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104
The only part that was slightly sad was that Connor’s mother and brother didn’t attend.
His mother was still under heavy psychiatric care. She wouldn’t have even known what was going on, according to Connor. As much as I disliked Lenora Templeton, that news saddened me. I only wanted her out of my life. I didn’t want her to end up like this.
His brother had checked himself into rehab. Though he sent his congratulations, Vincent told Connor that he didn’t think he could attend, knowing what Miranda had done and how she had met her end. He felt he was still in too precarious a situation emotionally to leave the safety of the rehab center.
I know that Connor still bore a lot of anger and hurt towards his mother and brother, but he would have liked to have had them there – as long as they behaved themselves.
Things were improving, though. His mother was gradually getting better, and Connor had worked out a deal to take over as interim CEO of the Templeton Group while his brother was in rehab. There was also talk of him buying out Vincent and his mother’s stock and folding his family’s empire into his own operations – which would make his company one of the biggest energy providers in the world.
Overall, their absence was a mixed blessing. It was a reminder of all the pain Connor had suffered the last four weeks, starting with losing his father – but on the other hand, his mother couldn’t cause us any further pain by embarrassing me in front of the other guests.
Of course, my parents made up for her in that department.
“So when do I get a grandchild?” my dad asked first thing at the reception.
“DAD!” I hissed as I turned beet red.
“Gerald, stop,” Mom rebuked him. “They just got married.”
“Thank you!” I said.
Then Mom whispered to me, “But we wouldn’t mind sooner rather than later, dear.”
Oh God.
But it wasn’t all annoyance and embarrassing comments. One of my favorite parts of the day was when my mother came up to me after the ceremony and took my hands in hers. “Oh darling, you look absolutely beautiful,” she smiled, tears welling up in her eyes.
I cried happily right along with her.
“You do, Lily, you’re radiant,” Anh beamed.
Anh! If there’s one consolation in the whole Miranda nightmare, it’s that Anh remained safe and sound and untouched by most of it. But having her there as my bridesmaid was the best possible antidote to all the horror. It reminded me that everything good in my life had survived, and it prompted me to be grateful for the people I loved.
Anh was having a great time, too. Most of that had to do with the guy who walked her up the aisle. As best man, Johnny had finally gotten a day off from his job as my bodyguard, and he was taking full advantage of it – from sneaking kisses with Anh behind the shrubbery, to burning up the dance floor with her at the reception. He had the barest hint of a limp from his injury during the gun battle, but you couldn’t tell unless you knew what to look for. It was the happiest I’d ever seen him – and her, too.
The one person who wasn’t the happiest I’d ever seen them was Sebastian. After his turn officiating the wedding was over – which he nailed, by the way – he was very happy for us, but he also seemed distracted. He mostly kept to himself during the reception.
I figured I knew why.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked as I walked up behind him on the palatial grounds by the lake.
“What? Nothing,” he said hurriedly – but I saw where he’d been looking.
Javier was over by the punch bowl talking to Abby.
A year before, the night of the ball when I won Connor back, Javier had done my hair and Abby had done my makeup. After they finished, I looked more beautiful than I had in my entire life.
Now it was my wedding day, and I had wanted Javier and Abby to work their magic again. I was sensitive to Sebastian, though, and so I had cleared it with him the week prior. Sebastian had claimed he would be fine seeing Javier again as ‘just friends,’ but the look on his face had told me that maybe that wasn’t quite true.
And now his behavior at the reception was bearing out my suspicions.
“Have you talked to him?” I asked.
“Who?” Sebastian said, entirely unconvincingly.
I gave him a ‘give me a break’ look worthy of Sebastian himself.
