“Thank you.”
“I also don’t think you have to worry about Chad crashing the wedding.”
I frown and glance out the window. “You didn’t see him, Mom. I’ve never seen him look so… determined.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t think he’ll embarrass himself in such a way.” She rolls her eyes. “Imagine him coming here, to this amazing place, and making a fool of himself by trying to stop Knox Vale’s wedding.”
Mia would call that the perfect grand gesture in a movie—but only if I wanted Chad back.She was proud, too, that I set him straight.
Both she and Mom watched me fall apart when he left. They helped me put myself together again. Then I became something else. Not unbreakable, but stronger.
“I hope he has the good sense to stay away.”
“I think he will.”
I bring my hand to my head. “God. I never thought I’d be talking about my ex on my wedding day. But then I also hoped I’d be marrying for love.”
Sadness clouds my mother’s eyes, stealing the strength she’s trying desperately to hold on to. “My sweet girl, I wish I could put you in my car and drive far, far away from here.” She sets her hands on my shoulders and gazes at me. “Somewhere no one can find us.”
“That kind of sounds great right now.”
She smiles, but it’s without humor. “Thank you for what you’re doing for me.”
“You’ve thanked me enough. Let’s just move forward. Hopefully, we can in the next few months, no matter what happens.”
She nods in agreement, and we say no more about it.
All we can do is hope for the best. Whatever that is starts today.
I just have to remember how to breathe.
Forty minutes later, a knock sounds on the door, followed by Sheila’s soft voice. “It’s time.”
Mom’s hand finds mine, warm and trembling. The bridal suite suddenly feels smaller.
“Ready to go?” Mom asks.
I nod. “I’m ready.”
Arm in arm, we walk out to meet Sheila, then it’s like the next few minutes go by in a haze.
It feels like I blinked and suddenly I’m at the bottom of the aisle. I stand with my bouquet in hand, Mom and Mia just behind me.
The weight of a thousand eyes bores into me, but only one pair matters.
Knox’s.
He’s at the top of the aisle, waiting. For me.
He was already ridiculously handsome. Today, he looks like he stepped out of a fantasy.
Dressed in a tailored black suit that fits him like sin, Knox looks devastatingly composed.
The crisp white shirt beneath makes the black even sharper, the contrast clean and deliberate. A black silk tie and a single white rose on his lapel add to the vision of power and precision wrapped in elegance—the devil dressed for his wedding.
The music starts. My heart stumbles. And then I’m walking down the aisle
toward him through the flash of cameras.
