“Good enough,” I said to my reflection. I jammed my clothes into my bag and slipped out. The music had changed over from a sweet strumming Spanish guitar to an instrumental version of a song I vaguely recognized.
The first of the couples were gliding down the aisle arm and arm. Most of the couples were linked up in either a relationship or already married.
The pretty wine-red dresses and black tuxes lent a class to the blue-collar lot of them. All of them cleaned up really nice.
I waited along the sidelines for everyone to walk down the aisle and I got my first gut punch with Ripley in an all-black tux. He was best man and a little different than his brothers. His jacket was definitely not off the rack. Nothing but a fitted jacket could encapsulate those shoulders.
Even without a coat, my skin heated in reaction and I was very glad for the shawl to hide my instant reaction to him.
He was smiling down at the one extra bridesmaid while they waited their turn to go down. I didn’tknow her all that well. Jessie Wilson was one of Nora’s crew since she’d moved back to Indigo Valley. She owned Bite Me and was a stunner. She looked damn good on Rip’s arm which gave me a moment.
She was a bit older than me and probably a better fit with his life.
It was ridiculous to be jealous.
But then Ripley looked up and our gazes locked. The breath stalled in my chest and my heart thundered in my ears. He’d pushed his black hair back from his face leaving all those angles to their full glory. His green eyes were hot and hungry as he gave me a once over.
He pressed his lips together.
Was he remembering the kiss too?
I couldn’t seem to stop reliving it since it happened.
Stupid.
I wasn’t some teenager with a crush, but I wasn’t sure my tingling breasts got the message. Or the rest of me that was more than interested in picking up where we left off.
Down girl.
Jessie nudged him and the tension broke as he guided her down the aisle.Because the Murdocks were never ones to do anything traditional there was a little shuffling at the dais. While Parker was the maid of honor, no one other than Cash was walking with her down the aisle.
I shook my head with a smile.
Were all the Murdock men so proprietary?
The way they were all looking at one another up there, I’d have to say yes.
I wasn’t sure I could handle a man looking at me like that all the time.
A happy bark dragged me out of my thoughts and I took the time to sneak into the back row. Danny and a sweetly bumbling dog dropped flower petals down the aisle. Then Danny stationed himself beside a nervous Sully with the dog sitting on top of Sully and Danny’s shiny shoes.
The whole crowd laughed then the song turned over to a lilting melody of strings. I didn’t know which Hozier song it was, but his style was undeniable. We all stood and turned to see Nora. Her pink and filmy grey dress floated around her feet. Her father patted her hand sweetly the whole way down.
Sully was bent at the waist, his eyes shining. He said something to Danny, then tugged him in front of him as they both watched Nora walk down to him and into their version of forever.
I’d never believed in the forever kind of love.
Not because I didn’t think it was possible. Nora had been married to my brother after all. High school sweethearts, they’d just always seemed like they were the endgame. Then they moved to the west coast and we lost touch. She was just enough older than me that she hadn’t really been in my realm, then they were just gone.
I wasn’t even entirely sure what happened between them, only that I knew neither of them were happy. Booker had breathed baseball and Nora seemed more like a manager than a wife. When they broke things off, I couldn’t say I was surprised. They seemed so perfect on paper, but the reality was like a sticker. Glossy and perfectly created, but flat.
The minute I saw her with Sully, I knew there was nothing flat between them.
She’d helped me tweak the branding of my store and took a chance on me with their cake. I knew her better now than when she was actually my sister-in-law. And all that happiness glowing off of her was undeniable.
She was smiling right at Sully and Danny like they were her whole world.
Sully and Danny walked together as a unit and took her hand. Parker hurried forward and snagged Nora’s bouquet so she could take Danny’s hand as well. The perfect family unit.
