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Those words tugged at my heartstrings. “It’s not real, Grams.”
“I know, I know. But boy…” She stepped back and placed the palms of her hands against my cheeks. “It sure looks real today.”
There was a knock on the front door. Grams opened it, revealing Aaliyah. “Hi, ladies. Stella, wow… you look stunning,” she told me.
“Thank you.”
“The guys are out there by the arch, prepared to get started if you two are ready.”
“We are,” Grams said before turning to me. She raised an eyebrow. “We are?” she questioned, looking for my approval to continue.
I nodded, releasing the breath I hadn’t even known I’d been holding. “We are. You two can go get in position. I’ll walk out in about five minutes if that’s okay.”
“Perfect.” Grams gave me one last hug before the two went on their way.
I walked over to the window and stared out at the waves crashing against the shoreline. The water was calm that morning. Easy, even. Without much thought, I went out the back door of the guesthouse and began walking toward the water. To my left, I could see the ceremony location, and I knew I only had a bit of time before I was supposed to stand there and say “I do” to a man I didn’t know.
I needed those few moments with the woman who loved me first.
“Mama, I’m going to need your love to walk me through this today. I’m going to need you to somehow show me that you’re here, okay? Because I’m freaking out right now, and I can’t believe I have to do this without you… without Kevin…” I took a deep breath and smoothed my hands over my dress. “By the way, if you can tell him I’m pissed off at him over this whole thing.” I paused and fiddled with my fingers. “Also tell him I hate that he’s not here to walk me down the aisle.”
I bent down and placed my hands in the water, feeling the coolness wash over my skin. As I closed my eyes, I quietly whispered my reply to the words only my soul could hear. “I love you, too, Mama.”
One with the earth, one with the sea, may the waves of the ocean bless me be.
I stood straight and walked in the direction of my temporary life, where I’d say “I do.”
When I walked up the aisle, purple lilacs made a path. My chest tightened as I stared at my favorite flowers. The sun fell against my skin as my palms sweated with nerves. When I raised my head to look in front of me, I met Damian’s eyes, and for the first time, I noticed a look I hadn’t seen from him yet.
Was it… wonderment?
He stared at me as if he were seeing me for the first time. He shook his head a little, shaking himself from his trance as he cleared his throat. I couldn’t even pretend that he didn’t look amazing. The Beast cleaned up nicely in an all-black suit and bare feet in the sand. His blue eyes stood out more with the ocean as a backdrop to the ceremony.
As I reached my placement, I turned to him. “Hi there, Beast.”
He sniffled a bit and nodded. “Hello, Cinderstella.”
I smiled.
He almost did, too.
“One moment, please, let me find my passage,” Grams said, turning away slightly as she flipped through her book.
Damian kept his eyes on me. I couldn’t even think of taking mine away from him.
“You…” He flicked his thumb against his nose as his nerves began to get the best of him. “You look…”
“Pretty?” I grinned.
“No.”
I frowned. “Oh.”
“Didn’t mean it like that.” He grimaced and muttered under his breath as he looked down. His toes wiggled under the sand as he shifted around slightly. When he lifted his head, that same look he first gave me when I walked out sat there heavily in his eyes. This time, it was unmistakable. “You look mesmerizing,” he whispered. So low that only I heard. So tender that butterflies invaded my stomach. So honest that I almost felt like bursting into tears.
Never in my life had anyone used that kind of word to describe me. Pretty? Yes. Cute? Sure. Adorable? All the time. But mesmerizing? That felt like a secret word reserved in a collection of words never used to describe a woman like me.
Mesmerizing? Mesmerizing.Mesmerizing!
