. "Congratulations, Bailey. We've known each other a while now, and I couldn't be happier for you."

He leaves, and Sam lets out a breath. "God, that man is freaking gorgeous. How do you hold it together in front of him?" She walks over and grabs the hand he just squeezed, and she runs it along her cheek. "It's like he's touching me."

I laugh even as I pull my hand from her grasp. "He's just a normal guy." I lift a shoulder.

She snorts. "A normal guy," she mutters, and yeah…Jack Dalton is anything but a normal guy.

But he's officiating my wedding soon, and as my stylist finishes up my hair, it's time to slide into my dress and take some photos before I walk down the aisle toward forever.