Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 148

Late May was when Zelina Vega and Raquel Gonzalez had ended up booking their wedding for. They had secured their dream venue of Central Park in New York, a small section of which had been cordoned off with white ribbons for their ceremony.

The weather had turned out perfect for them, too. As Jay stepped out of the car that had driven him and Raquel to the park, the sun was beating down out of a cloudless sky.

"Should have worn sunglasses," Raquel said, coming to stand next to Jay. They were both wearing black suits with white shirts and dark green ties. She had chosen the tie colour because Zelina had opted not to have a traditional white dress, wanting dark green, her favourite colour. "Do I look okay?" she asked him, fiddling with her jacket.

"Girl, you look stunning. I believe I've said that the other fifteen times you've asked me since we finished getting ready," he said with a grin on his face. It was true, too. When she had her hair and makeup done, she lost the intimidating look that she usually had about her, and instead looked very attractive.

Raquel wasn't in a mental place where she could find anything funny, however. "What if Z doesn't show up?"

"Now you're being stupid. I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone love somebody as much as Z loves you."

"I just can't believe this is happening to me, Jay," Raquel said, starting to cry. "I never thought I would have someone."

"Hey, hey, hey," he said, pulling her into a hug. "Stop crying. Come on. You'll ruin your makeup. I know how you feel about Z, and I know you never thought you would find happiness. As you know, I felt the same way before Erin came back from New York. But we both got lucky, you and I. We ended up with people we truly love. Now, are we going to go and get you married? We don't want Z showing up before you do."

"You're right. Sorry, I'm very emotional today and I don't know how to deal with it. I'm shaking, Jay." She pulled back from him and held out her right hand. Sure enough, it was noticeably shaking.

Jay took her hand and looked into her eyes, needing to do his job as best man. "You've got this. Okay?"

Raquel squeezed his hand tightly for a couple of seconds, not doing a bad job of crushing it. It gave her some confidence though. "Okay. Thank you. I couldn't get through this without you."

"I'm not so sure about that, but I'm always here for you. Now, let's go. And smile, this is the best day of your life."

"It sure is," Raquel said as they started walking.

It was only a short walk to where the ceremony was happening. Jay saw the cordoned off area, with the guests already there, sitting on metal folding chairs that had been set out for their use. At the front of the group, facing the attendees, there was a small orchestra. Jay had known that Raquel and Zelina had paid for one, and he thought it was a lovely touch. The orchestra were currently playing a piece that he didn't know the name of.

He also noted that all of the Intelligence team had taken seats on the right side of the aisle, which would have been for Raquel's friends and family too, if she'd had any to invite. On the left side of the aisle were Zelina's friends and family. Jay loved the way Intelligence had evened the numbers up somewhat. It would have been hurtful for Raquel to arrive and find her side empty. He imagined Erin had organised that.

"Look at everyone. This is so... I don't have words," Raquel whispered to Jay before they walked up the aisle.

"Everyone looks great," Jay said with a smile. As they walked up the aisle, people looked at them, happy to see Raquel arriving on her big day. He saw Sylvie and Purrazzo sitting together. It was the first time he had seen his former partner wearing a dress, and she looked very good in it. Amanda Rose and her boyfriend were there, as were Adam and Kim. Then, on the front row on Raquel's side, there were Erin, Henry and Clementine. Clem hadn't been allowed her usual pig tails, and certainly no baseball cap.