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Sarah placed her hand on top of mine on her cheek. “And Daddy.”
More tears.
“And Daddy,” I repeated, my voice soft and full of emotion.
“And don’t forget Uncle Brad and Uncle Mason,” Mary added, wrapping her arms around my center.
“I love you, Becky.” Mary full-on crushed me, followed by Sarah.
I couldn’t get out the words I repeated before bedtime, before we hung up on the phone, before I dropped them off for school. Not because they weren’t true anymore or that I didn’t mean them with every fiber of my being. Simply because the emotions of uttering those words were so overwhelmingly powerful that I was a nanosecond from washing away all of my makeup with even more tears. “You girls …” I swallowed and tried hard to make the tears cease. “Are my whole world.” Now and forever, I silently promised them.
The knock on the door had us peering up to see a not-so-happy Linda. “It’s showtime.”
After we all stood from—as Mary would call it—our bubble of love, Linda came over and fluffed out the girls’ white tulle bridesmaid dresses. They seemed more like flower girl dresses to me, but Sarah noted that they were my bridesmaids since I didn’t have anyone else standing up.
After Linda retouched my makeup, my fingers intertwined with my two little girls. Because they were mine now. Today I would claim them in front of an audience, even though I’d already claimed them long ago in my heart.
We walked hand in hand down the stairs, passing some of the waitstaff and other coordinators. They oohed and aahed at my dress, at my hair done up in a ponytail of flowing curls. I felt like a queen, but more than that, my heart was so filled to the brim with joy that I’d thought it would burst.
I closed my eyes briefly, lifting my face to the skies, taking in the summer sun on my cheeks, the breeze from the light wind against my skin. When I opened them and walked further into the backyard, I took in the decor, the flowers, the guests.
Long tables were set at the outskirts of the pool and the pool? For tonight, it was a lit dance floor. Mason had hired someone to place a covering on top of the pool so we could dance on it. It still freaked me out to think that at any moment we could fall, but Mason assured everyone that we’d be fine. Knowing him, he’d done the research on the reputability of the company that had installed it.
The Brisken brothers went above and beyond to make this the wedding of the century. A champagne wall was set up to the right of the pool. A donut wall right next to it. Candles were everywhere. On pedestals in every corner. On top of the tables. On top of the highboy tables toward the far end of the backyard. And the flowers were intense. Pillars of pink and purple roses and hydrangeas were stationed every few feet and scattered throughout the backyard.
Mary practically pulled me past the pool, where there were rows of white chairs. I knew when we’d reached our destination when not too far past the tree house, I spotted a wall of roses with our initials.
With all the guests standing on either side of me and holding my girls’ hands, I walked down the aisle, over the rose petals that were made into a swirly pattern, toward my forever and final destination—Charles. He stood tall, powerful, and insanely handsome in his classic tuxedo. Right beside him stood his brothers, the ones who took me in as their own, the ones I knew I could count on.
And when our eyes locked, my breath caught because I could read all the emotion and love swimming through his chocolate-brown irises.
It was only after Sarah and Mary had hugged their father and he took my hand in his hand that I realized I’d been crying.
He cupped my face and leaned in, brushing my tears with his thumbs. “Don’t do that, beautiful. I hate it when you cry.”
I pulled his hands down and smiled. “It’s happy tears, I promise.”
“Good.” He angled closer, his lips a millimeter from mine, when Brad placed his mic in between us.
“Not yet, big bro. I didn’t say kiss the bride.” He cleared his throat and motioned with his hands behind us.
In the heat of the moment and run by emotions, I almost forgot that we had an audience.
Most of the guests were the Brisken family’s friends but front and center and seated next to Mary and Sarah was Patty, all dressed in an elegant summery floral chiffon dress.
Brad tapped the mic to get everyone’s attention. “Hear ye. Hear ye.”
My eyes flew to Charles who was grinning.
“The minister didn’t show up, so guess who is officiating this wedding?” He tapped his chest with a light hand. “The one and only—me.” He took an overexaggerated bow.
My eyes widened and I expected Brad to drop the mic with those mic-dropping words, but he continued.
“Don’t worry, I’ve done this once before and the couple is still married.” He laughed at his own joke, while the guests were still in awe. I knew the feeling.
Mason rubbed at his brow, then his hair, then his arm, then repeated the motion again.
“So I tried to pick a quote to begin this ceremony. Well, that’s what Google told me to do, so I did. I was searching for the perfect line and the first that popped up was, ‘Marriage is like a walk in the park …’ ” He paused for a dramatic effect. “Jurassic Park.”
