Exposed (Book Three) COMPLETE!

chapter seventeen

Jensen

     "How did you find me?" I asked my aunt who sat on the couch, making silly faces at Piper. Piper eyed the rings on her fingers, just as she did Harry's.

     "Well I saw you both on the Ellen Show and I asked myself, 'Is that my Jensen Rose on the TV or am I just blind' and sure enough it was you with this hunk and I immediately did my research and found out you had this little one AND a ring," She bopped Piper on the nose with her finger before turning her attention back to us, "So I booked myself the next flight out here and when I got to your apartment, Reese said I'd find you here. I had every intention of kicking your butt for not calling me."

     "I'm sorry, Aunt Fiona. Things have been a little crazy lately." I sighed, rubbing my tired eyes.

     "Oh and that's an excuse not to call your favorite aunt? Uh huh." She gave me a look and I answered it with a sweet smile, hoping for forgiveness, "Oh quit it, you know I'm not really mad. Besides, you know I love babies and weddings. Have you planned anything?"

     "We have a date set," I looked to Harry who nodded, "But that's really it. I haven't had a whole lot of time to plan with this one." I pointed to Piper who was babbling away to herself, "Does Dad know you're here?"

     "Not yet. He's my next stop." She stated, leaning back into the couch. I knew that was going to be quite the reunion.

     "How long are you here for?" I asked, hoping it was for more than a few days.

     "I'm here until you have a plan for your wedding and that includes a dress. I figured we could go tomorrow." I bit the inside of my cheek, looking at Harry who just shrugged.

     "Well, Harry's mom and sister wanted to be here for that too.." My voice trailed off as Harry finally got my cue.

     "I'll see if they can be on the next flight out," He patted my shoulder before going off to another room.

     "Where in the hell did you find him? And your sisters with an ex-band mate of his? What have I missed in the last three years?" She shook her head, her attention focusing back on Piper.

     I wanted to tell her she missed a lot. I wanted to tell her that I missed her. I knew Dad was not going to be enthused that she was here, considering the last time we saw her was a year after Mom's funeral. She and my mom had been best friends so when my mom passed away, it completely tore her up. She stayed around for a year, helping my dad raise Reese and I but after that year, she was gone with nothing more than a note telling us she was sorry and a few phone calls and post cards here and there.

     "You've missed quite a bit." I spoke softly, in hopes she hadn't heard me but as soon as the words left my mouth, her head shot up in my direction. At first, I thought she was going to yell at me but instead, she just sighed.

     "J, you know I didn't leave to punish you guys. I left because I hadn't dealt with the pain of losing your mom on my own. I was so worried about everyone else, I didn't allow myself to grieve. I know it was selfish but I needed to heal too." Her gaze was locked on mine, her eyes becoming glassy as she spoke, "I never meant to hurt any of you."

     "I know but it did. It hurt us all but that doesn't mean I don't understand why you did it." She placed Piper in the pack and play before coming to sit by me on the couch, pulling me into her side, my head on her shoulder.

     "I wish your father felt the same way. I'm not really looking forward to that conversation." She sighed, leaning her head on mine.

     "They'll be on the next flight out!" Harry announced triumphantly before looking to us, his face falling, "What'd I miss? Why is everyone crying?"

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     "What do you guys think?" I did a twirl in the dress, looking myself over in the mirror once more before back at my crew. They all had fake smiles plastered on their faces, all of them except my aunt who was just shaking her head.

     "Nope, not the one. Next!" She pointed her finger back to the dressing room. I sighed, knowing she was right but over trying on dresses. Anne and Gemma has gotten in late last night and I had planned on going dress shopping later in the day so they could get some sleep but Aunt Fiona was at my door at 8am, ready to hit the road.

     "It's just not you, J. It's too much." Reese stated, shrugging. She was right too, there was too much bling and ruffles on this dress for me. I trudged back into the dressing room, looking over all the other dresses I'd picked out and none of them spoke to me. I groaned as I sat on the bench, head in my hands.

     "Jensen?" There was light tap on the door as I told Gemma to come in. She was holding up a simple, a-line dress. There was no bling or ruffles and the moment I set my eyes on it, I knew it was the one, "What do you think?"

     "Gemma, it's perfect," She gave me a wink before helping me into it. She had me face her before turning to look at myself and I saw the tears forming in her eyes as she placed her hands over her mouth.

     "Okay, you're not allowed to look just yet. We need to show everyone else and then you can look," She ushered me out of the dressing room and back in the presence of everyone else. When I saw everyone's reactions, I knew it was the one.

     "J, holy shit." Aunt Fiona smacked Reese for her potty mouth but ultimately agreeing. Anne was crying, just nodding her head. Gemma took ahold of my shoulders before turning me to face the mirror.

     I gasped at my reflection, my eyes becoming glassy. The dress hit me in all the right places, showing off each curve. It was so beautiful. I turned back to everyone, lifting my arms victory. They all ran up to hug me, all of us blubbering messes.

     "Alright, alright lets not mess up the dress before she gets married in it. J, go change and we're going out to celebrate!" My aunt shouted, earning a round of cheers.

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aww i love this chapter. jensen's dress pictured above!!