"You look beautiful," he said to Angie, his voice gruff with emotion.
"Thank you," Angie replied, taking his arm.
The music shifted, signaling Kiara's cue to enter. She squared her shoulders, forced her lips into a smile and made her way down the aisle.
The tent had been transformed into something magical. White fabric draped the interior, and flowers created arcs and arrangements that made the space feel like an elegant garden. Warm light filtered through the white canvas, casting everything in a soft, romantic glow.
Kiara walked slowly, aware of the guests turning to watch her progress.
Elizabeth sat in the front row with Benji beside her, both of them beaming. Annie had taken her seat as well, and Julian sat next to her with Elijah on his other side.
He looked handsome in his dark gray suit, his hair styled but not overly formal like it used to be. Their eyes met briefly, and he gave her a quick wink and a smile. Kiara’s stomach flipped, and she had to keep herself from staring at him.
With some difficulty, she looked away from Julian to Jude, who stood at the altar with the pastor and Cooper. Jude had his hands clasped in front of him, and his gaze was on the back of the tent. He had a small smile on his face, which told Kiara just how happy he was, since smiles weren’t something that seemed to come easily to the man.
In fact, Angie was the only one who seemed to be worthy of his most genuine and affectionate ones.
Jude’s mom, her husband, and their kids had come for the wedding, and it had been kind of funny to watch her try to fuss over Jude, who was really not having it.
Once she reached the front, Kiara took her place and turned to watch as Angie waited for her turn to come down the aisle.
As the string quartet that Elizabeth had hired began to play the song Angie had chosen to walk to, Kiara focused on her sister. Angie’s attention was completely on Jude, and the slow pace Annie had told her would work well with the music she’d picked out, was nowhere to be seen. It almost looked like Angie was pulling Duncan down the aisle.
Kiara couldn’t help but smile at the conflict between Angie’s eagerness to get to Jude and Duncan’s reluctance to give away the daughter he’d so recently found.
When Angie reached Jude, she handed Kiara her bouquet so she could take Jude’s hands. As the pastor spoke, Kiara turned toward the couple but let her gaze go distant. She knew she couldn’t let herself listen too much to the vows Jude and Angie shared because she didn’t want to cry.
Thankfully, the ceremony didn’t take too long, and soon the pastor was pronouncing them husband and wife. Jude had a smile that matched Angie’s as he took her in his arms for their first kiss as a married couple.
As people clapped, Angie turned to Kiara to take her bouquet back. She gave Kiara a hug, then she and Jude walked back up the aisle. Everyone followed them out of the tent and moved to the area of the garden where a small selection of bar-height tables had been set up along with a table of hor d’oeuvres.
While they were sampling the hor d’oeuvres, the catering crew went to work setting up the tent for the dinner that was to follow. When it was time to return to the tent, they found that all the chairs had been moved to circle large round tables. The tables, covered with crisp white tablecloths, had lovely spring floral centerpieces arranged around white pillar candles.
The food was amazing, and Kiara was glad that her stomach cooperated and allowed her to enjoy it. Part of her responsibilities as matron of honor was to give a speech. It was something she’d struggled to prepare because she hadn’t wanted to share too much about their past. Instead, she’d focused on what Angie meant to her, which had inevitably brought her emotions to the surface, but she’d managed to get through it.
But by the time all the festivities were done, Kiara was exhausted. Saying goodbye to Angie, knowing she wouldn’t see her for two weeks, had been a challenge to accomplish without crying again. However, she’d been determined to send her off with a smile so that Angie wasn’t distracted by worrying about her.
When she finally reached her room, Kiara was relieved to get out of her dress, remove her makeup, and take the pins out of her hair and let it down. She worked her fingers against her scalp, then changed into the loose shorts and T-shirt she usually slept in. The shorts were stretchy enough she could pull them over her growing stomach.
Finally comfortable, she sat down on her bed. Her feet were sore from spending most of the day in a pair of uncomfortable shoes. With no one to rub her feet, she spent some time rubbing them for herself.
She frowned when she heard a soft knock on her door. Sliding off the bed, she slowly made her way to the door, then cracked it open, not really wanting anyone to see her in her pajamas.
“Hey,” Annie said with a smile. “Just wanted to check and see how you were doing after everything today.”
“I’m tired,” Kiara admitted as she opened the door more fully. “And my feet are a little sore, but other than that, I’m fine.”
“Did you need anything?” she asked.
Kiara tilted her head to lean it against the edge of the door. “Nope. I’m good. My water bottle is full, and I have a little stash of my favorite granola bars if I get hungry.”
Annie smiled. “I told Julian you were probably fine, but he wanted me to make sure.”
Kiara wasn’t sure what to make of that revelation. “Yep. I’m fine.”
“Good. And if you need anything while Angie’s gone, just let me know.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
