Page 89 of I Wish He Would

“But who’s that woman carrying Bianca’s dress?” I know her sister Patrice was her maid of honor, but I thought they weren’t having anyone else stand up with them.

Alyssa sits up. “Get this. My mom told me that Bianca hired an attendant to walk behind her and make sure no one steps on her train the whole day.”

“Of course she did.”

Alyssa presses a kiss to my cheek and stands as our row is dismissed, giving me the perfect view of her light blue silk dress. It has a halter neck, and the ends of the bow cascade down past her open back. It showcases her hourglass shape perfectly, and the way her leg peeks through the open slit as she walks is like biting into a croissant thinking it’s plain, only to discover chocolate inside—the perfect surprise.

I follow after her, utterly astounded that someone like her could want to be with me. “I feel like I’m indebted to Bianca and Bradley, though,” I whisper in her ear.

She whips her head around. “What debt could you possibly owe them?”

“They’re the reason I met you three years ago.” I take her hand in mine. “And they’re the reason I got to spend this week with you.”

Her eyes soften. “I didn’t know you were a romantic.”

“This is only the beginning, Lyssa.” I pull her close and kiss the top of her head, not wanting to mess up her makeup.

“I think you can call it even, since I was technically the one who brought them together by inviting Bradley to a family reunion with me where he met Bianca for the first time.”

I shake my head. “No matter how you put it, it always sounds awful.”

She wraps her hands around my biceps, rubbing up and down my tan linen suit coat. “But it brought me to you.”

As I take her in, I’m hit again by her vibrant blue eyes. I’m not sure if it’s from the ocean behind us or some sort of magic she did with her makeup, but whatever it is, her eyes are blue pools of water I’d love to dive into and get lost exploring their depths.

My thumbs trace her exposed back. “Who’s the romantic now?” I tease.

We head to the cocktail hour area from the beach. After a few steps, she leans more heavily on my arm. “Sorry, these heels aren’t made for the sand.”

“I can fix that.” I bend down and sweep her into my arms, carrying her bridal style.

She giggles and pats my chest. “I didn’t mean you had to carry me.”

“I’ll take any excuse to have you in my arms.”

“You don’t need an excuse.” Alyssa trails her hand up my chest and shoulder to caress my neck. “Not anymore.”

The feel of her gentle fingers on my skin has me wishing we weren’t somewhere so public right now. I’m not even sure if she told her family about us yet. Though, it might be a little obvious with the way I can’t stop staring at her. Not to mention that I’m carrying her right now.

I’m frustrated with myself that it took me this long to really see her. To know we could’ve been experiencing this kind of joy all along if I’d only looked beyond my own stupidity. But there’s no changing the past, and besides, we have a whole future to look forward to.

I set Alyssa down once we reach solid ground. “Can I get you a drink?”

“What are the odds they’re serving some kind of lemonade?”

At this ridiculously fancy wedding, not very likely. But I’d do anything to make her happy. “I’ll see what I can do.”

I head over to the cocktail hour bar where all the listed drink options have been named by the “happy” couple. Bradley’s Berry Mojito. Bianca’s Bellini. BB Mine Wine. And the list goes on.

“Excuse me, do you by chance have any lemonade?”

“We’ve got a tropical one with hibiscus.”

“I’ll take two of those, please.”

“You got it.” He hands me the drinks with little umbrellas that I can’t imagine were approved by the couple for this high-class occasion.

After looking around the terrace, I finally spot Alyssa by the appetizer table. “One tropical lemonade for the beautiful woman in blue.”