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But what’s more, the sheer dreamlike state he’s in warms my cheeks and incites a prickling at the base of my eyes. Stunned, he stares across the room at me as if I somehow transformed into a mythical creature. Something awe-inspiring and magical. He certainly makes me feel that way.
“I’m already marrying the love of my life,” he says, his eyes never leaving me. “I can tackle any curse the universe plans to hurtle at me.”
“You guys are sickeningly sweet,” Lyndsey says. “I mean, it’s adorable. But stop.”
“What was the emergency?” I ask, trying to retract the tears cresting along my eyelids. If I ruin my makeup, I really won’t survive walking out onto the aisle.
Zach steps closer, reaching out and taking my hands in his. His fingers stroke along the length of mine, and I shiver. “Derek lost the rings.”
A growl sneaks past Marianne’s calm composure. “I’m going to kill him.”
“No one needs to die.” Zach holds a hand outward for peace. “Please, it’s my wedding day. I have a spare, and I’m pretty sure the real ones are back at the hotel.”
My eyes narrow suspiciously. All this trouble just to say something that could have been written in a text message? “So why are you here?”
“Well, with Derek and the other groomsmen being distracted, I was able to slip away and see you.” His hands slide around my waist, pulling me tighter against him.
When his lips brush against mine, all the fears and inhibitions swirling around my head fade away. I can face anything when I am in his arms. Nothing matters except for the life we have ahead of us. They could print a horrible feature story about our wedding online, critiquing everything from the catering to the candlesticks to the shade of white I’ve chosen for my dress. I wouldn’t care. I’d still have my happily ever after. I could even trip on my way down the aisle, and I know Zach would be there to help me back up again.
He pulls back, pressing his forehead against mine. “I just wanted to give you a little incentive to make it down the aisle.”
I smile as his eyes whisper messages only I can interpret. He knows, even without me telling him, how nervous I’ve been. He can read all the thoughts racing through my mind, that I needed one last boost to ease my anxieties.
“You’re risking a lifetime of bad luck for one last kiss?” I tease.
“I would risk a thousand lifetimes for you.”
Lyndsey groans.
The door swings open again, this time Derek poking his head inside. He ignores Marianne’s scowl and turns to Zach instead. “Dude…your dad’s here.”
The muscles in Zach’s body tense beneath my hands. He looks from Lyndsey to Marianne, then down to me. “What were you saying about bad luck again?”
“He’s been making an effort.” I release him and push him toward the door. “Maybe it’s time you should, too. After all, he gets nothing out of being here other than to support you and your marriage.”
“Unless he tries to stop the wedding.”
He’s teasing, but a small part of me forces my body to tighten. It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from marrying this man. “He won’t.”
Zach backs up against the wall, pinned between me and the solid wood frame behind him. “How can you be so sure?”
My fingers clutch onto his lapels and yank him toward me. “Because there’s no way in hell I’m letting you leave this place a single man.”
I lean up onto my toes and kiss him.
These three-inch heels do nothing to absorb the distance in height between us, but I’ve learned to be resourceful. I move away and quickly shove him out the door.
“Now, go.”
When I turn back toward Lyndsey and Marianne, they regard me with those same knowing smiles I’ve come to love with all my heart.
The ones that remind me I am a hopeless romantic, that I’ve fallen so desperately in love with a man I never thought would be mine.
A man whose love I deserve and will spend a lifetime returning.
