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Chapter Eighteen
Lennox - Two Years Later
It was finally the day, Mason and I were going to get married. It seemed everyone and everything was against us for the longest time. I remembered feeling like I needed to go off and find the life that was waiting for me when really, it was with him the whole time. It was time to marry the man I’d loved since I was eighteen and nothing was stopping me. Chris, Ashley, Nicole, and Jessica were out of our way. It was hard to believe that we had to overcome all those people and obstacles just to be together. Two years late, but better than never.
Everything was just the way we had planned it the first time. We were getting married in the backyard. There was a big white tent to the right holding everything needed for the reception. The only difference was Emma. Our two-year-old daughter didn’t understand what a wedding was, but she knew what a party was and she was ready for the cake. What two-year-old wouldn’t be waiting for the cake?
Emma was spending the day with her grandpa and Kathryn. Mason dropped her off the night before and went to stay at Dane’s while Alissa, Sarah, and I stayed home to have a little bachelorette party.
After the last one, there was no way I wanted to have another big party. The three of us stayed in to watch movies, laugh, and drink margaritas.
Alissa had changed so much since her baby boy, Jax was born. He came in the middle of Alissa and Dane’s worst fight. Alissa found out that Dane wasn’t happy about having a baby and didn’t really want to get married. He wasn’t ready to grow up and he was afraid of all the change that he was being shoved into. When the truth finally came out, Alissa was so upset that she went into labor in middle of packing to leave him. Once her water broke, Dane couldn’t think of anything but Alissa and his baby.
Everything kicked in right when it was supposed to. In that instant, Dane grew up. After Jax was born, he realized Alissa was the most important thing in his life and he wasn’t prepared to lose her. She forgave him and everything else was history. They were in middle of planning their own wedding. We each got our precious babies and were marrying the men of our dreams.
“Time for makeup and hair,” Alissa said pulling Sarah along with her.
I sat down in the chair texting Mason while they got busy making me pretty for my wedding day.
“I can’t believe this day is finally here.” Alissa’s eyes locked on mine in the mirror while she ran her fingers through my hair.
“Tell me about it, I’ve been waiting for this for almost ten years now.” Sarah twirled my hair around the curling iron.
“I can’t believe you wouldn’t let me call in a few favors with hair and makeup.” Alissa flashed me an irritated look while applying blush to my cheeks.
“And miss out on all this quality time? No way.”
After hair and makeup was done, it was time for “the dress.”
They held the dress open while I stepped in. They pulled it up around me and fastened the back. I stood back and looked into the full length mirror. I couldn’t believe that it was finally my wedding day. The day I got to marry Mason.
My hair was pulled up in the front, with the rest hanging in loose curls down my back. My makeup looked perfect, like I had it done professionally. And the dress fit just as it should. It hugged every curve and glimmered when light hit the beadwork.
I felt like I had grown so much since the last time I had that dress on. I had overcome abuse, healed mentally and physically, found out that I was pregnant and delivered a baby. Mason waited patiently for me to be ready. He never tried to push me, even though he knew I wanted to marry him just as bad as he wanted to marry me. I just wanted everything to be perfect. I didn’t think it would take as long as it did, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
When we agreed to put the wedding off for a little bit, neither of us thought that it would take two years. We just wanted time to heal after what we had been through with Chris. Then I needed to adjust to the news of being pregnant. I knew the doctor told me everything was fine, but I couldn’t understand how it could be. I drank so much on my bachelorette party, not to mention the drugs I was given. I was a mess thinking my pregnancy could end at any time or that my daughter could have a higher risk of birth defects. Not that that would have changed my mind about her, she was my miracle baby.
“It’s time,” Sarah said peeking her head into the bathroom.
I slowly made my way down the stairs of the empty house. My dad met me at the foot of the stairs and handed me my bouquet.
“Are you ready for this?”
“I’ve been ready for this since I met him,” I said, sure of myself.
“Okay, let’s get to it then.” He stood up straighter when the music started up.
Dad led me through the living room and to the open sliding glass doors. I looked out onto the backyard and met Mason’s eyes. He looked handsome in his black tux. His short, dark hair was styled in its messy way, while the stubble on his jaw was longer than usual. It made him look sexy and I couldn’t wait to get him alone in our room.
I looked across the grass to all our guests. There wasn’t many, since neither of us had a lot of family, but I smiled at each and every one of them as they all turned to watch me walk down the aisle. I smiled to Joey, knowing Mason was happy that she showed up. I saw Wendy from the bar, I smiled at her but felt my smile fall when my mom came into view. I felt the pit in my stomach grow, I hadn’t seen my mom in years. She didn’t even show up when I had Emma.
“Why is mom here?” I asked through the smile that I’d been forcing since my eyes landed on her.
“I invited her. She needed to be a part of this.”
I wanted to smack my dad. She wasn’t a part of the day her granddaughter was born, but she got to be a part of my wedding? I wasn’t happy that she was there, but I wasn’t going to let her ruin my wedding day. Instead, I turned my eyes back to Mason. The love and admiration in his eyes made my heart flutter in my chest. I no longer had to fake a smile because anytime I looked at him, one appeared on its own.
We made it to the arbor where Dad gave me away. He had a tear running down his cheek when he placed my hand in Mason’s. I met Mason’s ice-blue eyes and felt the butterflies in my stomach. Not because I was nervous to marry him, but because the rest of my life was staring me right in the face and I couldn’t wait to get started.
