AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gio and Eloise chose not to have a wedding party. They didn’t want the fuss of having other people standing beside them when they exchange their vows. The ceremony is on the beach, at sunset. It really is a beautiful, intimate setting. It’s simplicity meets elegance and wealth at its finest.
There are around two hundred people here, as Alistair guides me to the front row. Our seats are labelled with our names. Daisy and Claire are already sitting in the chairs next to us. I look around, expecting to see Gio standing at the front waiting for his bride. But he’s not there. My stomach drops. Memories of being dumped on my own wedding day flash through my mind. Maybe Alistair is right and marriage really is not worth the heartache that’s bound to come after theI do.
The music starts and I crane my neck. Surely someone is going to tell Eloise that Gio’s not there. It would be cruel to let her walk down the aisle to find no one waiting for her at the other end. But when I glance back, I see that he’s beside her and they are about to take this journey…together.
Her arm is linked in his. He’s looking at her with a huge smile on his face. It’s obvious these two are head over heels in love with each other. When they reach the front, Eloise hands her bouquet of white and pink roses to me.
The celebrant does a very quick opening speech. “The bride and groom have prepared their own vows. Gio, you may start with yours,” the woman says.
“Eloise, I wake up every morning counting my blessings that you’re next to me. I’ve been in love with you since the moment I first saw you. I promise to always love you, to protect you, and to spend the rest of my life making sure you have everything you ever need or want. I promise to always listen to whatever it is you have to say, even when you’re rambling and don’t make much sense. You’re my other half, the part that completes me. It will always be you,” Gio says.
“Eloise, can you read out your vows to Gio?” the celebrant says.
“Gio, you are everything I’m not supposed to want in life. And, at the same time, you are exactly what I’m meant to want. You have shown me what it’s like to be loved unconditionally, to be accepted for who I am. I promise to always be by your side, to be your cheerleader through life. To be your confidant. I promise to love you despite the red flags,andbecause of them. I will be forever grateful that you chose me.”
As soon as Eloise finishes speaking, Gio slams his lips onto hers, picks her up off the ground, and spins her around. The guests cheer and call out in Italian. I have no idea what they’re saying, but it sounds hot as sin.
“Why is everything so much sexier in Italian?” Daisy whispers to me, as if she can read my thoughts.
“No idea.” I shrug, trying not to laugh at her dismay while wiping the tears from my face.
It really was beautiful to be able to watch my best friend get her happy ending. She deserves to be loved the way Gio clearly loves her. He may not be the person I would have chosen for Eloise, but I’ve seen how much he adores her. That week I stayed at their house really gave me insight into their relationship. They’re total opposites—that much is evident—yet, somehow, they just have a connection that I envy.
I know I’m falling for Alistair, and I also know that he cares for me, but I don’t think he will ever let himself fully love anyone. He’s so worried about the aftermath of being hurt that he’s got walls of steel around his heart.
As much as I’d like to be the one to break down those walls, I don’t think I am. But I’m going to take a leaf out of Daisy’s book and live for the moment. Things are good right now, so I’m not looking past today… or maybe tomorrow.
Why break something that’s not broken?
I’m prepared to deal with the end of our relationship when andifit comes. I can’t lose that little bit of hope that lingers in the back of my mind that thinks this could be the real deal. That me and Alistair could very well be each other’s forever.
TWENTY-SIX
Ihate weddings. Usually avoid them like the plague. If it weren’t for Dani, I wouldn’t be here. When she asked for a long weekend off, she didn’t exactly invite me to come with her. I invited myself. Told her if she’s jet-setting off to paradise, I better be in her itinerary. Truth be told, I didn’t want to spend a whole weekend away from her. A fact I’m trying really bloody hard not to focus on too much right now.
I want to be here in the moment with her. I want to be surrounded by her brightness. Although all this talk about weddings, how she still has that fairy tale in her head, seems to have put a dark cloud over our time together. I need to get us back to us. Which is why, as we’re making our way to the reception hall, I pull her into the first closed door I find.
“What the hell? What are you doing?” she asks.
“Shhh, little girl, you need to be quiet. You don’t want to get us caught in here, do you?” I whisper into her ear as I push her up against the wall. The room is dark. I have no idea where we are. However, I don’t need the light. I know her body better than I know my own.
“What? Really, Alistair, we can’t do this right now,” she whispers back.
“Oh, we can and we are.” I squat down. My hands find the hem of her dress. Trailing my fingers up her legs, I reach her hips and then grip the waistband of her panties, tugging them down her thighs.
“Oh my god!” she says as she steps out of the lacey material.
Lifting the silk of her dress up to her hips, I hook one of her legs over my shoulder. My tongue finds her wet folds like her cunt is a beacon calling me forward.
I slide through them. “Fuck, I love this,” I groan.
Dani’s fingers tangle in my hair as she shoves my face harder into her pussy. “Me too, but only when you talk less and lick more,” she says.
My teeth graze over her clit before I gently bite down.
“Oh fuck!”
“Shhh,” I tell her, driving two fingers into her tight hole. I thrust them in and out, coating them in her juices before I withdraw to circle them around her asshole.
