Students will say “I do.”
By the timeI was fifteen, I’d been in six weddings. One for my father, three for my mother—Gary, then Jim, then Dell—and two for Ines’s mom, who was my mother’s best friend. I’d been a flower girl a few times, a junior bridesmaid a few others. I still had the silk flower crown I’d worn when Mom married Jim, even though he was awful and that marriage barely lasted two NHL seasons. I loved a flower crown.
Even with all these weddings behind me, I’d never thought much about my wedding. Never in any specific terms. There were the basics of beach versus ballroom, but little beyond that. No vision in white. No wedding daydream.
Which didn’t help me at all as I sifted through the two racks of dresses Wren had sent to Ryan’s place. There was everything from exquisite Cinderella gowns that wouldn’t fit through the door to beaded minidresses to simple summery shifts.
“This is incredible,” Ines breathed, holding up a short satin dress in ochre with a series of crisp, pleated ruffles running over the shoulders and crisscrossing down the bodice.
It reminded me of a velociraptor but if she liked it— “Try it on.”
She shook her head. “These are for you.”
“I can only wear one at a time and I know I won’t wear that one.” I motioned to the hall, toward her room. “The ruffles aren’t for me but they’d look cute on you. You might as well try it.”
That was enough convincing for Ines. She hurried off to her room, leaving me alone to choose my wedding dress.
Maybe it was silly—or straight-up delusional—but I couldn’t convince myself this was awedding. It was something Ryan and I were doing just like that charity event and party-hopping at the Derby. We were playing dress-up and make-believe and—and even if I wished for some piece of it to be real, it wasn’t.
That fool-hearted wish had me pulling a buttery yellow dress from the rack. It had a full, flouncy skirt that would skim my knees and long tulle ribbons for straps that would drape over my shoulders, almost like a veil. Wonky embroidered flowers and raw hem lace made the dress fun and that was the vibe I wanted for this night.
We’d have fun getting married. That seemed like the way it should be.
When I ventureddownstairs with Ines—who rocked the velociraptor dress—the condo looked nothing like it had a few hours ago when I’d returned from school.
I glanced to Ines. “Did you know about this?”
“All I knew was that I had to keep you upstairs until seven.” She ran a hand through her bobbed hair and fussed with her glasses. “No one said anything about all that.”
She flung her arms at the trees and flowers, the candles and twinkle lights covering nearly every inch of the living space. Though it wasn’t a living space tonight. It was a secret garden floating in the clouds, high atop the city.
Ryan emerged from the den, his hard, stoic expression warming into a smile as he approached. He wore a dark blue suit and an immaculately tailored white shirt with a faint pattern I couldn’t make out. His collar was open at his throat and his jacket already discarded.
“You look—” He stared at me, shaking his head. He took my hand and I did what anyone wearing a flouncy skirt would—I twirled. Brushing a finger along the ribbon ties at my shoulder, he added quietly, “I like this. It’s you.”
“I thought so too.”
I went for another twirl, laughing as the warm evening air whooshed around me. Tonightwouldbe fun. All of it would be fun.
Ryan swept his thumb over the back of my hand and nodded toward the enchanted forest around us. “Is this okay?”
I took in the trees dripping with lanterns and lights, the rose-wreathed candelabras crowding every surface, the garlands draped from one end of the deck to the other. I couldn’t believe it was real or that all of it had been assembled in just a few hours.
“I’m going to be one hundred percent honest with you, Wildcat. When I asked about flowers, I was thinking something like a little bouquet. Never in a million years would it’ve occurred to me to get a bunch of trees.”
“We can get rid of the trees.” He pulled his phone from the back pocket of his dark trousers. “Give me five minutes and we’ll?—”
I snatched the phone away. “The trees are amazing. They’re insane—all of this is insane—but I love it. I-I can’t believe you did this. In two days.”
He cocked an arrogant brow. “Told you I would.”
I glanced around, finding new arrangements in every corner. It was magical. Even with years to plan and all the most brilliant designers in the world, I never would’ve come up with this. I didn’t understand how it was possible for this to be exactly what I wanted when I’d had no idea what I wanted until I saw it.
“Still want to do this?” He crossed his arms and that shirt pulled deliciously tight across his chest and arms.
Nodding, I ran a finger over his rippling forearm. “What’s this pattern? The stitching is so delicate, I can’t tell.”
“It’s a flower,” he said. “Jasmine, I think. I don’t know. Something like that.”
