I loved that he loved my sister so much, but he was doing me in!
I took a breath through my nose, and hoping it’d help me get my emotion under control, I let my gaze wander to the congregation.
Which meant it took in Mum, sitting stiffly beside Dad, wearing a massive hat and appearing like she took a way wrong turn on her way to Westminster Abbey.
The guests might be sitting on wooden folded chairs on flagstone among a bevy of beautifully arranged grass, but everyone had dressed nice.
Even so, Mum still found a way to be OTT.
And that was so Mum.
I succeeded in not scoffing out loud, and continued to scan the crowd, whereupon my gaze locked on Dair, who was staring at me.
The instant it did, he put his long, attractive forefinger under his chin and pushed it up.
God.
The man had noticed I was fighting tears and was encouraging me to keep my chin up.
Who was he to encourage me to keep my chin up?
No one!
Just a childhood “friend” who was half bully, the other half plain annoying.
I glared at him.
His wide, sexy grin made an appearance.
I glared harder at him.
I couldn’t hear it, but with the way his broad shoulders were moving, I could tell he was chuckling.
Gah!
I refocused on Rix who thankfully stopped waxing on about how perfect Alex was for him. And how he would never have fully healed from what had happened to him if it wasn’t for her (he’d lost both legs below the knees while fighting a wildfire when he was a firefighter—that part had made Mags sob audibly, and Mags wasn’t a sobber, so that in itself shared my struggle). And how he couldn’t wait to continue making his life with her and adding making babies.
Through all of this, not one tear dropped from my eye.
Success!
Sadly, the wet came right back after the pastor announced they were husband and wife, and the sheer bliss on Rix’s face hit me right in the solar plexus. He then laid the raciest kiss on my sister that I’d ever seen at a wedding or anywhere.
This made people hoot, holler and catcall, and I was fighting tears and rolling my eyes at the same time.
But this meant the ceremony was done.
Which meant I had more check marks to put in my binder.
I waited patiently as my sister and her new husband practically floated up the aisle. Gal and Katie, her co-maids of honor, went next, and I hooked arms with Kevin, a friend and co-worker of Rix’s, and we walked down the aisle together.
I smiled at Kevin when we were clear then peeled off and went down the side of the wooden chairs to get to Dair’s row.
They were waiting for their row to come up so they could file out.
Davina noticed me. I pointed at her brother. She then yanked on Dair’s jacket sleeve, and he turned my way.
I did a circling wave to get him to come to me.
