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“It is. I’ve been to a few weddings in my life, and this is… it should be in magazines or something.”
I looked beyond me to the waiting guests. Practically the entire town was here, and they were all happily chatting and sipping champagne under strings of light that were so dense it looked like a roof. Sal was right. It was awesome.
I didn’t even know there was such a thing as mineral pastels, but seeing it come together, the earthy tones with shimmery sparkles made it feel extravagant but not over the top. As the sun set, I knew the vivid colors would complement each other and make for a breathtaking scene.
Bristol finally came through the doors and whispered something to the wedding coordinator, then disappeared back inside. Paris had worked with Savannah several times in the past, so I trusted her. She was in on all of this, and without her help, I’d never have been able to pull it off.
My heart rate kicked up a notch when the soft background music got louder. Guests took their seats, and I glanced behind me to make sure I didn’t fall off the pier. This was Paris’s dream. This location and this exact pier that started on the green grass and led to a calm, clear lake, and surrounded by willow trees that made a soothing noise in the breeze. She had great taste because it was spectacular.
“It’s time.” Sal patted me on the back, and I exhaled sharply. “Remember to breathe, son.”
I didn’t realize I wasn’t. “Thanks.”
He stepped back and gave me some space as I waited for my future wife to walk through the doors.
But first, Bristol appeared, holding an intricate bouquet and looking absolutely beautiful. She smiled until she reached me, then stopped and shook her head ever so slightly. “She’s exquisite, Scotty, you won’t believe it.”
I couldn’t even talk, but I gave her a kiss on the cheek, then she took her place across from Sal.
The orchestra began playing the “Wedding March,” which cued everyone to stand, but my eyes were locked on the doors, and when they swung open and Austin stepped out with Paris on his arm, my knees gave out.
Sal grabbed my arm and kept me on my feet until I was steady again.
Bristol was right. She was magnificent. Her dress was a work of art, and I didn’t take the time to appreciate the detailed lace because I was too busy looking at her face.
She only wore enough makeup to accentuate her features, and her lips were painted dusty pink, a color I’d gotten all too familiar with the last few months as I planned this dream of hers.
Austin hugged her and mumbled something to her I couldn’t hear, then they turned to me and he placed her hands in mine. He didn’t give me a warning to take care of her or say something funny. He simply dipped his chin at me, then walked back down the pier to join Piper at her seat in the front row.
“Hi,” I whispered.
“Hi,” she said with trembling lips. “I can’t believe you did this.”
I smiled. “I can’t believe you found a way to become even more ravishing, but here you are, so, so magnificent I feel like I’m dreaming.”
“I’m the one who feels like she’s dreaming.”
I rubbed my thumb across her wrist and encountered metal. “It fits.”
“I love it.” She gazed at the gold band with a pink heart, blue butterfly, and a yellow flower I had custom made to replicate the bracelet her brother gave her all those years ago. “And I love you.”
“Wanna get married?”
“I do.”
A throat cleared. “We’re not to that part yet.”
Paris bit her lip, then lifted a shoulder at the man who was going to marry us. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Mack Ryder winked at her and tilted his head. “Say you’ll save a dance for me, darlin’. I did get ordained just for you.”
Paris
My fantasy wedding, down to the detail, was more than I ever dreamed. It wasn’t just the location or the fact that every single detail was executed perfectly. It wasn’t just the fact that nearly the entire town showed up to support me.
It wasn’t even that Mack was the officiant, putting any question I still had about lingering resentment to rest. It wasn’t the perfect sunset, the perfect temperature, the perfect amount of wind to make the trees sing.
Hell, it wasn’t even that I was now Mrs. Scotty Salvador. That I had family, I finally knew what a real family was supposed to be, that I was an aunt…
The best part about this day, the thing I’ll remember the most? The five-tier wedding cake with my cat’s faces on each layer that we cut with a custom-made diamond-encrusted knife.
* * *
